My fiance' petitioned a k1 visa for me and got approved last month. My interview will be on the first week of august.
although, i was told that if the K1 visa is already approved by the USCIS, the chance of being denied in the Embassy is very slim, except if you'll make a major mistake in the interview.

I am not afraid of the interview especially that i know my fiance' well. I have another concern though. When he was still an immigrant, he got married here in the Philippines. His first marriage did not work because his wife was impregnated by another guy.He filed a divorce then.He was already a naturalized US citizen when he filed it.

My question is, "Is it possible that the US Consulate here in the Philippines will deny my application because my fiance' was once married here?

I have read the latest Family code and learned that the divorce filed by my fiance' can be recognized by the Philippine law because he's already a US citizen when he filed it.But of course, for it to be recognized , he has to file a petition which he did not because we thought, there's no need at all especially that our wedding will take place in the US using a fiance' visa.

YOur help is very much appreciated. Thanks.

Hello Sweetjorge

Welcome to the forum

Congrats on getting k-1 approved.

I dont understand your concerns???? Your fiance is a usc petitioner to bring you here to get married. end of story.

Only if he misrepresented information on the petition will there be a problem. If he was married and divorced, that info had to be disclosed. if he did not disclose that information, then there will be a problem.

Otherwise, be happy and welcome to america soon.

There could be a problem. If he got married as a Filipino citizen in Pi and divorced as a USC in the US but didn't file the proper forms back in PI they may consider him still married. You may want to speak to a family law attorney over there. It may only be required that he file the final decree or something along those lines. It may be something you can do quickly prior to the interview.

quote:

Originally posted by davdah:
There could be a problem. If he got married as a Filipino citizen in Pi and divorced as a USC in the US but didn't file the proper forms back in PI they may consider him still married. You may want to speak to a family law attorney over there. It may only be required that he file the final decree or something along those lines. It may be something you can do quickly prior to the interview.

As Far As I Know??? Divorce Is Non Exsistant In The Philippines. Annulments Only!!! Even If A USC Divorces In USA The Filipino Is Still Considered Legally Married In The Philippines!

thank you guys for your reply.

davdah, my fiance' disclosed all information.i hope his previous marriage in the Philippines will not be a problem at all because he already filed a divorce because after all, it's gonna be the US consulate who will be the one to approve it and not the Philippine law.

I'll let you guys know though.

quote:

Originally posted by sweetjorge:
thank you guys for your reply.

davdah, my fiance' disclosed all information.i hope his previous marriage in the Philippines will not be a problem at all because he already filed a divorce because after all, it's gonna be the US consulate who will be the one to approve it and not the Philippine law.

I'll let you guys know though.

CORRECT! Doesnt Matter Here! . But If Returning There???

If there is some documents that need filed then he should get them filed. I'm aware of the life sentance in PI for marriages. With that, there probably isn't an abundance of family law lawyers. But there should be someone in the legal community that can help navigate this. You didn't say for sure but was the first wife also from PI? You still are a citizen of that country and they may apply the rules to you. Just guessing but the marital laws of a country would supercede our laws concerning one of its own citizens.

Hey guys I came across the official site of US consulate in the philippines and found this.

This is a little portion of the transcript from the chat on the Fiancée Visa Process hosted by the Virtual Consulate Davao on February 8, 2006.

" User Asked: eunice_austina - what if my fiancée who applied for the petition was married here in the Philippines but both of them are now U.S. citizens and the wife applied for a divorce there which was granted and now they are divorced? can that be a point of denial for the applicant?

CONSUL: Valid divorces in a U.S. court are accepted as proof that a marriage has been terminated. Both the petitioner and the applicant must be single and otherwise eligible to marry at the time the petition is filed. "

Hi Sweetjorge,

As you had found out and pointed out here by the members, you don't have anything to worry about. Since your fiancee was already a US citizen when he filed the divorce, and divorce being a recognized ground for dissolution of marriages here in the US, he is, under the eyes of US law, available to marry. And I would assume that this is what's relevant to the US embassy in Manila.

The reckoning point is the citizenship at the time a valid divorce is obtained abroad by your fiancee. It's correct to say that divorce isn't recognized in the Philippines, but he was already a US citizen by the time he filed for divorce. Thus, a foreign divorce and its legal effects may be recognized in the Philippines (on the ground of the nationality principle in our civil law.) Please check this link.

Since he got the divorce 17 years ago, it's highly probable that his former wife petitioned the courts there to have that divorce recognized since she would need it to remarry (otherwise, the inequitable situation of her being unable to marry would result and on the assumption that she wants the benefits of a marriage for future relationships). Unless your fiancee would want to marry in the Philippines again, (which is not the case here), a petition must be filed in the court and that decree must be registered in the Civil Registry where the marriage was registered, the Civil Registry of the place where the court is situated, and in the National Census and Statistics Office.

Hope this helps, and it's not legal advice so please consult a lawyer if you want to.

Hi, Mrs. B.

Thanks a lot for your contribution to this thread. Your advice would be very beneficial to those who share the same worries with me.

As regards his ex-wife, she actually haven't filed a petition to have the divorce recognized here in the Philippines for lack of financial resources. I actually have a good relationship with her and entrusted her kids to me.And when the time comes that she needs our help in this matter, I will be more than willing to convince my future husband to help her out and let bygones be bygones.

I am very excited for the interview.The sad thing though is that, until now, I haven't received my new passport. I failed to renew it earlier because I never expected the K1 visa approval would be this early because I was depending on the Processing Times in the USCIS website.
But well, it's still my fault. I'm now triyng to get rid of this manana habit.

Have a great day, guys!