How long for ROM documents to be returned?

[JoMama 0]

Myself (US Citizen) and my wife (Filipino Citizen) are looking to file our ROM to the NY Embassy from PA, mid-July will be the 1-year mark before it becomes a late submission. We have a trip booked in December with the tickets already purchased and I am worried that our documents such as her green card and our passports will be returned to us in time to fly out. 

In your past experience, how long did it take you to receive your documents back from the Embassy, assuming that nothing is wrong in your report submission. 

[EatBulaga 314]

20 minutes ago, JoMama said:

Myself (US Citizen) and my wife (Filipino Citizen) are looking to file our ROM to the NY Embassy from PA, mid-July will be the 1-year mark before it becomes a late submission. We have a trip booked in December with the tickets already purchased and I am worried that our documents such as her green card and our passports will be returned to us in time to fly out. 

In your past experience, how long did it take you to receive your documents back from the Embassy, assuming that nothing is wrong in your report submission. 

The green card and passport should only be copies--1 notarized as true copies.

https://newyorkpcg.org/pcgny/civil-registration/report-of-marriage-of-a-filipino-abroad/

You need to include 4 sets of copies of the documents listed.

 

It took the Philippines Los Angeles Consulate about 6 months to respond with our PSA Report of Marriage.

Edited June 25 by EatBulaga

[spicynujac 23]

I submitted a report of marriage to the San Francisco consulate.  The only original document mailed was an apostilled marriage certificate, which was returned in around a month, and photocopies of our passports and birth certificates.  I'm not sure why a green card would be sent.  Working authorization is irrelevant to marital status.  Looking at the NY consulate web site, there is no mention of a green card.  The Philippines doesn't know or care about that and it's not relevant to civil registration.  Are you following the instructions on their website (newyorkpcg.org) ?

 

It takes around 6 months for the Philippine Statistic Authority to officially record the marriage.

[JoMama 0]

Yes, I am following the instructions @spicynujac. And thank you for your response. Can the "Certified true copy (CTC)" be done by the notary? 

 

As far as the green card, It says this on the site: "Samples of proof of Filipino citizenship are: US Naturalization Certificate, US Permanent Resident Card, Valid Visa or Work Permit; or Dual Citizenship papers (Identification Certificate and Approval Order)"

 

 

[spicynujac 23]

It looks like the requirements of the NY Consulate are different than the California Consulate.  The only original document CA requires is the apostilled marriage certificate.  NY seems to require NO original docs, but "certified true copy" of passports, marriage, and birth certificates.  I've never heard of that but it is described here.  To further complicate things, certain states do not allow notaries to certify document copies, so you would be in quite a pickle if you were married under the jurisdiction of the NY Consulate but living in a state (like NY!) that doesn't allow notaries to certify document copies.

https://www.nationalnotary.org/notary-bulletin/blog/2014/04/how-to-certify-copy-document

 

You can always call the consulate if you have questions.  CA Consulate was easy to reach by phone.  (FYI they also are a bit lax or at least inconsistent in processing--I got a marriage processed with only one signature on the ROM while some report both spouses' signatures are needed).  NY also lacks the form letter and checklist CA has so it's a bit more vague what they are expecting.  

 

I don't see green card mentioned at all on this page so I see no reason to include it (again, it proves nothing about your marital status).

https://newyorkpcg.org/pcgny/civil-registration/report-of-marriage-of-a-filipino-abroad/

 

But the good news is you don't need to be without your vital documents like passport and birth certificate during processing, as you only send Certified True Copies of them.  Slightly more work to get them certified as "true" by a notary but it won't impact the OP's travel plans.

[JoMama 0]

Thank you very much @spicynujac for your detailed and helpful post! I'll look into whether PA allows notaries to create notarized copies.