Married to a US Citizen but went back home cos marriage is not working out

[rmarkwallace 7]

There has been a big increase in civil annulments in the Philippines in the last few years. This is a Civil Annulment, not a church annulment. That is the only thing that you can do so that you could legally remarry in the Philippines. If you are the plaintiff, it is my understanding that the Philippines may not recognize a US divorce. But an annulment in the Philippines would annul the US marriage in the eyes of the US. For the Philippines to recognize a US divorce for a Filipina, it is my understanding that the Philippine resident has to contest the divorce. It would be cheaper to get the marriage annuled in the Philippines. It works just like a catholic church annulment in that you establish that there wasn't good faith or one of the parties did not freely give consent, NOT that you have grounds for a divorce.

A Philippine annulment would be cheaper than a US divorce.

[llindsay 21]

There has been a big increase in civil annulments in the Philippines in the last few years. This is a Civil Annulment, not a church annulment. That is the only thing that you can do so that you could legally remarry in the Philippines. If you are the plaintiff, it is my understanding that the Philippines may not recognize a US divorce. But an annulment in the Philippines would annul the US marriage in the eyes of the US. For the Philippines to recognize a US divorce for a Filipina, it is my understanding that the Philippine resident has to contest the divorce. It would be cheaper to get the marriage annuled in the Philippines. It works just like a catholic church annulment in that you establish that there wasn't good faith or one of the parties did not freely give consent, NOT that you have grounds for a divorce.

A Philippine annulment would be cheaper than a US divorce.

If they never did a ROM (report of marriage) in the U.S. to the Philippine embassy then it wouldn't show up in the Philippines. When you get married in the U.S. it doesn't automatically get reported in the Philippines.

[rmarkwallace 7]

That is true. But she can't be a beneficiary for anybody else because the marriage isn't concluded. A beneficiary must be free to marry at the time that the petition is filed. She now is on file with Immigration because of the first fiance visa. The reason why it takes 90 days to get the petition approved in the United States is that Immigration checks it's own file and the FBI file. There is no national registry of marriages in the United States. That is why Americans sometimes have trouble marrying in the Philippines. Some civil registrars won't accept that 'affadavit in lieu of the certificate of legal capacity to marry" that the US Consulate gives you. The US consulate won't issue a certificate because it can't check a national registry of marriages. So they interview you, have you swear in writing that you are free to marry, and then notarize the form. But the civil registries in some locales won't accept it, Makati for instance. And a notary does not attest to the truth of what he is notarizing, he is only saying that he established your identity and watched you sign it. If you bring in something in writing that says that you have a million dollars stuffed in your mattress, a notary will check your ID, watch you sign the document, notarize it and send you on your way. He doesn't check the mattress. And if Immigration finds out the marriage is void because one of the parties wasn't free to marry, they determine that she got her visa through fraud, revoke it and deport her. Even if it were 20 years down the road. If you years later petition in a relative and you obtained your visa through fraud, the relative's visa gets revoked too. It's called "the fruit of the poisoned tree" even though your relative was acting in good faith. YOU weren't eligible to file a petition.

[rmarkwallace 7]

She states that she is in Oregon, which is not a community property state, but it is surrounded by community property states. She still may have a claim on his income because the marriage isn't concluded. If she were to marry in the Philippines she could conceivably lose rights. She might have some right to support because the marriage isn't concluded. If he was confronted with the prospect of having to pay her alimony, he would see that he needs to conclude the marriage.

[KazuriSana 324]

She states that she is in Oregon, ....

She clearly states QUOTE but marriage did not work out so I decided to go home in the Philippines last Jan2012. UNQUOTE.

Her profile says Oregon, so, with this seeming discrepancy it might be hard to understand exactly where she is. However, the overwhelming possibility is that the Oregon in the profile is an error when she was creating the profile.

[Bebuska Boo Boo90 8]

Sorry to hear what happened to you.But I think the biggest problem is that lots of people are marrying people they don't even know well,...and when they start living together comes to a fights and similar stuff.Think twice before you marry someone you know for short period.I'm not judgemental so don't get me wrong ,..just saying my opinion .

[ritbiv 95]

Sorry to hear your situation. Check the link. May be helpful.

https://answers.yahoo.com/question/?qid=20091025193309AAYSM7H

[rmarkwallace 7]

The Oregon in her profile gives me the impression that the marriage took place in Oregon. There are residency requirements for a divorce. She can file in Oregon because the wedding took place there. If the husband lives in Oregon, the Oregon laws on marital assets apply on what interests she has in his property since the marriage. She can also file in the state that the husband lives in, which is probably Oregon. She can't establish residence to file anyplace else in the United States. She has gone home and most likely can't re enter the United States. But her best and cheapest move is a Philippines Civil Annulment.

[KazuriSana 324]

The Oregon in her profile gives me the impression that the marriage took place in Oregon....

No. She says in her post that they married in Virginia.

[rmarkwallace 7]

Then she probably can only file for a divorce in Viriginia. She cannot meet the residency requirement any place else. That still means that her best bet would be to have the marriage annuled in the Philippines, both from a legal standpoint and a cost stand point.

[maritoni 3]

OP your marriage is only acknowledged in the US. Your husband would need to file for either an annulment or a divorce in the US to dissolve the marriage.

It is unlikely that you can qualify for an annulment in the Philippines, as it doesn't appear that you would qualify under the limited grounds for an annulment. As I'm sure you are aware, divorce does not exist in Philippine law.

[AnotherLostSoul 167]

OFF topic: I like your quote!

OP your marriage is only acknowledged in the US. Your husband would need to file for either an annulment or a divorce in the US to dissolve the marriage.

It is unlikely that you can qualify for an annulment in the Philippines, as it doesn't appear that you would qualify under the limited grounds for an annulment. As I'm sure you are aware, divorce does not exist in Philippine law.

[Boiler 45,924]

OP your marriage is only acknowledged in the US. Your husband would need to file for either an annulment or a divorce in the US to dissolve the marriage.

It is unlikely that you can qualify for an annulment in the Philippines, as it doesn't appear that you would qualify under the limited grounds for an annulment. As I'm sure you are aware, divorce does not exist in Philippine law.

You contradicted yourself, to clarify she is is married. Philippines or US she is married.

[maritoni 3]

If they never did a ROM (report of marriage) in the U.S. to the Philippine embassy then it wouldn't show up in the Philippines. When you get married in the U.S. it doesn't automatically get reported in the Philippines.

I beg to disagree.The fact that the OP's foreign marriage was not registered in the Philippines does not mean that the marriage did not take place. To be sure, the marriage was recorded in the U.S. Filipinos including myself is required to declare our marriage to U.S. immigration. If the OP conceals it, that will amount to immigration fraud.

[llindsay 21]

I beg to disagree.The fact that the OP's foreign marriage was not registered in the Philippines does not mean that the marriage did not take place. To be sure, the marriage was recorded in the U.S. Filipinos including myself is required to declare our marriage to U.S. immigration. If the OP conceals it, that will amount to immigration fraud.

You need to read what I wrote again cause I never said that the marriage didn't take place. I was talking about when you get married in U.S. if you want your marriage to be recognize in the Philippines then you have to do a ROM. It is not required for you to report your marriage to the Philippines and it is not considered fraud. Just because your from another country you don't have to report everything you do in your new country to your old country. But if you want the privileges of the country of Philippines you should do a ROM and Your passport will be stamped as "Balikbayan" the next time you go to the Philippines and you don't have a 30 day stay rule but you have 1 year to be able to stay in the Philippines. Here is more information about it http://www.immigration.gov.ph/index.php/faqs/visa-inquiry/balikbayan-previlege