Report of Marriage

[Frider 7]

Hello,

I’m trying to file a report of marriage by mail with the Philippine Consulate in Los Angeles. I’m not sure which forum my questions belong in, so I’ll post here.

The consulate is closed until further notice due to COVID19. Our marriage should be reported within one year of date of marriage (9/15/2019). My wife needs this report of marriage so she can get her Philippine passport renewed (expires 1/2021). Her green card interview was canceled due to COVID19 as I mentioned in my previous post.

We had the report of marriage document notarized yesterday. Now I read on the consulate website they cannot authenticate signatures on notarized documents, and the notarized document needs to be mailed to another office in Sacramento to be apostille-ized.
 

Has anyone out there been through this experience before? Maybe it’s easier to wait until the consulate reopens and go there in person.

I emailed the consulate and they replied they will accept photocopies of the divorce papers. Do I also need to have my divorce judgements apostille-ized?

 

Thanks in advance for any help.

[payxibka 10,045]

13 minutes ago, Frider said:

Hello,

I’m trying to file a report of marriage by mail with the Philippine Consulate in Los Angeles. I’m not sure which forum my questions belong in, so I’ll post here.

The consulate is closed until further notice due to COVID19. Our marriage should be reported within one year of date of marriage (9/15/2019). My wife needs this report of marriage so she can get her Philippine passport renewed (expires 1/2021). Her green card interview was canceled due to COVID19 as I mentioned in my previous post.

We had the report of marriage document notarized yesterday. Now I read on the consulate website they cannot authenticate signatures on notarized documents, and the notarized document needs to be mailed to another office in Sacramento to be apostille-ized.
 

Has anyone out there been through this experience before? Maybe it’s easier to wait until the consulate reopens and go there in person.

I emailed the consulate and they replied they will accept photocopies of the divorce papers. Do I also need to have my divorce judgements apostille-ized?

 

Thanks in advance for any help.

Philippines forum is best

 

Chicago does it via the mail no apostille required 

Edited April 10, 2020 by payxibka

[geowrian 22,337]

* Moved from AOS to Philippines regional forum. ROM process here only applies to the Philippines. *

Edited April 10, 2020 by geowrian

[Hank_ 9,174]

3 hours ago, Frider said:

Hello,

I’m trying to file a report of marriage by mail with the Philippine Consulate in Los Angeles. I’m not sure which forum my questions belong in, so I’ll post here.

The consulate is closed until further notice due to COVID19. Our marriage should be reported within one year of date of marriage (9/15/2019). My wife needs this report of marriage so she can get her Philippine passport renewed (expires 1/2021). Her green card interview was canceled due to COVID19 as I mentioned in my previous post.

We had the report of marriage document notarized yesterday. Now I read on the consulate website they cannot authenticate signatures on notarized documents, and the notarized document needs to be mailed to another office in Sacramento to be apostille-ized.
 

Has anyone out there been through this experience before? Maybe it’s easier to wait until the consulate reopens and go there in person.

I emailed the consulate and they replied they will accept photocopies of the divorce papers. Do I also need to have my divorce judgements apostille-ized?

 

Thanks in advance for any help.

Being your wife needs to renew her passport also I would either drive to the consulate or catch an outreach event.   When completing ROM and passport renewal, scheduling ROM first and allow a hour or two between that and the Passport Renewal appt.

 

It is not a big issue to not report within one year of marriage, all the consulate asks for is a letter explaining why you didn't report within the year ... I think  writing in the middle of the page in big letters COVID 19 would about cover it      

 

I did not read anywhere on the ROM info about apostilled 

 

https://philippineembassy-usa.org/report-of-marriage-application-by-mail/

 

http://www.philippinessanfrancisco.org/uploads/Consular/SF/ROM2020.pdf

 

https://philippineembassy-usa.org/consulate-finder/

[Cyberfx1024 7,980]

4 hours ago, Frider said:

Hello,

I’m trying to file a report of marriage by mail with the Philippine Consulate in Los Angeles. I’m not sure which forum my questions belong in, so I’ll post here.

The consulate is closed until further notice due to COVID19. Our marriage should be reported within one year of date of marriage (9/15/2019). My wife needs this report of marriage so she can get her Philippine passport renewed (expires 1/2021). Her green card interview was canceled due to COVID19 as I mentioned in my previous post.

We had the report of marriage document notarized yesterday. Now I read on the consulate website they cannot authenticate signatures on notarized documents, and the notarized document needs to be mailed to another office in Sacramento to be apostille-ized.
 

Has anyone out there been through this experience before? Maybe it’s easier to wait until the consulate reopens and go there in person.

I emailed the consulate and they replied they will accept photocopies of the divorce papers. Do I also need to have my divorce judgements apostille-ized?

 

Thanks in advance for any help.

Yeah that's wrong because I did a ROM for my wife by mail and only did the notary signature. You do not need to have anything reapostillized. Where did you see that at? You are over thinking this way too hard and getting wrapped up around simple stuff. 

 

FYI, you can do the ROM at any time and it doesn't need to be within the year timeframe. We did ours 4 years after getting married. The requirements for a ROM are below:

 

. By Mail

1. Covering letter (handwritten or typed), addressed to the Civil Registry Section, indicating service/transaction requested and telephone number or email address for contact details.
2. Four (4) original duly accomplished Report of Marriage Contracted Abroad form, typed or printed legibly in black or blue ink, signed by both husband and wife and with the notary public signing AND acknowledging that both parties (or the one living if the other party is deceased at the time of Reporting with the Consulate)  personally appeared before the notary public. Wives should indicate their maiden name as the last name. If submitting by mail, the complete forms must be notarized. [ Click Here for the NEW FORM ] Click here for sample of Filled up Form
3.  One (1) original or certified true copy and four (4) photocopies of the Marriage Certificate or Contract (original will be returned).
4. One (1) original or certified true copy and four (4) photocopies of the Birth Certificate of the husband and the wife.
5. Four (4) photocopies of a government-issued identification card or passport of both husband and wife.
6. Four (4) photocopies of Philippine birth certificate of Filipino spouse and foreign birth certificate of foreign spouse when applicable.  [Apply for your Philippine Birth Certificate here].
7. Processing fee of $25.00 (non-refundable), payable in cash, when personally applying or postal money order or cashier’s check made payable to the Philippine Consulate General. Personal check and credit cards are not accepted. Please note that for applicants residing in U.S. territories or other countries, applicants should enclose a treasurer’s, manager’s or certified check issued by a local bank that has a corresponding bank in the U.S. (the US National Bank Association is not a correspondent bank), payable to the courier of choice, in U.S. dollars, to cover cost of mailing, and a corresponding self-addressed courier’s address label. Personal checks are not accepted.
8. Include in the package a USPS Priority Mail Flat Rate Envelope (or Box if you have really thick documents)  that is self-addressed and postage prepaid as the return envelope when you want the documents mailed. Check the USPS webpage about priority mail here: USPS PRIORITY MAIL WEBPAGE
9.  Please take note of the mailing or courier tracking number since the Philippine Consulate General cannot assume responsibility for documents which have been mailed through the U.S. Postal Service or courier service.

[Frider 7]

The instructions for ROM says:

From May 15, 2019, the Consulate cannot authenticate the signatures on the following public documents: (1) notarized documents and (2) documents signed/issued/certified by a Federal, State, County, City, University or School Official.

The change is due to the Philippines officially becoming a party to the Apostille Convention.

For more information, visit our Authentication webpage here.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

https://www.philippineconsulatela.org/consular-services-2/civil-reg1stry-2/report-of-marriage-of-a-filipino-abroad

 

Doesn't say if they're talking about Philippine documents and/or US documents, very confusing!!!

 

Anyway, It seems they're asking for 4 signed and notarized ROM's ($20 to $30 each), and the original marriage certificate and birth certificates. I emailed them 3x asking for clarification. They said the ROM will be processed upon resumption of work and I can send photocopies of my divorce judgements. I'm still waiting to find out if i can send photocopies of marriage certificate and 1 original and 3 photocopies of ROM's.

 

[Hank_ 9,174]

1 hour ago, Frider said:

The instructions for ROM says:

From May 15, 2019, the Consulate cannot authenticate the signatures on the following public documents: (1) notarized documents and (2) documents signed/issued/certified by a Federal, State, County, City, University or School Official.

The change is due to the Philippines officially becoming a party to the Apostille Convention.

For more information, visit our Authentication webpage here.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

https://www.philippineconsulatela.org/consular-services-2/civil-reg1stry-2/report-of-marriage-of-a-filipino-abroad

 

Doesn't say if they're talking about Philippine documents and/or US documents, very confusing!!!

 

Anyway, It seems they're asking for 4 signed and notarized ROM's ($20 to $30 each), and the original marriage certificate and birth certificates. I emailed them 3x asking for clarification. They said the ROM will be processed upon resumption of work and I can send photocopies of my divorce judgements. I'm still waiting to find out if i can send photocopies of marriage certificate and 1 original and 3 photocopies of ROM's.

 

Just read your link.

 

That apostilled notice does not apply to ROM.   

[Frider 7]

Just an update for those who are interested the consulate replied:

“Yes, 4 original notarized of the report of marriage form

Please submit 1 original marriage cert with 4 photocopy”
 

Thanks for your replies

 

[Hank_ 9,174]

Yup.  

[RonnieKris 26]

On 4/10/2020 at 12:52 PM, Frider said:

Hello,

I’m trying to file a report of marriage by mail with the Philippine Consulate in Los Angeles. I’m not sure which forum my questions belong in, so I’ll post here.

The consulate is closed until further notice due to COVID19. Our marriage should be reported within one year of date of marriage (9/15/2019). My wife needs this report of marriage so she can get her Philippine passport renewed (expires 1/2021). Her green card interview was canceled due to COVID19 as I mentioned in my previous post.

We had the report of marriage document notarized yesterday. Now I read on the consulate website they cannot authenticate signatures on notarized documents, and the notarized document needs to be mailed to another office in Sacramento to be apostille-ized.
 

Has anyone out there been through this experience before? Maybe it’s easier to wait until the consulate reopens and go there in person.

I emailed the consulate and they replied they will accept photocopies of the divorce papers. Do I also need to have my divorce judgements apostille-ized?

 

Thanks in advance for any help.

Search for the Philippine traveling outreach or mobile counsel in your area. You will be able to get everything done there. Sending you paperwork to the Ph Embassy might not be as quick as you think. We were in the similar situation and sent our report of marriage to the PH Embassy in Washington thinking it would be fast. This was in January. We traveled to the PH in March to renew my wife's passport and visit family. My wife arrived at the PH Embassy in Manila at 6am, waited in line for a long time only to be told the Report of Marriage had not reached the PH yet or has not been processed.  So we waited longer.

My wife's sister did hers at the PH counselor outreach and got everything done there. Since then we have traveled with friend for the same processes. Easy.

[Cyberfx1024 7,980]

4 hours ago, RonnieKris said:

Search for the Philippine traveling outreach or mobile counsel in your area. You will be able to get everything done there. Sending you paperwork to the Ph Embassy might not be as quick as you think. We were in the similar situation and sent our report of marriage to the PH Embassy in Washington thinking it would be fast. This was in January. We traveled to the PH in March to renew my wife's passport and visit family. My wife arrived at the PH Embassy in Manila at 6am, waited in line for a long time only to be told the Report of Marriage had not reached the PH yet or has not been processed.  So we waited longer.

My wife's sister did hers at the PH counselor outreach and got everything done there. Since then we have traveled with friend for the same processes. Easy.

That person lives 2 hours from the consulate in Los Angeles. There will be no outreach I doubt for them in Bakersfield. 

 

[Frider 7]

Yes you’re correct. To The best of my knowledge, the last outreach in Kern county was in 2017. I’ll have to mail the ROM to them unless they’re going to open soon. Waiting for the  marriage certificate to arrive in the mail. May also need to order a current birth certificate for myself. 

[Hank_ 9,174]

No rush ... consulates are not doing anything, and PSA in the Phils is doing even less.