Theersink

Yes. Anyone visiting the Philippines from the US has to have a return ticket to be granted entry and the 30 day visitor visa. Without one she will be denied boarding most likely OR since US ticket agents aren't as stringent she might be allowed to board but be detained at immigration in the Philippines and denied entry. Apologies for the double post. Moderators can remove the duplicate. Thanks.

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Just for the record, all of my family are Republican and all have supported my decision except for my Dad's "girlfriend" she was just racist against any filipino period. My dad dropped her like a bad habit when she expressed as much, she was a left-center Democrat. Please do not generalize whole groups and this is not the place for political generalizations. You will find those types in all walks of life and all social and economic classes regardless of political affiliation. All you can do is be happy, those that want to share it without hatred or bias welcome them, those that don't do not waste time or energy on them. Life is too short.

I'd consult a lawyer first, many states have standing no international travel without consent laws especially if the other spouse has visitation. I had Full legal and Physical custody of my daughters but I still had to have consent to send my oldest to England for a school trip. It varies from state to state.

I was simply stating the whole picture. I am aware the US will recognize divorce even if the Philippines will not. However there is a bigger issue than just divorcing and filing a petition. The issue still remains that you are married according to the UAE, getting a divorce IN the UAE for a marriage that is not to your current known husband is going to throw up flags IN the UAE. They are not tolerant of foreigners breaking their laws and their family based laws are punished harshly, especially for women. I would strongly caution doing anything within the UAE until you have researched this aspect or you could potentially find yourself with worse problems than you have now. This is actually your biggest problem in my view. You might be able to get away with it by divorcing your current husband first but then you lose cohabitation. If you try to file divorce for your past husband they will then know that you illegally married under false pretenses to commit fraud in the UAE. I am assuming here you had to file something that proved you were married with the UAE to cohabitate. This part has absolutely nothing to do with the US or immigration sponsorship. This could also potentially involve your spouse (although he is male and legally can marry more than one but it is the fraud that would concern me), now he could get help from the US embassy but when they find out you are not legally married you would be on your own. You are residing in their country so are subject to their laws. I would consult more than an immigration lawyer and be very educated on what you could potentially open up pursuing a divorce. Hence why I suggested starting the process in a country you have not broken a law in. They are not likely to catch the double marriage or by the time they did your divorce would likely be final and not matter.

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.

If I recall, Muslim divorce in the Philippines only applies if you were Muslim at the time of marriage. I am by no means an expert so maybe other familiar can chime in as well. I'd advise you to consult a lawyer well versed in Philippine law as they do things very different than other parts of the world. However, if you are currently residing in UAE and plan to file there I believe the US would recognize the divorce. The caveat is the Philippines would not so you would want to finish the immigration process from your current country. Again, just responding with what I have personally researched. I'm sure others here can further clarify for you.

No. As I said previously most Philippine agencies do not send you confirmation of anything. That piece of paper that says it is processing and to inquire with PSA in 6 months IS the confirmation. No other communication will be sent. You will have to reach out to PSA in 6 months.

No, they will not email confirmation. Everything will be in the return packet. Mine had a printed receipt for the registration fee and a little cutout piece of paper about 4in by 1in paperclipped to the packet saying it was received and processing and you can reach out to PSA for a copy in 6 months. You will find when dealing with these foreign agencies they work what is considered out of the norm for what we are used to. They work according to their own system and many times it is different from one agency or office to the next. Best to get out of the mindset that you will be notified of anything. Most times with Philippine agencies you have to reach out and inquire and then most times you are told "you will be notified when it arrives" and no other time.

If it is the San Francisco consulate 1 is sufficient. See my post from June 20th in this thread. I have a link to another that specifically covers the notary requirement. I was told only 1 notarized signatory is required. Apologies for the late reply but I did not see anyone answer you directly.

No. They will not send a receipt email. They will send your docs back in the envelope you submitted for return with the receipt from the consulate. This is all you will receive unless they have questions.

You'll get the receipt and online access code in separate mailings. Mine took about 5 weeks to show up after filing through the lockbox.

As long as you don't stay past 30 days in any one trip and your passport expiration date is in 6 months or more there is no other provisions specified as far as I am aware. Here is the snip from there travel authority: GUIDELINES ON THE ENTRY OF TEMPORARY VISITORS TO THE PHILIPPINES The Philippines grants visa-free entry to passport holders of certain countries while requiring a visa to others. Check if your passport will require a visa for entry to the Philippines by selecting the country that issued your passport: (Selected USA in dropdown) You are allowed to enter the Philippines without a visa for a period of stay of thirty (30) days or less provided that you meet all of the requirements below: If you are traveling to the Philippines for business or tourism; and You hold valid tickets for your return to port of origin or next port of destination; and Your passport is valid at least six (6) months beyond the contemplated period of stay You are not subject of deportation/blacklist order of the Department and the Bureau of Immigration https://dfa-oca.ph/visa/visa-general-info/ At the bottom is the dropdown to select the country. There is other info there as well for your reference.

This is correct.

@Nathan Alden, Sr. Keep in mind as well that this is a SF Consulate specific form from the US specifically for foreign marriages. A local Philippine notary may not be familiar with it. If I recall the local Philippine ROM form REQUIRES both parties present and they likely will not know that this is a different form from the local one.

@Nathan Alden, Sr. As I stated, it is not required. They only need 1 signature, both is fine but only 1 is needed. Honestly it is up to you but as you say she may run into an issue with a notary there as when it comes to government forms they can be a bit restrictive. Not to mention the time and cost of a courier for everything from the Philippines. My wife never touched the ROM form or anything else. I had copies of everything needed for the 130 filing so I filled out the ROM and sent off the packet. Also you will have plenty of time for everything. I was in your overwhelmed place a short bit ago. Not everything has to be done at once, Give yourself a chance to breathe and contemplate everything and it won't seem so overwhelming.

@Nathan Alden, Sr. That other thread I referenced I have a screenshot of an email I received from the consulate where they say only 1 signatory is required. I submitted mine with just my notarized signature and they accepted it. I received the receipt and packet back about a month later with a note saying it is now processing. You do not need BOTH notarized signatures, only one or the other is sufficient. This eliminates having to worry about sending it back and forth to the Philippines to get your wife's notarized signature. Just have it notarized with your signature and send in the rest of the required forms. It'll save you some time.

Her notarized signature is not necessary. We just went through this process. I wouldn't have her bother with Philippine local bureaucracy. Your concern about not being there is justified depending on the local notary. They have a fillable form on their website, All I had to do was fill out the ROM form, print and have it notarized and sent in supplemental information. More in this thread: Only apostilled document you need is the marriage cert from utah.

Well, I got busy and put it off for a week or so and they ended up processing it without the additional statement so it seems to be a "at the moment" thing if it is required or not.

San Francisco Consulate (I would imagine this is all of them since it looks to be an official process) is now asking for a notarized Affidavit of Explanation stating that the marriage was held online and the Filipino spouse was not in the US at time of marriage. This was not listed on their website list of requirements. I received a call from them asking to send this additional statement. They emailed me a current checklist for ROMs which I am sharing here. ROM check list.pdf

I know this thread is a bit old but I wanted to post some updated information. I sent a message on their website contact form asking for clarification on IF both parties (husband and wife) need a notarized signature if we live in separate countries (me USA, her Philippines). This is the email response I received: So for couples that marry and are currently living in separate countries only 1 notarized signatory is required. Hopefully this will save others a bit of time.