13A Visa Temp - Perm - Seperated During First Year Visa Need Advice Badly

[Call me bubba]

One other thing... would I be breaking any laws by trying to (once the resident visa expires) get a balakbayan stamp at the airport on my own with proof of marriage certificate. (since I won't be annnuled for a while)

since I dont have experience in this,, All i can say, IS IT WORTH THE RISK?

Also - what is the opinion here for getting a US based Divorce in Guam (I am Canadian Citizen)

Thanks again you guys are the best!

here is some info on GUAM's divorce laws

direct from the guam government of the "new law

http://www.guamlegis...P.L. 24-134.pdf

DIVORCE IN GUAM: Beware!

GUAM NO LONGER A DIVORCE MILL

http://www.internati....com/d-guam.htm

Guam had (and still has some) very attractive reasons for obtaining an uncontested divorce there - reasons that make (or made) it a likely candidate for the title "divorce mill" - a title branded by many of its own politicians in a successful attempt to change the law

.Because Guam is a territory of the United States, its courts are United States jurisdictional courts and the divorces it issues are valid in all of the states in the U.S. Prior to January 1, 2006

, Guam allowed for an uncontested divorce without either spouse visiting the territory at all - one of the few places if not the only that allowed this

.After being charged as a "divorce mill", an agreement was made by the politicians of the territory with the lawyers and other lobbyists who did not want to change the law, to require a seven-day stay in Guam (as opposed to the much longer ones proposed by the legislators) to obtain a divorce

.Guam allows for "irreconcilable differences" as a cause for divorce, and Guam is much quicker to award a finalized divorce than many U.S. states, taking a few weeks at most.

Before the law was changed, it was a very attractive alternative for many Americans, as it was also quite affordable.However, with the seven-day stay requirement and its location in Southeast Asia, a trip there can be very expensive and may not be a viable alternative for many Americans

.http://en.wikipedia....ki/Divorce_mill

Edited December 21, 2012 by Pittman apartments Sgn

[Markham]

One other thing... would I be breaking any laws by trying to (once the resident visa expires) get a balakbayan stamp at the airport on my own with proof of marriage certificate. (since I won't be annnuled for a while)

Also - what is the opinion here for getting a US based Divorce in Guam (I am Canadian Citizen)

Thanks again you guys are the best!

If you want to avoid any unpleasantness with the Bureau of Immigration, you won't attempt obtaining a Balikbayan Privilege. In any event, for one to be granted, both husband and wife have to enter the country together and it is the Philippine citizen (ie your wife) who requests the Privilege. And how the heck were you going to explain that one to an Immigration Officer? They are likely to view that as a deliberate attempt to avoid paying Immigration fees and book you into their "hotel" in Bicutan.

You're a Canadian citizen, married to a Filipina, living in the Philippines seeking a divorce under US law -- how does that work?!? As you are neither an American citizen nor resident in the US and neither is your wife, you can not apply for a divorce under US law. Why not apply for a divorce under Canadian law? And when you obtain it, please be a gentleman and ensure she gets an original copy.

Edited December 21, 2012 by Markham

[Shol]

Hi there. Thanks.. I can do the trip if it came down to it. Just wanted to see if it was an alternative. I am Canadian though not sure if it makes a difference.

[Shol]

Thanks Markham.

There are residency requirements and I have lived here for a while and I did consult a lawyer in Canada who wouldn't touch it unless I was in Canada full time for one year.

The reason I asked about the Balikbayan is because I have some friends here who basically showed up with the contract and they were able to get it. I wouldn't do it unless

it was 100% ok to do so...

Anyway appreciate your honesty and bluntless :)

One other thing... would I be breaking any laws by trying to (once the resident visa expires) get a balakbayan stamp at the airport on my own with proof of marriage certificate. (since I won't be annnuled for a while)

Also - what is the opinion here for getting a US based Divorce in Guam (I am Canadian Citizen)

Thanks again you guys are the best!

If you want to avoid any unpleasantness with the Bureau of Immigration, you won't attempt obtaining a Balikbayan Privilege. In any event, for one to be granted, both husband and wife have to enter the country together and it is the Philippine citizen (ie your wife) who requests the Privilege. And how the heck were you going to explain that one to an Immigration Officer? They are likely to view that as a deliberate attempt to avoid paying Immigration fees and book you into their "hotel" in Bicutan.

You're a Canadian citizen, married to a Filipina, living in the Philippines seeking a divorce under US law -- how does that work?!? As you are neither an American citizen nor resident in the US and neither is your wife, you can not apply for a divorce under US law. Why not apply for a divorce under Canadian law? And when you obtain it, please be a gentleman and ensure she gets an original copy.

[Call me bubba]

both husband and wife have to enter the country together and it is the Philippine citizen (ie your wife) who requests the Privilege

Thanks MARKHAM....for the CORRECT info on this,

its not worth saving $$ ,, when" HOTEL" BICUTAN awaits

[Shol]

Thanks everyone... yes I am sure I don't want to book a "room" there :)

both husband and wife have to enter the country together and it is the Philippine citizen (ie your wife) who requests the Privilege

Thanks MARKHAM....for the CORRECT info on this,

its not worth saving $$ ,, when" HOTEL" BICUTAN awaits

[Markham]

Just to chime in and say that my fellow forum mates are all wonderfully brilliant today. I would say that you have been given good advice. If you can afford it, if you are young enough to want to work for a living, if you have no plans for an immediate marriage to some other candidate, and if you plan to spend the rest of your life in Philippines then I would surely go for a Quota Visa. It would pay for itself over the long term.

Absolutely correct but you've missed-out the major difference between Quota and Non-Quota Visas (eg 13a, 13g etc) and that is that a Quota Visa is an Immigrant Visa. This means that it lasts indefinitely and can only be canceled under extreme circumstances: it is equivalent to "Indefinite Leave to Remain" status granted to applicable aliens living in the UK. Whereas Non-Quota Visas are Non-Immigrant and automatically expire when the circumstances under which they were granted no longer pertain.

As for "paying for themselves" that's a slightly moot point and much depends on the age of the applicant. You would need to go through the fourteen month Tourist Visa/Waiver cycle many times and for at least for ten years before a Quota Visa has paid for itself!

(As an aside, someone we both know in Cebu (JR) applied for and obtained a Quota Visa about 2 years ago - and it cost him a considerable amount. Guess what? He got married a couple of months ago to the girl he'd been living with since he arrived!)

[Markham]

There are residency requirements and I have lived here for a while and I did consult a lawyer in Canada who wouldn't touch it unless I was in Canada full time for one year.

Well things are changing here. The Reproductive Health Bill has now been approved by both the Senate and the House of Representatives and will be signed into law shortly. At last this country has elected representatives who are prepared to stand up to the Catholic Church which has blocked the passage of the RH Bill for some 17 years. There is another contentious Bill being debated right now - the Divorce Bill - and given the current climate, particularly in the Senate, if it can finish all its stages before the mid-term elections in May, it too could be signed into law.

The reason I asked about the Balikbayan is because I have some friends here who basically showed up with the contract and they were able to get it. I wouldn't do it unless

it was 100% ok to do so...

I would be very wary of copying others' reported actions in order to circumvent the law. Quite recently several women and their "husbands" were arrested in Manila (and Borocay) for engaging in sham marriages - they had married (for money) in order that their spouses could successfully apply for 13a visas. Your friends may think they have got "one up" over the System but actually they haven't and their situation is only temporary. At the end of their BB Privilege year, they will either have to apply for 13a Visas, revert to being tourists and pay for Extensions or leave the country. If they then try to re-enter the country without their legal wives and apply for BB Privilieges, they may well not be so lucky and could even be investigated.

[ancienrocka]

Just to chime in and say that my fellow forum mates are all wonderfully brilliant today. I would say that you have been given good advice. If you can afford it, if you are young enough to want to work for a living, if you have no plans for an immediate marriage to some other candidate, and if you plan to spend the rest of your life in Philippines then I would surely go for a Quota Visa. It would pay for itself over the long term.

Absolutely correct but you've missed-out the major difference between Quota and Non-Quota Visas (eg 13a, 13g etc) and that is that a Quota Visa is an Immigrant Visa. This means that it lasts indefinitely and can only be canceled under extreme circumstances: it is equivalent to "Indefinite Leave to Remain" status granted to applicable aliens living in the UK. Whereas Non-Quota Visas are Non-Immigrant and automatically expire when the circumstances under which they were granted no longer pertain.

As for "paying for themselves" that's a slightly moot point and much depends on the age of the applicant. You would need to go through the fourteen month Tourist Visa/Waiver cycle many times and for at least for ten years before a Quota Visa has paid for itself!

(As an aside, someone we both know in Cebu (JR) applied for and obtained a Quota Visa about 2 years ago - and it cost him a considerable amount. Guess what? He got married a couple of months ago to the girl he'd been living with since he arrived!)

The agent's fees to assist in the arrangement of Quota visas are now about half the price that JR paid 2-3 years ago, BUT they are twice as hard to get.

The new administration has been working quietly in the background eliminating much of the abuse that occurred a few years ago.