Divorce & I-129F Matter

[Simply Newt 9]

My fiancée and I are planning to be married hopefully by the end of next year. She hails from a province in the Philippines but is currently working under contract in Hong Kong as an OFW. She has been married in the Philippines and thus needs a divorce. We are going through a consulting agency so I anticipate it would go by rather fast. If anyone has a good idea on a time frame - please comment on this and let me know what kind of time I am looking at. 

 

Regardless - I am posting for the reason that her contract ends in July and she does not want to renew it. I had seen in another discussion that she had a choice of processing her part of the K1 visa either in Hong Kong or back in the Philippines where she comes from. Is this still true and what would needed to be done should she move back to her home in the Philippines to finish with her part of the K1  

 

Thanks for the replies in advance 

 

[Ontarkie 14,192]

~~Moved to the Regional forum, from Off Topic- the OP is asking Country specific questions.~~

[top_secret 2,376]

I hope you are aware there is no divorce in the Philippines.  It may be a big problem.  Where is the husband and is he cooperative?  Is he Filipino or non-filipino?  Those are critical details. Since divorce simply does not exist under Philippine law, maybe she should investigate her options for divorcing in Hong Kong if she is resident there.  I know nothing about Hong Kong divorce law or if that is possible though.

 

If she is not able to get a foreign divorce then her options in the Philippines are grim.  There is annulment which is expensive, can take years, and is not even guaranteed.

 

An I129f can not move forward until she solves the very serious divorce problem.

Edited October 23 by top_secret

[top_secret 2,376]

Based on a quick, incomplete and uneducated check of Hong Kong divorce laws.  It appears that if she has been resident there as an OFW for at least 3 years then she 'might' be able to get divorced in Hong Kong.  If she has not been resident in Hong Kong for three years but is able to extend her contract and hit that three year mark then that 'might' be her best option.  Better confirm that with someone who knows about Hong Kong though.  Unless the "ex"husband has any options outside the Philippines and is cooperative there is no such thing as divorce under Philippine law.

[Talako 781]

Good luck if you go the annulment route.  You're looking at a couple of years and $5K+ (if you're lucky.)  Mindanao judges have  been fairly liberal in granting annulments in the past, but there have been crack downs on the process in the past.  Either way, you'll need Pesos and patience. 

[Family 3,988]

Adding a word of caution . Not clear when she disclosed she was still married, but that throws off any guesstimates on how long it will take you to bring her over. 
 

Hope the consulting agency that promised you a few months divorce turnaround is practicing Hong Kong family law and that’s where she files. 
IF they are Philippine based ‘’consultants’ or even local attorneys….those promises are unrealistic and blatantly misleading. 
 

You have a great group with real life -local experience , supporting your posts ….so hopefully they engage on this problematic ( and common Philippine ) issue.