IR-1 application process with divorce

[Family 3,988]

4 hours ago, thesheikhs17 said:

thanks, yes as per our divorce lawyer here in UAE it will be recognized in US. But my other question is do I need to register in my embassy here my marriage with the American? Might not be possible unless I got my divorce here recognized in PH as well. Is it required on my immigrant application to submit my marriage certificate with the american certified by my embassy?

@pushbrk , you read better tea leaves than I 😂….cause what I saw was OP wanting to register current marriage w embassy .

[pushbrk 12,822]

15 minutes ago, Family said:

@pushbrk , you read better tea leaves than I 😂….cause what I saw was OP wanting to register current marriage w embassy .

That was in the first post.  The story keeps changing each time she posts.

 

[SJinCA 22]

Like many countries, Georgia requires applicants for a marriage certificate to demonstrate that any previous legally-contracted marriage of either party has been terminated. See here from Georgia's Public Services Agency.

 

Worst case scenario, you've committed bigamy, which would preclude your spouse from sponsoring your immigration. Best case scenario, this marriage may not have been valid in the first place.

 

You should contact a good marriage attorney in Georgia ASAP to see if it's at all possible to have this marriage annulled somehow. I'm by no means an expert, but it seems like the best possible outcome is 1. annul current invalid marriage, 2. divorce ex properly, legally, and with necessary documentation, 3. re-marry spouse, submitting documentation that previous marriage to ex has been terminated, 4. apply for U.S. immigration. Whether that is possible depends on Georgia's family law. 

[SJinCA 22]

15 hours ago, Family said:

Get another lawyer, your guy is way over his head .

 

1. Georgia does NOT recognize polygamy and knowingly entering into that marriage, you broke 2 of their laws on  polygamy and bigamy ….what exactly did you write down about your marital status at the time of ceremony? 

 

2. You would have been better off marrying in UAE , a country that does allow polygamy. 
 

 

 

Small quip, but assuming the OP is female, it wouldn't be polygamy -- polygyny (one husband, multiple wives) is permissible in Islam, but polyandry (one wife, multiple husbands) certainly is not. 

[Boiler 45,361]

I thought Georgia was mainly Christian?

 

Anyway it does not matter, I actually married Religiously which was also legally but it seems in most places the two are separated.

 

In this case and hardly the first time we have seen this she married when she was not free to do so so it does not count for anything that would matter as far as US Immigration is concerned, now why you would do this is beyond me.

 

So get divorced, get married and go from there. 

 

 

[pushbrk 12,822]

7 hours ago, Boiler said:

I thought Georgia was mainly Christian?

 

Anyway it does not matter, I actually married Religiously which was also legally but it seems in most places the two are separated.

 

In this case and hardly the first time we have seen this she married when she was not free to do so so it does not count for anything that would matter as far as US Immigration is concerned, now why you would do this is beyond me.

 

So get divorced, get married and go from there. 

 

 

The "why" is simple.  They need a marriage certificate to be allowed to cohabitate in the UAE.

[thesheikhs17 0]

1 hour ago, pushbrk said:

The "why" is simple.  They need a marriage certificate to be allowed to cohabitate in the UAE.

Finally!!! Someone assumed correctly. I had a son and in order for us to stay together as family in one place we had to do it. Guys i posted here with the intention of having some informations/advice not judgement! Me not putting all information out there doesn't mean I lied but just simply giving the context of my situation and I can follow up details if someone asked. But most of you jumped into your own conclusions and judgement without even asking the full scenario. I know what we did is breaking the law but at that time that is the only option we had to do asap. That's why we are trying to fix it now with the divorce with immigrating in mind. I thought people here will be kind enough to share infos but all I see is judgement. That is not so kind!!

[Boiler 45,361]

35 minutes ago, thesheikhs17 said:

Finally!!! Someone assumed correctly. I had a son and in order for us to stay together as family in one place we had to do it. Guys i posted here with the intention of having some informations/advice not judgement! Me not putting all information out there doesn't mean I lied but just simply giving the context of my situation and I can follow up details if someone asked. But most of you jumped into your own conclusions and judgement without even asking the full scenario. I know what we did is breaking the law but at that time that is the only option we had to do asap. That's why we are trying to fix it now with the divorce with immigrating in mind. I thought people here will be kind enough to share infos but all I see is judgement. That is not so kind!!

 

If you want sensible comments best to be clear and precise with the situation rather than making it a guessing game.

[thesheikhs17 0]

1 minute ago, Boiler said:

 

If you want sensible comments best to be clear and precise with the situation rather than making it a guessing game.

Why do you have to guess if you can ask?? Its also as simple as that. The thing here most of you are old enough and I think more matured than me so it wouldn't hurt to kindly ask and be more open about my situation, not passing judgment here and there. Thanks!

[pushbrk 12,822]

12 minutes ago, thesheikhs17 said:

Why do you have to guess if you can ask?? Its also as simple as that. The thing here most of you are old enough and I think more matured than me so it wouldn't hurt to kindly ask and be more open about my situation, not passing judgment here and there. Thanks!

You are the one looking for help.  I think you have it now, but if you want the correct advice, you must accurately describe the circumstances.  You are in these circumstances because of the choices you made.  Now, you have to undo and redo some of your choices.  The relevant choices you cannot undo are related to having produced a child.

[Theersink 20]

19 hours ago, thesheikhs17 said:

I know what we did is breaking the law but at that time that is the only option we had to do asap.

The main issue here is the chances of a consular officer actually approving a visa. They are the sole determination. If you are able to navigate all the legal pitfalls you still have to face the interview and I, in my opinion, would think that there would be too many red flags for the officer to grant a visa. 

1. You willfully broke 3 countries laws on marriage. This is the big one, even if you are able to legally untangle all this the fact remains and would probably get you a denial for the visa. Based on the information you have given even your US husband would be likely interviewed as well which is never good.

2. Because of 1 you would probably need to find a country to apply from that will not maybe seek justice for said offenses. THere will be paper trails. UAE is not known for being understanding even within ignorance of the law. Especially with foreigners.

3. It will cost you a lot of money in the end which lawyers will happily take while telling you it is possible, and all may be for nothing. 

4. It doesn't change the fact that a Sharia Divorce will not be recognized in the Philippines because you were not married under Sharia Law even if it is backdated. Now with the recent decision of the Philippine supreme court to allow all foreign legal divorces you may be able to get around this UNLESS your Philippine spouse was NOT a foreigner in which case even a foreign divorce would not apply nor be legal. 

 

Again, all this is just my opinion but your chances of actually being approved would be very slim. You're best bet might be to wait and see if the Philippines passes the divorce law and then start from there. They have another 3 weeks or so to take it up before it gets shelved again so there is a chance. Public opinion has changed regarding this. At any rate you may want to weigh cost of pursuing vs using that money to live as good as a life as possible either where you are currently or somewhere else. Only you can decide that. Best of luck to you. 

Edited October 15 by Theersink

[thesheikhs17 0]

29 minutes ago, Theersink said:

The main issue here is the chances of a consular officer actually approving a visa. They are the sole determination. If you are able to navigate all the legal pitfalls you still have to face the interview and I, in my opinion, would think that there would be too many red flags for the officer to grant a visa. 

1. You willfully broke 3 countries laws on marriage. This is the big one, even if you are able to legally untangle all this the fact remains and would probably get you a denial for the visa. Based on the information you have given even your US husband would be likely interviewed as well which is never good.

2. Because of 1 you would probably need to find a country to apply from that will not maybe seek justice for said offenses. THere will be paper trails. UAE is not known for being understanding even within ignorance of the law. Especially with foreigners.

3. It will cost you a lot of money in the end which lawyers will happily take while telling you it is possible, and all may be for nothing. 

4. It doesn't change the fact that a Sharia Divorce will not be recognized in the Philippines because you were not married under Sharia Law even if it is backdated. Now with the recent decision of the Philippine supreme court to allow all foreign legal divorces you may be able to get around this UNLESS your Philippine spouse was NOT a foreigner in which case even a foreign divorce would not apply nor be legal. 

 

Again, all this is just my opinion but your chances of actually being approved would be very slim. You're best bet might be to wait and see if the Philippines passes the divorce law and then start from there. They have another 3 weeks or so to take it up before it gets shelved again so there is a chance. Public opinion has changed regarding this. At any rate you may want to weigh cost of pursuing vs using that money to live as good as a life as possible either where you are currently or somewhere else. Only you can decide that. Best of luck to you. 

Thank you! After reviewing all things we have withdrawn the divorce today and will proceed with PH annulment. There is no way the divorce will clear up my status in PH and all my papers will state the same. All the things you've mentioned above were the same things my PH lawyer said. So we gotta wait it out until everything is done and cleared in PH.

[Family 3,988]

1 hour ago, thesheikhs17 said:

Thank you! After reviewing all things we have withdrawn the divorce today and will proceed with PH annulment. There is no way the divorce will clear up my status in PH and all my papers will state the same. All the things you've mentioned above were the same things my PH lawyer said. So we gotta wait it out until everything is done and cleared in PH.

I hope you don’t stop the divorce. 

‘As long as you can get the divorce in UAE , it doesn’t NOT matter that Philippines won’t recognize it. The US will accept it. 
 

It is very frequent that Philippinas living in the US, simply divorce their spouse who lives in the Philippines. …and they DO NOT have to register their divorce w the Philippines in order for it to be recognized by US. 

 

It’s only when an applicant is going through the consular process in Manila that the hair pulling headache of CENOMAR et al pops up. 

‘You will be doing the case in UAE , so just get divorce done.

 

 

 

[Family 3,988]

2 hours ago, Theersink said:

It doesn't change the fact that a Sharia Divorce will not be recognized in the Philippines because you were not married under Sharia Law even if it is backdated. Now with the recent decision of the Philippine supreme court to allow all foreign legal divorces you may be able to get around this UNLESS your Philippine spouse was NOT a foreigner in which case even a foreign divorce would not apply nor be legal. 

Philippines does not need to recognize OPs divorce and she does not have to bother and register it w the Philippines. 
 

For good measure I would actually do 

1. Divorce husband 1 

2. Divorce husband 2 

3. Remarry husband 2 

[pushbrk 12,822]

25 minutes ago, Family said:

Philippines does not need to recognize OPs divorce and she does not have to bother and register it w the Philippines. 
 

For good measure I would actually do 

1. Divorce husband 1 

2. Divorce husband 2 

3. Remarry husband 2 

Yes, that is the solution.  There....IS.....a process for getting the foreign divorce recognized by the PSA in the Philippines, but that is NOT necessary for US immigration.  The combination of the valid divorce decree and a PSA CEMAR naming only that husband as her husband, is all the USA needs.

 

No need to register the marriage with the US Embassy.  Getting the divorce recognized by the PSA, is only necessary in order to have a new marriage recognized in the Philippines. If you never intend to actually live in the Philippines again, I wouldn't bother.

 

Note, that just because the lawyer is Filipino, does not mean he understands US Immigration, and THAT is the context of everything you ask him about.  Waiting on a Philippines annulment might mean you have even more children in the next few years that will take, muddying the waters further.