Philippines divorce in us

[riefandcastro 1]

Hi i'm a us citizen and active duty military(if that makes any difference). I have a gf that I want to marry. The issue is that she is here in America on a j-1 work visa that has a 2 year home residency requirement. If we get married and can not get a waiver for that she will need to return home for those 2 years. The second issue is that she is still legally married in the PI to another Filipino citizen. Her husband is also here in America on a j2 visa as is her daughter. They have both agreed on divorce in the us and are processing it right now. My concern is that my (maybe) future wife will have to return to the PI where her divorce and possible marriage to me will not be legally recognized. I am worried that if she goes back and i file a spousal visa for her the PI government will not let her return to the us without a PI annulment. I hope you guys have advice on this issue, Thank you.

[powerpuff 6,712]

~ Duplicate thread removed. Please do not start more than one thread on the same or related topics ~

[riefandcastro 1]

sorry it was my first post and I didn't think it went through. Not intentional

[Adventine 3,196]

***Moved to the Philippines for country-specific answers***

 

It won't be just the PH government that won't recognize your marriage if she doesn't get her current marriage annulled first. The US government won't give her a spousal visa without seeing proof that her first marriage has been annulled. 

[aaron2020 11,651]

I don't think that a US divorce initiated by a PI citizen is valid in the PI.

If she goes back, she will need that PI annulment for a K1 or CR1.

 

 

[riefandcastro 1]

15 minutes ago, Adventine said:

***Moved to the Philippines for country-specific answers***

 

It won't be just the PH government that won't recognize your marriage if she doesn't get her current marriage annulled first. The US government won't give her a spousal visa without seeing proof that her first marriage has been annulled. 

so even if she legally divorced here in the us, the us government wont see her as free to marry?

[Adventine 3,196]

39 minutes ago, riefandcastro said:

so even if she legally divorced here in the us, the us government wont see her as free to marry?

She got married in the Philippines to a Filipino citizen. The Philippines will not recognize her US divorce decree.

 

"A foreign divorce can only be recognized if one of the spouses was a foreigner at the time of the divorce. In all other situations, a foreign divorce cannot be recognized in the Philippines."

 

source: https://www.rappler.com/voices/thought-leaders/analysis-getting-foreign-divorce-recognized-philippines/

 

The US embassy in Manila requires fiance and spousal visa applicants to present PSA (Philippine Statistics Authority) records proving the Filipino applicants are unmarried or their previous marriages are annulled. The PSA records have been required for a long time now.

[riefandcastro 1]

This is a little disheartening to me. The attorney I've talked to has told me if we are able to get the home residency requirement waived then she can adjust status from within the us without the PI annulment. So its a little confusing that if we are married here (in person/in Virginia) that she will be unable to get a spousal visa if she later returns to the PI.

[Talako 785]

51 minutes ago, riefandcastro said:

This is a little disheartening to me. The attorney I've talked to has told me if we are able to get the home residency requirement waived then she can adjust status from within the us without the PI annulment. So its a little confusing that if we are married here (in person/in Virginia) that she will be unable to get a spousal visa if she later returns to the PI.

I agree.  I am confused with the answers you are receiving.   

[Talako 785]

8 hours ago, Adventine said:

She got married in the Philippines to a Filipino citizen. The Philippines will not recognize her US divorce decree.

 

"A foreign divorce can only be recognized if one of the spouses was a foreigner at the time of the divorce. In all other situations, a foreign divorce cannot be recognized in the Philippines."

 

source: https://www.rappler.com/voices/thought-leaders/analysis-getting-foreign-divorce-recognized-philippines/

 

The US embassy in Manila requires fiance and spousal visa applicants to present PSA (Philippine Statistics Authority) records proving the Filipino applicants are unmarried or their previous marriages are annulled. The PSA records have been required for a long time now.

I'm confused.  Why wouldn't the embassy accept the CEMAR with a US divorce decree?  We wouldn't care what the Philippines deemed her to be, as they are not getting married in the Philippines.

[riefandcastro 1]

29 minutes ago, Talako said:

I'm confused.  Why wouldn't the embassy accept the CEMAR with a US divorce decree?  We wouldn't care what the Philippines deemed her to be, as they are not getting married in the Philippines.

We would be married in Virginia before she returns to the PH, but her paperwork and processing for the spousal visa will be done while she's in the PI. That is where my confusion is. I am scared they wont allow her to process the visa or leave since she is still married there. I am new to this and if I have a basic misunderstanding of the situation let me know. Thank you all for your help.

Edited January 6, 2022 by riefandcastro
needed to add info

[Unlockable 7,314]

35 minutes ago, Talako said:

I'm confused.  Why wouldn't the embassy accept the CEMAR with a US divorce decree?  We wouldn't care what the Philippines deemed her to be, as they are not getting married in the Philippines.

Because, like the OP stated, if she doesn't get a waiver for the 2 year home requirement, she has to return to the Philippines. And once she is back in the PHIL, she may be out of reach from the US government. It doesn't matter if she got a divorce in the US. She will be back in the Philippines under their government laws and they do not recognize divorces. Those J visas are very strict because they are sponsored by the government.

 

 

 

5 minutes ago, riefandcastro said:

We would be married in Virginia before she returns to the PH, but her paperwork and processing for the spousal visa will be done while she's in the PI. That is where my confusion is. I am scared they wont allow her to process the visa or leave since she is still married there. I am new to this and if I have a basic misunderstanding of the situation let me know. Thank you all for your help.

The problem is you are dealing with 2 separate governments that have their own rules. This is a complex and sensitive issue. I understand your fear that once she is back on Philippines soil she would be under their governing laws. Especially since she is on a J visa. I could be wrong so hopefully some of the veterans that has dealt with PHIL of the forum will chime in like @Adventine, @Paul & Mary, @John & Rose, @Hank_, 

 

Hope it works out and keep us posted.

[Adventine 3,196]

2 hours ago, riefandcastro said:

This is a little disheartening to me. The attorney I've talked to has told me if we are able to get the home residency requirement waived then she can adjust status from within the us without the PI annulment. So its a little confusing that if we are married here (in person/in Virginia) that she will be unable to get a spousal visa if she later returns to the PI.

 

I think you are conflating two different processes: 1) adjusting status from within the US and 2) processing the spousal visa in the Philippines. 

 

Process #1 involves her staying the US until she gets her travel permit (Advance Parole) or green card. If she returns to the Philippines without either the AP or the GC, she will be deemed to have abandoned the adjustment process and will not be able to return to the US until she gets a spousal visa. 

 

Process #2 involves her going back to the Philippines and having an interview at the US embassy in Manila for the spousal visa. 

 

 

1 hour ago, Talako said:

I'm confused.  Why wouldn't the embassy accept the CEMAR with a US divorce decree?  We wouldn't care what the Philippines deemed her to be, as they are not getting married in the Philippines.

 

 

From the US Embassy Manila's list of requirements for a spousal visa - link

 

"If you were previously  married,  provide  proof  of termination of  previous marriage/s:    A Certificate  of  No  Marriage (CENOMAR)  from  the PSA   indicating the  annulment  or termination,  your  original  divorce  or  annulment/presumptive death court records, and/or  death certificate  from  the country where  the  celebration  or occurrence took place,  with  English translation  (if  necessary)."

 

OP's situation is a bit different because both Filipino spouses are currently in the States on J1 and J2 visas and I understood they can get divorced there as long as they meet their state's residency requirements. (BTW, I hope the J2 visa holder understands that his US immigration status is dependent on being married to the J1 holder.)

 

If the US embassy in Manila will accept the US-issued divorce decree of two Filipino citizens originally married in the Philippines, without looking for the PSA-issued records, I would certainly be surprised. Happy to be proven wrong if anyone knows of such a case.

Edited January 6, 2022 by Adventine

[Unlockable 7,314]

5 minutes ago, Adventine said:

 

I think you are conflating two different processes: 1) adjusting status from within the US and 2) processing the spousal visa in the Philippines. 

 

Process #1 involves her staying the US until she gets her travel permit (Advance Parole) or green card. If she returns to the Philippines without either the AP or the GC, she will be deemed to have abandoned the adjustment process and will not be able to return to the US until she gets a spousal visa. 

 

Here is the rub. Will US immigration even approve her AOS if she has a standing 2-year home requirement? I'm not sure she has a path to being legal if she does not get that waiver for the 2-yhr even if she marries a US citizen.

[riefandcastro 1]

7 minutes ago, Unlockable said:

Here is the rub. Will US immigration even approve her AOS if she has a standing 2-year home requirement? I'm not sure she has a path to being legal if she does not get that waiver for the 2-yhr even if she marries a US citizen.

She cant adjust status until she either gets a waiver or fufills the two year requirement.