please help..still married but filed K1

[windspiel 0]

You have to be legally able to marry WHEN YOU FILE the I 129f. You need to withdraw this petition and then file again when the annulment has gone through.

I see two options. The one above, which is the safest and correct. If you chose that option, you want to withdraw your current petition, preferrably before USCIS approves it. (Where's your timeline?)

Option two is to pursue the annulment but keep your mouth shut about any former marriage unless it is mentioned at the interview. At that point, explain and show documents and hope for the best. If it isn't mentioned you lose no time. The risk with option two is that you start over at square one. The value judgment is yours. You made an honest innocent mistake. You haven't broken any laws. Just make sure you don't compound the problem by getting married before the annulment is completed.

I'm not making a recommendation. It's your call.

I forgot to include some vital information while i was writing this ...sorry not intensional just frustrated

see she is listed as a widow and we have all the paper work to prove it she was married for 2 months before he died suddenly

and several years later she meet the dead beat

i guess my post is will the interviewer be considerate to what happen buy the time of her interview everything should be final as far as the annulment ..we not trying commit fraud

out time line is NOA2 ..approved package being sent to consulate

[dj1206 0]

You have to be legally able to marry WHEN YOU FILE the I 129f. You need to withdraw this petition and then file again when the annulment has gone through.

I see two options. The one above, which is the safest and correct. If you chose that option, you want to withdraw your current petition, preferrably before USCIS approves it. (Where's your timeline?)

Option two is to pursue the annulment but keep your mouth shut about any former marriage unless it is mentioned at the interview. At that point, explain and show documents and hope for the best. If it isn't mentioned you lose no time. The risk with option two is that you start over at square one. The value judgment is yours. You made an honest innocent mistake. You haven't broken any laws. Just make sure you don't compound the problem by getting married before the annulment is completed.

I'm not making a recommendation. It's your call.

The Philippine embassy requires a CENOMAR certificate, which is basically a search through records of recorded marriages in the Philippines since 1949 or so, I think, and this is usually obtained by the embassy through the Philippine NSO, though the fiancée can also obtain a copy for herself. Jacki got one before we filed because we wanted to get everything we could, because we didn't know at first how much stuff we would have to send. I've got an original copy and she has two copies, I think. She's been doing a lot of reading on here, and she found that the embassy usually obtains the CENOMAR during their process. Regarding your paperwork, if you knew she was married before you submitted paperwork and didn't mention it on your I-129F or the G-325A forms, and you don't cancel your petition request upon finding out she was married before and is not legally able to marry (despite the situation you mentioned about her still being married to someone else before you), and the US Govt. is informed by the embassy that she was indeed married before, you could potentially be hit with a perjury charge and/or fines for "lying" on an official government form. I'd play it safe and re-file after her previous marriage is annuled and in the NSO records as being terminated.

Spooky situation - but - if a person had an annullment would that be considered as married? divorced?? or what? I agree if it is considered a marriage its best to refile before its approved as then they are dealing with IMBRA to refile. On the other hand...if there was an anullment and the embassy deals with this...wont there be enough time for the embassy to obtain the CENOMAR cert. because she technically was never "married" nor was she "divorced". She would have been single as she put on the petition.

The I-129F/K1 process is clear that both parties must be "legally free to marry" at the date of filing. While CENOMAR could potentially show the annulment, it could also show dates that indicate she was not free to marry upon submission of the K1 application. According to Jacki, there is little to no divorce in the Phils due to the widespread Catholic traditions of the country. There is only annulment. Governments go by paperwork, not by technicality...so I think things would lean toward this gentleman having to cancel his current application and resubmit.

[BobGie 0]

I need some input

we filed the K1 to prepare our selves for interview to make sure we have all things covered we did a marriage back ground check ...and guess what

make a long story short ..my girlfriend got married in 1994 to a man in Manila with in months she found out that he was married and he took off and left her she return home and she did more investigation and was informed that it was a fraud marriage so it wasn't valid and she wasn't married so she resorted to use her family name

so she explained to me that she wasn't married because he already was so life goes on till she meet me

so just to cover all bases we did a back ground check in Philippines of that marriage it came up that she was still even though it was fraud

we already filed for K1 and noted that she was single can we she continue to file while annulment is just about done

and explain the during interview what we come across with this problem and the annulment is done buy then and show paper work that it is complete ..truth we didn't really know it would show up

You said you had filed the K1, becoz you had been providing information that she is single, so maybe the USCIS does not asked for the CENOMAR. But then, during the embassy interview a CENOMAR will be definitely asked from her. NSO paper will show that she is married to that man from manila. Processing of annulment will take some time and she will not be able to show that marriage is terminated unless it is final.

I also suggest that you withdraw the petition at this point.

[DA BOMB 1]

You have to be legally able to marry WHEN YOU FILE the I 129f. You need to withdraw this petition and then file again when the annulment has gone through.

I see two options. The one above, which is the safest and correct. If you chose that option, you want to withdraw your current petition, preferrably before USCIS approves it. (Where's your timeline?)

Option two is to pursue the annulment but keep your mouth shut about any former marriage unless it is mentioned at the interview. At that point, explain and show documents and hope for the best. If it isn't mentioned you lose no time. The risk with option two is that you start over at square one. The value judgment is yours. You made an honest innocent mistake. You haven't broken any laws. Just make sure you don't compound the problem by getting married before the annulment is completed.

I'm not making a recommendation. It's your call.

The Philippine embassy requires a CENOMAR certificate, which is basically a search through records of recorded marriages in the Philippines since 1949 or so, I think, and this is usually obtained by the embassy through the Philippine NSO, though the fiancée can also obtain a copy for herself. Jacki got one before we filed because we wanted to get everything we could, because we didn't know at first how much stuff we would have to send. I've got an original copy and she has two copies, I think. She's been doing a lot of reading on here, and she found that the embassy usually obtains the CENOMAR during their process. Regarding your paperwork, if you knew she was married before you submitted paperwork and didn't mention it on your I-129F or the G-325A forms, and you don't cancel your petition request upon finding out she was married before and is not legally able to marry (despite the situation you mentioned about her still being married to someone else before you), and the US Govt. is informed by the embassy that she was indeed married before, you could potentially be hit with a perjury charge and/or fines for "lying" on an official government form. I'd play it safe and re-file after her previous marriage is annuled and in the NSO records as being terminated.

Spooky situation - but - if a person had an annullment would that be considered as married? divorced?? or what? I agree if it is considered a marriage its best to refile before its approved as then they are dealing with IMBRA to refile. On the other hand...if there was an anullment and the embassy deals with this...wont there be enough time for the embassy to obtain the CENOMAR cert. because she technically was never "married" nor was she "divorced". She would have been single as she put on the petition.

The I-129F/K1 process is clear that both parties must be "legally free to marry" at the date of filing. While CENOMAR could potentially show the annulment, it could also show dates that indicate she was not free to marry upon submission of the K1 application. According to Jacki, there is little to no divorce in the Phils due to the widespread Catholic traditions of the country. There is only annulment. Governments go by paperwork, not by technicality...so I think things would lean toward this gentleman having to cancel his current application and resubmit.

Yep. You're right.

[TracyTN 237]

I forgot to include some vital information while i was writing this ...sorry not intensional just frustrated

see she is listed as a widow and we have all the paper work to prove it she was married for 2 months before he died suddenly

and several years later she meet the dead beat

i guess my post is will the interviewer be considerate to what happen buy the time of her interview everything should be final as far as the annulment ..we not trying commit fraud

out time line is NOA2 ..approved package being sent to consulate

What you seem to be missing is that she had to be free to marry when the I 129f was sent in, NOT when she gets to the visa interview. If you did a 'marriage background check' and found this, the USCIS surely will find it. Then you'll have a denied visa on your hands instead of a withdrawal - which will make your chances the second time around much harder. I find it extremely unlikely that the interviewer will be 'considerate' to what happened.

If you've gotten the NOA2 already and its on the way to the consulate, I'd contact them to withdraw.

And for the earlier poster who said the interview is in Hong Kong (not Manila) - it doesn't matter one iota where it is if they find out this marriage was not annulled at the time the petition was filed.

Edited March 23, 2007 by TracyTN

[apgk 0]

You have to be legally able to marry WHEN YOU FILE the I 129f. You need to withdraw this petition and then file again when the annulment has gone through.

I see two options. The one above, which is the safest and correct. If you chose that option, you want to withdraw your current petition, preferrably before USCIS approves it. (Where's your timeline?)

Option two is to pursue the annulment but keep your mouth shut about any former marriage unless it is mentioned at the interview. At that point, explain and show documents and hope for the best. If it isn't mentioned you lose no time. The risk with option two is that you start over at square one. The value judgment is yours. You made an honest innocent mistake. You haven't broken any laws. Just make sure you don't compound the problem by getting married before the annulment is completed.

I'm not making a recommendation. It's your call.

The Philippine embassy requires a CENOMAR certificate, which is basically a search through records of recorded marriages in the Philippines since 1949 or so, I think, and this is usually obtained by the embassy through the Philippine NSO, though the fiancée can also obtain a copy for herself. Jacki got one before we filed because we wanted to get everything we could, because we didn't know at first how much stuff we would have to send. I've got an original copy and she has two copies, I think. She's been doing a lot of reading on here, and she found that the embassy usually obtains the CENOMAR during their process. Regarding your paperwork, if you knew she was married before you submitted paperwork and didn't mention it on your I-129F or the G-325A forms, and you don't cancel your petition request upon finding out she was married before and is not legally able to marry (despite the situation you mentioned about her still being married to someone else before you), and the US Govt. is informed by the embassy that she was indeed married before, you could potentially be hit with a perjury charge and/or fines for "lying" on an official government form. I'd play it safe and re-file after her previous marriage is annuled and in the NSO records as being terminated.

Spooky situation - but - if a person had an annullment would that be considered as married? divorced?? or what? I agree if it is considered a marriage its best to refile before its approved as then they are dealing with IMBRA to refile. On the other hand...if there was an anullment and the embassy deals with this...wont there be enough time for the embassy to obtain the CENOMAR cert. because she technically was never "married" nor was she "divorced". She would have been single as she put on the petition.

that actually is not quite right - she was 'techinically married' - only after an annulment court order that marriage can be annuled - until court decides such, the marital status does not change to single. Just because you think you are 'divorced' or 'single' does not make you such - need a valid court order.

However, you might want to consult an attorney - different countries have widely varying laws in this repect. So it would be better to consult a local attorney in Phillipines. If she is now resides in Hong Kong and is a Hong Kong domicile then she is under the jurisdiction of Hong Kong courts - you can get an annulment in Hong Kong also.

[meauxna 15]

I forgot to include some vital information while i was writing this ...sorry not intensional just frustrated

see she is listed as a widow and we have all the paper work to prove it she was married for 2 months before he died suddenly

and several years later she meet the dead beat

i guess my post is will the interviewer be considerate to what happen buy the time of her interview everything should be final as far as the annulment ..we not trying commit fraud

out time line is NOA2 ..approved package being sent to consulate

Random voice of reason here: See a lawyer who specializes in Manila ASAP. This is not something you should be guessing about or taking the 'average' of VJ responses for.

You *do* have an opportunity to make a 'timely retraction' of mis-information without it being a material misrepresentation. Do YOU know when the best time to do that is?

Shop around a little, it should not be a huge expense. Good luck!

[Jasman0717 9]

You could try to get a CENOMAR through the NSO to see what the Filipino government shows.

Check out this link: https://www.ecensus.com.ph/Secure/frmIndex.asp

Good luck

[windspiel 0]

You could try to get a CENOMAR through the NSO to see what the Filipino government shows.

Check out this link: https://www.ecensus.com.ph/Secure/frmIndex.asp

Good luck

I like to thank everybody for all the input

we decided to pull the visa complete and wait when the divorce is done in which should be soon and then we will reapply

don't want to take chance

FYI Hong Kong courts ..cost $86.00 can complete a divorce and it is recognized buy the US consulate as noted on there web site but it is not recognized buy the Philippines not a big deal for either one of us

we did a CENOMAR that when we found out it was listed it was a surprise for both of us she was informed several years ago that it wasn't I'm sure it wasn't formal as we did she had a friend that worked in NSO

So my next step is to contact American Consulate in Hong Kong to send it back to me ...wonder if they can keep it and we can submit the corrected documents later ...just a thought

[JoeMama 0]

I like to thank everybody for all the input

we decided to pull the visa complete and wait when the divorce is done in which should be soon and then we will reapply

don't want to take chance

FYI Hong Kong courts ..cost $86.00 can complete a divorce and it is recognized buy the US consulate as noted on there web site but it is not recognized buy the Philippines not a big deal for either one of us

we did a CENOMAR that when we found out it was listed it was a surprise for both of us she was informed several years ago that it wasn't I'm sure it wasn't formal as we did she had a friend that worked in NSO

So my next step is to contact American Consulate in Hong Kong to send it back to me ...wonder if they can keep it and we can submit the corrected documents later ...just a thought

Sounds like some sensible thinking young man! Glad to see you're not running the risk of seeing if they find it or not. The good thing about this is that it should be a breeze the next time you go to submit! You already know what's got to be submitted. It should eliminate the stress of trying to figure it out again! Best of luck to you!

[meauxna 15]

Seems like a radical reaction...

good luck!

[ladywhite 0]

Seems like a radical reaction...

good luck!

Doing the right thing is always a way to go.

I would not do something that one day USCIS (or whoever with authority) could find out and come knck on my door, saying " your wife must be deported."

That would be the worst nightmare of all....

Just my 2 cents...

[Marina + Dave 0]

Yeah I think you made the right decision as well...but I'm still a bit confused...

You say she was told that the "marriage" was NEVER valid because he was not free to marry when they got married.

If that is the case then she was never married to him in the first place. So, why is it now showing up on her records that it was valid?

[LovinLiberia 0]

I'm glad to see you are doing the right thing by pulling the petition out until you can get this straightened out. You don't want anything lingering in the past that can bring immigration misery in the future. You made the right choice.

[windspiel 0]

Yeah I think you made the right decision as well...but I'm still a bit confused...

You say she was told that the "marriage" was NEVER valid because he was not free to marry when they got married.

If that is the case then she was never married to him in the first place. So, why is it now showing up on her records that it was valid?

yes that is correct he was married to her and his other wife that is the screwed up about it ..in the Philippines it can happen and there is heavy fines or jail

but there law says if you married and it is bigamy's it still valid ..go figure ????