Petiton for recognition of divorce from foreign country

[Tobydale 2]

Met my fiance' a year ago. (see my story).I am American living in US. She is a Phils citizen who has been living / working in Japan (long term visa) for last 15 years. We are just now starting the visa process (nothing filed yet). She has been married 1 time before to a Japanese man who also lives in Japan. They were married in the Phils 10 yrs ago. They divorced (in Japan) 1 yr later. So she has been divorced more than 9 yrs now. She did nothing to annull her marriage in Phils, only court divorce in Japan. She thinks that a copy of divorce was sent to Phils Embassy but not sure. She requested form from NSO 2 years ago and it states her one marriage and the date it took place. Just last week she went to city hall in her town in Japan to get copy of divorce paper so that we can get CENOMAR. They gave her a form and said that she must get her ex's permission via signature/stamp in order to get a copy of divorce. So this is the first hurdle we have come across. She has not seen or spoken to him since the divorce and now has to locate him just for permission. Once we get this document I understand from reading here that we (she) will have to have to have that document translated into English. Where can she get this done 'officially" so that it is valid? Can that be done at the Phils Embassy in Tokyo? Once done we need to file for petition for recognition of foreign divorce. Is that correct? Where can this petition be filed? Can we do thru the mail? Do we have to have an attorney? Her friend is telling her that it can cost 120,000 PSP and could take 1-2 years!!! This cant be right can it? I certainly hope not. If this petition can be processed and CENOMAR received in say 3-4 months, can I file the I29 while that is being processed? All help and advice is greatly appreciated.I know we have long road ahead of us.

Edited March 4, 2013 by Tobydale

[jasmine427 0]

first try to locate the ex-husband for her to get the authorization letter for divorce certificate..

and when u have this on hand, u can file the 129 petition.

i sent you private message.. hope it can help you

Edited March 5, 2013 by jasmine427

[Tahoma 2,291]

Here's my opinion:

1. Get the Japanese divorce decree and have it translated into English by a private professional translator.

2. Then, file the I-129F.

3. Have your fiancée interview for her fiancée visa at the U.S. Embassy in Japan.

4. Once she has her visa, have your fiancée fly from Japan to the U.S.

More opinion:

The USCIS and the U.S. Embassy in Japan will acknowledge her as being single and eligible for a fiancée visa because she's divorced, and the U.S. recognizes divorce. The Embassy will issue her a visa.

She won't need a "recognition of foreign divorce" from a Filipino court because she is not leaving from the Philippines after she receives her visa. If she were leaving from the Philippines, she would need the "recognition of foreign divorce" because she wouldn't be able to get a CFO sticker without one. She would not be able to board a flight in the Philippines to the U.S. without a CFO sticker.

If she leaves for the U.S. from Japan, she won't have to have a CFO sticker in her passport.

Edited March 5, 2013 by Tahoma

[TBoneTX 43,175]

*** Thread moved from K-1 Process forum to Philippines regional subforum -- country-specific information is required. ***

[Tobydale 2]

Thank you Tahoma and Jasmine.

Jasmine,

You said you did no file petition until 3 weeks before your interview. Did you already know that you would not need the CENOMAR ?

Tahoma,

Will they ask for proof of availability to marry at interview? If so , then divorce decree is sufficient?

To all.

Start to finish from time I file i29 to visa issue barring Any setbacks will be 8-12 months?

Toby

Thank you Tahoma and Jasmine.

Jasmine,

You said you did no file petition until 3 weeks before your interview. Did you already know that you would not need the CENOMAR ?

Tahoma,

Will they ask for proof of availability to marry at interview? If so , then divorce decree is sufficient?

To all.

Start to finish from time I file i29 to visa issue barring Any setbacks will be 8-12 months?

Toby

[marklovetina 52]

Here's my opinion:

1. Get the Japanese divorce decree and have it translated into English by a private professional translator.

2. Then, file the I-129F.

3. Have your fiancée interview for her fiancée visa at the U.S. Embassy in Japan.

4. Once she has her visa, have your fiancée fly from Japan to the U.S.

More opinion:

The USCIS and the U.S. Embassy in Japan will acknowledge her as being single and eligible for a fiancée visa because she's divorced, and the U.S. recognizes divorce. The Embassy will issue her a visa.

She won't need a "recognition of foreign divorce" from a Filipino court because she is not leaving from the Philippines after she receives her visa. If she were leaving from the Philippines, she would need the "recognition of foreign divorce" because she wouldn't be able to get a CFO sticker without one. She would not be able to board a flight in the Philippines to the U.S. without a CFO sticker.

If she leaves for the U.S. from Japan, she won't have to have a CFO sticker in her passport.

:thumbs:

[Hank_ 9,173]

Here's my opinion:

1. Get the Japanese divorce decree and have it translated into English by a private professional translator.

2. Then, file the I-129F.

3. Have your fiancée interview for her fiancée visa at the U.S. Embassy in Japan.

4. Once she has her visa, have your fiancée fly from Japan to the U.S.

More opinion:

The USCIS and the U.S. Embassy in Japan will acknowledge her as being single and eligible for a fiancée visa because she's divorced, and the U.S. recognizes divorce. The Embassy will issue her a visa.

She won't need a "recognition of foreign divorce" from a Filipino court because she is not leaving from the Philippines after she receives her visa. If she were leaving from the Philippines, she would need the "recognition of foreign divorce" because she wouldn't be able to get a CFO sticker without one. She would not be able to board a flight in the Philippines to the U.S. without a CFO sticker.

If she leaves for the U.S. from Japan, she won't have to have a CFO sticker in her passport.

:thumbs: +

[Tahoma 2,291]

Thank you Tahoma and Jasmine.

Jasmine,

You said you did not file a petition until 3 weeks before your interview. Did you already know that you would not need the CENOMAR ?

Tahoma,

Will they ask for proof of availability to marry at interview? If so , then divorce decree is sufficient?

To all.

Start to finish from time I file the I-129F petition to visa issue barring any setbacks will be 8-12 months?

Your fiancée will be required to submit a CENOMAR at her Embassy interview. The CENOMAR should be somewhat current, like within a month of the interview. The CENOMAR will show her marriage. However, her divorce decree will show that she's divorced and therefore single in the eyes of the Embassy. It will be the same with the USCIS: submitting the CENOMAR and the divorce decree together will show the USCIS that she's single and available to marry.

If your fiancée interviews in the Philippines, she'll also have to submit a CENOMAR and a divorce decree at the CFO seminar. However, the CFO more than likely will require that the divorce be recognized by a Filipino court. Getting the divorce recognized by a Filipino court can take a year and P50,000-120,000.

Right now, the USCIS is very slow in approving I-129F petitions. It can easily take seven months. By the time the petition is approved and the Embassy interview is complete and the visa is issued can easily take 9-12 months.

By the way, your fiancée will need to submit a Japanese police clearance at her Embassy interview. You might want to start looking into that process so you can be ready when the time comes.

[Tobydale 2]

Tahoma,

So when we request CENOMAR it will just show that she is still married in Phils? Or will they deny CENOMAR because she is still showing as married in their eyes? Seems like I am asking same question again, I know. Just trying to be sure that I understand correctly. We are hoping she can interview in Japan. A trip to the Phils just for the interview would be costly. And I will have her inquire about the police report also. Thank you.

[Hank_ 9,173]

NSO will issue a CEMAR (Certificate of Marriage) instead of the CENOMAR because from their records it shows your fiancee to still be married, but as Tahoma said she will have the divorce decree. As long as you do this process from Japan you will be fine.

[Tahoma 2,291]

Tahoma,

So when we request CENOMAR it will just show that she is still married in Phils? Or will they deny CENOMAR because she is still showing as married in their eyes? Seems like I am asking same question again, I know. Just trying to be sure that I understand correctly. We are hoping she can interview in Japan. A trip to the Phils just for the interview would be costly. And I will have her inquire about the police report also. Thank you.

NSO will issue a CEMAR (Certificate of Marriage) instead of the CENOMAR because from their records it shows your fiancee to still be married, but as Tahoma said she will have the divorce decree. As long as you do this process from Japan you will be fine.

Toby...

Hank is correct. The NSO is a national office which collects vital statistics in the Philippines. We really don't have a national equivalent of it here in the U.S. However, it would be similar to you getting your birth certificate from the state where you were born. The NSO won't deny issuing a document. When your fiancée applies for her CENOMAR, the NSO will issue it to her.

However, since she has been married before, instead of the NSO issuing her a CENOMAR, they actually will issue her a "CRS Form No. 5 - Advisory on Marriages" which will show her marriage to her ex. That document, to the best of my knowledge, is also called a "CEMAR" or a "Marriage Index." You will submit that document in your I-129F petition to the USCIS, along with her translated divorce decree. That's also the document she will submit during her Embassy interview (although she will need an updated version of it for her interview), along with her translated divorce decree.

CRS Form No. 5 - Advisory on Marriages

[Tobydale 2]

The CEMAR makes sense to me. You say I will need to submit that document along with divorce decree WITH the I-29F? I did not see anything other than a box to check marital status for each of us on the I-29. I was hoping that I could file my I-29F now, while we are getting the CEMAR and translated decree. I did not think I needed those 2 docs until interview time . ?

Thank you

[Tahoma 2,291]

The CEMAR makes sense to me. You say I will need to submit that document along with divorce decree WITH the I-29F? I did not see anything other than a box to check marital status for each of us on the I-29. I was hoping that I could file my I-29F now, while we are getting the CEMAR and translated decree. I did not think I needed those 2 docs until interview time . ?

Thank you

Yes, under the circumstances, in my opinion, you should play it safe and submit the CEMAR and the divorce decree along with your I-129F petition packet. You don't want to give the USCIS any reason to hold up your I-129F petition. Petitioners of Filipinos have been known to get RFE's (Requests for Evidence) from the USCIS for these same documents. Remember, the USCIS's job is to see if you two have met face-to-face within the past two years of filing your petition and whether you both are free to marry. In my opinion, you need to be proactive on the "free to marry" part.

Including those documents with your I-129F petition is called "front-loading" your petition. Another benefit of front-loading your petition to the USCIS is that it gives the Embassy less to scrutinize when your case makes it to that level.

I would wait on your I-129F petition until you've completed this necessary groundwork. I think it will pay off in the long run.

I hope others who have been through this process will chime in.

[Hank_ 9,173]

I am not big on front loading the I-129F with documents needed at the embassy but in this case I do agree with Tahoma and get the decree and CEMAR done with the I-129F petition. There are a few horror stories floating about VJ so I totally agree with getting this submitted with the I-129F

[Tobydale 2]

"front loading" makes sense too. I am getting there. That's fine. CEMAR should be simple to get. So glad we do not need the CENOMAR. Only 1 day after joining this site and I am already so much more informed than I have ever been on the subject. We have proven direction now, and that feel good. Thank you all.