sonicgihad

Congratz on your approval !!!

If the consular officer said your visa is approved, then your visa is approved.

AR can last a week. It can last a month. It can last longer than a month. You never know how long it will last.

The Embassy is probably doing something simple...like ordering another copy of your CENOMAR from the NSO. Sometimes they do things like that. It's nothing to worry about.

I don't think they'll order your docs, if they need it, they would have asked you for it plus the fact that you were told you were approved is a good thing. Same thing happened to us on April 13 (Friday the 13th) but we got the approval on the 19th, 4 business days after the AR. My fiance is coming on Monday.

Keep your head up, your visa will come soon. Call the US Embassy for status.

ey, have you gotten any update? It sounds like the same thing we got. They weren't asking you for anything further to provide right? My guess is that they also need your fiance's security docs like they did mine. I didn't sit on this one though. I wrote them a letter right away. It was an extremely polite nastygram that simply placed that responsibility on them misplacing or not having my security docs ready during the interview. I called my senator as well and I was about to request for them to assist in possibly getting my security docs re-processed by the USCIS or NVC but we got the approval 4 days from theinterview.

Did they keep your passport? If so, you're still in good shape, esp if the consul said everything is good. Call the UE embassy and keep checking your status. I called every couple days to the point the lady at the Immigrant Visa section already know my voice and wasnt asking me for a case number anymore. haha

Good luck and keep us posted.

Don't forget to call!!!

There are 2 countries involved in both processes... of course the Philippine civil code matters. It's not all about America! So typical but whatever man!

I didn't realize reginakrys already covered my above post. My apologiesfor the redundancy

Under the CIVIL CODE of the Philippines

Art. 15. Laws relating to family rights and duties, or to the status, condition and legal capacity of persons are binding upon citizens of the Philippines, even though living abroad. (9a)

http://jlp-law.com/blog/divorce-annulment-philippines/

1. Divorce is not recognized under Philippine laws. If you’re a Filipino, it doesn’t matter where you get a divorce: such divorce is invalid/void in the Philippines. This is because under the nationality principle (Art. 15, Civil Code), all Filipinos – where they may be in the world – are bound by Philippine laws on family rights and duties, status, condition, and legal capacity. Yes, folks, you can run, but you can’t hide.Nevertheless, divorce decrees secured outside the Philippines are recognized in certain instances. This is provided in Article 26 (Paragraph 2) of the Family Code, which reads in full:

ART. 26. All marriages solemnized outside the Philippines in accordance with the laws in force in the country where they were solemnized, and valid there as such, shall also be valid in this country, except those prohibited under Articles 35(1), (4), (5) and (6), 36, 37 and 38.

Where a marriage between a Filipino citizen and a foreigner is validly celebrated and a divorce is thereafter validly obtained abroad by the alien spouse capacitating him or her to remarry, the Filipino spouse shall have capacity to remarry under Philippine law.

The twin elements for the application of this provision are:

1. There is a valid marriage that has been celebrated between a Filipino citizen and a foreigner; and

2. A valid divorce is obtained abroad by the alien spouse capacitating him or her to remarry.

After complying with the procedure in having the foreign decree of divorce judicially recognized (through a court action) here in the Philippines, the Filipino spouse may validly remarry.

At first glance, Article 26 seems to apply only to a marriage between a Filipino and a foreigner. This was raised by a respected commentator in family law, Justice Sempio-Diy, who noted that Art. 26 does not apply:

…to a divorce obtained by a former Filipino who had been naturalized in another country after his naturalization, as it might open the door to rich Filipinos’ obtaining naturalization abroad for no other reason than to be able to divorce their Filipino spouse (Handbook on the Family Code of the Philippines, 1995 Ed., p. 30).

***However, this provision was later interpreted by the Supreme Court to include cases involving parties who, at the time of the celebration of the marriage were Filipino citizens, but later on, one of them becomes naturalized as a foreign citizen and obtains a divorce decree. The reckoning point is not the citizenship of the parties at the time of marriage, but their citizenship at the time a valid divorce is obtained abroad by the alien spouse capacitating the latter to remarry. (Philippines vs. Orbecido III, G.R. No. 154380, 5 October 2005).

Yes I get it, I get it,the petinioner is a USC... NOW but not during the divorce when by virtue of the fact that they were both Filipino citizens still fell under the jurisdication of Philippine laws and were bound by it when it comes to marriage and the dissolution of it. A foreign divorce is only valid when the marriage was between a Filipino national and a USC (for example) and the USC, not the Filipino citizen acquires the divorce. Per the Supreme Court's interpretation, this can also be valid if the Filipino national becomes naturalized and filed for a divorce AFTER becoming a USC. The OP's fiancee and ex-wife did not meet any of those criterias for a valid divorce therefore making their divorce invalid. US Laws acknowledges valid foreign marriages. The petitioner and his ex's marriage is unfortunately still valid in the Philippines rendering it still valid in the US until it gets terminated properly.

...hence my opinion that they may be able to get through on a loophole or technicality. The question is, are the adjudicators and CO's trained to lookout for these kinds of things? They gave me an RFE for my divorce decree missing a very obvious statement so who knows!!!

Good luck to the OP, consult a local family/immigration lawyer if you want to be certain. I am not a lawyer, the information I have were from my research and personal experience having had to file for an annulment/Dissolution of Invalidity of Marriage in the US. I was born and raised in the Philippines, naturalized, married a Filipina and attempted to have that marriage annulled in the Philippines. I later on discovered through speaking to several Philippine lawyers that Article 26 applied to me being that I was already naturalized during the marriage and am considered a foreign national so I was able to file for an annulment in the US on my own without the aid of a lawyer.

Wondering what the outcome for this situation. The beneficiary wont have any problem when it comes to CENOMAR as required by USEM on her interview but petitioner's document says that he is a filipino even though he is a USC now, will the CO on the time of interview will dig the divorce issue as divorce is not recognized in the philippine law. Im thinking the CO will ask the beneficiary about the petitioner's ex and the situation and will end up asking for petitioner's CENOMAR.

I don't think they will ever ask for a CENOMAR for the petitioner as he is/was married in the app. If anything, the CO may ask for an annullment.

OP, there is this site that is very helpful. It is owned by this young but pretty blilliant lawyer in the Philippines. Go to the forums and ask for the validity of your fiancee's Philippine marriage and US divorce. See what he says.

http://www.pinoylawyer.org/

Also, I just remembered that Philippine Law is very specific that it's nationals can't just go to a foreign country and file for a divorce and have it deemed valid in the Philippines which is what the petitioner did. His marriage should have been annulled in the Philippines. I dunno if it makes it anymore valid after being a USC.

He is a USC.... he does not need anything from NSO. They are applying for a K-1 visa so the marriage will happen in the USA. Its not a "loophole" and there is nothing tricky about it, he IS free and able to marry by the same rules for ALL USC who have been divorced, he has his divorce decree. There is NO way it will be an issue at the US Embassy.

Why do some try to drag unnecessary "non-facts" regarding the USC Petitioner. All you need to keep in mind is that the Petitioner is a USC, the requirements that applied to me are the same for him. NO exception.

The OP asked for enlightenment... hence my post. I called it a loophole because technically, his fiancee is STILL MARRIED but it may still work. Though her fiancee was able to obtain a divorce decree that may be acceptable in the US. It wasn't done properly. They were foreign nationals and the US technically had no jurisdiction over their marriage. US Laws states that it will recognize legal and valid marriages from foreign countries. His marriage is still legal and valid in the Philippines so he is still married. Keep in mind, in the I-129F app, they ask when he became naturalized and when he terminated his marriage. Do they take a closer look at these dates? We don't know. If they do and the adjudication officer knows what he/she is doing, the petitioner may be asked to provide documentation that his marriage was terminated properly in the Philippines which he's not going to be able to. To have a foreign divorce acknoledged in the Philippines one must petition the courts to acknowledge the foreign divorce. This divorce will not be accepted. I get it that he doesn't have to do it but these are potential issues brought up to enlighten the OP.

Fact is, he may have a decree but he's not divorced.

At some point, the OP's NSO records will be updated as married, I'm not sure who does it but I have friends that got married in the US and were surprised to find out the NSO showed them to be married lacking details and such. Also, being that the OP is a Filipino national, the Philippines will still have jurisdiction with her persons till she gets naturalized, therefore Philippine laws apply to her and her foreign marriage which as far as the Philippines is concerned will be NULL AND VOID!

Before you call posts unnecessary non-facts, DO SOME RESEARCH! I understand you know and understand US Laws based on your own personal divorce as a USC but the Philippines have jurisdiction over it's nationals (which at the time of the divorce, the petitioner still was), not the US therefore the divorce could be deemed invalid.

Their divorce is valid in the states but NOT in the Philippines. Criterias for determining a court's jurisdiction over the moving party or parties in a dissolution case for the most part is a 90-day residence in the state or county where the case was filed. Based on that, the county found that their jurisdiction is proper and therefore granted the dissolution. However, being that both parties were Filipino citizen's at the time of the divorce, as far as Philippine Law and Philippine marriage is concerned, they are the only ones to have jurisdiction over their citizens therefore, this divorce is not valid in the Philippines. This divorce will not be allowed if your fiance attempts to get his NSO status updated. Therefore, you can not marry in the Philippines. To put it simply, they are divorved in the states and are still married in the Philippines.

Here is where it gets tricky though and may be your loophole... K1 requires that your fiance is free to marry in the states within 90 days of your arrival and as far as US laws are concerned, he is divorced and is free to marry. This may become an issue if you bring it up to their attention but I think, since the CO will go by applicable US Laws, you may just be fine.

I too was born and reaised in the Philippines, annulled a voided marriage in the Philippines in the states but I was already naturalized when everything happened.

Email them immediately. Then email them every few days to check up on your case. You can do this.

DO THIS and do not wait. We got placed on Administrative review after the interview on April 13. I went back to the US Embassy at around 2:30PM that same day and left a hand-written letter directed a US Consul and dropped it off personally at the message center. I understand you may not be able to personally do that but the point is, start the communication as soon as you can and call them every couple days. I called them the 16th then again on the 20th when I found out my fiancee's visa has been approved.

Good luck!!!

Just called the US Embassy and was told Kathrina's visa was printed last Friday and should be ready for pickup at 2Go by Tuesday! It's just as if we got approved on the day of theinterview! So SWEET!!!

I really dont care if it did or not haha all i are about is that it got approved.

So was that 8 days to print plus the time for 2GO to deliver your finacee's passport?

Man! My hand-written letter on the day of the interview must have done the trick!!! I called the US Embassy today and was adviced that Kathrina's visa was approved yesterday but has yet to be printed. 4 days in administrative review, I think that's some kind of a record!!! Lol

God is great! Thank you so much!!!

I'm enroute back to te states when I found out. She'll just follow when she gets her visa!

Yeah that was her. I was with her too but I was in and out of the store accross the street. The interview didn't go as planned. We're on administrative review and are just waiting now. I just contacted my senator to see if they can help since they have always been really good at providing assistance. Good luck with your interview.

-Jerry

Hey Hank! I grabbed several cold ones and it just doesn't make things any better. . This is so frustrating! They mess up and people like us suffer! Would you believe it that one lady who my fiancee met during the process is cheating on her fiance and got through fine with no issues and you see people like us who have put both our lives on hold go on administrative review. This systen is obviously friggin flawed. Im so frustrated beyond belief! I went as far as sparring with someone but still didnt make me feel any better. All through this process, i knew exactly what to do and for the most part, it all worked but now, i have no clue what to do next. We did everything right!!! I get so frustrated thinking these co's dont have a friggin clue what people like us go through! I'm not desperate, i could have any woman in the us but i'm in love with this one that happens to be in the philippines.. It just gets so frustrating that someone's carelessness is causing both of us so much friggin anguish!

do you have any record or anything that you did in the past that you didnt tell them or your fiancee?

nope! Abso;utely not. if it was about any sort of red flag it should have been addressed during the adjudication process. plus the CO did say she cant find mya securitydocument not hey you look like a criminal so i need to request one.

i notice on your timeline that you have 2 denials from uscis, maybe thats the reason why the embassy was strict and making sure the papers are complete.

have patience.. goodluck.

Those were expedite denials.

What gets me is that the Consular officer went through the paper works about 3 times and looked as though she was really looking for something. She mentioned missing a security document. When we were given the for stating to wait, the Filipina at the window was extremely unsympathetic and was such as smart ####! The same with the lady on Window 38 when she told me that the delay was caused by me due to some investigation that needs to be done on me. What gets me is that this so called investigation or security check was already done by the USCIS, from my understanding and was supposed to have been sent to Manila along with the rest of our file. They for whatever reason misplaced my security check and all these people at the embassy were acting like I was a friggin criminal that needed additional scrutinity in my background.

I'm extremely upset still and broken hearted. I haven't slept and when I did, I woke feeling like my heart was about to explode and I was right next to the woman I love. These people at the Immigration, don't get what people like us go through. The sacrifice, they have no idea what its like to put your lives on hold, the cost involved noth monetary and emotionally.

We are both at a loss. My fiancee is being very strong, I'm so proud of her but I know she's just putting up a front so I won't get too depressed.

I wish they had at least told us what we need to do as oppoed to just saying wait. I have heard people waiting from a few days to about 10 months. If it's going to take us that long, we might as well just get married and apply for a CR1.

I went back to US Citizen services and they were zero help. I went and hand wrote the Immigration service a letter. This is friggin ridiculous!!! I am beyond pissed!!!

went to the interview with my fiancee today. We waited forever and was handed a sheet stating that our case was on administrative review and to wait to hear from the US Embassy! No missing documents or anything.

During the interview with the CO, she had mentioned that she was looking for some security document or something that she can't find. Then when I spoke to Windows 38 the lady said that they are needing some security docummentation of investigation on us. What the heck does that mean? I have been asia to see my fiancee 6 times in under a year and I was at the interview for crying out loud.

What can I expect from this process??? Is this a preset for a denial? What can I do to get pass this process? Can my Senator assist still? Please help! I'm so desperate and pissed!

Has anyone been in the same situation? What was done and how long did the process take?

any updates?

Called the us embassy this morning and they received the COC yesterday so we are good and ready for tomorrow!!!

ITS SHOWTIME!!!

Wow that's awesome!!! Done in one day. We were there the same time you were at 3AM and was hoping we'd be done yesterday too but my fiancee was asked to come back at 9am today. We're getting ready now to go back there.

We're also staying at Grand Prix. It's close to everything.

Its 10:15 am now and there is no line whatsoever. So this may be a good time to go

We were in line around 3am and she still got number 16. They won't let me in there. She just texted to say they started calling numbers 1-10 already.

For those that are going to be in this area, be very careful! I didn't think it was a bad area till we found out someone got stabbed right at the corner where the clinic is, 45 minutes before we got there.

I just went over there 30 minutes at around 2:30am and there's already a line with maybe 10 people. NUTS!!!