If we were married outside the Philippines, do we still need a CENMAR for the visa interview?

[Lee & Lei 42]

So, my wife (Filipina) and I are currently working the CR1 process and are collecting various documents to send to the NVC. I want to know do we need the CENMAR before the visa interview? Ordinarily, if we were married in the Philippines I know the answer would definitely be yes... However, we were married in Kuwait (and we still live in Kuwait). We notified the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait of the marriage so that she could obtain a new passport with my family name.

 

Does having our marriage in Kuwait change the requirement for obtaining a CENMAR, or should we go ahead and start trying to obtain the CENMAR now? Also, approximately how many days does it take to obtain the CENMAR if you are in Manila?

Edited May 20, 2017 by knightofdight

[Greenbaum 12,261]

36 minutes ago, knightofdight said:

So, my wife (Filipina) and I are currently working the CR1 process and are collecting various documents to send to the NVC. I want to know do we need the CENMAR before the visa interview? Ordinarily, if we were married in the Philippines I know the answer would definitely be yes... However, we were married in Kuwait (and we still live in Kuwait). We notified the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait of the marriage so that she could obtain a new passport with my family name.

 

Does having our marriage in Kuwait change the requirement for obtaining a CENMAR, or should we go ahead and start trying to obtain the CENMAR now? Also, approximately how many days does it take to obtain the CENMAR if you are in Manila?

Here are the requirements and the documents needed to process your CR1 in Manila.  Follow it and use it as a check list.  The Embassy Letter should answer most of your questions but if not why don't you join us over in the Philippines forum where you will get specific answers to your questions concerning your processing through USEM. I've included the link for you below.

 

https://ph.usembassy.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/82/2016/08/IV-Applicant-Interview-Preparation-Instructions-08112016-English-365KB.pdf

 

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/forum/129-philippines/

 

[Lee & Lei 42]

We are processing our visa at the US embassy in Kuwait, as it is easier for us to access than the one in Manila. That's the difficult part of this -- there seems to be precious little information about their requirements.

 

As a general rule of thumb though, does the US embassy in Manila require you to red-ribbon anything (like the NBI clearance, or your CENMAR?)