Online Marriage to a Filipina

[Mnhopeful22 3]

Good lord, what next?!? Thanks to Typhoon Rai, they are now limiting international passengers to Mactan-Cebu Airport to OFWs and ROFs, which excludes me. This rule is in effect until Jan 3 and I'm scheduled to arrive there on Jan 7. I guess I'll wait and see what changes are made Jan 3? Maybe I could fly into Manila instead to quarantine then fly to Cebu after that? I don't know...its so damn frustrating to think there's a chance my 9a could possibly expire before I even have a chance to use it! Any advice is appreciated.

[Adventine 3,196]

@Mnhopeful22 it's a terrible situation all around. You'll just have to wait and see. Hopefully you got flexible tickets and travel insurance just in case something comes up (and there's a 99% chance something will).

[Mnhopeful22 3]

39 minutes ago, Mnhopeful22 said:

Good lord, what next?!? Thanks to Typhoon Rai, they are now limiting international passengers to Mactan-Cebu Airport to OFWs and ROFs, which excludes me. This rule is in effect until Jan 3 and I'm scheduled to arrive there on Jan 7. I guess I'll wait and see what changes are made Jan 3? Maybe I could fly into Manila instead to quarantine then fly to Cebu after that? I don't know...its so damn frustrating to think there's a chance my 9a could possibly expire before I even have a chance to use it! Any advice is appreciated.

Followup question: does anyone know if my 9a would be accepted at Manila if I listed Lapu-Lapu as my port of entry on my application? Note: the port isn't shown on my actual visa.

Edited December 21, 2021 by Mnhopeful22

[seekingthetruth 1,246]

2 hours ago, Mnhopeful22 said:

Followup question: does anyone know if my 9a would be accepted at Manila if I listed Lapu-Lapu as my port of entry on my application? Note: the port isn't shown on my actual visa.

I have never heard of a visa that was port specific.  You should be fine arriving at Manila.

 

However, you should avoid Cebu.  You don't want to be there.  Have your GF/wife fly to Manila, if at all possible.  I'm not sure of your situation.  No electricity, no water, no internet, food is probably scarce.  We have a week of vacation scheduled on Mactan arriving Christmas Day, now cancelled.  Most hotels would not be accepting new arrivals.

 

The blogger Filipina Pea flew into Mactan then drove down the East coast of Cebu.  It gives you a good idea of the issues.

 

 

 

[Jimmyzr1 36]

On 10/22/2021 at 3:47 PM, Corgent said:

This is frustrating because policies vary between Consulates. I recently received my 9a visa but I do not have my signed ROM yet. I went through the SF Consulate for both. My only suggestion is to try to get confirmation from the SF Consulate that your ROM was received and is in processing, and attempt to get the Chicago Consulate to accept that in lieu of the signed ROM. The SF Consulate's Civil Registry section was responsive to me when I emailed them, so you would most likely receive confirmation via email if you asked. Perhaps send a copy of the confirmation email along with delivery receipt from USPS to Chicago and hope for the best.

 

Otherwise, yes, it's taking far too long for the ROM. I believe right now they are just barely working on ROMs that were delivered to the Consulate in early August; mine was delivered on Sept 13th and I'm not expecting it anytime soon.

Can’t you just go over to the Philippines now that you have your 9a visa and forget about waiting for your ROM? I’m wondering if best to send in both ROM and 9a visa applications at the same time myself to San Francisco or just apply for the 9a visa alone to go consummate marriage, then come back to file for CR1 visa and not worry about the ROM. Does anyone know if this would work through SF?

[Corgent 93]

35 minutes ago, Jimmyzr1 said:

Can’t you just go over to the Philippines now that you have your 9a visa and forget about waiting for your ROM? I’m wondering if best to send in both ROM and 9a visa applications at the same time myself to San Francisco or just apply for the 9a visa alone to go consummate marriage, then come back to file for CR1 visa and not worry about the ROM. Does anyone know if this would work through SF?

I did go to the Philippines about a week after I wrote that post.  I had my 9a visa and no ROM. The ROM is not necessary to enter the Philippines unless one's local Consulate is requiring it as a condition of issuing the 9a visa.

 

My ROM was later processed and sent to me by the SF Consulate on Nov 26th. It took 74 days to process. Now we are in the CR1 process.

 

In your case, the SF Consulate will most likely want to see that you've applied for your ROM before they issue your 9a visa. They won't care if it's been processed yet. File for the 9a visa and ROM at the same time and you will be good to go.

 

You wouldn't want to skip the ROM anyway. Not having it may make things complicated for you down the road when going through the visa process, such as if your wife wants to change her last name on her passport to yours (so it reflects on her green card), or if the CFO requires a PSA marriage certificate from you.

[Jimmyzr1 36]

17 minutes ago, Corgent said:

I did go to the Philippines about a week after I wrote that post.  I had my 9a visa and no ROM. The ROM is not necessary to enter the Philippines unless one's local Consulate is requiring it as a condition of issuing the 9a visa.

 

My ROM was later processed and sent to me by the SF Consulate on Nov 26th. It took 74 days to process. Now we are in the CR1 process.

 

In your case, the SF Consulate will most likely want to see that you've applied for your ROM before they issue your 9a visa. They won't care if it's been processed yet. File for the 9a visa and ROM at the same time and you will be good to go.

 

You wouldn't want to skip the ROM anyway. Not having it may make things complicated for you down the road when going through the visa process, such as if your wife wants to change her last name on her passport to yours (so it reflects on her green card), or if the CFO requires a PSA marriage certificate from you.

Thanks a lot for your advice, I really appreciate it!

[coa24 69]

I haven't looked through the thread, but can anyone not from Utah county or that state apply to be married there online?

[Corgent 93]

2 hours ago, coa24 said:

I haven't looked through the thread, but can anyone not from Utah county or that state apply to be married there online?

Yes

[Kby175 115]

On 12/22/2021 at 5:41 AM, Mnhopeful22 said:

Followup question: does anyone know if my 9a would be accepted at Manila if I listed Lapu-Lapu as my port of entry on my application? Note: the port isn't shown on my actual visa.

It's not port specific, I have a 9a visa as well you have one entry in the time period that is on the visa itself.  Also, listed on the visa is how many days you are allowed to stay, which can be extended if you would like to extend.