Divorce Outside of the Philippines

[Jon&Anna 3]

My fiance is a citizen of the Philippines and was married to a Chinese man for 6 years.  Their marriage and divorce took place in Singapore and they have a divorce decree.  We recently learned that my fiance's ex-husband registered the marriage at the Philippines embassy in Singapore.  Are we able to apply for a K-1 visa right away, with a Singapore divorce decree, or does my fiance need to apply for divorce / annulment in the Philippines too?

[Ervie and Rob 34]

Try to ask her to get a CENOMAR if that marriage actually exist on the PSA (formerly known as NSO). You would need that as well during the interview anyway. Now if its there then you need to have that divorce decree acknowledge by the Philippines Court. This is not annulment but almost the same yet not quite. Since she is married to a foreigner outside the country then their rule would apply does the divorce decree can be enforce. This would cost less than the normal annulment but not sure how long it would take to do so. This is based on my friend who does work in court. Get a lawyer and hope you can settle it soon. God bless!

[Jon&Anna 3]

Thank you so much for the advice. My fiance is going to apply for the CENOMAR online and see if it shows the marriage. We are keeping our fingers crossed that it does not appear. 

[Jon&Anna 3]

I just had an idea and wondered if anyone knew how this would work. If my Filipino fiance is divorced in Singapore and I marry her in Singapore, would I be allowed to bring her to the US with a spousal visa even though her divorce isn't recognized in the philippines? 

[C-ma'am 684]

**Post moved from K1 to Philippines. Question is country specific.

[Cyberfx1024 7,980]

4 hours ago, Jon&Anna said:

I just had an idea and wondered if anyone knew how this would work. If my Filipino fiance is divorced in Singapore and I marry her in Singapore, would I be allowed to bring her to the US with a spousal visa even though her divorce isn't recognized in the philippines? 

 

Yes, if she was married and divorced in Singapore, and still living there then she can go either the fiance or marriage route. This happens fairly frequently with people that live in HK or Singapore but are from the Philippines.

[Jon&Anna 3]

If she goes the route of fiance visa and the embassy receives the CENOMAR showing her Singapore marriage, won't she be denied her k1 visa? 

[Greenbaum 12,259]

No. They only care that she has a current divorce document. This has been done so many times by others. Relax you're going to just fine. Return here with any questions as we are here to help.

[Sagot 1,548]

On 1/10/2017 at 9:16 AM, Jon&Anna said:

My fiance is a citizen of the Philippines and was married to a Chinese man for 6 years.  Their marriage and divorce took place in Singapore and they have a divorce decree.  We recently learned that my fiance's ex-husband registered the marriage at the Philippines embassy in Singapore.  Are we able to apply for a K-1 visa right away, with a Singapore divorce decree, or does my fiance need to apply for divorce / annulment in the Philippines too?

NO.   The divorce decree is all that is necessary to complete the visa process for the USA, no need to do anything regarding divorce or annulment in the Philippines unless you plan to marry IN the Philippines.

 

 

20 hours ago, Ervie and Rob said:

Try to ask her to get a CENOMAR if that marriage actually exist on the PSA (formerly known as NSO). You would need that as well during the interview anyway. Now if its there then you need to have that divorce decree acknowledge by the Philippines Court.  This is not annulment but almost the same yet not quite. Since she is married to a foreigner outside the country then their rule would apply does the divorce decree can be enforce. This would cost less than the normal annulment but not sure how long it would take to do so. This is based on my friend who does work in court. Get a lawyer and hope you can settle it soon. God bless! 

Not true.

 

If the foreigner filed for the divorce the divorce CAN be recorded with PSA in the Philippines, BUT it is not necessary to have the divorce recorded in the Philippines to obtain a U.S. spousal visa

 

8 hours ago, Jon&Anna said:

I just had an idea and wondered if anyone knew how this would work. If my Filipino fiance is divorced in Singapore and I marry her in Singapore, would I be allowed to bring her to the US with a spousal visa even though her divorce isn't recognized in the philippines? 

Yes.  No problem.

 

 

[Ervie and Rob 34]

Very interesting. Looks like a lot of previously married people who get divorced outside the Philippines get around in getting a visa. Let us know how your process would be. ☺ Thanks for the info.

[Sagot 1,548]

11 minutes ago, Ervie and Rob said:

Very interesting. Looks like a lot of previously married people who get divorced outside the Philippines get around in getting a visa. Let us know how your process would be. ☺ Thanks for the info.

 

Yes.  Just need to meet the residency requirements for where you will apply for the divorce.

 

I know of many with foreign divorces that completed the visa process without a hiccup.