My husband lives/works in the Phils. We're ok as we communicate regulary. Our children are with me in the US. The last time we visited each other was in 2002 where he came to the US and me and the children came to the Phils.

I'm filing IR1 for my husband this year. Will he/we be put in ap/ar considering the time we've not seen each other? What are other possible issues that might affect the process?

Thanks.

I imagine the CO will want to know why you haven't submitted a petition before now?

he works as a supervisor in a big company, we both agreed that he waits for his retirement so he could get good package out of his retirement (i.e. lump sum, pension, etc.) then use it for our family..

It's a natural question -- why so long? A bona fide marriage is not proven by "communicating regularly" and so it will be a tough sell, at best. Perhaps you all should plan to be there for the interview. All things considered, that's when the consulate makes its decision, pending AP of course.

If the CO has questions about your relationship, putting you in ar/ap will not give him any more assurance....and help him make a decision... ar/ap is typically used for other reasons

As with any spousal visa petition you and your husband will have to prove a bona fide marital relationship. Not seeing each other face to face for 7 or so years is out of the norm and you should be prepared to address that circumstance.

The guides here on VJ as well as the form I-130 instructions ( http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-130instr.pdf ) will help you to learn what is expected and/or typically used to demonstrate that relationship. Also do some reading in the PI regional forum here on VJ to learn specifics about the Manila embassy.

thanks payxibka. we just hope the CO would simply consider our marriage contract + all the birth certs of our children as basis for his decision..

thanks Anh map. pardon my being new on VJ but how do i get to PI regional forum here?

Since you've been married so long I imagine the CO is going to want to see evidence of a bonafide marriage such as joint tax filing, life insurance policy, will, communication records, etc.
VERY unusual marriage not seeing or sleeping with each other for 7 years.
Red flags are flying.

As the others have said, I doubt you will go into AP over this, but there will be some searching questions at the interview about your relationship. Definitely have proof of communicating a lot, and also that he communicates with his kids. If any of them still live at home with you, maybe letters from them of how they look forward to seeing their dad again could help. Or maybe some of the kids have seen him during holidays in those 7 years? That could help also.

thanks Penguin_ie..

I would plan a visit before you start the process. I'm not US CIS but unless you live in Alaska (and even then) I don't know how you overcome the 7 year thing. Never there for births, birthdays, holidays; you guys never had a vacation? It sounds like an uphill battle to me.

Evidence:

1. Documentation showing joint ownership or property; or
2. A lease showing joint tenancy of a common residence; or
3. Documentation showing co-mingling of financialresources; or
4. Birth certificate(s) of child(ren) born to you, thepetitioner, and your spouse together; or
5. Affidavits sworn to or affirmed by third parties havingpersonal knowledge of the bona fides of the maritalrelationship (Each affidavit must contain the full nameand address, date and place of birth of the person makingthe affidavit, his or her relationship to the petitioner ofbeneficiary, if any, and complete information and detailsexplaining how the person acquired his or herknowledge of your marriage); or
6. Any other relevant documentation to establish that thereis an ongoing marital union.

thanks corinthians..

Playing devil's advocate here...

Presuming I was a CO at any consulate in the world, and I was presented with a case where a married couple had not seen each other in 7 years. The separation was by choice, and not because the beneficiary was stranded on a deserted island or held prisoner in a gulag. As an imaginary CO, I would deny the visa flat out. I wouldn't even ask to see any proof of "bona fide relationship". There would be no way you could convince me that a marital relationship existed between two people who choose to live apart for 7 years. The purpose of a spousal visa is to reunite families. In my mind, as an imaginary CO, this isn't a family - it's a couple of friends who live on opposite sides of the planet.

I'm not the most optimistic person in the world, but I think a real CO may be even more jaded than I am.

The Philippines Forum is here: Link

Moving from Waivers Forum to IR-1/CR-1 Forum.

Good luck, and welcome to VJ.

How old are your kids? Not one visit in 7 years? How do you live like this? I've been away from my husband for less than 3 months and I feel like my heart is breaking.

Prepare to answer some very serious questioning.

I agree completely. I wouldn't even bother filing the petition until after you have passport stamps, boarding passes and photographs from a recent visit, at least between the husband and wife, if not with the children. Otherwise, I think you would be setting yourself up for a big disappointment.

I think it depends on how culturally savvy the CO is. In the P.I., it is normal for families to be separated longer than anyone can imagine. People tend to seek job opportunities outside of the country so often times families have to deal with separation. Flying back and forth just to see each other goes in the back burner... it's a small sacrifice they typically make just to save the money instead. It's a tough choice to make but I hope OP can still counter any possible issues. Staying where he is for the purpose of collecting decent retirement money from his company is not a bad reason. Saving money instead of blowing it on airfare is not a bad reason either.

Correct. The only "bad" thing would be the visa denial. A trip to visit is a small price to pay to avoid the bad result.

I would think that a couple 10K miles apart must have a conjugal visit yearly, at a minimum, to keep the relationship alive, otherwise how can you really call it a marriage? CO will have a prejudiced opinion before meeting you and rightly so. Visit each other more often, and enjoy yourselves. Peace.

There is not enough information here to make informed opinions or judgements. We assume the OP is a USC as they are filing...we have no idea how long they have been a USC, and if any of their stay here in the past was illegal....hence the difficulty to travel back and visit...and he may have had difficulties getting a visa to visit...children may be older and all born in PI.... again, too many questions left unanswered to speculate.

There are many families who chose to seperate for a 'better life' one arriving into the US, and many years later, the other spouse and/or children. I'm sure CO's have seen many different cases....It depends on what the OP's life has been like here and if travel was available to her...

Bone fide for some families means sacrifices for a better life of the children....I do agree though...from the outside it seems weird and not traditional ...

Good luck OP

thanks very much for all your interesting replies..

jimvapong,
we must have created a healthy debate here. good one devil : )

krikit,
thanks for the link

pushbrk,
the problem is if he got denied as tourist, could this affect the petition as the denial would surely reflect on record?

jonara, poprocks
thanks for understanding our situation

hopp,
we could only communicate at least regulary as we are saving money

regards to all..

That actually crossed my mind that he may have applied for a tourist visa and got denied OR tried to apply but never got around it because there's a lot of logistics involved to gather proof of "i-will-come-back". So you can use that as another reason. Some have better position in maintaining a long distance marriage by visiting regularly, but some don't. The P.I. is definitely a challenge but families survive at any rate. Good luck to you. I hope the CO understands your situation.

thanks jonara,
actually, he was given a single-entry visa in 2002 (the co was very kind despite knowing his family is in the US) and visited us, went back in p.i. in good faith and that was it, never happened again. i just hope his previous travel to the US would also help in the petition.