American guy wanting to get filipina gf bring back to USA by any means necessary

[MyK1Journey 2]

Hello all, I am an american living here in the Philippine for the past 5 years. Been with my Filipina gf living together for the past 2 and a half years. What we want is to have her be able to come and live back home with me in the US the easiest and fastest way possible. The way I see it, there are two options:

 

1. The K1 route

 

This is the route I initially thought we were going to take, but I have since looked at these forums and seen that this route is taking YEARS longer than anticipated because of covid. brings me to the next route...

 

2. The CR1 route

 

From what I've been reading, this is actually the much faster option as of late because of the insane amount of backlogs the philippines has for K1 visas. Can anyone else confirm? I also know that it is cheaper than the K1 route. The only downside, is, (can somebondy please correct me if I'm wrong), if we do the CR1 route, we must get married first, and since we are both living together here in Manila, that would mean getting married through the Philippine marriage system, right? Well, that is a horrible problem for us, because lucky us, the Philippines is the only country on the face of the earth which does not allow divorce. We have spoken maturely about divorce and have decided that it could happen, since 50% of all marriages end in divorce in the US (and I'm sure 90%+ of them would SWEAR it wouldn't happen to them). So, basically, long story short, we want to get married in a way where we could get divorced EASILY if need be a decade or two from now. Is it possible to get married within the US marriage system (which would allow for easy divorce) while living HERE in the philippines? Does my question make sense?

 

Thanks all

[Adventine 3,196]

***Moved to the Philippines forum for country-specific answers and removed duplicate thread. Please do not post the same question multiple times so that the discussion stays in one place. Thank you***

 

You're right that the spousal visa is a much better option. You are also right to be concerned with separating. If things go south with your marriage, it's expensive and difficult to get annulled.

 

The best and easiest option is to use the Utah Zoom marriage to get married online by a Utah officiant, while you are both physically in the Philippines. That generates a US marriage certificate valid for US immigration. 

 

The question is, does your Utah marriage certificate need to be registered with the PSA (Philippine Statistics Authority) before the US embassy in Manila grants a spousal visa? This part is unclear to me and hopefully someone in the PH regional forum has experience. 

Edited February 1, 2022 by Adventine

[seekingthetruth 1,246]

18 minutes ago, MyK1Journey said:

Well, that is a horrible problem for us, because lucky us, the Philippines is the only country on the face of the earth which does not allow divorce.

Horrible problem for you?  If that is your thinking, don't get married.

 

You can get married in the Philippines, move to the U.S., and get divorced in the U.S.  How does that work for you?  Terrible way to look at a relationship.

[Adventine 3,196]

@seekingthetruth it's a more horrible problem for the Filipina. If the relationship breaks down (and sometimes it does despite one's best intentions) and she finds someone new, she can't easily get remarried in the Philippines. Takes a lot of time and $$$ to get a recognition of a foreign divorce in PSA records. Of course, if they're both in the US by the time they divorce, it solves the problem for both of them.

Edited February 1, 2022 by Adventine

[MyK1Journey 2]

Just now, Adventine said:

@seekingthetruth it's a more horrible problem for the Filipina. If the relationship breaks down (and sometimes it does despite one's best intentions) and she finds someone new, she can't easily get remarried in the Philippines. Of course, if they're both in the US by the time they divorce, it solves the problem for both of them.

To my understanding, even if we were both in the US at the time of the divorce, it would still affect my gf, in the sense that, if she ever were to want to remarry a filipino, she could not - as the philippines would not recognize the US divorce as a "real" divorce here in the philippines. She would have to spend years and many dollars in lawyers fees to get it recognized as a "Judicial Recognition of Foreign Divorce".

[Unlockable 7,314]

First of all... fast immigration is an oxymoron. There is nothing fast about immigration. Any path you take right now will take about 2 years, give or take a few months. 

 

Second, your best option is to marry since you are already there together. You can just remain there with your new spouse until she gets the visa. Be warned that you have to show proof of US domicile (residence, job/income, paying US taxes) before she is approved. The US domicile is required on any immigration path you choose.

 

Third, the divorce issue you commented on is a personal issue. 

[MyK1Journey 2]

19 minutes ago, Adventine said:

***Moved to the Philippines forum for country-specific answers and removed duplicate thread. Please do not post the same question multiple times so that the discussion stays in one place. Thank you***

 

You're right that the spousal visa is a much better option. You are also right to be concerned with separating. If things go south with your marriage, it's expensive and difficult to get annulled.

 

The best and easiest option is to use the Utah Zoom marriage to get married online by a Utah officiant, while you are both physically in the Philippines. That generates a US marriage certificate valid for US immigration. 

 

The question is, does your Utah marriage certificate need to be registered with the PSA (Philippine Statistics Authority) before the US embassy in Manila grants a spousal visa? This part is unclear to me and hopefully someone in the PH regional forum has experience. 

holy (removed), you have just blown my mind with the Utah zoom marriage thing... is that for real??? I am looking it up now

Edited February 1, 2022 by Unlockable
foul language removed

[MyK1Journey 2]

1 minute ago, Unlockable said:

Be warned that you have to show proof of US domicile (residence, job/income, paying US taxes) before she is approved. The US domicile is required on any immigration path you choose.

 

oh, but what if I am self employed, and have been for 5 years? will I still be able to go the CR1 route if I have been self employed for the last 5 years straight?

 

[Rocio0010 5,579]

36 minutes ago, MyK1Journey said:

that would mean getting married through the Philippine marriage system, right?

I am pretty sure you can get married in a third country, but I am not sure. Just something to look up.

36 minutes ago, MyK1Journey said:

does not allow divorce

I am not judging, but seriously? So what do you do if things go south? Just stick to it?

[Unlockable 7,314]

Reminder: There is no foul language allowed on the forum what so ever.

 

VJ Moderation

Edited February 1, 2022 by Unlockable

[Unlockable 7,314]

6 minutes ago, MyK1Journey said:

oh, but what if I am self employed, and have been for 5 years? will I still be able to go the CR1 route if I have been self employed for the last 5 years straight?

Yes, of course.

[MyK1Journey 2]

Just now, Unlockable said:

Yes, of course.

oh wow, thats awesome! I cant believe this utah thing exists... so to my understanding, we could both get married together on a zoom call in utah while we are both just sitting in our bedroom? and then wed be married (through the US marriage system, not the philippines marriage system)? Thanks so much 

[Unlockable 7,314]

12 minutes ago, MyK1Journey said:

oh wow, thats awesome! I cant believe this utah thing exists... so to my understanding, we could both get married together on a zoom call in utah while we are both just sitting in our bedroom? and then wed be married (through the US marriage system, not the philippines marriage system)? Thanks so much 

Yep.

 

And use your self employment income to meet the financial requirements.

[MyK1Journey 2]

1 minute ago, Unlockable said:

Yep.

 

And use your self employment income to meet the financial requirements.

oh shoot, there are financial requirements? What if I dont meet them? Do you know if I can have a family member or somebody else act as a financial sponsor for my gf? thanks so much

[Rocio0010 5,579]

2 minutes ago, MyK1Journey said:

oh shoot, there are financial requirements? What if I dont meet them? Do you know if I can have a family member or somebody else act as a financial sponsor for my gf? thanks so much

There are. 

Read this guideline, it will tell you exactly what the requirements are and what you need to know/ present:

 

CR-1