Just got annulled, what's next?

[AnaMarie18 0]

Hello Everyone,

 

My step-father is American and my mother is Filipino. My step-father married my mother in 2005, soon after he tried applying for a tourist visa for her. She got denied because they found out that her previous marriage was never annulled. My parents hired a lawyer in the Philippines to settle annulment once and for all. It took them 10 years to finalize the annulment and now my mother is finally free from her previous marriage! Now, my father would like to bring her in the states. What would be the best approach/route to take for them? Asking for advice because these situations are rare! Thank you.

[Ben&Zian 4,397]

7 minutes ago, AnaMarie18 said:

Hello Everyone,

 

My step-father is American and my mother is Filipino. My step-father married my mother in 2005, soon after he tried applying for a tourist visa for her. She got denied because they found out that her previous marriage was never annulled. My parents hired a lawyer in the Philippines to settle annulment once and for all. It took them 10 years to finalize the annulment and now my mother is finally free from her previous marriage! Now, my father would like to bring her in the states. What would be the best approach/route to take for them? Asking for advice because these situations are rare! Thank you.

 

If they are legally married and the annulment is final/official, applying for CR-1/IR-1 visa would be best. You need to ensure that because the annulment wasn't done until some 10 years later that they are infact legally married first, as obviously it would  be void if your mother was still officially married to someone else. Process for CR-1/IR-1 visa is about 14 months. Guide is here: http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide1

 

 

Edited July 16, 2018 by Ben&Zian

[AnaMarie18 0]

14 minutes ago, AnaMarie18 said:

11 minutes ago, Ben&Zian said:

 

If they are legally married and the annulment is final/official, applying for CR-1/IR-1 visa would be best. You need to ensure that because the annulment wasn't done until some 10 years later that they are infact legally married first, as obviously it would  be void if your mother was still officially married to someone else. Process for CR-1/IR-1 visa is about 14 months. Guide is here: http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide1

 

 

Hello Ben&Zian,

Thank you so much for the response! Yes, they are legally married still from 2005, do you think they need to get married again? Or is the marriage from 2005 prior to the annulment will suffice? Their marriage in 2005 is recognized in the Phlippines.

 

[ThomasNC1988 762]

http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide1

[doggieandsam 765]

first off, the tourist visa was most likely not granted because the CO  thought your mom had more ties to the US (ie USC "husband") than ties back home. getting denied a tourist visa on the grounds of "not having a previous marriage annulled" is not correct (for lack of a better term).

 

re your question, if i'm understanding correctly, your mom got married to your USC stepdad while still married to her previous husband. this means that second marriage was null and void and so your mom and USC stepdad are not officially married yet. so the next step is for them to actually get married. and then file for spouse visa (CR1). or they can file for a fiancee visa (K1) and get married in the US. look at the guides for pros and cons between CR1 and K1 visas.

[Ben&Zian 4,397]

5 minutes ago, AnaMarie18 said:

 

 

That's main thing. They need to make sure that the US recognizes it as legitimate. It's the US laws you're dealing with here.

 

Like also noted by @doggieandsam if they are not legally married as in it was void because of the original marriage not being annulled, it opens up the K-1 fiance visa route as a possibility.

[AnaMarie18 0]

1 minute ago, doggieandsam said:

first off, the tourist visa was most likely not granted because the CO  thought your mom had more ties to the US (ie USC "husband") than ties back home. getting denied a tourist visa on the grounds of "not having a previous marriage annulled" is not correct (for lack of a better term).

 

re your question, if i'm understanding correctly, your mom got married to your USC stepdad while still married to her previous husband. this means that second marriage was null and void and so your mom and USC stepdad are not officially married yet. so the next step is for them to actually get married. and then file for spouse visa (CR1). or they can file for a fiancee visa (K1) and get married in the US. look at the guides for pros and cons between CR1 and K1 visas.

Thank you so much for you response! This is definitely helpful.

[AnaMarie18 0]

6 minutes ago, Ben&Zian said:

 

That's main thing. They need to make sure that the US recognizes it as legitimate. It's the US laws you're dealing with here.

 

Like also noted by @doggieandsam if they are not legally married as in it was void because of the original marriage not being annulled, it opens up the K-1 fiance visa route as a possibility.

Thank you! I understand that the US needs to recognize their marriage, but as a Filipino when applying for a k-1 or spouse visa, they require you to submit a copy of your nso certificate that shows you are single/married (I forget what it's actually called) and in that certificate, my US father and mother are legally married and also shows that her annulment didn't get finalized until AFTER their marriage. That is what is confusing for them.

[Boiler 43,425]

Get married

[Ben&Zian 4,397]

5 minutes ago, AnaMarie18 said:

Thank you! I understand that the US needs to recognize their marriage, but as a Filipino when applying for a k-1 or spouse visa, they require you to submit a copy of your nso certificate that shows you are single/married (I forget what it's actually called) and in that certificate, my US father and mother are legally married and also shows that her annulment didn't get finalized until AFTER their marriage. That is what is confusing for them.

 

CEMAR for previously married. CENOMAR for never married.

 

Anyways yes that is confusing because it may cause complications through USCIS and the embassy level so it's important to for them to verify it is legal otherwise will just be a huge waste of time and money for the application or visa to be denied later on.

[AnaMarie18 0]

3 minutes ago, Ben&Zian said:

 

CEMAR for previously married. CENOMAR for never married.

 

Anyways yes that is confusing because it may cause complications through USCIS and the embassy level so it's important to for them to verify it is legal otherwise will just be a huge waste of time and money for the application or visa to be denied later on.

Thank you! It's just hard for them to trust any legal representative/immigration lawyer because they have been scammed once. Thank you for everyone's kind response!

[Unidentified 2,930]

Well as stated in your other thread: your mother married a USC BEFORE the annulment so it's most likely null and void. They need to get legally married and start the spousal visa process. 

[Ontarkie 13,913]

~~Duplicate threads merged. Please do not start more then one thread for the same topic.~~

[doggieandsam 765]

11 hours ago, AnaMarie18 said:

Thank you! I understand that the US needs to recognize their marriage, but as a Filipino when applying for a k-1 or spouse visa, they require you to submit a copy of your nso certificate that shows you are single/married (I forget what it's actually called) and in that certificate, my US father and mother are legally married and also shows that her annulment didn't get finalized until AFTER their marriage. That is what is confusing for them.

oh man, what a mess!

 

so...your mom and stepdad's marriage ceremony is likely null and void but there is a record of their marriage somehow in the NSO / PSA system. how did your mom and stepdad manage to register their marriage with NSO/PSA in 2005, when at that time your mom would have been still registered in the system as married to somebody else? i am wondering too how your mom can forget she was actually still married to another person when she went and "married" your stepdad? i don't think the fact that one is married is something very easy to forget. 2005 is not that too long ago and at that time I am pretty sure the PSA, then called the NSO, already had their stuff together. it's very unlikely they made a mistake and just accepted your mom's new marriage registration without it being somehow flagged in the system as erroneous.

 

Anyway, i guess they now have to correct your mom's and stepdad's record entry at the PSA first before attempting to get married again. otherwise the dates of the annulment and subsequent marriages wouldn't line up. but how though? again, i wouldn't be surprised if the PSA tells them to get the second (non) marriage "annulled" too. you may not like or trust lawyers but i think you really need to get one and a competent one at that!

 

 

[JE57 239]

A couple of thoughts..  1st if your Dad and Mom are living in the Philippines and have been married for 10 years and they can get a CEMAR that states that then they should/could pursue DCF (direct consulate filing) which would be much faster and thus allow them to discover any potential problems much quicker.   Note that while others have suggested that the 2nd marriage was never valid because it was conducted while your mother was still married to someone else I would suggest that this is not necessarily the case.  If the annulment was recent than they need to make sure they complete the registration of that annulment with PSA so the CEMAR or CENOMAR would be annotated with the Annulment.  If the obtained CEMAR shows that they are married then all is good to go.  There would be questions how this could have happened given the 2nd marriage would have been a bigamous marriage at the time but the annulment makes the first marriage non-existent so the 2nd marriage would become valid.  Although there are a lot of potential legal pitfalls here.  Overall the first step before they start any immigration actions is to request a CENOMAR from the PSA.  If your Mom shows up as married PSA will return a CEMAR and then you can see what the Philippines view of all this is and decide how to proceed.   The Philippines view is important because ultimately the US Gov. will also see a copy of the CEMAR / CENOMAR and what you submit on the immigration applications needs to be consistent with the CEMAR or CENOMAR or you have to provide evidence of actions like marriage or divorce outside the Philippines..  Let us know what those documents show and then there will be many on here who can further advise.  Also rather your Mom and Dad got married or your Mom got divorced from the first marriage outside of the Phlippines at anytime.  (For example perhaps she got divorced from the first husband in a place like Hong Kong)