2. July 2009 by admin.

Any foreigner who wishes to marry in the Philippines is required by the Philippine Government to obtain from his/her Embassy an “Affidavit in Lieu of a Certificate of Legal Capacity to Marry” before filing an application for a marriage license. A citizen of the United States may execute the affidavit at the American Embassy in Manila. The American Embassy in Manila is located at 1201 Roxas Boulevard, Manila, the telephone number is (63) (2) 521-7116, and the fax number is (63) (2) 522-4361. The American needs to present his/her U.S. passport and proof of the termination of any prior marriage(s) (court certified copies of divorce degrees or registrar certified copies of death certificates), if applicable. There is a service fee of $30.00 for the affidavit.

The affidavit must be obtained from the U.S. Embassy in Manila. Philippine authorities will not accept any substitute document initiated in the United States.

Once the person has the affidavit, he/she can file the application for a marriage license at the office of the local Philippine Civil Registrar of the town or city where one of the parties is a resident. The U.S. citizen applicant will need to present the affidavit, death certificate or divorce decree as mentioned above, U.S. passport, and documentation regarding parental consent or advice if applicable. Marriage applicants who are age 18 to 21 must have parental consent in writing, those age 21 to 25 must have written parental advice (a written indication that the parents are aware of the couple’s intent to marry). The revised Family Code of the Philippines, which took effect on August 4, 1988, prohibits marriage for individuals below the age of 18.

Normally there is a ten-day waiting period before the marriage license is issued by the registrar’s office. In some instances the fiancée may apply in advance for the marriage license with the local civil registrar. The American citizen must then obtain the affidavit of legal capacity upon arrival in the Philippines and file it immediately with the civil registrar where the fiancée applied for the marriage license. A marriage license cannot be obtained by a fiancée without presence of the prospective spouse.

The marriage can be performed by a judge, justice of the peace, priest, or minister of religion.

If you are married to a Filipino citizen and need to bring him or her to the US, visit our law firm’s website at www.myfianceevisa.com or www.fianceevisa.ws for information on how we can help bring your loved one to the U.S.

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2. July 2009 by admin.

To prepare a fiance visa application, the following forms are included in a fiancee visa application package.

• I-129f: click here to download the form
• G-325A biographical information form for both US citizen and foreign fiance(e). Click here to download the form.

If you need assistance preparing your fiancee’s application, go to www.myfianceevisa.com

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2. July 2009 by admin.

Beginning July 1, 2009, Citi and BDO will use new payment slips for nonimmigrant machine-readable visa (MRV) application fee payments. 

Upon payment of the $131 MRV application fee, the bank will issue a new “US Embassy copy” of the bills payment slip which will be stapled to a blank DS-157 form. The BDO bills payment slip will have three copies. The copy on blue paper is the “US Embassy copy.” On the day of the interview, the Nonimmigrant Visa Unit will only accept the “US Embassy copy” as proof of payment of the $131 MRV application fee. If the slip stapled on the DS-157 form gets lost, the applicant will need to pay a new MRV fee.

All MRV fee payments made between May 25, 2009 and June 30, 2009 with the old bills payment slip will still be accepted. All MRV fee payments made before May 25, 2009 with a proof of payment validation at the back of the DS-157 form, which fall within the one-year fee validity, will also be accepted.

The DS-157 form is still a required document and must be submitted as part of the visa application.

If you need assistance obtaining a nonimmigrant visa from the U.S. embassy in Manila, Philippines, contact our law firm at 626-771-1078 or visit our website: http://www.myfianceevisa.com/ and www.fianceevisas.ws

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2. July 2009 by admin.

The marriage registration process may take anywhere from several days to several months to complete, depending upon how quickly the required documents are obtained. (For example, some Chinese citizens have difficulty getting a “release” from their “danwei” to obtain the “certificate of birth” or the “certificate of marriageability.”

IMPORTANT TIP: It is recommended that the couple dress up (coat and tie for the male). From past experience, it appears that whenever a couple appeared in jeans and tennis shoes the registration process took over a month whereas couples who dressed formally and displayed a “correct attitude” were usually registered within a few days.

After marrying, it is important to submit required immigration paperwork to the USCIS to enable your spouse to enter the USA. Our law firm can assist; visit www.chinesefiancee.com for more information.

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2. July 2009 by admin.

The Chinese partner to the marriage will be asked to submit the following

• a certificate of marriageability (obtainable from the office which has physical control of his or her file)
• a certificate of birth
• household registration book
• health certificate (obtainable from a regional level local hospital)
• a letter from the parents of the local partner giving permission for their child to marry a foreigner (this letter should include the index fingerprint of both parents below their signature and date).

After marriage, the US/Chinese couple will need to prepare US immigration paperwork allowing the Chinese spouse to enter the U.S. Visit our website at www.myfianceevisa.com or call us at 626-771-1078 for more information on how our law firm can assist.

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2. July 2009 by admin.

The American partner to a marriage in China will generally be asked to submit the following:

• a current passport
• a Chinese residence permit
• a health certificate from the local hospital designated by the civil affairs office
• a “certification of marriageability” which can be prepared at the U.S. Embassy on the basis of an affidavit in which the American citizen swears or affirms before a Consul that he or she is currently legally eligible to marry (persons who have previously been married need to show a certified divorce decree, annulment decree, or death certificate both to the Embassy when preparing this certificate and to local authorities. Since proof of termination of all previous marriages will again be required when you file an immigrant visa petition on your spouse’s behalf, we recommend that you do not surrender the certified copies of death certificates or divorce or annulment decrees to the civil affairs office. You should take a good photocopy with you when you go to register the marriage. Generally, if you present the certified copy with the copy for their review, the Chinese authorities will accept the copy. This is also true for your spouse if he or she has previously been married.)
• three photos of the marrying couple, taken together
• a registration fee

 For legal assistance, visit our law firm’s website at www.myfianceevisa.com

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2. July 2009 by admin.

This is completely off-topic from the usual K-1 fiancee and K-3 spousal visa information that we post here. But given the recent news surrounding Michael Jackson’s death, I just had post something.

I remember seeing the Thriller video for the first time and just being amazed at the music, the dancing, and the special effects. It really was a ground-breaking video for its time, and it seems like so many things that Michael did rose to that level.

Beat It will always be a favorite song, and Eddie Van Halen’s guitar riff is a total classic. I always thought it was neat to show to all the metal-heads in Jr. High who were listening to Judas Priest and Scorpion that a musician from that genre could collaborate with Michael and make such a great song.

It’s sad to see all the media circus surrounding the aftermath of his death. Of course, the past several years of his life certainly created this type of atmosphere. The juicy details regarding his will, custody of his kids, the mother of his kids– they’ll provide fodder for the media for quite some time. Yet in the midst of it all, I hope his kids are able to find refuge among loved ones while they mourn their loss. And I hope that people remember his tremendous music and the impact it has had on our world.

The King of Pop will be missed.

This blog posting appears on Fiancee and Spousal Visa How To’s by www.myfianceevisa.com

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2. July 2009 by admin.

For Filipino/Filipina spouses of U.S.  citizens, www.MyFianceeVisa.com provides the following information on how to apply for an immigrant visa:

A spouse of a U.S. citizen is considered an immediate relative (IR) and is immediately eligible to apply for an immigrant visa under the IR category. The Filipino spouse must be the beneficiary of an I-130 approved by the USCIS. This petition must be filed at the USCIS office that has jurisdiction over the American spouse’s place of residence.

Children under 21 years of age and unmarried of the Filipino spouse are also eligible to apply for IR visas if individual petitions are filed on their behalf by the U.S. citizen spouse. Under U.S. immigration law, only children under the age of 18 at the time their natural parent married a U.S. citizen are considered “step-children” for immigration purpose. Children who were 18 years or older at the time of the marriage may not be petitioned as step-children. They may be petitioned by the Filipino parent after he/she becomes a lawful permanent resident of the United States.

Once an I-130 petition is approved, the National Visa Center notifies the petitioner and provides guidance on how the Filipino spouse and children can apply for IR1 and IR2 visas respectively.

The NVC queues the applicant(s) for an interview and forwards the approved petition to the Embassy in Manila. The NVC will likewise notify the applicant(s) when they are scheduled to report for the medical examination and visa interview.

It takes 6 to 24 months from the date a petition is approved for the IR visa to be issued. If an investigation is required and if the applicant does not satisfy all application requirements, visa issuance may take longer. A U.S. citizen should not arrange to take the Filipino spouse back to the United States immediately following the marriage. No travel arrangements should be finalized until a visa has been issued.

Because of the time involved in processing the application for an immigrant visa, it is recommended that the petitioner and beneficiary gather the required documentation to submit with the visa application at the earliest possible time.

 For assistance with this type of application, contact us at www.myfianceevisa.com  Our law firm has assisted numerous US/Filipino couples reunite in the USA.

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2. July 2009 by admin.

If you don’t want to bother with the K-1 fiancee visa and prefer to marry your fiancee in China, here’s information on how to marry in China. This information is provided by the Chinese government.

 Foreigners wishing to go to China to marry Chinese citizens should be acknowledged that the legal marriage age in China is 22 and above for male, 20 and above for female according to the Chinese law, and bigamy is illegal.

Before going to China, the following documents should be prepared:
1. Your non-spouse certificate which indicate your name, sex, date and place of birth, nationality, personal identification document number, marital status (never married or divorced or widowed) and the name of your fiancee/fiance. The divorced should have divorce certificate and the widowed death certificate and must declare that he/she has never got married since and remains single.
The above-mentioned documents are invalid unless they are first notarized by a local notary public and then legalized and finally authenticated by the Chinese Embassy  (valid for 6 months since the date of authentication).
2. Certificate of decent occupation or reliable income.

After entering into China with the above-said documents and a valid visa, you should together with your fiancee/fiance, submit in person your marriage application to the marriage registration office of the local government above county level where the Chinese fiancee/fiance resides and, have your health checked by a designated hospital. Marriage can be registered only after the application is ratified, and Marriage Certificate is issued upon registration.

 Once you’ve married, you’ll need to apply for an immigrant visa for your spouse or for a spousal visa. We can help, call us at 626-771-1078 to speak with an experienced immigration attorney or visit us at www.myfianceevisa.com

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2. July 2009 by admin.

Review Form I-292 as well as the notice of denial that accompanied the adverse decision to determine whether or not you may appeal the denial of your petition or application. The decision will inform you of the proper jurisdiction and provide you with the correct form.

If you want to appeal the denial of a petition or application, the notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days of the date of the decision. If you receive the decision by mail, you must file the appeal within 33 days of the date of the decision. If you wish to appeal the revocation of an approved petition, you must file the appeal within 15 days of the date of the decision, or within 18 days of the date of the decision if the decision is received by mail.

If the Administrative Appeals Office has jurisdiction over the decision, the notice of appeal must be filed on Form I-290B (Notice of Appeal to the Administrative Appeal Office). The appeal must be filed with the office that made the original decision. An explanation may be filed in support of your appeal. A fee is required and must be included.

 Appealing a fiancee visa denial can be difficult and complicated. If you need help appealing a denial for a fiance visa petition, contact us at www.myfianceevisa.com or www.myvisa.com for legal assistance.

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