RO_AH

You spend so much time researching. You read everything you can. You spend months preparing. Yet there is almost always another hurdle to cross. My wife's birth certificate is listed as late registration which is very common in the Philippines. You are born out in a province, a lot of times at your home. If your lucky maybe some sort of midwife assisting. Then the next time you can travel to the nearest LCR you go and register the birth. Well because of this (I don't know if this has always been the case) they require EXTRA documentation. No where in any of the information that I have seen so far is this listed (unless I missed something. They did not keep her passport which means she will need to go back. Her medical will expire 8/8 and I am still trying to be able to go there to get her and the children if I can get the magical mystery visa and exemption. Yet I can't even buy tickets for any of us until I know we have the visa.
 

 

Just a quick update. It will be 2 years on June 14, that we lost my beautiful son. Ruby and the kids all changed to I360. or an approved Widow's Visa.  After 2 months of waiting for the TB Smears came back clear, Ruby has had her Psyc exam and immunizations, the kids are already done!  Interviews are now scheduled for April 22. then the CFO #######.  Hopefully I will have my family home this summer in Jacksonville!!!   I am sure my Angel son is watching from above, to make sure we do it all right!

If she has late registration, she will need her school records, class photos, even a letter or 2 from past teachers. Any doctor or immunization records, baptismal certificate. There is no where where they tell you this, but if she goes to interview with a late registration BC she will be given a 221g for these things. Better to have it all in hand when she goes to interview. This happened to my wife and we received a 221g which delayed the process while we got those records and sent them in.

Yes and yes. My 2 sons are both dual citizens and have both passports.

While you have nothing to worry about with the Balikbayan visa program since your child and or you are able to stay up to a year. I would try to make the time to register the birth of your child in the Philippines and get their passport while there. Just make sure that you bring all of the required docs with you.

Yes and yes. My 2 sons are both dual citizens and have both passports.

While you have nothing to worry about with the Balikbayan visa program since your child and or you are able to stay up to a year. I would try to make the time to register the birth of your child in the Philippines and get their passport while there. Just make sure that you bring all of the required docs with you.

Yep.  My wife entered the US only 30 days prior to out 2 year anniversary.  Now, after having been through the complete absurdity and hassle of an I-751, I wish we had waited.  

At this point, no matter what happens, just make sure that she arrives in USA after 6/3.

RapidVisa mentions the I-864, which you don't even send.  I-864 comes later, when you adjust status. You will send an I-134 for the interview.
 
Manila almost never collects the I-134 at the interview.  I would not be too concerned with sending that digitally.  I understand the confusion.  I can't count the number of times I have read that some particular document must be an "original copy" when researching visa information.  The legal definition of "original copy" basically means it cannot be a copy of a copy, but the literal definition is THE original.
 
Anyway, if you need to physically send her anything at all, you might as well include a wet signature I-134 along with the rest of it.  Since your concern seems to be mailing tax documents, those can certainly be sent digitally.  I'm not sure sending them digitally is any more secure than FedEx, but that's up to you.
 
It only takes a few days for expedited delivery to the Philippines.  The 30-90 days recommendation is probably for USPS and Philpost.  As said above, LBC then DHL are first choice if near you.  If not, FedEx and UPS are the other options.  UPS was significantly cheaper than FedEx for me, but that is probably because I am a regular customer with an account.
 
Since I had to send things anyway, I included wet-signature I-129f, I-134, and updated Letter of Intent, as well as a certified copy of divorce decree.  Probably copies of all of those probably would have been fine, but sending originals instead of copies is just as easy if you are already sending things.  The I-134 was not asked for at the interview, as expected.

It's important to separate US immigration law from state adoption law or US Military regulations.  For immigration it's incredibly clear cut.  US Embassy Manila and the Philippine government are in complete agreement that the mother of a child born out of wedlock needs nothing from the father to take her child anywhere in the world she wants to.  Case closed.
 
Adoption in the US is not part of the immigration process and the legal requirements will be very State specific.  Likewise, US Military regulations have their own standards that may differ from what mom needs to immigrate with her child.
 
If your wife's lawyer is a Philippine lawyer(?) he would be irrelevant to the process since there is no dispute in the Philippines.  Maybe he's trying to file a case for profit. If he is a US lawyer he may be talking about state adoption laws that differ from US Immigration laws.

Every couple has their own priorities, and each couple must decide which visa is better for their situation.
K-1 
  More expensive than CR-1
  Requires Adjustment of Status after marriage (expensive and requires a lot of paperwork)
  Spouse can not leave the US until she/he receives approved Advance Parole (approx 3-6 months) 
  Spouse can not work until she/he receives EAD (approx 3-6 months) 
  Some people have had problems with driver licenses, Social Security cards, leases, bank account during this period 
  Spouse will not receive Green Card for many months after Adjustment of Status is filed.
  A K-1 might be a better choice when 18-21 year old children are immigrating also
  In some situations, marriage can affect certain Home country benefits, making a K-1 a better choice 
  A denied K-1 is sent back to USCIS to expire
  K-1 entrant cannot file for citizenship until after having Green Card for 3 years.
  Once an I-129F has been approved, delaying the case is difficult to impossible if the need arises.

CR-1/IR-1
  Less expensive than K-1 
  No Adjustment of Status(I-485, I-131, I-765) required. 
  Spouse can immediately travel outside the US 
  Spouse is authorized to work immediately upon arrival. 
  Spouse receives Social Security Card and Green Card within 2 or 3 weeks after entering the US 
  Opening a bank account, getting a driver's license, etc. are very easily accomplished with GC, SS card, and passport.
  Spouse has legal permanent Resident status IMMEDIATELY upon entry to US.
  The clock for citizenship filing starts immediately upon entry to the US.
  A CR-1/IR-1 case can be delayed indefinitely at NVC if the need arises. 
   

 

Hahaha, not just social media, it's all their neighbors and friends too. I have termed it "they said". My wife will tell me something ridiculous and I will ask her where she heard that. She will say "they said". I told her I would love to write a book of all of the "they saids" I have heard.

Here is what I posted the other day. I got married there so this is first hand:
 
Getting married there is not as daunting as it seems. Here are my main suggestions.
1. Have her go to her LCR and ask what are the requirements to marry an American in the Philippines. The reason is that it does vary depending on where she lives. Every LCR has some different policies. Make sure she writes down every requirement and then read it back to verify. The reason for this is things are not very detail oriented there. You do not want to miss any requirements.
2. One requirement in all of the Philippines is that it takes 10 business days to get a marriage license. Plan on a 3 week trip since it will take 14 days to get your license. Even more if there is a holiday so make sure you know the Philippines holidays.
3. Last make sure she asks if there is an expedite process for your PSA marriage certificate. That will make it faster to apply for the CR1. If you do not ask, and pay the expedite fee it may take 6 months or so to get your official marriage certificate.
 
Your other option is an online Utah wedding. They are the only state that allows and has a process for online weddings. You can do this while you are together there or with you in USA and her in PH. You will need to be together in person during or after the wedding for you to be able to file for the CR-1
 
Now with that said, I am not sure all of the requirements for an online Utah wedding but if you search this forum for Utah wedding, you should find all that you need fairly easy as it has been discussed at length on this forum. If you do not have things like your birth certificate, do you at least have someone at home that can retrieve them and scan them to you?.

She'll be fine. I am surprised that she is not bringing a friend or family member.
 
She should probably go to SLEC early but that's real close. No reason at all to go the USEM that early. The will not let her in until 30 min before the interview so she would have to wait outside. Make sure she doesn't bring her cell phone.

She'll be fine. I am surprised that she is not bringing a friend or family member.
 
She should probably go to SLEC early but that's real close. No reason at all to go the USEM that early. The will not let her in until 30 min before the interview so she would have to wait outside. Make sure she doesn't bring her cell phone.

She'll be fine. I am surprised that she is not bringing a friend or family member.
 
She should probably go to SLEC early but that's real close. No reason at all to go the USEM that early. The will not let her in until 30 min before the interview so she would have to wait outside. Make sure she doesn't bring her cell phone.

You need to have visa in hand to schedule. They only do in person. I don't think they ever did it via whatsapp. My wife did it over the phone during Covid but it is all back to in person now. Don't worry about it, it is pretty fast to schedule it.

The problem is that the Philippines is the land of inconsistency.  Every city in the whole country has subtle differences in what they require and they tend to change rules like every other week.  Anyone's previous experience would only be valid for comparison at the same place and time they did it.  The only way you could get an authoritative answer to what will be required is to go down to the Local Civil Records Office (LCRO) in the city or town where you actually intend to marry and ask them for a list of their local requirements.
 
Utah Online Marriages remains a good option too with considerably less red tape and a shorter time frame.  They are valid and recognized by both the US and Philippine governments.

I definitely am a big proponent of spending some time together.  The more the better.  Anyone can be anything the want anyone to see online.  People can even keep up appearances in person for shorter visits.  No substitute for in person time getting to know someone.
 
If you are serious, the Utah online marriage  has some significant advantages including time for overall completion of the process since it gets a marriage certificate you could file with much faster than Philippine bureaucracy would.  The legal aspects of the online marriages are now quite tested and are being fully accepted both for US immigration and Philippine laws.  They are successfully going through US Embassy Manila for visa purposes in large numbers.  Probably daily.

Tell her stop watching YouTube videos, Facebook groups etc. I don't know if I will catch flack for this but Filipinos love to go out of their way to find things to worry about.
 
The other thing that is real in the Philippines is they "they said" culture. You will hear the strangest things you can imagine and ask where they heard that from. The answer is...They said. Who is this "they"? You can't let a baby get a drop of rain on them but you can give them a bath. You can't eat watermelon after a c section or your wound will open up. I have really considered writing a book and calling it, they said.
Stick to these forums whee you will get accurate information.
 
Don't you let her pull you into this. You need to be the voice of reason.

So does filing a fiance visa petition without being completely sure.  After all, it does require intent to marry.  It is not a "try it out and see" type of deal.

I think you are spending too much time reading too much info in the wrong places. I believe CR1 is a much better choice. I would say almost all people that have gone the CR Route and many who have gone the K1 route would agree.
 
Getting married there is not as daunting as it seems. Here are my man suggestions.
1. Have her go to her LCR and ask what are the requirements to marry an American in the Philippines. The reason is that it does vary depending on where she lives. Every LCR has some different policies. Make sure she writes down every requirement and then read it back to verify. The reason for this is things are not very detail oriented there. You do not want to miss any requirements.
2. One requirement in all of the Philippines is that it takes 10 business days to get a marriage license. Plan on a 3 week trip since it will take 14 days to get your license. Even more if there is a holiday so make sure you know the Philippines holidays.
3. Last make sure she asks if there is an expedite process for your PSA marriage certificate. That will make it faster to apply for the CR1. If you do not ask, and pay the expedite fee it may take 6 months or so to get your official marriage certificate.
 
Your other option is an online Utah wedding. They are the only state that allows and has a process for online weddings. You can do this while you are together there or with you in USA and her in PH. You will need to be together in person during or after the wedding for you to be able to file for the CR-1

I think you are spending too much time reading too much info in the wrong places. I believe CR1 is a much better choice. I would say almost all people that have gone the CR Route and many who have gone the K1 route would agree.
 
Getting married there is not as daunting as it seems. Here are my man suggestions.
1. Have her go to her LCR and ask what are the requirements to marry an American in the Philippines. The reason is that it does vary depending on where she lives. Every LCR has some different policies. Make sure she writes down every requirement and then read it back to verify. The reason for this is things are not very detail oriented there. You do not want to miss any requirements.
2. One requirement in all of the Philippines is that it takes 10 business days to get a marriage license. Plan on a 3 week trip since it will take 14 days to get your license. Even more if there is a holiday so make sure you know the Philippines holidays.
3. Last make sure she asks if there is an expedite process for your PSA marriage certificate. That will make it faster to apply for the CR1. If you do not ask, and pay the expedite fee it may take 6 months or so to get your official marriage certificate.
 
Your other option is an online Utah wedding. They are the only state that allows and has a process for online weddings. You can do this while you are together there or with you in USA and her in PH. You will need to be together in person during or after the wedding for you to be able to file for the CR-1

I think you are spending too much time reading too much info in the wrong places. I believe CR1 is a much better choice. I would say almost all people that have gone the CR Route and many who have gone the K1 route would agree.
 
Getting married there is not as daunting as it seems. Here are my man suggestions.
1. Have her go to her LCR and ask what are the requirements to marry an American in the Philippines. The reason is that it does vary depending on where she lives. Every LCR has some different policies. Make sure she writes down every requirement and then read it back to verify. The reason for this is things are not very detail oriented there. You do not want to miss any requirements.
2. One requirement in all of the Philippines is that it takes 10 business days to get a marriage license. Plan on a 3 week trip since it will take 14 days to get your license. Even more if there is a holiday so make sure you know the Philippines holidays.
3. Last make sure she asks if there is an expedite process for your PSA marriage certificate. That will make it faster to apply for the CR1. If you do not ask, and pay the expedite fee it may take 6 months or so to get your official marriage certificate.
 
Your other option is an online Utah wedding. They are the only state that allows and has a process for online weddings. You can do this while you are together there or with you in USA and her in PH. You will need to be together in person during or after the wedding for you to be able to file for the CR-1