Super frustrated - what did we do wrong? Passport renewal

[pamawemo 78]

So we just blew a day traveling from MSP to Chicago to get my wife's passport renewed and issued in her married name at the Philippine Consulate. We had everything indicated on the instructions but my wife was told her ROM (original and photocopy) were expired. They sent her away and told her she has to reapply for her ROM, come back to Chicago and reapply for the passport. The officer circled #2 below and told her to reapply. She argued that she had applied for the ROM in May 2019 (we were married 5/17/19) because she was supposed to do that within a year. She was also under the impression that when she filed the ROM with the consulate, it was also filed with PSA. Wrong? And with covid, passport renewal was suspended last year so it's not like we could have gotten there within a year if we knew the ROM expires.

 

So what is the difference between filing for ROM through the Philippine Consulate and a PSA Report of Marriage? She wasn't alone - five others had the same issue during the 20 minutes she was there.

The officer circled #2 below. Can anyone clear this up for us?

 

A. For applicants who want to use their married name for the first time: 1. For applicants married in the Philippines, original and photocopy of Marriage Certificate issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA, formerly NSO); 2. For applicants married outside of the Philippines, original and photocopy of the Report of Marriage (ROM) issued less than a year by the Philippine Consulate where the marriage took place. If ROM is more than 1 year old, bring original and photocopy of PSA Report of Marriage.

[top_secret 2,421]

1 hour ago, pamawemo said:

If ROM is more than 1 year old, bring original and photocopy of PSA Report of Marriage.

Sounds like they just want a new copy from PSA, not an original copy from the consulate.  If it was registered with the consulate over a year ago it should already be registered with PSA.  Just order a PSA copy here.  https://www.psaserbilis.com.ph/

Edited May 17, 2021 by top_secret

[payxibka 10,045]

1 hour ago, pamawemo said:

So we just blew a day traveling from MSP to Chicago to get my wife's passport renewed and issued in her married name at the Philippine Consulate. We had everything indicated on the instructions but my wife was told her ROM (original and photocopy) were expired. They sent her away and told her she has to reapply for her ROM, come back to Chicago and reapply for the passport. The officer circled #2 below and told her to reapply. She argued that she had applied for the ROM in May 2019 (we were married 5/17/19) because she was supposed to do that within a year. She was also under the impression that when she filed the ROM with the consulate, it was also filed with PSA. Wrong? And with covid, passport renewal was suspended last year so it's not like we could have gotten there within a year if we knew the ROM expires.

 

So what is the difference between filing for ROM through the Philippine Consulate and a PSA Report of Marriage? She wasn't alone - five others had the same issue during the 20 minutes she was there.

The officer circled #2 below. Can anyone clear this up for us?

 

A. For applicants who want to use their married name for the first time: 1. For applicants married in the Philippines, original and photocopy of Marriage Certificate issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA, formerly NSO); 2. For applicants married outside of the Philippines, original and photocopy of the Report of Marriage (ROM) issued less than a year by the Philippine Consulate where the marriage took place. If ROM is more than 1 year old, bring original and photocopy of PSA Report of Marriage.

It's asinine but if your ROM is more than a year old then it cannot be used.  I ran across this information a little while ago jyst before I drove from Minnesota to Chicago 

[pamawemo 78]

1 hour ago, top_secret said:

Sounds like they just want a new copy from PSA, not an original copy from the consulate.  If it was registered with the consulate over a year ago it should already be registered with PSA.  Just order a PSA copy here.  https://www.psaserbilis.com.ph/

Thanks.  Will they issue an original PSA Report of Marriage, which is what is required?

 

I really thought that is what we already have (the extensive paperwork and cash fee still fresh in my mind!) when we applied for this after our marriage. Why did we go through all of that if it doesn't do anything for us?

[pamawemo 78]

51 minutes ago, payxibka said:

It's asinine but if your ROM is more than a year old then it cannot be used.  I ran across this information a little while ago jyst before I drove from Minnesota to Chicago 

Asinine is one word for it. I still don't know why we went through all of that ROM filing if we can't use it!

[payxibka 10,045]

6 minutes ago, pamawemo said:

Thanks.  Will they issue an original PSA Report of Marriage, which is what is required?

 

I really thought that is what we already have (the extensive paperwork and cash fee still fresh in my mind!) when we applied for this after our marriage. Why did we go through all of that if it doesn't do anything for us?

You will really go "sideways" when you see what you get from PSA.   Exactly what you have in your hand,  with the addition of a stamp or two.

[top_secret 2,421]

4 minutes ago, pamawemo said:

Will they issue an original PSA Report of Marriage, which is what is required?

The consulate sends the original report of marriage to PSA who registers it in the Philippines Civil Registry.  Then you can get a certified copy back from PSA any time you want.  I suppose them requiring you to get an new copy from PSA would be conclusive proof that the registration with PSA part is completed and it actually, really got registered with PSA and wasn't lost, or a forgery, or is still sitting in a file cabinet in the consulate, or some PSA employee never got around to registering it.  

[payxibka 10,045]

13 minutes ago, pamawemo said:

Asinine is one word for it. I still don't know why we went through all of that ROM filing if we can't use it!

Just an aside,  I see Chicago is starting to do outreach events.  Maplewood has been typically in August.   Watch the website to see if they are going to schedule one this year.

[pamawemo 78]

20 minutes ago, payxibka said:

You will really go "sideways" when you see what you get from PSA.   Exactly what you have in your hand,  with the addition of a stamp or two.

Oh, can't wait.

17 minutes ago, top_secret said:

The consulate sends the original report of marriage to PSA who registers it in the Philippines Civil Registry.  Then you can get a certified copy back from PSA any time you want.  I suppose them requiring you to get an new copy from PSA would be conclusive proof that the registration with PSA part is completed and it actually, really got registered with PSA and wasn't lost, or a forgery, or is still sitting in a file cabinet in the consulate, or some PSA employee never got around to registering it.  

Thanks. Silly us, we assumed when we went through all the ROM hoops, the ROM we received from the consulate would be the real deal. 

16 minutes ago, payxibka said:

Just an aside,  I see Chicago is starting to do outreach events.  Maplewood has been typically in August.   Watch the website to see if they are going to schedule one this year.

I saw they were doing one in Missouri for Missouri residents only. Where do you watch for potential outreach events in the area? Thanks.

[payxibka 10,045]

6 minutes ago, pamawemo said:

Oh, can't wait.

Thanks. Silly us, we assumed when we went through all the ROM hoops, the ROM we received from the consulate would be the real deal. 

I saw they were doing one in Missouri for Missouri residents only. Where do you watch for potential outreach events in the area? Thanks.

I watch the consulate website.  The other possibility is the FB page of the Philippine Center of MN as the outreach event has been held there 

[Chancy 6,241]

6 hours ago, top_secret said:

The consulate sends the original report of marriage to PSA who registers it in the Philippines Civil Registry.  Then you can get a certified copy back from PSA any time you want.  I suppose them requiring you to get an new copy from PSA would be conclusive proof that the registration with PSA part is completed and it actually, really got registered with PSA and wasn't lost, or a forgery, or is still sitting in a file cabinet in the consulate, or some PSA employee never got around to registering it.  

 

^ This.  ROM at the consulate with jurisdiction is a necessary step to get what is really required for passport renewal -- the registration of the foreign marriage into PSA's records.  The reason DFA is fine with just the ROM paperwork if less than a year old is that they don't expect PSA registration to be completed within a year of filing ROM.  After a year, the PSA Advisory of Marriage should already be available.

 

[Chancy 6,241]

7 hours ago, pamawemo said:

I still don't know why we went through all of that ROM filing if we can't use it!

 

If your wife wants a Philippine passport with her married name, ROM is really required.  That's because there's no way to register foreign marriages directly with PSA, other than through the ROM process at the consulate with jurisdiction.  So your ROM filing was not useless.  Just get the required document from PSA using the link posted by @top_secret.

 

[pamawemo 78]

3 hours ago, Chancy said:

 

^ This.  ROM at the consulate with jurisdiction is a necessary step to get what is really required for passport renewal -- the registration of the foreign marriage into PSA's records.  The reason DFA is fine with just the ROM paperwork if less than a year old is that they don't expect PSA registration to be completed within a year of filing ROM.  After a year, the PSA Advisory of Marriage should already be available.

 

Got it. We would have gone last year with our ROM paperwork if it had not been for covid so probably would have been ok. 

3 hours ago, Chancy said:

 

If your wife wants a Philippine passport with her married name, ROM is really required.  That's because there's no way to register foreign marriages directly with PSA, other than through the ROM process at the consulate with jurisdiction.  So your ROM filing was not useless.  Just get the required document from PSA using the link posted by @top_secret.

 

My wife and 5 other women who had the same issue were brought to an office where a verbal battle ensued. lol. I was outside waiting, of course. She said they were told to go to an office on the 14th floor to reapply for their ROM but the office was closed. Any idea what that was all about? In the end, she renewed her passport in her maiden name but is not happy about it.

 

I looked at the link above and am confused about how to receive the PSA Advisory of Marriage. It mentions needing your own FedEx account. What does that entail? 

 

Lastly, the officer told her that she must apply for the new passport within 2 months of receiving the PSA Advisory of Marriage. Is that true and what if there are no appointments? 

[Chancy 6,241]

41 minutes ago, pamawemo said:

I looked at the link above and am confused about how to receive the PSA Advisory of Marriage. It mentions needing your own FedEx account. What does that entail? 

 

No idea about that, unfortunately, as I don't have experience with PSAserbilis delivery outside the Philippines.  Just in case you haven't seen it yet, there's a bit more info here -- https://www.psaserbilis.com.ph/Secure/Files/PSASerbilis Special Courier Service.pdf

 

56 minutes ago, pamawemo said:

Lastly, the officer told her that she must apply for the new passport within 2 months of receiving the PSA Advisory of Marriage. Is that true and what if there are no appointments? 

 

First, correction -- What your wife actually needs for the passport renewal is the PSA-authenticated Report of Marriage.  I don't think it's the same as the PSA Advisory of Marriage, but not sure.  I mistakenly wrote PSA AoM in my previous post because I personally need that document but can't get it due to not having filed ROM.  Sorry for the confusion.

 

Anyway, the passport renewal requirements on the PH consulate (Houston) website does not mention any expiration date or required issuance date for the PSA-authenticated Report of Marriage.  What the consul officer told your wife sounds like BS, but who knows if they just came up with some new change to the requirements.

 

[payxibka 10,045]

21 minutes ago, Chancy said:

 

 

Anyway, the passport renewal requirements on the PH consulate (Houston) website does not mention any expiration date or required issuance date for the PSA-authenticated Report of Marriage.  What the consul officer told your wife sounds like BS, but who knows if they just came up with some new change to the requirements.

 

While it is BS, what the OP has is a copy of the ROM as processed by the consulate,  NOT the PSA authenticated one.