Divorce question

[Skeeter 1]

Hi folks. I'm not really sure where exactly to post this question so if it's in the wrong part of the forum, forgive me.

Anyway, to make it short, no story, only the facts.

Male U.S. citizen in Florida

Female Philippino citizen in Cebu, never been out of her country and never been through a visa process.

Both were married in the Philippines.

U.S. citizen in Florida now wants to divorce her.

I've heard countless contradictory responses to this question from a host of different places so I came here to ask.

Can the US citizen file for divorce from a Philippine marriage while he is in Florida. If he can then I can see where he would then be a free man again. But, what about the woman in the Philippines. Is she also free now to remarry?

Thanks for your responses,

Mike

[carton025 38]

Yes, the US citizen can file for divorce. After the divorce, the Philippine citizen will be free to marry provided she has processed the divorce papers through the NSO and it has been properly recorded. This process can take up to 6 months and usually involves the Philippines citizen involved to walk thru and help process the paperwork. Others may have better info. regarding the lenght of time and processes involved.

[merkin&regine 18]

Hi folks. I'm not really sure where exactly to post this question so if it's in the wrong part of the forum, forgive me.

Anyway, to make it short, no story, only the facts.

Male U.S. citizen in Florida

Female Philippino citizen in Cebu, never been out of her country and never been through a visa process.

Both were married in the Philippines.

U.S. citizen in Florida now wants to divorce her.

I've heard countless contradictory responses to this question from a host of different places so I came here to ask.

Can the US citizen file for divorce from a Philippine marriage while he is in Florida. If he can then I can see where he would then be a free man again. But, what about the woman in the Philippines. Is she also free now to remarry?

Thanks for your responses,

Mike

File the divorce in your state, ( I suggest hiring a divorce atty), when the divorce is finalized, you are free to marry anyone. If there's no waiting period for remarriage in your state (check withyour atty).

Provide your x wife her the divorce decree. If she wants all stuff in order, she can then file a petition for recognition of Foriegn judgement (divorce decree), once petition is granted, the final judgement is then forwarded to appropriate agency (NSO) to dissolve your previous marriage in the Philippines.

She then can marry again.

Good luck !

[Skeeter 1]

File the divorce in your state, ( I suggest hiring a divorce atty), when the divorce is finalized, you are free to marry anyone. If there's no waiting period for remarriage in your state (check withyour atty).

Provide your x wife her the divorce decree. If she wants all stuff in order, she can then file a petition for recognition of Foriegn judgement (divorce decree), once petition is granted, the final judgement is then forwarded to appropriate agency (NSO) to dissolve your previous marriage in the Philippines.

She then can marry again.

Good luck !

Hey, much thanks to the both of you for your responses. One further question now that i have that particular answer--------I have also heard that the US citizen who files for the divorce within his state can do it all by himself and doesn't even have to notify the girl. Not saying that it's right to do that. Just saying that I've heard others say that she doesn't even have to consent or even know. What do you think about that? Have you heard of that as well?

OK, just so you all know that it's not me who's the heel in this episode, the girl who I am looking to marry has found herself in this situation with a man in Florida and they were married in the PI. They haven't had contact for more than 4 years and now she would like to look him up and talk to him to see if he will go ahead and obtain a divorce from her from within his state so that we can move forward and proceed toward obtaining a fiance visa for her to come here with me.

Mike

Mike

[Skeeter 1]

Hey, much thanks to the both of you for your responses. One further question now that i have that particular answer--------I have also heard that the US citizen who files for the divorce within his state can do it all by himself and doesn't even have to notify the girl. Not saying that it's right to do that. Just saying that I've heard others say that she doesn't even have to consent or even know. What do you think about that? Have you heard of that as well?

OK, just so you all know that it's not me who's the heel in this episode, the girl who I am looking to marry has found herself in this situation with a man in Florida and they were married in the PI. They haven't had contact for more than 4 years and now she would like to look him up and talk to him to see if he will go ahead and obtain a divorce from her from within his state so that we can move forward and proceed toward obtaining a fiance visa for her to come here with me.

Mike

Mike

Ooops. Just one more thing popped into my head. You said that after she receives her copies of the divorce papers or the decree part then she files a "petition for recognition of a foreign judgement". Is filing that petition a legal matter like with attorneys and courts or it is just a visiting of some government office and filing that paperwork with them and then waiting until it goes through the NSO?

Mike

[Penguin_ie 6,000]

***** Moving from K3 to Philippines regional forum as question country specific *****

[Speech33 0]

Let us clear you things out, If you get married in the Philippines to a US Citizen,it doesn't mean that automatically your marriage is register in the US,nonetheless if your husband is too good to Register here in the US your marriage/report it.It applies to those who do the journey of K1 visa like me a Filipina .After our marriage here in the US ,our marriage is only Register at the US but not yet at Phil.To do that i will have to report that marriage to any Philippine Consulate here to Register my marriage.So if your asking me if your x husband from Florida can divorce you here while you are there,it will lead you to a question like: Is he known married here with you/or reported that married here?.If not ,how can he divorce you when he is single here?.Did you get what I mean?.He is still single here in US id marriage is not reported here legally.It doesn't mean your married there ,so its automatic you are considered married here in the US,,this is two different thing.

Other thing is he can/you can divorce here in the US if either both of you are citizen or a green card holder and you can pass that divorce degree in Philippine court to acknowledge your divorce there.

So this is connected to a presumptive of death,Mike I'am telling you there is no short cut way for this process.It will just make it a long way journey.Do the right,safe way..Philippine embassy is so so strict nowadays.Fraud and anomalies are examine under the microscope.

[Caryh 5,206]

Ooops. Just one more thing popped into my head. You said that after she receives her copies of the divorce papers or the decree part then she files a "petition for recognition of a foreign judgement". Is filing that petition a legal matter like with attorneys and courts or it is just a visiting of some government office and filing that paperwork with them and then waiting until it goes through the NSO?

Mike

This is a court filing thing with attorney. The court is required to verify that the divorce was given properly by the laws of the location that issued it. So they need the divorce papers and copies of the divorce laws where it was granted. After the court rules on the case, then the court ruling needs to be filed with the NSO so her CEMAR can be annotated to show the marriage was terminated legally. I've heard the court doesn't automatically forward their judgement to the NSO, but her lawyer would need to do this second step.

[Caryh 5,206]

Let us clear you things out, If you get married in the Philippines to a US Citizen,it doesn't mean that automatically your marriage is register in the US,nonetheless if your husband is too good to Register here in the US your marriage/report it.It applies to those who do the journey of K1 visa like me a Filipina .After our marriage here in the US ,our marriage is only Register at the US but not yet at Phil.To do that i will have to report that marriage to any Philippine Consulate here to Register my marriage.So if your asking me if your x husband from Florida can divorce you here while you are there,it will lead you to a question like: Is he known married here with you/or reported that married here?.If not ,how can he divorce you when he is single here?.Did you get what I mean?.He is still single here in US id marriage is not reported here legally.It doesn't mean your married there ,so its automatic you are considered married here in the US,,this is two different thing.

Other thing is he can/you can divorce here in the US if either both of you are citizen or a green card holder and you can pass that divorce degree in Philippine court to acknowledge your divorce there.

So this is connected to a presumptive of death,Mike I'am telling you there is no short cut way for this process.It will just make it a long way journey.Do the right,safe way..Philippine embassy is so so strict nowadays.Fraud and anomalies are examine under the microscope.

There is no central registry to report a marriage to in the USA. If some is married in the foreign country, they are married here, so they certainly can divorce in the USA as long as they meet the residency requirements of the state they live in.

[Hank_ 9,174]

Let us clear you things out, If you get married in the Philippines to a US Citizen,it doesn't mean that automatically your marriage is register in the US (huh??? Married is married there is no reporting in the USA),nonetheless if your husband is too good to Register here in the US your marriage/report it.It applies to those who do the journey of K1 visa like me a Filipina .After our marriage here in the US ,our marriage is only Register at the US but not yet at Phil.To do that i will have to report that marriage to any Philippine Consulate here to Register my marriage.So if your asking me if your x husband from Florida can divorce you here while you are there,it will lead you to a question like: Is he known married here with you/or reported that married here? (Huh, Huh????).If not ,how can he divorce you when he is single here?.Did you get what I mean?(Nope!! Don't get what you mean... no national registration in the USA) (He is still single here in US id marriage is not reported here legally (Totally not true!).It doesn't mean your married there ,so its automatic you are considered married here in the US,,this is two different thing.

Other thing is he can/you can divorce here in the US if either both of you are citizen or a green card holder and you can pass that divorce degree in Philippine court to acknowledge your divorce there. (Yes the Philippine citizen can petition divorce in the USA doesn't need to be a green card holder or U.S. citizen BUT! the divorce in the USA will only be recognized in the Philippines if petitioned by the FOREIGNER.

So this is connected to a presumptive of death,Mike I'am telling you there is no short cut way for this process.It will just make it a long way journey.Do the right,safe way..Philippine embassy is so so strict nowadays.Fraud and anomalies are examine under the microscope.

Register the foreign marriage in the USA? Just where is this registration to happen in the USA, we don't have an NSO like in the Phils for such things. Report of Marriage in the Philippines when you marry in the USA that is a totally different situation.

[Caryh 5,206]

Register the foreign marriage in the USA? Just where is this registration to happen in the USA, we don't have an NSO like in the Phils for such things. Report of Marriage in the Philippines when you marry in the USA that is a totally different situation.

Sounded like a Filipina who doesn't quite understand the system here trying to equate Philippine law with USA law. USA requires its residents to keep track of if they're married and to dissolve the marriage before getting married again. Philippine law attempts to enforce not getting a marriage license if you haven't dissolved the previous marriage.

[Hank_ 9,174]

Sounded like a Filipina who doesn't quite understand the system here trying to equate Philippine law with USA law. USA requires its residents to keep track of if they're married and to dissolve the marriage before getting married again. Philippine law attempts to enforce not getting a marriage license if you haven't dissolved the previous marriage.

The USA is only interested in controlling AFT (alcohol tobacco firearms)

[Skeeter 1]

There is no central registry to report a marriage to in the USA. If some is married in the foreign country, they are married here, so they certainly can divorce in the USA as long as they meet the residency requirements of the state they live in.

That makes much sense Caryh. Since bigamy is illegal in every country in the world then it only stands to reason that wherever you marry it is recognized everywhere as well.

Mike

[Speech33 0]

Article 26 requires that the divorce should be obtained abroad by the foreign spouse, not by the Filipino spouse. Some might say that this is unfair, but bear in mind that this is a great improvement from the law prior to Article 26 which did not recognize all divorces. That resulted to a lot of injustices to Filipinos because while their foreign spouses who divorced them could remarry, the Filipino spouses remained imprisoned to their defunct marriage. It was double jeopardy, in a way, because they had been abandoned yet remained imprisoned. So, paragraph 2 of Article 26 was added to the Family Code as an “equalizer”, so that these Filipino spouses can have the same freedom as their foreign ex-spouses.

If you are a Philippine national any divorce you file for in another country would not be given recognition by the Philippines. However, if the non citizen, in this case your American husband filed, then it would be recognized as valid in the Philippines.

At least one of you would have to meet your state's residency requirement in order to file.

So,Hank... (Yes the Philippine citizen can petition divorce in the USA doesn't need to be a green card holder or U.S. citizen BUT! the divorce in the USA will only be recognized in the Philippines if petitioned by the FOREIGNER.......

Caryh,...i have a doubt on this paragraph of yours...correct me if I'am wrong...:USA requires its residents to keep track of if they're married and to dissolve the marriage before getting married again.I have known lots of US citizen married in the Philippines but ending up getting married again in the US without doing what you call a US track there resident thingy if there married and to dissolved it before getting married again issue.

I may have not explain it in a right way of English or may have been wrong in some parts but i guess i have some point.

[n and m 10]

Let us clear you things out, If you get married in the Philippines to a US Citizen,it doesn't mean that automatically your marriage is register in the US,nonetheless if your husband is too good to Register here in the US your marriage/report it.It applies to those who do the journey of K1 visa like me a Filipina .After our marriage here in the US ,our marriage is only Register at the US but not yet at Phil.To do that i will have to report that marriage to any Philippine Consulate here to Register my marriage.So if your asking me if your x husband from Florida can divorce you here while you are there,it will lead you to a question like: Is he known married here with you/or reported that married here?.If not ,how can he divorce you when he is single here?.Did you get what I mean?.He is still single here in US id marriage is not reported here legally.It doesn't mean your married there ,so its automatic you are considered married here in the US,,this is two different thing.

Other thing is he can/you can divorce here in the US if either both of you are citizen or a green card holder and you can pass that divorce degree in Philippine court to acknowledge your divorce there.

So this is connected to a presumptive of death,Mike I'am telling you there is no short cut way for this process.It will just make it a long way journey.Do the right,safe way..Philippine embassy is so so strict nowadays.Fraud and anomalies are examine under the microscope.

Tsk Tsk Tsk, youre not clearing things out instead making it more obscure... The OP didn't even ask for registration of marriage.

Edited January 28, 2014 by n and m