Q: I'M PLANNING to get married to an American citizen. However, I got married a long time ago in the Philippines, and the marriage was never annulled. I haven't seen my husband for many years, and I don't think there is any record of my first marriage. Will this cause a problem with getting my green card?
A: It is very likely that your earlier marriage will prevent you from qualifying for a green card. All previous marriages must be terminated in order for your new marriage to be valid for immigration purposes.
In order to qualify for a green card through marriage, both you and your spouse must demonstrate that all previous marriages have legally ended. This means that you need to submit proof that the marriage ended in divorce or annulment as declared by a court of law. The marriage can also legally end if your former spouse passed away, and you will need to submit a copy of the former spouse’s death certificate.
If you and your spouse merely separated, and there has been no divorce or annulment proceeding, then you are still married under the law. A common misconception among Filipinos is that if you have been physically separated from your spouse for four years, then you are no longer married. This is not true. The Family Code of the Philippines requires a court hearing to declare that the spouse is presumptively dead in order for the four-year rule to apply. Without that court hearing, the marriage is still considered valid.
As you are aware, divorce is not allowed in the Philippines, and an annulment can be granted only in very limited circumstances. Fortunately, there are options for Filipinos who want to remarry.
The answer is to begin a divorce proceeding here in the United States. You can file for divorce here even if your spouse is still in the Philippines. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service will consider the U.S. divorce as a legal termination of your marriage, and you will be free to remarry once the divorce order is final.
However, even this step can be problematic. Most states have a residency requirement, meaning that you or your spouse must live in the state for a certain period of time before filing. In California, you must be a resident for six months before filing, and you must live in the county where you will file for three months. In Nevada, you must live in the state for six weeks before filing for divorce.
Why is this so important? Some paralegals promise a “quick divorce” in a matter of days or weeks, especially in Nevada. In the divorce petition, they falsely claim that you have been a resident of the state for the required amount of time. In reality, the paralegal uses their office or another address as your “home address.” USCIS is aware that many divorces are filed using these paralegals, and they will want to see proof, for example, that you lived in Nevada for six weeks. If you are unable to show that you met the residency requirement, USCIS will deny the petition by claiming that your divorce was not valid, and that you are now in a bigamous marriage that is not valid either. So make sure that you meet the residency requirement, and don’t sign a court petition that doesn’t truthfully describe your residence.
Even if you had a “secret marriage” in the Philippines, make sure you terminate the marriage legally. USCIS will check for previous marriages with agencies like the National Statistics Office in the Philippines. If the marriage appears in any official record, chances are that either USCIS or the U.S. Embassy in Manila will find it.
If you fill out an immigration form with false information, you will jeopardize your status, and you might be placed in deportation proceedings. Always consult with an experienced immigration attorney to ensure the success of your application or petition.
This Q & A from the Asian Journal.
How long does a exhusband need to pay alamony in the state of california is it like a third of the time married?
Posted by: jeff | March 28, 2007 at 10:09 PM
I got married in california thinking I was divorced in texas. but know that am finally divorced in texas I need to know can I do 2 make my marrage in california legal
Posted by: Jorge | April 13, 2007 at 08:09 AM
Question: I was married in the Philippines in 1997. My wife went to the US and remarried in 2003. Our Philippine annulment was just granted in 2007. She later filed for divorce against me in 2007 even though she was already remarried. Is her 2nd marriage valid. I assume she re-married to be able to stay in the US. She was able to get a no record on file in th Philippines National Statistics office using a variation of her name in 2003.
Posted by: John | March 11, 2009 at 04:39 PM