Renato entered into a valid marriage with Juslyn in 1997 in a simple civil ceremony. They have two children born in 1998 and 2000. In 2001, Renato visited the US and never returned. He subsequently married a US citizen, Mary Anne, who petitioned him to become a green card holder.
The prior marriage in 1997 was concealed by Renato and he never revealed the existence of his two minor children. In 2005, he naturalized to become a US citizen again concealing his prior marriage and children. Thereafter, he filed an annulment of his first marriage in the Philippines after he became a US citizen.
Last year, Renato decided to file petitions for his two minor children who now 10 and 12 years old. The petitions were filed with the USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration Services). Renato received a letter was received from the USCIS asking for additional information regarding the mother of the two children. He was asked to prove that his marriage to the mother of his children was validly annulled. Since he did not annul his marriage prior to marrying his US citizen spouse, the petitions for the children were both denied. The USCIS forwarded Renato’s case for further investigation to determine whether he committed fraud in obtaining his immigrant visa.
Bigamous Marriage
Subsequent marriage without annulling a prior marriage will definitely result in a bigamous marriage. The USCIS would not have approved Renato’s application for permanent resident status had they known that his marriage to a US citizen was bigamous. While it may seem to be irrational to enter into a second marriage without obtaining dissolution of the first marriage, cases of these kinds are not uncommon.
Bigamous marriage is not looked upon with favor either in Philippine or US jurisdictions. For some, faced with a desire to keep the first family intact, a subsequent marriage for convenience is obtained. There are cases, though, where the second marriages are entered into good faith and the couple becomes husband and wife for all intents and purposes. When a prior marriage is discovered, then issues of trust and betrayal arise resulting in a complicated situation.
In normal circumstances, what is expected is that a prior marriage be dissolved first before entering into a subsequent marriage. In a jurisdiction where divorce is not recognized, what migrant Filipino nationals do is to obtain a divorce in the US and use this divorce decree to enter into a subsequent marriage. While foreign divorces are legally recognized in the jurisdiction where it was obtained, such divorce decrees are not recognized in the Philippines unless the former Filipino national is now a US citizen.
Children in Dilemma
After remarrying and obtaining the green card or US citizenship, the bigamous parent normally applies for an immigrant visa for the children. Concealment of the existence of a prior marriage and children in prior applications will most likely yield problems in the petitioning process. Questions regarding the marriage of the parents of the children being petitioned will always arise. If the matter of a prior marriage or lack of dissolution thereof has been concealed, the children’s petition for immigrant visa will not be granted because of “prior fraud”. Although, the children are not the ones who perpetrated the fraud, they suffer the effects of misrepresentation by the petitioning parent. Their future of migrating abroad is compromised by past decisions made by their parents.
Federal Criminal Prosecution
No legitimate purpose will be served by misrepresenting the presence of prior marriages and children in applying for immigrant benefits. There must be a discernment of the fallacy that the naturalization to a US citizen will resolve all prior fraud and misrepresentation. These days, criminal prosecution for falsifying naturalization applications are being brought in cases where it is discovered that there is a material misrepresentation in obtaining the green card and the citizenship.
It is understood that divorce, much less a no fault divorce, is not yet recognized in Philippine jurisdiction. However, when a migrant worker, whether a US citizen now or not, is able to obtain a valid divorce in his new place of residence abroad and has since remarried, the foreign divorce should also be made valid for the Filipino spouse left by the migrant worker. This will allow the divorced spouse left behind to also move on and remarry. In addition the children’s future in regards their support and custody, as well as their qualification to be petitioned by the migrant parent, will not be compromised.
(Tancinco may be reached at law@tancinco.com or at (02)887 7177 or (02)721 1963)
