Marriage in Philippines

[dle3452 5]

Hi, we are planning to get married in the Philippines.  Does anyone have what requirements I need to get Married.  I have a list of requirements and all the documentation to show I can marry. A required document "Certificate of Legal Capacity to Contract Marriage for U.S. Citizens" is a form I filled it out and it needs to be norterized.  I was told I need to go to the US Embassy but they didnt say why.  Can anyone tell me what that is about and how long it will take for what ever they need to do?  

She got her Annulment finalized in Dec 22, we have been working to get all the documents signed and turned in to the proper offices since Jan.  We hope to get the final decree this month so we can get married, then I will apply for her spouse visa, the application is ready to be sent in, I'm waiting for the annulament and wedding license.  We have been engaged since Oct 19, 22, and have lived together for a year.  I need to get back to the states for my summer job and my time is running out.  This annulment has taken a lot longer than we had planned. 

Thanks for any information.  Thank you

Sincerely, Dan

P.S. Once I get through this process, I will help others get through it.  It has been a learning process.

[Mountainside 19]

Appear at the US Embassy in Manila (or the consular office in Cebu City, if it's closer to you) as per this State Department link, with an affidavit to be notarized/authenticated:  :https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/while-abroad/marriage-abroad.html

That's what I did and it worked for me.  

Edited April 6, 2023 by Mountainside

[dle3452 5]

40 minutes ago, Mountainside said:

Appear at the US Embassy in Manila (or the consular office in Cebu City, if it's closer to you) as per this State Department link, with an affidavit to be notarized/authenticated:  :https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/while-abroad/marriage-abroad.html

That's what I did and it worked for me.  

Thank you for the information.  In the marriage section of form ds5542 it asks for date of marriage, we havent been married yet, we are preparing to get married. What part of the form do I need to fill out for permission to get married?

Thanks again

Dan

[Mountainside 19]

You don't need a ds 5542.  You need an affidavit drafted by yourself or an attorney, stating that you're eligible to marry in the Philippines.  That's what you'll take to the Embassy for notarization.  I assume that your fiancee has an attorney who helped her obtain her annulment, who can easily draft such an affidavit.  If not, and if you're unable to draft such an affidavit, hire a lawyer to do it.  As legal documents go, it's simple.  Make an online appointment for the Embassy selecting "notary services - other".  Then show up, get it notarized, and leave.  Only takes one visit.

[Family 3,988]

You can also do a Utah zoom marriage and be done a few days without jumping through hoops. 

[dle3452 5]

17 minutes ago, Mountainside said:

You don't need a ds 5542.  You need an affidavit drafted by yourself or an attorney, stating that you're eligible to marry in the Philippines.  That's what you'll take to the Embassy for notarization.  I assume that your fiancee has an attorney who helped her obtain her annulment, who can easily draft such an affidavit.  If not, and if you're unable to draft such an affidavit, hire a lawyer to do it.  As legal documents go, it's simple.  Make an online appointment for the Embassy selecting "notary services - other".  Then show up, get it notarized, and leave.  Only takes one visit.

Thank you for clearing that up.  I do have a form for that purpose that i will take down to the embassy in manila next wednesday.  Did your wife have to go through an annulment?  I hope not. it has been a nightmare getting the right forms signed, original copies made waiting here and there days for a return and we think we got it and something else pops up.  Our package just got to the statistic center in manila and that is upto a 15day wait before we can go and pick up her final decree so we can move on. I think we will stop by there when we go to the embassy and see is we can get them to give us the document.  I want to get married before i go back to the states so i can send the I29 application in. Just need the annulment decree and marriage license.  If you have any suggestions on the I29 app I would like to hear about it.

Thanks for all your help.  I will share anwers once i get through this experience.

Dan

[Mountainside 19]

My wife had been single and never married when I met her.  I'm not informed about I-29.  It's not too early to start thinking about arranging the date of your marriage ceremony, whether at a regional trial court or otherwise.  As you might suspect, getting a quick wedding date in the Phils, once all the necessary documents are in hand, is not easily done.  Recognizing that you're in a time squeeze, I think an attorney who is well-connected with your local regional trial court might be of assistance.    

 

 

[dle3452 5]

1 minute ago, Mountainside said:

My wife had been single and never married when I met her.  I'm not informed about I-29.  It's not too early to start thinking about arranging the date of your marriage ceremony, whether at a regional trial court or otherwise.  As you might suspect, getting a quick wedding date in the Phils, once all the necessary documents are in hand, is not easily done.  Recognizing that you're in a time squeeze, I think an attorney who is well-connected with your local regional trial court might be of assistance.    

 

 

We got the list of what doce we needed and have all of them together.  The one you helped me with was the last one in question.  We have a minister lined up to marry us when we are ready.  Getting everything filed could be another problem.  I dont need to be here for that, she can get that done on her own.  

Did you take your wife to the US? I-19 is the spouse visa application. 

[Mountainside 19]

Obtained spousal visa in the Phils.  Because I had simultaneous domiciles in the Phils and the US (and we lived in the Phils at the time), our application was processed by the Manila Embassy in a few months.  The Embassy folks were great.  We came to the US in 2019.  Her interview for naturalized US citizenship is tomorrow.  She's well prepared.  As you will be for your permanent resident visa process.

 

Speaking as a former Nevadan, I think your bride will enjoy the views form Minden/Gardnerville. Mine did.

 

 

[dle3452 5]

1 hour ago, Mountainside said:

Obtained spousal visa in the Phils.  Because I had simultaneous domiciles in the Phils and the US (and we lived in the Phils at the time), our application was processed by the Manila Embassy in a few months.  The Embassy folks were great.  We came to the US in 2019.  Her interview for naturalized US citizenship is tomorrow.  She's well prepared.  As you will be for your permanent resident visa process.

 

Speaking as a former Nevadan, I think your bride will enjoy the views form Minden/Gardnerville. Mine did.

 

 

Congratulations on her citizenship interview. Let me get this straight, you didnt have to go through the normal spousal visa, you were able to use the manila embassy because you were living here? I have a domicile here and in Nevada, so I can go through the embassy and get her visa?

I have a camp host summer job in Bridgeport CA, if we can go through the embassy I will stay here and get it done, They will hold my job for me.  I hope we can stay in touch, I really appreciate your knowledge and help.  I will inquire at the embassy when we go there for the notarization on monday.

Thans so much 

Dan & Juliana

[Crazy Cat 41,610]

****Moved to the Philippines regional forum area******

[Mountainside 19]

4 hours ago, dle3452 said:

you were able to use the manila embassy because you were living here?

Yes.  Because, and ONLY because I could prove I was both a US and Philippine domiciliary, we were able to file directly in Manila.  It was a huge time-saver for us.  See pages 5-6 of the Form I-864 Instructions for pertinent domicile conditions.  Feel free to PM me if you wish.

[Adventine 3,195]

Some points:

 

1. Marrying in the Philippines: you can choose to get married the traditional way (with all the tedious paperwork involved) or through the Utah Zoom process, which is much faster and is recognized by US immigration. Plenty of VJ threads about the Utah Zoom process.

 

2. Spousal visa: since your future wife lives in the Philippines, there is no other option but to go through the US embassy in Manila for her immigrant visa. I noticed you mentioned a "I29" application in your post. I assume you mean an I-129F petition. That is only for fiances. If you submit a I-129F petition and then get married, you automatically invalidate the petition and it would be a total waste of time and money.

The correct steps are:

- finalize the annulment

- get married

- start the spousal visa process by filing an I-130 petition

The rest of the steps you can find using the guides on this site.

 

 

3. Timelines: unless you have special reasons to qualify for expedited processing, your future spouse will not receive a spousal visa in time for summer 2023. It's more realistic to plan for the visa to be granted in 2024. You can check VJ timelines for data from other users who are waiting for their immigrant visas from the US embassy in Manila.

[top_secret 2,377]

12 hours ago, dle3452 said:

A required document "Certificate of Legal Capacity to Contract Marriage for U.S. Citizens" is a form I filled it out and it needs to be norterized.  I was told I need to go to the US Embassy but they didnt say why.  Can anyone tell me what that is about and how long it will take for what ever they need to do?  

 

That no longer needs to be notarized by the Embassy.  ANY notary in the Philippines can notarize it.  The relevant Philippine rule is here.  https://psa.gov.ph/sites/default/files/MC NO. 2021-04 Local or Philippine Notarization of Affidavits in lieu of Certificates of Legal Capacity to Contract Marriages.pdf It covers all nationalities but it includes a US Citizen specific example on page 3.

[dle3452 5]

19 hours ago, Adventine said:

Some points:

 

1. Marrying in the Philippines: you can choose to get married the traditional way (with all the tedious paperwork involved) or through the Utah Zoom process, which is much faster and is recognized by US immigration. Plenty of VJ threads about the Utah Zoom process.

 

2. Spousal visa: since your future wife lives in the Philippines, there is no other option but to go through the US embassy in Manila for her immigrant visa. I noticed you mentioned a "I29" application in your post. I assume you mean an I-129F petition. That is only for fiances. If you submit a I-129F petition and then get married, you automatically invalidate the petition and it would be a total waste of time and money.

The correct steps are:

- finalize the annulment

- get married

- start the spousal visa process by filing an I-130 petition

The rest of the steps you can find using the guides on this site.

 

 

3. Timelines: unless you have special reasons to qualify for expedited processing, your future spouse will not receive a spousal visa in time for summer 2023. It's more realistic to plan for the visa to be granted in 2024. You can check VJ timelines for data from other users who are waiting for their immigrant visas from the US embassy in Manila.

Thank you for your advice, yes i meant a I-130, I also filled ut the I-130 a and attached it to my application. All we need now is the annulment and then the marriage license to move on.  We will see if the embassy in Manila can process the visa for us once we get married.

Thanks again, Dan and juliana