Trying to file late Report of Marriage in NYC consulate

[wantmybaby 4]

Hi, I know this gets asked about a lot, but this is almost more difficult than actually getting the K1 visa in the first place.  We were married in 2012 and didn't file the ROM, so we want to do so now so that my wife can proceed to get her dual citizenship.  Our info:

- We got married and live in NH, so I understand we can mail stuff in to the NYC consulate.

- I (the American spouse) am previously divorced once, so I guess that changes what they need.

- My wife (the Filipina) was not previously married.

- No children.

- When we got married in 2012, that changed my wife's name; she moved her maiden name to her middle name, then my last name became her last name.  e.g. "A B C" became "A C <mylastname>".

- A couple years ago, she obtained US citizenship (also with that new name) and has a US passport.

 

So, given that, here are my questions on the ROM form itself:

1. Sorry to be dense, but on Line 6 what does "civil status" mean.  I understand it is the civil status prior to marriage, but... I literally don't know what civil status refers to.

2. Line 12/13, we have no witnesses, at least none that are legally documented anywhere. We were married by our pastor and his wife was there (but the document only mentions him at the "marriage performed by" line).  Leave blank?  

3. Line 14, what does "Name of officiating/solemnizing authority" mean?  State of New Hampshire?  God?  Pastor's name? I have no idea.

4. Line 15, what does "Title and office of solemnizing official / accepting authority" mean?  Again, I'm baffled... is this different from Line 14?  My pastor doesn't even use "Reverend" before his name.  Title of who or what?

Again, sorry for what should be obvious, but they don't give hardly any useful instructions on this form.

 

5. For the "affidavit of delayed registration", what would I put for a reason on question 2 for the delay?  "We didn't know it was needed" is that okay?

 

The rest of my questions are about the "instructions" here:

http://www.newyorkpcg.org/the-consulate/our-services/civil-registry/report-of-marriage

 

6. Requirement 2, "marriage contract or certificate"... any reason why the 1 page certificate with fancy stamp issued by the town hall would not be enough?  It lists number of prior marriages and who performed, but no witnesses.  It is not possible to get the original certificate; this is a special certificate they produce on demand at the town hall based on the state's records.

 

7. Requirement 3, "valid passports"... This is obvious for my US passport, but what about my wife's?  Do they want a copy of her expired/invalid Philippines passport (invalidated when she became a US citizen)?  Or, her US passport with a different name on it? Or both?

 

8. Requirement 4, "proof of Filipino citizenship of applicant at the time of marriage".  I'm not sure what they're asking for.  The examples are odd: "US naturalization certificate" didn't happen until several years later, so why do they suggest that one?  "Permanent resident card"... well, that's expired and I think they took that, and was obtained after marriage too.  They suggest "valid visa", well the K1 visa expired after 90 days and isn't valid today.  I'm confused!

 

9. Requirement 6, "additional requirements when one or both parties have previous marriages"... I have an official divorce decree, is that the "foreign divorce decree" they ask for?  Hopefully they don't need it "recognized by the Philippines court".

 

10. Every copied document must be notarized, all 4 duplicate copies?  Do I need to include 4 stamped marriage certificates and 4 stamped divorce decrees?  (This is nuts.  It costs $5/page for notarization, and each marriage certificate or divorce decree is at least $20.)

 

11. Does anyone have a sample "cover letter"?

 

12. Is it really "3 weeks" processing time as suggested?

 

Thanks very much!

 

 

 

Edited January 29, 2019 by wantmybaby
.

[Hank_ 9,172]

6 hours ago, wantmybaby said:

Hi, I know this gets asked about a lot, but this is almost more difficult than actually getting the K1 visa in the first place.  We were married in 2012 and didn't file the ROM, so we want to do so now so that my wife can proceed to get her dual citizenship.  Our info:

- We got married and live in NH, so I understand we can mail stuff in to the NYC consulate.

- I (the American spouse) am previously divorced once, so I guess that changes what they need.

- My wife (the Filipina) was not previously married.

- No children.

- When we got married in 2012, that changed my wife's name; she moved her maiden name to her middle name, then my last name became her last name.  e.g. "A B C" became "A C <mylastname>".

- A couple years ago, she obtained US citizenship (also with that new name) and has a US passport.

 

So, given that, here are my questions on the ROM form itself:

1. Sorry to be dense, but on Line 6 what does "civil status" mean.  I understand it is the civil status prior to marriage, but... I literally don't know what civil status refers to.  YOU WERE DIVORCED, YOUR WIFE WAS SINGLE.

2. Line 12/13, we have no witnesses, at least none that are legally documented anywhere. We were married by our pastor and his wife was there (but the document only mentions him at the "marriage performed by" line).  Leave blank?WRITE -  N/A

3. Line 14, what does "Name of officiating/solemnizing authority" mean?  State of New Hampshire?  God?  Pastor's name? I have no idea.   PASTOR'S NAME

4. Line 15, what does "Title and office of solemnizing official / accepting authority" mean?  Again, I'm baffled... is this different from Line 14?  My pastor doesn't even use "Reverend" before his name.  Title of who or what?  PASTOR

Again, sorry for what should be obvious, but they don't give hardly any useful instructions on this form.

 

5. For the "affidavit of delayed registration", what would I put for a reason on question 2 for the delay?  "We didn't know it was needed" is that okay?  THAT WOULD WORK - "DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS NEEDED .. YADA-YADA"

 

The rest of my questions are about the "instructions" here:

http://www.newyorkpcg.org/the-consulate/our-services/civil-registry/report-of-marriage

 

6. Requirement 2, "marriage contract or certificate"... any reason why the 1 page certificate with fancy stamp issued by the town hall would not be enough?  It lists number of prior marriages and who performed, but no witnesses.  It is not possible to get the original certificate; this is a special certificate they produce on demand at the town hall based on the state's records.  DID YOU GET YOUR MARRIAGE RECORDED WITH THE COUNTY WHERE YOU WERE MARRIED (OR HOWEVER IT IS DONE IN YOUR STATE/COUNTY)?  GET CERTIFIED COPIES FROM THERE TO SEND WITH ROM.  

 

7. Requirement 3, "valid passports"... This is obvious for my US passport, but what about my wife's?  Do they want a copy of her expired/invalid Philippines passport (invalidated when she became a US citizen)?  Or, her US passport with a different name on it? Or both?  COPIES OF DRIVER'S LICENSE OR BIO PAGE FROM PASSPORTS

 

8. Requirement 4, "proof of Filipino citizenship of applicant at the time of marriage".  I'm not sure what they're asking for.  The examples are odd: "US naturalization certificate" didn't happen until several years later, so why do they suggest that one?  "Permanent resident card"... well, that's expired and I think they took that, and was obtained after marriage too.  They suggest "valid visa", well the K1 visa expired after 90 days and isn't valid today.  I'm confused!   COPY OF K-1 VISA IS FINE.

 

9. Requirement 6, "additional requirements when one or both parties have previous marriages"... I have an official divorce decree, is that the "foreign divorce decree" they ask for?  Hopefully they don't need it "recognized by the Philippines court".  COPIES OF YOUR DIVORCE DECREE (YOU ARE NOT FILIPINO - RECOGNIZED DOESN'T APPLY)

 

10. Every copied document must be notarized, all 4 duplicate copies?  Do I need to include 4 stamped marriage certificates and 4 stamped divorce decrees?  (This is nuts.  It costs $5/page for notarization, and each marriage certificate or divorce decree is at least $20.)   IF MAILING  - THE FORM MUST BE NOTARIZED WHEN YOU SIGN IT.

 

11. Does anyone have a sample "cover letter"?   THIS IS SIMPLE, JUST AS THEY NOTED

 

Covering letter (handwritten or typed), addressed to the Philippine Consulate General’s Civil Registry Unit, indicating service/transaction requested (= ROM)and the applicants’ contact details such as telephone/mobile number and email address.

 

12. Is it really "3 weeks" processing time as suggested? MIGHT BE, BUT I WOULD BE SURPRISED.

 

Thanks very much!

 

 

 

 

[wantmybaby 4]

Thanks.  So, one last detail I need to make sure I get right is the "4 copies" thing.  For marriage certificate and divorce decree, can I just send one original with the fancy $20 stamp on it, and the other 3 "certified true copies" by a notary (the copies would include just photocopying the original fancy stamp)?  Or can all 4 of each document be a certified true copy by a notary of the fancy stamp document?  I don't want to have to pay $160 for 8 original documents with the fancy gold stamp, not to mention it takes a while to get divorce decree copies from the court house.  I have exactly one copy of each of those fancy stamp documents and I'd prefer to not have to get any more.

 

As for the other stuff they need, I have no choice I guess but to copy them (and notary certify as copy).  I'm not sending original K1 visa, passport, etc.

 

 

Edited January 29, 2019 by wantmybaby

[Hank_ 9,172]

1 hour ago, wantmybaby said:

Thanks.  So, one last detail I need to make sure I get right is the "4 copies" thing.  For marriage certificate and divorce decree, can I just send one original with the fancy $20 stamp on it, and the other 3 "certified true copies" by a notary (the copies would include just photocopying the original fancy stamp)?  Or can all 4 of each document be a certified true copy by a notary of the fancy stamp document?  I don't want to have to pay $160 for 8 original documents with the fancy gold stamp, not to mention it takes a while to get divorce decree copies from the court house.  I have exactly one copy of each of those fancy stamp documents and I'd prefer to not have to get any more.

 

As for the other stuff they need, I have no choice I guess but to copy them (and notary certify as copy).  I'm not sending original K1 visa, passport, etc.

 

 

1. First Set – Original Report of Marriage (ROM) application and certified true copy of documents.
2. Second Set – Original ROM application and copy of documents.
3. Third Set – same as second set.
4. Fourth Set - same as second set.

Only the 1st set needs to be certified copies, the rest are copies ... Except for the actual form - those need to be originals for all

[wantmybaby 4]

Excellent, that's much better than I was thinking it would be.  

 

Oh, they want a self-addressed prepaid envelope.  Do you know what they put in this and what size and postage it would require?  Just business sized envelope?  It says prepaid as priority mail, not sure how that works, hopefully it will be obvious when I take all this to the post office.

 

Thanks!

 

[Cyberfx1024 7,978]

2 minutes ago, wantmybaby said:

Excellent, that's much better than I was thinking it would be.  

Oh, they want a self-addressed prepaid envelope.  Do you know what they put in this and what size and postage it would require?  Just business sized envelope?  It says prepaid as priority mail, not sure how that works, hopefully it will be obvious when I take all this to the post office.

Thanks!

I will tell you what I did  when we mailed my asawa's ROM in to DC. I mailed it in one using one of the USPS Priority document envelopes https://store.usps.com/store/product/shipping-supplies/priority-mail-flat-rate-envelope---ep14f-P_EP_14_F. I put all the documents in to that envelope. I also mailed a Tyvek envelope in the to the envelope as well.  https://store.usps.com/store/product/shipping-supplies/priority-mail-tyvek-envelope---ep14-P_EP_14

 

The return envelope has to already be self addressed and paid for. So you basically have to make sure it's paid for from the Philippine embassy to your house. So I paid from the Philippine embassy zip code to my house. This will ensure that it will be sent to you when everything is complete. 

[Hank_ 9,172]

10 hours ago, wantmybaby said:

Excellent, that's much better than I was thinking it would be.  

 

Oh, they want a self-addressed prepaid envelope.  Do you know what they put in this and what size and postage it would require?  Just business sized envelope?  It says prepaid as priority mail, not sure how that works, hopefully it will be obvious when I take all this to the post office.

 

Thanks!

 

The REQUIRED pre-paid, self-addressed envelope is for the consulate to return your completed ROM documents.   I would suggest to use a Priority Mail envelope as it has tracking .. you enter their address as sender and your address as recipient  pay the fee then include it with your ROM mailing to the consulate. 

[Just Paul 4,591]

Use the priority mail flat rate tyvek envelope. 

[wantmybaby 4]

We attempted to get "certified true copies" of everything, and the notaries all utterly refuse to do it.  Even if I bring the originals and let them make the copies to sign, they won't do it.  They say only the "issuing authority" of each document is able to certify true copies.  So, I could do this for the marriage certificate and divorce decree (at a cost of $20 each for the fancy gold stamp), but this is utterly impossible for the 2 passport data pages, and the K1 visa page... the only way to get a copy of a passport is to get a new passport. And, forget the K1 Visa entirely as that already expired.

 

What do we do?

 

Is going there in person to the consulate with the originals the only option?  If we do this, we only want to make ONE trip as it will require time out from work and take up 2 days... is there anything else we would need to bring to make this all work successfully on the first trip?  Also, we want to do the dual citizenship thing as well, so would it be possible to do all on the same trip?

 

I'm seriously pissed... this is just letting them know about a marriage, it shouldn't be that difficult!  In the US, one marriage certificate with a fancy stamp is enough proof.  It's even more bureaucratic than the US government.

 

 

[Hank_ 9,172]

17 minutes ago, wantmybaby said:

We attempted to get "certified true copies" of everything, and the notaries all utterly refuse to do it.  Even if I bring the originals and let them make the copies to sign, they won't do it.  They say only the "issuing authority" of each document is able to certify true copies.  So, I could do this for the marriage certificate and divorce decree (at a cost of $20 each for the fancy gold stamp), but this is utterly impossible for the 2 passport data pages, and the K1 visa page... the only way to get a copy of a passport is to get a new passport. And, forget the K1 Visa entirely as that already expired.

 

What do we do?   SLOW DOWN AND READ .. certified copies are not needed of everything

 

Is going there in person to the consulate with the originals the only option?  If we do this, we only want to make ONE trip as it will require time out from work and take up 2 days... is there anything else we would need to bring to make this all work successfully on the first trip?  Also, we want to do the dual citizenship thing as well, so would it be possible to do all on the same trip?

 

I'm seriously pissed... this is just letting them know about a marriage, it shouldn't be that difficult!  In the US, one marriage certificate with a fancy stamp is enough proof.  It's even more bureaucratic than the US government.

 

 

You don't need certified true copies of the BIO page of the passport or the visa.   Just of the marriage certificate  AND  birth certificate if you don't have an original to send. 

 

BASIC REQUIREMENTS:

1. Four (4) original duly-accomplished Report of Marriage Contracted Abroad form, typed or printed legibly in black or blue ink, signed by both husband and wife. Wives should indicate their maiden name as the last name. If submitting by mail, the completed forms must be notarized.
2. Covering letter (handwritten or typed), addressed to the Consular Section, indicating service/transaction requested and telephone number or email address for contact details
3. One (1) original or certified true copy and four (4) photocopies of the Marriage Record (original will be returned)
4. One (1) original or certified true copy and four (4) photocopies of the Marriage Certificate or Contract (original will be returned)
5. Four (4) photocopies each of the passports of both spouses
6. Four (4) photocopies of additional proof of Philippine citizenship of the Filipino spouse/s (greencard, valid visa, notice of action, work permit, dual IC)
7. One (1) original or certified true copy and four (4) photocopies of the birth certificate/s of Filipino spouse/s.
8. Notarized affidavit explaining the reasons for delayed registration if ROM is filed more than a year after marraige
9. Self-addressed return envelope, with appropriate stamps for express or priority mail with tracking numbers via US Postal Service, if Report of Marriage is to be mailed back. For applicants from the Caribbean Islands, pre-paid mailing envelope from DHL.
10. Processing fee of $25.00 (non-refundable), payable in cash or money order made payable to "Embassy of the Philippines" (or "Philippine Consulate General", if application is made at one of the Philippine Consulates General in the U.S.).Personal checks and credit cards are not accepted.
11. For applicants residing in U.S. territories or other countries within the jurisdiction of the Philippine Embassy, applicants should enclose a treasurer’s, manager’s or certified check issued by a local bank that has a corresponding bank in the U.S. (the US National Bank Association is not a correspondent bank), payable to the courier of choice, in U.S. dollars, to cover cost of mailing, and a corresponding self-addressed courier’s address label. Personal checks are not accepted.

Edited February 7, 2019 by Hank_

[wantmybaby 4]

6 hours ago, Hank_ said:

You don't need certified true copies of the BIO page of the passport or the visa.   Just of the marriage certificate  AND  birth certificate if you don't have an original to send. 

 

BASIC REQUIREMENTS:

1. Four (4) original duly-accomplished Report of Marriage Contracted Abroad form, typed or printed legibly in black or blue ink, signed by both husband and wife. Wives should indicate their maiden name as the last name. If submitting by mail, the completed forms must be notarized.
2. Covering letter (handwritten or typed), addressed to the Consular Section, indicating service/transaction requested and telephone number or email address for contact details
3. One (1) original or certified true copy and four (4) photocopies of the Marriage Record (original will be returned)
4. One (1) original or certified true copy and four (4) photocopies of the Marriage Certificate or Contract (original will be returned)
5. Four (4) photocopies each of the passports of both spouses
6. Four (4) photocopies of additional proof of Philippine citizenship of the Filipino spouse/s (greencard, valid visa, notice of action, work permit, dual IC)
7. One (1) original or certified true copy and four (4) photocopies of the birth certificate/s of Filipino spouse/s.
8. Notarized affidavit explaining the reasons for delayed registration if ROM is filed more than a year after marraige
9. Self-addressed return envelope, with appropriate stamps for express or priority mail with tracking numbers via US Postal Service, if Report of Marriage is to be mailed back. For applicants from the Caribbean Islands, pre-paid mailing envelope from DHL.
10. Processing fee of $25.00 (non-refundable), payable in cash or money order made payable to "Embassy of the Philippines" (or "Philippine Consulate General", if application is made at one of the Philippine Consulates General in the U.S.).Personal checks and credit cards are not accepted.
11. For applicants residing in U.S. territories or other countries within the jurisdiction of the Philippine Embassy, applicants should enclose a treasurer’s, manager’s or certified check issued by a local bank that has a corresponding bank in the U.S. (the US National Bank Association is not a correspondent bank), payable to the courier of choice, in U.S. dollars, to cover cost of mailing, and a corresponding self-addressed courier’s address label. Personal checks are not accepted.

 

Interesting... you appear to be quoting a different web site though.  On the NYC consulate page, it had said:

 

"First Set – Original Report of Marriage (ROM) application and certified true copy of documents."

 

So, taken literally, that does mean a certified true copy of every document that can't be an original, which is why I thought that is what must be done.  So, hopefully they accept what you have in this different set of rules?  By the way, which birth certificate were you referring to?  I wasn't planning on sending one.  I could send mine easily enough, but getting another copy of my wife's would take weeks or more to get someone to acquire it and then mail it back to us.  It looks like your item #7 indicates it would be mine, which is different than the rules at the NYC consulate which didn't mention it.  But, I'm happy to send mine along anyway just in case.

 

 

[Hank_ 9,172]

1 hour ago, wantmybaby said:

 

Interesting... you appear to be quoting a different web site though.  On the NYC consulate page, it had said:

 

"First Set – Original Report of Marriage (ROM) application and certified true copy of documents."

 

So, taken literally, that does mean a certified true copy of every document that can't be an original, which is why I thought that is what must be done.  So, hopefully they accept what you have in this different set of rules?  By the way, which birth certificate were you referring to?  I wasn't planning on sending one.  I could send mine easily enough, but getting another copy of my wife's would take weeks or more to get someone to acquire it and then mail it back to us.  It looks like your item #7 indicates it would be mine, which is different than the rules at the NYC consulate which didn't mention it.  But, I'm happy to send mine along anyway just in case.

 

 

That is directly from the Philippine embassy website

 

No. 7 is your wife's birth certificate not yours.   "Filipino spouse"

 

http://www.philippineembassy-usa.org/philippines-dc/consular-services-dc/faq-dc/#marriage

[wantmybaby 4]

On 2/7/2019 at 7:22 PM, Hank_ said:

That is directly from the Philippine embassy website

 

No. 7 is your wife's birth certificate not yours.   "Filipino spouse"

 

http://www.philippineembassy-usa.org/philippines-dc/consular-services-dc/faq-dc/#marriage

 

Oh!  Sorry, I wasn't sure whether to interpret that to mean "the spouse of the Filipino", or "the spouse who is the Filipino". Well, we don't have an original of her birth certificate anymore, so we won't be filing the forms any time soon.

 

[Hank_ 9,172]

7 hours ago, wantmybaby said:

 

Oh!  Sorry, I wasn't sure whether to interpret that to mean "the spouse of the Filipino", or "the spouse who is the Filipino". Well, we don't have an original of her birth certificate anymore, so we won't be filing the forms any time soon.

 

You can order the the birth certificate online

 

https://www.psaserbilis.com.ph/Default.aspx

[wantmybaby 4]

6 hours ago, Hank_ said:

You can order the the birth certificate online

 

https://www.psaserbilis.com.ph/Default.aspx

 

Awesome!  No more sending money to relative and having them go on an all-day trip to CDO, then mailing them back.