No Marriage Picture, Visa Application Being Questioned by Consulate

[Mike V 56]

On 8/16/2022 at 10:23 AM, Loren Y said:

Costs about 5K and takes a few years to get out of a marriage in the Philippines. It's a nightmare process from my understanding. My friend got roped into it years ago, and it cost him some serious money and bribes to get out of that.

There is no divorce in the Philippines.  Your only way out is to petition for a civil annulment.  As they say (don't remember exactly, but you'll get the idea) $2K gets you a lawyer and maybe an annulment in 5 years.  $10K gets you a lawyer who went to law school with the judge, and you'll have your annulment in a year.

 

My step-daughter shed her loser almost 6 years ago and has been trying to get an annulment for 2-3 years.  It does not look good.  I'm planning to file an EB-2 for her in 1-1.5 years after she gets her masters in special ed. and a job in that field.

[Ximena Anna 7]

Why are people talking about divorce? I thought OP said her "friend" is still in love with her US partner. Some people have wedding ceremonies after getting married legally for practical reasons. Maybe the "friends" US spouse can visit the Philippines for a delayed wedding celebration with food and toasts and a white dress and dancing! AND VOWS AND KISSING! Celebrate the love that the CO thinks doesn't exist! AND TAKE PICTURES! Otherwise I think your "friend" is rightly screwed. Its not fair that our legitimate cases for true love are being delayed partly because immigration's time is being monopolized by fake cases like this. sorry. good luck.

[CarlosV 2]

On 8/15/2022 at 8:56 AM, arken said:

She has no problem getting married with the man her parent's didn't like but has problem with taking photos!! From outsider's view or from COs, that's where suspicion arise. Anyway what did the CO say? It depends upon CO say and what was asked and what are they asking to provide? That depends on how to respond. 

My guess is that it wasn't that she didn't want to take photos but if there were 3 people there (priest and both of them), there was no one to take the pictures.

[Adventine 3,196]

14 minutes ago, CarlosV said:

My guess is that it wasn't that she didn't want to take photos but if there were 3 people there (priest and both of them), there was no one to take the pictures.

OP mentioned there were also witnesses at the ceremony.

 

For those familiar with Filipino culture, it's extremely strange to hear about a Filipino who does not have a single photo of their wedding ceremony. It is the norm to take selfies for activities as ordinary as eating at a fast food restaurant. Not even having a selfie of one's wedding (considered one of the most important events in a Filipino life) is so outside the cultural norm that the CO is right to ask questions. This on top of OP's other responses which don't inspire confidence in the legitimacy of the marriage certificate.

Edited August 22, 2022 by Adventine

[Scandi 4,166]

1 hour ago, CarlosV said:

My guess is that it wasn't that she didn't want to take photos but if there were 3 people there (priest and both of them), there was no one to take the pictures.

OP said in another post she didn't want any photos of the wedding because the family didn't approve of the guy. But marrying him was apparently not an issue, as long as there were no photos..

🤔

 

That said, many people don't have photos from their wedding ceremonies. We don't as we had no witnesses to take any photos of us, and we didn't really case to have any either. Under normal circumstances this isn't an issue with immigrantions, clearly the IO had suspicions of marriage fraud.

Edited August 22, 2022 by Scandi

[SalishSea 17,837]

On 8/17/2022 at 5:24 PM, ana ny mo said:

She is getting stressed

As anyone who falsified a marriage to obtain an immigration benefit would be.

 

Not sure if you're here to try and garner sympathy for the "friend," but her situation is a result of her own choices.  Again, if this is important to her, she will joint VJ and try hard to educate herself about the process.

[SalishSea 17,837]

16 minutes ago, Scandi said:

OP said in another post she didn't want any photos of the wedding because the family didn't approve of the guy. But marrying him was apparently not an issue, as long as there were no photos..

🤔

 

That said, many people don't have photos from their wedding ceremonies. We don't as we had no witnesses to take any photos of us, and we didn't really case to have any either. Under normal circumstances this isn't an issue with immigrantions, clearly the IO had suspicions of marriage fraud.

See Adventine's comment about cultural expectations for Filipinos.  What makes sense in one country/culture does not necessarily make sense in another.

[pushbrk 12,898]

1 hour ago, Adventine said:

OP mentioned there were also witnesses at the ceremony.

 

For those familiar with Filipino culture, it's extremely strange to hear about a Filipino who does not have a single photo of their wedding ceremony. It is the norm to take selfies for activities as ordinary as eating at a fast food restaurant. Not even having a selfie of one's wedding (considered one of the most important events in a Filipino life) is so outside the cultural norm that the CO is right to ask questions. This on top of OP's other responses which don't inspire confidence in the legitimacy of the marriage certificate.

I don't think the OP said anything about a ceremony.  She definitely said the groom wasn't there.  They paid for a certificate.  I don't think there was any ceremony or marriage license process followed.  The issue is not "photos".  

But your notes on culture are absolutely correct for young Filipinos, particularly females.

 

My impression is the beneficiary (note we haven't heard ANYTHING from the petitioner.) is crying, "We have a PSA marriage certificate, so you have to give me the visa."  Not the way it works.

 

Edited August 22, 2022 by pushbrk

[Adventine 3,196]

On 8/15/2022 at 8:18 AM, ana ny mo said:

not online.. They claimed it is just the priest and witnesses. but the paper is legit in Marriage registration.

@pushbrk OP insisted there was a ceremony, but it's from the first page of this thread and many posters have already cast doubt if there was a ceremony in reality (there being no pictures and OP being so evasive about the nature of their friend's relationship). Don't know if OP told you something different via PM, which you insisted that they NOT do.

 

[pushbrk 12,898]

2 hours ago, Adventine said:

@pushbrk OP insisted there was a ceremony, but it's from the first page of this thread and many posters have already cast doubt if there was a ceremony in reality (there being no pictures and OP being so evasive about the nature of their friend's relationship). Don't know if OP told you something different via PM, which you insisted that they NOT do.

 

Possibly.  I delete PM's immediately.

[ana ny mo 14]

No real ceremony and no witnesses and priest for real. but it was just written in the marriage contract that there's even though there's no actually.

Edited August 22, 2022 by ana ny mo

[Bretth51 2]

I’m still going through this process so I'm not as much of an expert as some of the others here. But with that being said it definitely sounds like fraud. 
Out of curiosity, what was the date of “marriage”? and was he living in the Philippines? From what I remember the Philippines shut their borders early 2020 and didn’t reopen until late 2021. Somebody not being able to enter the country to file the paperwork sounds like it could be motivation to commit fraud. Also would explain why the IO was so suspicious. 

[RonnieKris 26]

It sure is hard sometimes coming to the US legally. Illegally you get a phone, money card and transportation.

[Ximena Anna 7]

On 8/22/2022 at 10:29 PM, ana ny mo said:

No real ceremony and no witnesses and priest for real. but it was just written in the marriage contract that there's even though there's no actually.

Kinda sounds like your friend really is lying then? 😳