Marriage of a US Citizen Abroad

[AdamAndRV 46]

Hi! I'm new here and I apologize if this has been asked before. I'm RV, a Filipina and wife of a US Citizen. We got married on Nov. 21, 2016 & we have already our marriage certificate issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). Hence, there are no local registers in US that would show our marriage in the Philippines. I've inquired about Apostille to the competent authority but our marriage certificate is not listed in the acceptable documents. Now I'm wondering  how my husband can report our marriage and have it recognized... Is there a local registration for US Citizens married abroad? Any advice on this will be highly appreciated. Thank you very much 

[audacieux89 256]

20 minutes ago, AdamAndRV said:

Hi! I'm new here and I apologize if this has been asked before. I'm RV, a Filipina and wife of a US Citizen. We got married on Nov. 21, 2016 & we have already our marriage certificate issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). Hence, there are no local registers in US that would show our marriage in the Philippines. I've inquired about Apostille to the competent authority but our marriage certificate is not listed in the acceptable documents. Now I'm wondering  how my husband can report our marriage and have it recognized... Is there a local registration for US Citizens married abroad? Any advice on this will be highly appreciated. Thank you very much 

For what purpose will you need this for? If you were married in the Philippines, did you follow these instructions before you got married: https://ph.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/local-resources-of-u-s-citizens/getting-married/

[iwannaplay54 985]

38 minutes ago, AdamAndRV said:

Hi! I'm new here and I apologize if this has been asked before. I'm RV, a Filipina and wife of a US Citizen. We got married on Nov. 21, 2016 & we have already our marriage certificate issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). Hence, there are no local registers in US that would show our marriage in the Philippines. I've inquired about Apostille to the competent authority but our marriage certificate is not listed in the acceptable documents. Now I'm wondering  how my husband can report our marriage and have it recognized... Is there a local registration for US Citizens married abroad? Any advice on this will be highly appreciated. Thank you very much 

There are no local US registers that show our marriage either.  The US government recognizes the marriage certificate (or a certified translation of it in our case) that you have.  

 

There is no further registration process available or required.

Edited June 9, 2017 by iwannaplay54

[Jojo92122 1,924]

The US does not have a marriage registry.  Each state records marriages in their respective state only.  Foreign marriages are not registered in the US.

 

Your PH marriage certificate is good in all 50 US states.  There is no need to register it because it can't be done.

[AdamAndRV 46]

42 minutes ago, audacieux89 said:

For what purpose will you need this for? If you were married in the Philippines, did you follow these instructions before you got married: https://ph.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/local-resources-of-u-s-citizens/getting-married/

For the recognition of our marriage performed in the Philippines. Yes we followed all the instructions of US embassy prior to the wedding. 

[AdamAndRV 46]

33 minutes ago, iwannaplay54 said:

There are no local US registers that show our marriage either.  The US government recognizes the marriage certificate (or a certified translation of it in our case) that you have.  

 

There is no further registration process available or required.

Thank you very much 

[audacieux89 256]

Just now, AdamAndRV said:

For the recognition of our marriage performed in the Philippines. Yes we followed all the instructions of US embassy prior to the wedding. 

I believe a bonafide and legal marriage anywhere is already recognized in the US. No need to register it locally. You just have to bring your marriage certificate as proof. If the PSA marriage certificate you have is the one from NSO (National statistics office) and printed on NSO paper, I believe that should be honored already if it is in English. 

[AdamAndRV 46]

20 minutes ago, Jojo92122 said:

The US does not have a marriage registry.  Each state records marriages in their respective state only.  Foreign marriages are not registered in the US.

 

Your PH marriage certificate is good in all 50 US states.  There is no need to register it because it can't be done.

Hi jojo92122, thank you for that. Is there a need for my husband to file a request for change of marital status in the state he belongs? Your helpful comment is much appreciated

[AdamAndRV 46]

9 minutes ago, audacieux89 said:

I believe a bonafide and legal marriage anywhere is already recognized in the US. No need to register it locally. You just have to bring your marriage certificate as proof. If the PSA marriage certificate you have is the one from NSO (National statistics office) and printed on NSO paper, I believe that should be honored already if it is in English. 

 I was curious because for filipinos married abroad we have to report it to the consulate to be recognized. After we got married in the Philippines, Ive no idea on what to do next if there is a need to report the marriage to the US embassy or not. Thank you very much audacieux89 

[millefleur 5,047]

**Moved from US Embassy and Consulate Discussion to the Philippines regional forum; OP might get more clarification there since this is a regional issue**

 

@AdamAndRV The marriage should be automatically recognized in the US. I don't know if there are any special steps regarding local laws in the Philippines, but I was also married abroad and we didn't have to do absolutely anything. The US Embassy accepted my local marriage certificate (plus translation) without any problems.

[AdamAndRV 46]

1 hour ago, millefleur said:

**Moved from US Embassy and Consulate Discussion to the Philippines regional forum; OP might get more clarification there since this is a regional issue**

 

@AdamAndRV The marriage should be automatically recognized in the US. I don't know if there are any special steps regarding local laws in the Philippines, but I was also married abroad and we didn't have to do absolutely anything. The US Embassy accepted my local marriage certificate (plus translation) without any problems.

 

Hi there 😊 thank you so much for that. Our marriage is legal and binding as per Philippines laws. We have no problems with the Philippines' Registry because Philippines is the situs of our marriage and everything has been filed and submitted.

 

  But we were wondering how a marriage of an american citizen that took place outside of America be recognized/recorded in the United States Registry. Do they keep a National Registry of Marriages like what the Philippines do? If yes, what are the steps my husband needs to do in the US to report his marriage in the Philippines and then change his civil status to married? 😊 i

[millefleur 5,047]

1 hour ago, AdamAndRV said:

 

Hi there 😊 thank you so much for that. Our marriage is legal and binding as per Philippines laws. We have no problems with the Philippines' Registry because Philippines is the situs of our marriage and everything has been filed and submitted.

 

  But we were wondering how a marriage of an american citizen that took place outside of America be recognized/recorded in the United States Registry. Do they keep a National Registry of Marriages like what the Philippines do? If yes, what are the steps my husband needs to do in the US to report his marriage in the Philippines and then change his civil status to married? 😊 i

There is no national registry for US marriages. So your husband doesn't need to do anything at all.

[Jojo92122 1,924]

8 hours ago, AdamAndRV said:

Hi jojo92122, thank you for that. Is there a need for my husband to file a request for change of marital status in the state he belongs? Your helpful comment is much appreciated

There is no process to register his marriage in his state.  This is not done in the US.  Your marriage is recognized in the US and in every state so there is no process or need to register it in the US.  This is completely different from the PH.

[Jojo92122 1,924]

1 hour ago, AdamAndRV said:

 

Hi there 😊 thank you so much for that. Our marriage is legal and binding as per Philippines laws. We have no problems with the Philippines' Registry because Philippines is the situs of our marriage and everything has been filed and submitted.

 

  But we were wondering how a marriage of an american citizen that took place outside of America be recognized/recorded in the United States Registry. Do they keep a National Registry of Marriages like what the Philippines do? If yes, what are the steps my husband needs to do in the US to report his marriage in the Philippines and then change his civil status to married? 😊 i

There is no US Registry.  There is no process or need in the US to register your marriage.  Once your husband got married in the PH, the US automatically recognized that he is married.  No need to do any type of registering in the US because we don't do that.  We are different from the PH.  

[Hank_ 9,174]

9 hours ago, AdamAndRV said:

Hi jojo92122, thank you for that. Is there a need for my husband to file a request for change of marital status in the state he belongs? Your helpful comment is much appreciated

Only place to notate change of martial status is for filing a tax return