marriage to a filipina

[dle3452 5]

I plan to marry my Filipina fiancée this December, then apply for a spouse visa.  I know they will question the shortness of our marriage and possibly deny the application. We will have close friends and relatives write letters stating we met in June 2019, that we have met in person that year and due to covid, it has taken this long to be able to get married.

My question is, where do I send the application to once we get to that point.  I will be in the Philippines when I send the application in.  Does it need to start in the US, or can it be done in the Philippines?

Thank you for your input.

Dan

[Lil bear 4,064]

10 minutes ago, dle3452 said:

I plan to marry my Filipina fiancée this December, then apply for a spouse visa.  I know they will question the shortness of our marriage and possibly deny the application. We will have close friends and relatives write letters stating we met in June 2019, that we have met in person that year and due to covid, it has taken this long to be able to get married.

My question is, where do I send the application to once we get to that point.  I will be in the Philippines when I send the application in.  Does it need to start in the US, or can it be done in the Philippines?

Thank you for your input.

Dan

Read the USCIS page for the I130. It has that and much more. It is submitted to a US address or can be e-filed 

 

https://www.uscis.gov/i-130

[Mike E 11,732]

11 minutes ago, dle3452 said:

I plan to marry my Filipina fiancée this December, then apply for a spouse visa.  I know they will question the shortness of our marriage and possibly deny the application.

I doubt they will deny the application because the marriage is short especially since you have known her for 3 years. 

11 minutes ago, dle3452 said:

 My question is, where do I send the application to once we get to that point.  I will be in the Philippines when I send the application in.  Does it need to start in the US, or can it be done in the Philippines?

Thank you for your input.

Dan

Follow the process in:

 

 

 

[SalishSea 17,464]

31 minutes ago, dle3452 said:

Does it need to start in the US, or can it be done in the Philippines?

You can apply online, from anywhere.  

[RO_AH 1,648]

Check out the regional sub forum for Philippines as you will get more detailed information that is specific to Philippines.

https://www.visajourney.com/forums/forum/129-philippines/

So in order to file you need your PSA marriage certificate. That can take several weeks to several months. This is MOST important. Ask the LCR if it they are expedite the PSA certificate. Most will for a fee. Someone posted in the Philippines section recently about a way to speed up that process as well. Even if you are not there your spouse can just send you a scanned copy of it to file. You will not need the original, but your spouse will need it for the interview. Another thing very important is make sure your fiance' goes to her LCR and finds out all of the requirements to marry a foreigner. It takes 2 weeks to get your marriage license after you apply so you want to make sure that you have everything you need to avoid any delays. She can also ask them about the expedite if the PSA certificate at that time.

 

Also don't worry about the length of time. Just make sure you send proof of a bonafide marriage.

Edited September 27, 2022 by RO_AH

[Just Paul 4,594]

We married less than a year after we met.  We applied 4 months after marriage.  We did live together in Mexico for the last 2 of the months.  

You can file online from anywhere.

 

I know people that have filed a week after marriage and had no issues.   Each case is done on it's own merits.  The key is having the nest evidence submitted that you can such as co mingling of assets, time together, etc.  Letters from friends are not of any value unless you have nothing else to offer.

[Chancy 6,239]

*** Moved from IR1/CR1 Progress Reports to IR1/CR1 Process & Procedures ***

 

12 hours ago, dle3452 said:

We will have close friends and relatives write letters

 

For a spouse visa case to be processed at the US embassy in Manila, 3rd-party affidavits are next to useless.  As mentioned above, focus on evidence of time spent together in person, including the time before you got married.

 

Our bona fide relationship evidence consisted of just 12 pages, half of which were about vacations we took together before we got married.  We didn't submit any 3rd-party affidavits.  Our case was approved without any RFEs.

 

[SteveInBostonI130 3,350]

22 hours ago, dle3452 said:

I plan to marry my Filipina fiancée this December, then apply for a spouse visa.  I know they will question the shortness of our marriage and possibly deny the application. We will have close friends and relatives write letters stating we met in June 2019, that we have met in person that year and due to covid, it has taken this long to be able to get married.

My question is, where do I send the application to once we get to that point.  I will be in the Philippines when I send the application in.  Does it need to start in the US, or can it be done in the Philippines?

Thank you for your input.

Dan

 

For K1 and CR1, Philippines is one of the easiest due very low numbers of immigration fraud or suspicion of fraud.

 

The short relationship should not be an issue. It will probably be easier to file online.  If you are currently in the US, bring support documents with you when you travel there:  divorce decrees for any previous marriages, any court records if applicable, etc.

[pushbrk 12,569]

15 minutes ago, SteveInBostonI130 said:

 

For K1 and CR1, Philippines is one of the easiest due very low numbers of immigration fraud or suspicion of fraud.

 

The short relationship should not be an issue. It will probably be easier to file online.  If you are currently in the US, bring support documents with you when you travel there:  divorce decrees for any previous marriages, any court records if applicable, etc.

This last post mentions some things you need to do to accomplish actually getting married during your trip to the Philippines.  It's a pretty straight forward process, but does require several steps and some time.  Very difficult to accomplish in a two week vacation visit.  See the procedure here.  

 

https://ph.usembassy.gov/marriage/#:~:text=There is no requirement to,filing for a marriage license.

 

Sometimes the hardest part is to schedule your marriage seminar with the local city hall etc.

[dle3452 5]

Thank you to everyone who gave me answers.  I'll take the advice not using friends/relatives affidavits.  One person said I could file online, does that mean i can use digital forms that are needed for proof?

Thanks again for your time and advice.

Dan

[pushbrk 12,569]

1 hour ago, dle3452 said:

Thank you to everyone who gave me answers.  I'll take the advice not using friends/relatives affidavits.  One person said I could file online, does that mean i can use digital forms that are needed for proof?

Thanks again for your time and advice.

Dan

When you file online,  you complete one form online.  Everything else is an uploaded file.