Can my fiancee and I use the CR-1 process

[Robor007 0]

I'm currently engaged to a Filipina. I've got a *long* thread posted about our story here:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=19661]

The short version is, We met in January on a cruise ship she works on and started a relationship shortly after. The one problem with our relationship is she is currently married to a US citizen. They were married while she was in San Fran port in May of '05 and spent all of an afternoon together after getting married. They each went back to work, she on the ship and him in Florida so they were apart. The relationship went downhill quickly (a few weeks). He accused her of cheating on him and she couldn't take the constant fighting. She ignored him and they stopped communication. That's the way it was for about a year. Then she and I met and wanted to start a relationship but we can't with her already married.

She asked him to file and he decided to be stubborn and say he's happy with the situation. He said he likes their 'marriage' so he can't repeat the mistake. As it turns out Florida law allows either spouse to file for divorce provided one of them is a resident of 6 months or more. We were happy to hear that and she began divorce proceeding in Florida. We did not realize that doing so is almost pointless as the Philippines will not recognize the divorce because she is the petitioner. Before learning that news we wanted to use a K-1 or K-3 process to be together. We now realize that is not possible because she never updated her marital status in the Philippines and the Philippines will not recognize the divorce she filed for in the US.

We are going to ask the lawyer to stop the current proceedings and ask him to file. Since the divorce proceedings began he has been more cooperative. If he will file, great. If not, she will be here in October to finalize the divorce in court. My question is, once she is legally divorced in the US, can we marry and persue a CR-1 visa even though she never updated her status in the Philippines and isn't technically divorced there?

Thanks for reading and thank you for any advice!

[MrsBruce5 0]

In my opinion, and to the best of my knowledge-once the divorce is final in the US, (and she is immigrating to the US) , it is the American consulate she is dealing with-not Philippine law ...in the US, she would be indeed be considered divorced once it's all finalized and stamped by a judge. If you go the CR1 route, marry in the US to allievate problems...

I would consult a lawyer to be honest with you, just to make sure what I am telling you is correct...just contact the Bar Assoc. in your state, and they will fit you up with an attorney for a consult at a resonable price. We paid $25 for ours, and she showed us the way-after that, we handled things on our own.

Good Luck !!

Rose

[john_and_marlene 162]

In your previous post you discussed marriage in the Philippines following the divorce. There was a problem with that. I'm wondering what the ramifications are if you marry in the U.S. instead and then file for IR1/CR1 and K3. Talk to a Philippine Family Law attorney. You wouldn't have the problem of her ability to marry there. Would the Philippine government consider her a bigamist? Maybe, but I don't think it would ever come up--you won't be dealing with the Philippine gov't. The consulate would recognize the U.S. marriage following a U.S. divorce as legitimate.

In my opinion, and to the best of my knowledge-once the divorce is final in the US, (and she is immigrating to the US) , it is the American consulate she is dealing with-not Philippine law ...in the US, she would be indeed be considered divorced once it's all finalized and stamped by a judge. If you go the CR1 route, marry in the US to allievate problems...

I would consult a lawyer to be honest with you, just to make sure what I am telling you is correct...just contact the Bar Assoc. in your state, and they will fit you up with an attorney for a consult at a resonable price. We paid $25 for ours, and she showed us the way-after that, we handled things on our own.

Good Luck !!

Rose

MrsBruce, Not all countries have the same laws. What you probably don't know is that there is no divorce in the Philippines. Marriages there are for life unless the marriage is annulled. There was a time when they didn't recognize any foreign divorce either. Only in recent years did they amend their family law to recognize a foreign divorce only with the condition that the Philippine citizen was married to a foreign spouse and it was the foreign spouse that filed for the divorce. This has a direct bearing on the "free to marry" requirement. They could not get married in the Philippines as her divorce would not be recognized if she filed for it and she could not meet the "free to marry" requirement of the K1. It's not just a U.S. issue for the K1...she has to be eligible to marry according the the laws of both countries.

Edited June 30, 2006 by john_and_marlene

[MrsBruce5 0]

You're right ...I didn't know that...ohhhhh....that changes things...

My sincere apologies.

In this case, I would suggest that the OP seek out counsel to direct him.

Best of Luck !

Rose

[Robor007 0]

Thank you everyone for reading our situation and for the advice. I have contacted her divorce attorney and given him the details of the situation. He disagreed with what I told him but I don't think he's an expert in Philippine law. He was only hired to handle the divorce proceedings. I asked him if he could contact my fiancee's current husband and ask him to file and he said it's a gray area. Legally he can not give him advice because my fiancee is his client. I told him there is no point in going any further with the divorce with her as the petitioner as it will not be recognized in the Philippines and she would only have to petition for annulment there. That would be recognized in the US making the existing divorce proceedings redundant. Ah, what a mess!

I spoke to my fiancee and she is okay with me contacting her current husband and asking (begging if necessary ) him to file the divorce. I'm going to call him and see if he's willing. If he is either he can get his own attorney to handle it or I'm going to see if he can use the guy who started the process. Whatever is easiest for him will probably be the best chance of getting him to file. Keep your fingers crossed. I'm going to call him over the weekend. I'll report back. Hope it's good news.

[john_and_marlene 162]

I hope he will agree to it. It certainly would solve your problem and would open all options to you afterwards. It would certainly be the right thing for him to do.

Good Luck.

[Robor007 0]

I spoke to her current husband through Email and he said he's willing to file the divorce provided she doesn't try and get anything from him in the process. She doesn't want any of his assets so that shouldn't be an issue. Hopefully this process will start soon and be over quickly.