 |
 |
ARE YOU MARRIED OR SINGLE?
by Michael J. Gurfinkel, Esq.
Some people were petitioned as "single"
by their parent. But, before being processed for a visa or greencard,
they got married. This marriage could affect the continued validity
or waiting time for a visa. (For example, only American citizen
parents can petition married children. If an immigrant
petitions his or her child, and the child gets married before
being processed for a visa or greencard, the child's marriage
results in the automatic revocation of the parent's petition,
and the child would no longer be eligible for a visa as the "single"
child of an immigrant.)
Some people try to hide the existence of their marriage,
so they can be processed for their visa as "single".
Once in America, they want to bring their spouse and/or children
to the United States. But, they are afraid to petition their family
members because that could result in the INS or Embassy discovering
their previous misrepresentations about their marital status.
Not only will the family petition they filed on behalf of their
spouse and/or children be denied, but, worse yet, they could possibly
find themselves in jeopardy of losing their own greencard, and
being deported or removed from the U.S.
In fact, some people who misrepresented their marital
status may already be in the middle of deportation proceedings,
or are in danger of having the petitions they filed for their
spouse or children denied. It is tragic if this situation applies
to you or someone you know.
Before you give up all hope, and throw your hands
up in despair, you may wish to explore the possibility that maybe
through some "legal technicality" you may not
be married and/or your marriage may not be valid under
either U.S. or Philippine law. (Courts have ruled that the validity
of a marriage is generally governed by the law of the place of
celebration. So, if you were married in the Philippines, the laws
of the Philippines may apply with respect to the validity (or
invalidity) of your marriage.) If, for some reason, your marriage
was legally invalid or void, then you would, legally, still be
"single", despite going through a marriage ceremony.
For example, under Article 3 of the Philippine Family
Code, the formal requisites (or legal requirements) of a valid
marriage are:
1. Authority of the solemnizing officer - the solemnizing
officer must be legally authorized by law to solemnize marriages.
2. A valid marriage license - the marriage license
must have been obtained in accordance with the requisites of law.
(Note: A marriage license is different from a marriage
contract. A marriage could still be valid without a marriage
contract, but it is void if there is no marriage license.)
3. The marriage, performed by an authorized solemnizing
officer, must have not less than two witnesses who
must be of legal age.
Under Article 4 of the Philippine Family Code, "The
absence of any of the essential or formal requisites shall render
the marriage void ab initio . . ." (or void from its inception).
Thus, if any of these above mentioned formal requisites
are absent from your marriage, your marriage could be void, and
you may truly be single.
Another situation where a person may be single,
despite a marriage, is where their spouse was previously married
to a different or another person. Article 35 of the Philippine
Family Code provides that bigamous or polygamous marriages "shall
be void from the beginning". Thus, if you married someone
who was already married to another person, your marriage would
be considered "bigamous" and void, such that you would,
legally, still be "single".
Of course, if you really did go through a valid
ceremony, and you are, in all respects, legally married and have
fully complied with the Family Code as far as the requisites of
a valid marriage are concerned, don't waste your time or effort
trying to lie about whether or not you are legally or validly
married. You would just be wasting everybody's time and your money
trying to further misrepresent the situation. However, if your
marital status somehow affected the validity or eligibility of
your visa, and there may not have been full compliance with the
applicable laws relating to a valid marriage, you should seek
the advice of a reputable attorney, who can examine your situation,
in relation to the facts and applicable laws, to determine whether
or not you are legally married or single. This way, you may not
have to live in fear, doubt, or desperation, and you will know
exactly where you stand. After all, many people complain that
they were denied visas based on "legal technicalities".
So, wouldn't it be nice that you could find yourself legitimately
"single", or eligible for a visa based on "legal
technicalities"?
Back
to Main
|
|
|
