My friend is married to USC can't get k3 Visa!

[Deputy Purple 1,294]

The PH Marriage isn't valid.

In the PH a USC must provide an "Affidavit of Legal Capacity to Marry" which is received from the USEM in Manila.

The USC committed perjury when he swore under oath that he was single and legally able to enter in marriage.

On the Philippine Marriage Contract he also swore that he was single and able to legally enter in marriage.

The Philippine Marriage Contract is VOID, they should contact the NSO with documents showing he was legally married at the time of their "Wedding" 8 years ago and have the marriage record stricken.

It may require a lawyer but if it was me I'd contact the NSO directly first and ask them what it takes to correct.

[mrs. wife! 3]

Is there possible for them to go to a 3rd country and get married there? And use this marriage certificate for the visa? Or get divorced in Philippines and apply for K1? I'm not a lawyer, just trowing out some thoughts.

[T_and_A 3]

Is there possible for them to go to a 3rd country and get married there? Why not? People can get married any country they want, even if it's a third world country as long as they are legally able to and abides by the laws. In this case, i am not sure if their marriage in the Philippines is void though since considering the USC is still legally married at the time of their marriage 8 years ago.

And use this marriage certificate for the visa? Or get divorced in Philippines and apply for K1?

Divorce is not legal in the Philippines. They can annul the marriage if it's still not voided yet, since again, the USC is still legally married at the time.

I'm not a lawyer, just trowing out some thoughts.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

The PH Marriage isn't valid.

In the PH a USC must provide an "Affidavit of Legal Capacity to Marry" which is received from the USEM in Manila.

The USC committed perjury when he swore under oath that he was single and legally able to enter in marriage.

On the Philippine Marriage Contract he also swore that he was single and able to legally enter in marriage.

The Philippine Marriage Contract is VOID, they should contact the NSO with documents showing he was legally married at the time of their "Wedding" 8 years ago and have the marriage record stricken.

It may require a lawyer but if it was me I'd contact the NSO directly first and ask them what it takes to correct.

Concur.

I would definitely speak with a lawyer about it thought to find out if he'll get into trouble for lying about being able to be married. It will require some work but it should be able to be fixed.

[mrs. wife! 3]

Thanks for clarifying! I didn't know you can't get divorced in Philippines.

About the 3rd country I was concerned about traveling arrangements.

Oh well, maybe a good attorney can help them out! Good luck to the OP.

[Marzy 1]

I thought, DIVORCED decree paper is required to get married in Philippines?

[sjr09 155]

Is the law of the Phillipines REALLY that you can be married in another country and become legally married to another person in the Phillipines? If so, that's nuts! Surely being already legally married makes him a bigamist and therefore grounds for annulment.

Ahhhh No

[sjr09 155]

The key word is, he was not free to take somebody in marriage at that time: polygamy, is the practice of a person's making him/herself available for two or more spouses.

[claireg 0]

They can get remarried anywhere in the world. There are many places where you can get remarried in 5mn: Las Vegas or Reno, Mexico, Cayman Islands.....Why not profit of the vacations to tie the knot another time in a romantic place? They will get a "US valid" marriage certificate.

Just wondering if anybody crossed to this kind of situation personally or from other people. My friend is married to USC and the wedding takes place in the Philippines. Their K3 application was denied because her husbands divorced paper was signed later than their date of marriage in the Phils. US void their marriage certificate from Phils coz it shows that his still married in US during their wedding. They've been married for 8 yrs and they have 2 kids now. Their planning to apply for K1 since US said they're not married. Question is how does that work? Since if K1 CENOMAR is one of the requirements for K1 and of course what will show in the Phis record their married. Maybe best for her is to apply for tourist? and if approved come to US and marry again? Then go back to Phils and apply for K3 using the Marriage Certificate from US? hows that sound? would that work? please let me know your thoughts.

I just think she have the right to be in US also. Since her kids are ready to visit US now, while she's stuck in the Phils.

[sjr09 155]

I thought, DIVORCED decree paper is required to get married in Philippines?

You are right.

It's not hard to fly below the radar at that point, but when you apply for a visa they( USCIS) will check your doc's as they did,

his marriage and divorce dates showed at the time he was not free to marry in the eyes of the US gov.

Any foreigner who wishes to marry in the Philippines is required by the Philippine Government to obtain from his/her Embassy a "Certificate of Legal Capacity to Contract Marriage" before filing an application for a marriage license. This certification affirms that there are no legal impediments to the foreigner marrying a Filipino (i.e, that the foreigner is already married to someone else). Unlike the Philippines, the U.S. Government does not keep a central statistical registry for births, marriages and deaths and cannot verify this information. Instead, the Philippine Government accepts an "Affidavit in Lieu of a Certificate of Legal Capacity to Contract Marriage."

[sheila526 2]

I don't know much about the Marriage Law in the Philippines but I do know that the USC husband can file a divorce in the US and it will be recognized in the Philippines. I do know this because I almost had a divorce with my USC husband But your friend's situation is very complicated. They can't apply a divorce in the US since they don't recognize that it's valid, that's why they are denied, right

But my question is, how did they get married without proofs of the divorce to the prior marriage of the USC? I remember that a USC has to sign an Affidavit in Lieu of a Certificate of Legal Capacity to contract Marriage. I believe that the marriage should be null and void because the USC divorce was not finalized yet at the time he signed the affidavit and the time he got married in the Philippines.

[Deputy Purple 1,294]

But my question is, how did they get married without proofs of the divorce to the prior marriage of the USC? I remember that a USC has to sign an Affidavit in Lieu of a Certificate of Legal Capacity to contract Marriage. I believe that the marriage should be null and void because the USC divorce was not finalized yet at the time he signed the affidavit and the time he got married in the Philippines.

The USC Lied under oath to the USEM Employee.

If he had told them he was married they would have required he produce a notarized copy of the Divorce order signed by the presiding judge. I know this because I married my wife in the Philippines after having been divorced for 9 years.

Most likely situation is that he stated he wasn't previously married.

Getting married in another country won't work. Her CERMAR (Certificate of Marriage in the Philippines) will show the old Philippine marriage record so the dates won't match.

[lucyrich 19]

One other point. In immigration matters, the intending immigrant always has the burden of proving eligibility for an immigration benefit. So, to get an IR-1 or K-3 visa, you have to prove you are legally married. To get a K-1, you have to prove you are not married. If you don't prove your marital status to the satisfaction of the officer, you don't get the visa. The normal standard of proof is "via a preponderance of the evidence".

It is not good to have any ambiguity in your marital status.

Just because the officer pointed out that it looked like the couple's marriage wasn't valid because of the irregularity in the dates of the divorce and marriage, that doesn't necessarily mean that same officer would say the couple has proven themselves to be single if that same couple applied for a K-1. In fact, I'd guess they wouldn't be eligible for a K-1, and if they filed for one, the previous K-3 filing on the record where they claimed to be married might open them up to a misrepresentation charge.

I don't know enough to suggest a course of action, but this is a tricky mess. They've got to prove their marital status unambiguously (a Philippine family law attorney might know how to do this), and they've got to avoid the appearance that they might have misrepresented themselves on the K-3 that they already filed (a US immigration attorney might advise them on that issue).

[sjr09 155]

I don't know much about the Marriage Law in the Philippines but I do know that the USC husband can file a divorce in the US and it will be recognized in the Philippines. I do know this because I almost had a divorce with my USC husband But your friend's situation is very complicated. They can't apply a divorce in the US since they don't recognize that it's valid, that's why they are denied, right

But my question is, how did they get married without proofs of the divorce to the prior marriage of the USC? I remember that a USC has to sign an Affidavit in Lieu of a Certificate of Legal Capacity to contract Marriage. I believe that the marriage should be null and void because the USC divorce was not finalized yet at the time he signed the affidavit and the time he got married in the Philippines.

the U.S. Government does not keep a central statistical registry for births, marriages and deaths and cannot verify this information. All you do at USEM for the legal capacity is take an oath, like I said they don't check at that point.

[sheila526 2]

sjr09 - I don't remember the procedure at the US Embassy My husband was never married before so I really don't know if they don't check it. But it seems like the USC lied about his previous marriage.

Bob 4 Anna - yeah it seems like the USC didn't mention about the previous marriage.