Any options for divorce?

[MiamiTraveler 0]

Yes, I agree with Hank.  It’s been so long that I’ve sort of forgotten why I didn’t talk myself into a UAE divorce.  My fiancée lost her job there and we were headed back to the Philippines about that time.  Legally, it might have worked.   But, we may have thought at the time (perhaps, wrongly) that a good lawyer back home could get the job done in less than two years.  
 

As for a Guam divorce, it would be really risky, if it would work at all.  The tourist visa would be a nightmare to obtain, but if you could, it would still be technically against US immigration law to divorce while on a tourist VISA, so far as I’m told (I’m not a lawyer or expert).  And, the penalty is big, if caught.  If there were absolutely no other option...

 

You are so far along with an annulment, I would wait to see.  Get a great lawyer’s advice if you lose.  I have no idea if there’s an appeal in the Philippine courts.  
 

I don’t know where the Philippine legislature is on a divorce bill, but it’s coming someday.  There’s a reason why every Country on earth has divorce.  
 

I’m sorry for your stress and trouble. I wish I could be more helpful.

[Hank_ 9,174]

1 hour ago, Belle Santos said:

Thank you for replying.. I am trying to get a visa in the US hopefully I get one. I just want to ask about the guam annullment do you think it's worth trying? I have an annullment going on for nearly 3 years now and i think i will loose so i'm finding another option just in case i loose this one. 

 

I'm in the Philippines. But thank you for replying and giving some idea. 

Guam is a U.S. territory you can't enter Guam without a visa ...   not sure why someone even mentioned Guam as an "option".

 

If you have the annulment in process for 3 years now hopefully you will get through the courts soon.

[Hank_ 9,174]

1 minute ago, MiamiTraveler said:

Yes, I agree with Hank.  It’s been so long that I’ve sort of forgotten why I didn’t talk myself into a UAE divorce.  My fiancée lost her job there and we were headed back to the Philippines about that time.  Legally, it might have worked.   But, we may have thought at the time (perhaps, wrongly) that a good lawyer back home could get the job done in less than two years.  
 

As for a Guam divorce, it would be really risky, if it would work at all.  The tourist visa would be a nightmare to obtain, but if you could, it would still be technically against US immigration law to divorce while on a tourist VISA, so far as I’m told (I’m not a lawyer or expert).  And, the penalty is big, if caught.  If there were absolutely no other option...

 

You are so far along with an annulment, I would wait to see.  Get a great lawyer’s advice if you lose.  I have no idea if there’s an appeal in the Philippine courts.  
 

I don’t know where the Philippine legislature is on a divorce bill, but it’s coming someday.  There’s a reason why every Country on earth has divorce.  
 

I’m sorry for your stress and trouble. I wish I could be more helpful.

Only thing is it is highly unlikely to get a U.S. tourist visa to even enter Guam.

 

No law against getting a divorce while having a tourist visa, just need to meet the requirements in that country, etc..   

[MiamiTraveler 0]

Hi Hank.

 

The assumption is that someone could obtain a Tourist VISA to the USA.  It is possible, but very difficult.  Mostly only if you have significant financially commitments in the Philippines, including a solid career or substantial business of your own. 
 

Guam is the suggestion (as opposed to any other US State) because the divorce “residency” requirement is only 1 week. 

[Hank_ 9,174]

3 minutes ago, MiamiTraveler said:

Hi Hank.

 

The assumption is that someone could obtain a Tourist VISA to the USA.  It is possible, but very difficult.  Mostly only if you have significant financially commitments in the Philippines, including a solid career or substantial business of your own. 
 

Guam is the suggestion (as opposed to any other US State) because the divorce “residency” requirement is only 1 week. 

Duterte couldn't get one.           

 

For a young person it would be like rubbing a lamp and wishing ...  

[flicks1998 1,044]

On 4/9/2020 at 6:30 PM, MiamiTraveler said:

Hi Belle.

 

We never got anywhere with speeding up the process.   We never found a better solution than the misery of Philippine Annulment.

 

We pursued a tourist visa to the USA and we were denied.  We never discovered any other way to satisfy US authorities.  
 

We hired the best (legit) lawyer we could find in the Philippines.  I’m still convinced he is good, but very slow.  He is slow, and he courts are slow.  We have been at it for 18 months already, and we are looking at six more...just to get the annulment.  Then 3 months to wait for a CENOMAR.  Then a year to get a VISA to marry in the USA.  

 

It’s an awful system.  I try not to be bitter at our elders.  But, I hope in the future all policy makers (all over the world) are guided by the principal to “do no harm”, rather than force their values on others, to the great detriment of all.  It’s a crime what the “system” has done to us.  We will make it.  But, at great and unnecessary emotional and financial cost. 

 

Good luck.  I hope you find an easier and speedier path. 
 

 

 

This is what I thought after reading this thread.  This thread is loaded with really bad advice from other contributors.  There is no way around the path to annulment as even you tried to do this outside of the Philippines, not only would it be a waste of money, but it would never be accepted or recognized in the Philippines.

 

I met a few weeks ago with a lawyer I have worked with in Makati over the last 10 years and we talked about this thing of granting divorces in the Philippines and yes it has been brought up by the government.  But in her own words, "this is the Philippines and it will take a very long time to be implemented."  Meaning easily a decade or more.  This is also true with recognizing illegitimate and legitimate children as well.  Progressive Filipinos realize this is nothing but discrimination and it is and there is talk to eliminate this but it wont be for a long while.  If your curious about this, find time to read on it as its complete bs.  Even illegitimate children do not even have full rights to a parents will.  Even if the parents married later, the child is still consider illegitimate if they married after the child is born.  Its why many times you see Filipinos rush to get married before the child is born so they are not labeled on the birth certificate as illegitimate.

 

The only way to get your gf "free" is through annulment.  This can take 5 years or more in many situations and a ton of money.  Ive had some Filipino friends go through it and some have had in done in 3 years or so but they ended up paying $30-$50K USD for this.  

 

This is also a big scam that Filipinos do in country to foreigners and never disclose their marriage.  Also many foreigners are naive sometimes thinking they will just get a divorce and not realizing that its not even legal but annulments can take half a decade or more.  

 

The laws will be changing but I wouldnt expect anything to come about until after 2025 or later.  Thats words from my lawyer in Makati, not mine and quite possibly after 2030.