CFO Problems

[jjjames74 1]

I was married in the philippines to my first wife. After about 3 years she came to the states. After about another year we were divorced because I had an affiar with another filipina which produced a child and she found out about it. Long story short is that after my divorce (in the usa) from my first filipina I filed a k1 visa for the mother of my child (now fiance). It has been approved and now we are awaiting the interview at the usa embassy.

Okay so here is the problem. She went to do her cfo in cebu. She put I was divorced to a filipina. The counsler went a little bonkers in her interview and wanted alot of documents. She stated to my fiance that i was still married in the philippines. She then went and looked up my x wife from their records adn told her to come back in a few days. Well my fiance is from leyte she could not wait there and had to return back to her home. Now its close to the time to do her interview....can these people at the CFO deny a seminar certificate? I thought they are only there to advise. Or can I have my fiance go to the manila office? Does the CFO have a central database? I would rather her try again and put that I was never married. Any advice would be very greatful.

[Lee&Ana 88]

They might have put something in the system. My wife's(then fiancé) hardest part of the process was the CFO believe it or not. The knucklehead lady that she got asked for my cenomar that doesn't exist and didn't want to give her the sticker. The CFO are gatekeepers as well as everyone else. There is no divorce in the Philippines. Because you married in the Philippines, you are still married in the Philippines. I am surprised that you and your fiancé made it this far in the process. I am curious that you(US petitioner) are still married in the Phils and your fiancé who is not married, can get the sticker. I have a coworker here in the USA who is pinoy, now a citizen, who was married in 1970 in the Phils and divorced here, who is petitioning his fiancé if it will make it through. Being that they told her to come back, they are probably researching what the policy is. Good luck and keep us updated

[KayDeeCee 4,893]

~ Moved from K-1 Process to Philippines regional - topic specific to interviewing in Manila ~

[Mike-eeh and Odie 193]

....can these people at the CFO deny a seminar certificate? I thought they are only there to advise.

They are there to advise, yes, but also act as a flood gate to ensure the proper procedures were met during the filing process. That said, yes, they can deny her a CFO sticker as you are still considered legally married to your ex-wife in the Philippines. While you may be free to marry in the USA, you are not free to marry by Philippine laws because you married in the Philippines.

Or can I have my fiance go to the manila office?

She can go to Manila, yes, but that office has way more scrutiny going on than Cebu. Even if she goes to Manila, the result will be the same, as you are still considered married in the Philippines.

Does the CFO have a central database?

http://www.cfo.gov.ph/

I would rather her try again and put that I was never married. Any advice would be very greatful.

That would be a mistake as it is considered misrepresentation and will haunt you later. The worst thing you can do is lie in any part of the visa process. What you need to do is get your ex-wife to get an annulment. These are expensive by Philippine standards, so you may have to help her pay to get it done.

Edited December 15, 2015 by Mike-eeh and Odie

[Hank_ 9,174]

I was married in the philippines to my first wife. After about 3 years she came to the states. After about another year we were divorced because I had an affiar with another filipina which produced a child and she found out about it. Long story short is that after my divorce (in the usa) from my first filipina I filed a k1 visa for the mother of my child (now fiance). It has been approved and now we are awaiting the interview at the usa embassy.

Okay so here is the problem. She went to do her cfo in cebu. She put I was divorced to a filipina. The counsler went a little bonkers in her interview and wanted alot of documents. She stated to my fiance that i was still married in the philippines. She then went and looked up my x wife from their records adn told her to come back in a few days. Well my fiance is from leyte she could not wait there and had to return back to her home. Now its close to the time to do her interview....can these people at the CFO deny a seminar certificate? I thought they are only there to advise. Or can I have my fiance go to the manila office? Does the CFO have a central database? I would rather her try again and put that I was never married. Any advice would be very greatful.

OK. You have banged against CFO, they do have the power to keep your fiancee from leaving the country. Yes CFO has a central database, plus they can access PSA.

Did you provide a copy of your divorce decree to CFO? If not that is the 1st thing I would do. No matter what you will have to provide CFO what they ask for or.... no certificate, thus no sticker.

Yes you are still married in the Phils, but you DO NOT need to go through the annulment process (bad advice on that) to fix that issue. You will need to get your divorce recorded at PSA (NSO) and recognized to be single in the Philippines.

What you need to do is get your ex-wife to get an annulment.

Totally not true, they are divorced in the USA, as long as the USC initiated the divorce it will be recognized in the Phils.

[Mike-eeh and Odie 193]

OK. You have banged against CFO, they do have the power to keep your fiancee from leaving the country. Yes CFO has a central database, plus they can access PSA.

Did you provide a copy of your divorce decree to CFO? If not that is the 1st thing I would do. No matter what you will have to provide CFO what they ask for or.... no certificate, thus no sticker.

Yes you are still married in the Phils, but you DO NOT need to go through the annulment process (bad advice on that) to fix that issue. You will need to get your divorce recorded at PSA (NSO) and recognized to be single in the Philippines.

Totally not true, they are divorced in the USA, as long as the USC initiated the divorce it will be recognized in the Phils.

^^ Hank's the expert. I'd follow his advice.

Thanks for correcting me.

[Greenbaum 12,259]

Lee&Ana, on 14 Dec 2015 - 7:16 PM, said:

They might have put something in the system. My wife's(then fiancé) hardest part of the process was the CFO believe it or not. The knucklehead lady that she got asked for my cenomar that doesn't exist and didn't want to give her the sticker. The CFO are gatekeepers as well as everyone else. There is no divorce in the Philippines. Because you married in the Philippines, you are still married in the Philippines. I am surprised that you and your fiancé made it this far in the process. I am curious that you(US petitioner) are still married in the Phils and your fiancé who is not married, can get the sticker. I have a coworker here in the USA who is pinoy, now a citizen, who was married in 1970 in the Phils and divorced here, who is petitioning his fiancé if it will make it through. Being that they told her to come back, they are probably researching what the policy is. Good luck and keep us updated

Sorry that is wrong information. There is divorce in the Philippines.

If you are a Muslim, you can take your case to a Sharia Court and have your divorce processed. See Presidential Decree No. 1083 "Code of Muslim Personal Laws of the Philippines"

A DECREE TO ORDAIN AND PROMULGATE A CODE RECOGNIZING THE SYSTEM OF FILIPINO MUSLIM LAWS, CODIFYING MUSLIM PERSONAL LAWS, AND PROVIDING FOR ITS ADMINISTRATION AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.

Especially Chapter III, Sec. 1, Article 45 through 51.

http://www.lawphil.net/statutes/presdecs/pd1977/pd_1083_1977.html

[Lee&Ana 88]

I don't get the impression that his wife is a muslim

[Tahoma 2,292]

1. You don't need an annulment. As a matter of fact, you can't get an annulment because you're not a Filipino citizen.

2. You don't need to get your divorce "recorded" at the PSA. There's nothing to "record" because you don't have an annulment nor do you have a judicial recognition of a foreign divorce.

3. The CFO should accept your divorce decree. Try the Manila CFO. They seem to know the score.

4. Don't lie about this stuff.

5. Have your fiancée stand up for herself. The CFO preys on the timid.

[Greenbaum 12,259]

Lee&Ana, on 15 Dec 2015 - 7:04 PM, said:

I don't get the impression that his wife is a muslim

Neither did I get the impression that his wife was Muslim. But, my reply was in rebuttal to a statement he made that is untrue. He stated that there is "no divorce" and I felt the need for others to understand that there is "divorce" in the Philippines but only to the Muslim community.

[Pythos1 24]

Yeah, never tell someone to lie on an official document. That's not a good thing.

[TBoneTX 45,308]

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