My Fiancé will be Annuled Sept 20th. Do we still need certificate from NSO?

[aratamorne 164]

My 2 cents, enough people have made the case for possible repercussions due to the error in filing while the beneficiary was still married......I would let this instance expire and start over, better to wait a bit longer and file correctly than risk the chance of not being allowed together. Even done mistakenly, you are at the point where it will be brought to light that the application was filed missing some important information. CO may not be very forgiving, too much fraud in that area of the world. Start it over and include all the proper information now that it is all known and addressed.

Good Luck either way,

[NathanAndLiza 2]

Well I've got good news and bad news. The bad news is that my fiancé and I have to refile for the K1 petition again. That means I have to pay the attorneys all over again and all the fees with the USCIS. My attorney's told me not to worry about anything. Every state is different when filing the K1 petition. Arizona is the fastest State to process K1 petitions. Also my Fiancés aunt works at the City Civil Registrar so as soon as my fiance Annulnent is done Sept 20th, her aunt will resister her as single and my fiancé will take her discree to the NSO. We will file again sometime in october and hopefully by january, the Embassy in manila will receive the petition. My fiancé is part of the Fernandez family.

[JFH 12,189]

Why do you have to pay an attorney again? You didn't have to pay one the first time - although it was your choice and a waste of money too if your attorney did not point out that your fiancé was not legally free to marry therefore the petition was null and void.

All K-1 petitions are sent to Lewisville, TX and then routed to California service centre. They don't touch Arizona so I don't know why you think Arizona processes them faster - they don't process them at all.

It doesn't matter which family she belongs to. No one is above the law in this process. As you have discovered to your cost.

[Greenbaum 12,258]

NathanAndLiza, on 12 Jul 2016 - 7:56 PM, said:

Well I've got good news and bad news. The bad news is that my fiancé and I have to refile for the K1 petition again. That means I have to pay the attorneys all over again and all the fees with the USCIS. My attorney's told me not to worry about anything. Every state is different when filing the K1 petition. Arizona is the fastest State to process K1 petitions. Also my Fiancés aunt works at the City Civil Registrar so as soon as my fiance Annulnent is done Sept 20th, her aunt will resister her as single and my fiancé will take her discree to the NSO. We will file again sometime in october and hopefully by january, the Embassy in manila will receive the petition. My fiancé is part of the Fernandez family.

I'm going to save you a TON of MONEY!! You don't need to use a lawyer and the lawyer you have that is telling you that it is faster in one state then another is full of Bull$$$$$. You can do this yourself. FIRE the lawyer.

First you need to get familiar with two things. One is my website that walks you through step by step the processing of your I129f all the way through Naturalization. All this can be done by you by following the directions I give on my website. It's FREE to use. Every document and every step in getting the document is outlined there. I talk about all the "gotchas" for the Philippines. Not all Embassy's process the same nor do they require the same documents. http://tinyurl.com/ob9xoa8

Second thing you need to do is head over to the sub-forum for the Philippines where you will meet many who have gone before you and we will be happy to answer any questions you have every step of the way.

[NathanAndLiza 2]

Why would I fire my Lawyer? They got my petition approved and did an excellent Job. You fire someone because they didn't do their job. That may not be true living in certain states, some petitions take longer or some go by faster but no one one will nrver know. Anyways, the first petition, I only paid $795.00 for everything so that's very cheap compared to some immigration attorneys who will charge $1,000+ so I'm happy with my attorney. I already know and Im familiar with the steps of the K1 petition. Besides, I'm also a truck driver. I drive 48 states including Canada and southern Alaska and sometimes I'm rewuired to drive in Hawaii 1-3 months a year so thats why I have an attorney. I send them all the documents they need and the file the K1 petition for me. You can file on your own but everyone has their own preference and different situations.

Edited July 13, 2016 by NathanAndLiza

[JFH 12,189]

If your lawyer told you that Arizona is the fastest state to process K-1 petitions, you already have more than enough reason to fire him/her.

[KayDeeCee 4,891]

That may not be true living in certain states, some petitions take longer or some go by faster but no one one will nrver know.

Yes, we do know. The petitions are not processed based on states. They are currently all sent to the CSC, and no one weeds out the petitions based on what state they were mailed from.

Your lawyer has no clue about the I-129F processing process if that is what he truly believes. I personally think he was just blowing sunshine up your bum so you would continue using his services and keep paying.

Your lawyer also should have known not to send your petition without having the annulment papers first. An immigration lawyer should know the requirements of the forms they need to submit for their clients.

[belinda63 2,981]

Your attorney cost you the original filing fee plus his fees plus anything else you had paid related to the original petition since it should never have been filed. Not only that but now there MIGHT be an issue with her stating she was free to marry when she was not. Your attorney cost you money when he should have known the first petition would never get her a visa. Know he is telling you because you live in Arizona it will go faster? Your state of residence has nothing to do with it.

[Light27 5]

With all other issues aside, how on earth have you pin-pointed a date that the annulment will be complete? I call foul play on this one. Not only are annulments in the Philippines incredibly unpredictable, but they are totally 100% dependent on multiple layers of processes. Barring no delays with the judge, and all hearings stay on schedule, you have quite an uphill climb ahead of you. I can say with confidence that October is out-of-the-question.

Once the district judge issues his decision, the case will move to the OSG (office of Solicitor General). You won't see or hear anything for two months. Guaranteed. Once the OSG responds, the court must make receipt and hold the case for an additional two weeks. Assuming you get the Entry of Judgment and the Certificate of Finality from the court, you will have to pay a visit to at least one (possibly two) LCR locations.

The first will be in the district / city where the annulment was completed. You will also have to seek a regional Annotated MC from the LCR in which your fiancé was originally married. Next stage is to expedite (that means mailing ONLY) the documents via private courier to the PSA in Manila where you WILL wait another one to months. It is highly unlikely, although not impossible, that the PSA process can be expedited. Do not hold your breath on this one. In the past, a few have been lucky, most have not.

After all is said and done, and you make it to the doorstep of the USEM in Manila for your interview, you will have to contend with the fact that your I-129F was filed BEFORE your fiancé was legally free to marry. Regardless of what she signed / didn't sign after her marriage, if she is legally married according to the PSA, then there is no getting around this one. Please do not set yourself or her up for failure and disappointment. Do this right.

** Side Note** There is NO formal process that I am aware of to get the PSA / NSO process expedited. If you're lucky, and you know somebody on the inside, you might have an advantage. If you don't know anybody on the inside, monetary gifts sometimes get you through the front door. Let me share with you what that meant for us. My fiancé offered a gift to a guard outside of the PSA location. He escorted her directly inside to a deputy director. The Deputy director accepted my fiancés paperwork and a gift, and promised a response within a week. Two months later we were still waiting. After multiple phone calls, and two more visits to the PSA, the individual who had accepted the gift, adamantly denied having ever met my fiancé, and all of her paperwork was suspiciously misplaced. Here is the bottom line (and this is a collective bottom line from many, many people who have gone before you) DO NOT COUNT ON THE PROCESS BEING EXPEDITED. If it is, great. That's just a bonus. If not, join the ranks.

I have asked this already but just need some clarification and maybe other opinions regarding certificate of finality of annulment. I submitted the 129-f with the annulment decree with certificate of finality and been signed and received by local civil registrar where the annulment was filed, We are still waiting for the annotated marriage certificate from NSO. Does this mean that was not sufficient to say the a person is free to marry already having the COF approved by the judge already? Thanks for all your time giving your opinion.

[TBoneTX 43,069]

If you've asked this before, please await answers in the previous thread in which you asked; avoid hijacking others' threads. This country-specific query is best posted in the Philippines regional forum.

The OP hasn't logged on to VisaJourney in nearly 3 months, so this thread is now closed to further comment. The OP is welcome to start a fresh thread on the topic if and as events warrant.

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