Is the Report of Marriage (ROM) needed?

[rad1182 1]

Hello all,

 

I'm a US citizen and my wife is Filipina. We met in Abu Dhabi where we both lived and worked, though I'm back permanently in the US now and she's still there. We got married in Abu Dhabi in September and filed the I-130 petition shortly after. We haven't yet submitted the ROM to the Philippines Embassy in Abu Dhabi and were going back and forth on if we should even do so. 

 

I've seen a lot of posts on here about the ROM but most of them are procedural questions. We'd like to know what the benefits of filing a ROM are? I know that without a ROM she won't be able to renew her Philippines passport under her married name. That's not a big deal for us. Are the benefits mostly on the Philippines side or will the US government care about a foreign ROM at all? 

 

She also owns a couple of properties in Manila which she'll be keeping. Will not having a ROM affect that at all?

 

Thanks so much for you input.

[Bob in Boston 675]

We never registered our marriage. Depends on your goals. if you want to stay there you can get a special spousal visa if you register it, It wont affect her properties at all.

Edited March 1, 2023 by Bob in Boston
added info

[top_secret 2,377]

7 hours ago, rad1182 said:

I'm a US citizen and my wife is Filipina. We met in Abu Dhabi where we both lived and worked, though I'm back permanently in the US now and she's still there. We got married in Abu Dhabi in September and filed the I-130 petition shortly after. We haven't yet submitted the ROM to the Philippines Embassy in Abu Dhabi and were going back and forth on if we should even do so. 

 

I've seen a lot of posts on here about the ROM but most of them are procedural questions. We'd like to know what the benefits of filing a ROM are? I know that without a ROM she won't be able to renew her Philippines passport under her married name. That's not a big deal for us. Are the benefits mostly on the Philippines side or will the US government care about a foreign ROM at all? 

 

She also owns a couple of properties in Manila which she'll be keeping. Will not having a ROM affect that at all?

 

It is not required by the US.  USCIS and the Embassy only want to see the overseas marriage certificate according to the laws wherever the marriage took place.  CFO would be an issue for a lot of spouses but if your spouse is already in Abu Dhabi, that obviously isn't an issue.  Any dealings with government agencies in the Philippines could potentially hassle her about it and it could affect some of your spousal rights in the Philippines.  The most recent big example and why ROM's got such heightened attention recently, is that they were necessary for overseas spouses to get 9a visas to visit the Philippines under the rona travel ban.  No longer an issue.  As you mentioned, the name issue would be a concern for some.  Not for others.  The properties in Manila is kind of a grey area.  Technically she is probably supposed to have spousal consent and your name should be on real estate transactions although the reality is you don't have much rights there anyways.  My own thinking is that if you plan on having limited dealings in the Philippines then a ROM is probably of little value.  If she or you plan to maintain significant longer term ties to the Philippines it may be of more value.  It is not necessary at all in the US.

[NeonParticles 126]

If she has to go back to the Philippines and leaves for the US, they may ask for the CFO stamp which would require a ROM.

[rad1182 1]

Hi all, sorry to bring this topic back up.

 

We're now at the CEAC stage and my wife is applying for her NBI clearance. We never did submit a ROM.

 

If she puts 'married' on the NBI application, will there be issues? Should she put 'single'?

 

Tried searching the forum but I couldn't find any posts on this topic. Thanks!

[top_secret 2,377]

There are two ways US Embassy Manila would accept a NBI Clearance in those circumstances.  Either as Married, with your name listed on the NBI clearance as husbands name, or as "Single",  with her using your last name as an AKA.  Even if she has never used your last name in real life.  US Embassy Manila is not concerned about the civil status shown but they do want to see your name on her NBI Clearance one way or the other since it is a name she could legally use.

 

My wife was able to get her NBI Clearance as Married, before she completed her ROM, by simply showing her foreign Costa Rica Marriage certificate to NBI.

Edited September 26, 2023 by top_secret

[rad1182 1]

1 hour ago, top_secret said:

There are two ways US Embassy Manila would accept a NBI Clearance in those circumstances.  Either as Married, with your name listed on the NBI clearance as husbands name, or as "Single",  with her using your last name as an AKA.  Even if she has never used your last name in real life.  US Embassy Manila is not concerned about the civil status shown but they do want to see your name on her NBI Clearance one way or the other since it is a name she could legally use.

 

My wife was able to get her NBI Clearance as Married, before she completed her ROM, by simply showing her foreign Costa Rica Marriage certificate to NBI.

 

This is super helpful, I greatly appreciate it. 

 

I'm not sure if it matters but she'll be doing her interview in the UAE where she has residency and not in Manila. 

[Chancy 6,241]

On 9/25/2023 at 11:12 AM, rad1182 said:

If she puts 'married' on the NBI application, will there be issues? Should she put 'single'?

 

Do NOT put "Single" as that would be untrue in her case.

 

Like @top_secret's wife, I also was able to get my NBI Clearance listing my civil status as "Married", before we even filed for ROM.

 

[RO_AH 1,659]

In my opinion you should always just file the ROM. Just make your life easier.