Not sure if this is the correct place, but this is in ref to an I-130 application.

[Aradieus 5]

Hello everyone, I'm trying to move my wife and step-son to the US. I am a US citizen born and raised. I met my wife in Europe while working for the US government in Romania. To make a long story short, we like many others were separated during COVID and got married online. We originally planned to get married in Romania, but Romania does not have a Philippines Embassy and we were not allowed to leave Romania because of their Covid rules. Ok, so not to deviate to much from the information I'm trying to obtain here. We for legal purposes were married in Utah. I was in the US at the time and my wife was in the Philippines.

 

Going through the I-130 they are talking about a marriage certificate, for the purposes of how my wife changed her spousal name to her married name. Now, we have a PSA marriage certificate in the Philippines and that allowed her to use her married name for her new Philippines passport. My question is this: Do we need a marriage certificate or is the PSA fine? I'm literally dumping every document I can think of into the I-130, so they can't have any excuses or ask for any sort of documentation. Any and all information would be very helpful, since this would give two people a better shot at life. Thank you.

[top_secret 2,573]

If you married in Utah then you need a Utah marriage certificate.  A PSA Report of Marriage is considered a marriage certificate in the Philippines but it has no legal value in the US.  You can submit the PSA ROM as relationship evidence but the Utah marriage certificate is the only one that counts to in the US.

Edited March 5 by top_secret

[Lemonslice 5,024]

8 hours ago, Aradieus said:

Hello everyone, I'm trying to move my wife and step-son to the US. I am a US citizen born and raised. I met my wife in Europe while working for the US government in Romania. To make a long story short, we like many others were separated during COVID and got married online. We originally planned to get married in Romania, but Romania does not have a Philippines Embassy and we were not allowed to leave Romania because of their Covid rules. Ok, so not to deviate to much from the information I'm trying to obtain here. We for legal purposes were married in Utah. I was in the US at the time and my wife was in the Philippines.

 

Going through the I-130 they are talking about a marriage certificate, for the purposes of how my wife changed her spousal name to her married name. Now, we have a PSA marriage certificate in the Philippines and that allowed her to use her married name for her new Philippines passport. My question is this: Do we need a marriage certificate or is the PSA fine? I'm literally dumping every document I can think of into the I-130, so they can't have any excuses or ask for any sort of documentation. Any and all information would be very helpful, since this would give two people a better shot at life. Thank you.

Did you see each other in person after getting married?

[Aradieus 5]

9 hours ago, top_secret said:

If you married in Utah then you need a Utah marriage certificate.  A PSA Report of Marriage is considered a marriage certificate in the Philippines but it has no legal value in the US.  You can submit the PSA ROM as relationship evidence but the Utah marriage certificate is the only one that counts to in the US.

I actually just realized out marriage license is also a marriage certificate lol. It literally says & marriage certificate. 

[Aradieus 5]

2 hours ago, Lemonslice said:

Did you see each other in person after getting married?

Yes. It took about five months to secure a spousal Visa to the Philippines, but we have had a domicile ever since 12/21

 

We also lived together for two years in Romania. So 2 years unmarried and almost 3 married.

[Demise 1,369]

Utah marriage certificate is the main one to add. Also, because this was a marriage done online I believe the rules for proxy marriages apply where it basically doesn't count until you've met online, so I'd add some proof that you cohabitate (joint lease, etc).

 

Also, last aside: I presume you're a US Citizen, in this case I-130 doesn't allow derivatives. You'll need to file two I-130s, one for your spouse, one for the stepson.

[Ryan H 3,840]

Moved from Progress Reports to Process & Procedures.

[pushbrk 13,263]

On 3/6/2025 at 10:18 PM, Demise said:

Utah marriage certificate is the main one to add. Also, because this was a marriage done online I believe the rules for proxy marriages apply where it basically doesn't count until you've met online, so I'd add some proof that you cohabitate (joint lease, etc).

 

Also, last aside: I presume you're a US Citizen, in this case I-130 doesn't allow derivatives. You'll need to file two I-130s, one for your spouse, one for the stepson.

Maybe a typo but "online" meeting doesn't count.  In person time between the Utah proxy marriage date and the petition filing date is what is required.  You do not need to show you cohabitated.  His passport stamps entering and exiting the Philippines is all the "consummation" evidence needed, but it is absolutely required.

[Aradieus 5]

We actually met way before the online marriage, about 2 years prior. We have proof of this from our Romanian IDs, pictures from there, a lease, fb posts with time stamps.

 

I actually have another question? Since my wife was an OWF in Romanian, when we hit the NVC stage of the I-130, are they going to need a police clearance from her time in Romania? I've read different things and wanted to get some clarity. Thank you.

[S2N 24]

2 hours ago, Aradieus said:

We actually met way before the online marriage, about 2 years prior. We have proof of this from our Romanian IDs, pictures from there, a lease, fb posts with time stamps.

The question isn’t if you met before, but if you physically met in person after the marriage.

 

On 3/5/2025 at 10:04 PM, Aradieus said:

Yes. It took about five months to secure a spousal Visa to the Philippines, but we have had a domicile ever since 12/21

If I’m reading this correctly it’s saying you’ve lived together in the Philippines after the marriage. That’s sufficient.

 

You’d provide your Utah marriage license, entry stamps into the Philippines. Any evidence of living together there also provides proof of a bona fide relationship.

[Aradieus 5]

45 minutes ago, S2N said:

The question isn’t if you met before, but if you physically met in person after the marriage.

 

If I’m reading this correctly it’s saying you’ve lived together in the Philippines after the marriage. That’s sufficient.

 

You’d provide your Utah marriage license, entry stamps into the Philippines. Any evidence of living together there also provides proof of a bona fide relationship.

Oh no, we are sufficient on the after portion. I got to the Philippines 12/4/21 and we've lived together since. We even have visa stamps showing we traveled to other countries together afterwards.

 

My wife also makes sure we have photos on Facebook from anywhere we go, so that's a digital footprint going back almost 6 years now.

[Aradieus 5]

Thanks everyone. If anyone can clarify the police clearance question, that would be awesome. What I've read is, if my wife has lived anywhere for 12 months past the age of 16, she needs a police clearance from that country. We have lawyers in Romania and they said this can be done in about 30 minutes and forwarded to us in The Philippines. 

 

I'm just wondering if this is absolutely necessary though?

Edited Saturday at 02:39 AM by Aradieus
Changed Romania to the Philippines.

[S2N 24]

1 hour ago, Aradieus said:

Oh no, we are sufficient on the after portion. I got to the Philippines 12/4/21 and we've lived together since. We even have visa stamps showing we traveled to other countries together afterwards.

 

My wife also makes sure we have photos on Facebook from anywhere we go, so that's a digital footprint going back almost 6 years now.

Yeah, you should be good then. The Utah marriage license plus visa stamps, digital/photos footprint, and any proof of living together/shared expenses is a enough on both the meeting after a proxy wedding and bona fides of marriage front.

[Lemonslice 5,024]

2 hours ago, Aradieus said:

Thanks everyone. If anyone can clarify the police clearance question, that would be awesome. What I've read is, if my wife has lived anywhere for 12 months past the age of 16, she needs a police clearance from that country. We have lawyers in Romania and they said this can be done in about 30 minutes and forwarded to us in The Philippines. 

 

I'm just wondering if this is absolutely necessary though?

The documents you will need are listed under each section on this page: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/the-immigrant-visa-process/step-5-collect-financial-evidence-and-other-supporting-documents/step-7-collect-civil-documents.html

 

Then, to find which version of the documents/instructions to order them, you can look up the the reciprocity schedule (for each country): https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/Visa-Reciprocity-and-Civil-Documents-by-Country.html

 

Also, this quote from @Demise is super important, not sure if you saw it:

Quote

Also, last aside: I presume you're a US Citizen, in this case I-130 doesn't allow derivatives. You'll need to file two I-130s, one for your spouse, one for the stepson.

 

 

 

 

Edited Saturday at 04:45 AM by Lemonslice

[Aradieus 5]

42 minutes ago, Lemonslice said:

The documents you will need are listed under each section on this page: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/the-immigrant-visa-process/step-5-collect-financial-evidence-and-other-supporting-documents/step-7-collect-civil-documents.html

 

Then, to find which version of the documents/instructions to order them, you can look up the the reciprocity schedule (for each country): https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/Visa-Reciprocity-and-Civil-Documents-by-Country.html

 

Also, this quote from @Demise is super important, not sure if you saw it:

 

Hi yes, I saw it and immediately starting working on his I-130. I'm just currently waiting on my wife to fill out her portion of the I-130 and a modification of our current lease here. I was never added on the lease for some reason.