The process of marrying overseas can be really long and costly. Not to mention that you have to fill out a multitude of paper works – from applying for a permanent residency as well as work and travel permit to reporting your marriage. Yes, you are not done yet! There is more to your immigration papers than just your AOS papers. So make sure you report this within your first year of marriage. You can do this by submitting a Report of Marriage Form, which can be obtained from the local embassy website together with your supporting documents. Feel free to check the Consulate Finder Map to see which Consular Jurisdiction your state belongs to.
In our case, the delay in reporting our Marriage to the Philippine Embassy in the United States is due to not knowing that a Report of Marriage was necessary (and we hope this is satisfactory to them). The Philippine government didn’t inform me that it was mandatory and of course, the US Government didn't either. So after 15 months from the date we got married, we finally sent in our Report of Marriage form together with other paperwork to the Philippine Consulate General in Chicago.
REPORT OF MARRIAGE REQUIREMENTS
1. Two (2) originals and two (2) photocopies of duly-accomplished REPORT OF MARRIAGE form, typed or printed legibly in black ink, signed by both husband and wife. If submitting by mail, the completed forms must be notarized.
2. One (1) original or certified true copy and four (4) photocopies of the Marriage Certificate issued by the County Clerk’s office (original will be returned)
3. Four (4) photocopies each of the passports of both spouses
4. Four (4) photocopies of additional proof of Philippine citizenship of the Filipino spouse/s (green card, valid visa, notice of action, work permit, Identification Certificate for dual citizens)
5. Four (4) photocopies of the Birth Certificate/s of Filipino spouse/s.
6. Two (2) originals and two (2) photocopies of notarized AFFIDAVIT OF DELAYED REGISTRATION explaining the reasons for delayed registration if ROM is filed more than a year after marriage
7. Self-addressed return envelope, with appropriate stamps for express or priority mail with tracking numbers via US Postal Service, or with prepaid mailing envelope from a private courier of choice (except FedEx), if Report of Marriage is to be mailed back to the applicant.
8. Processing fee of $25.00 (non-refundable), payable in cash or money order payable to “Philippine Consulate General" (if submitting by mail). Personal checks and credit cards are not accepted.
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS
A. IF FILIPINO OR FORMER FILIPINO SPOUSE WAS PREVIOUSLY MARRIED AND DIVORCED, OR PREVIOUSLY MARRIED AND MARRIAGE WAS SUBSEQUENTLY ANNULLED
One (1) original or certified true copy and four (4) photocopies of the Judicial Recognition of Decree of Divorce or Annotated Marriage Certificate and Annulment papers issued in the Philippines (original will be returned).
If the previously married and divorced spouse is a former Filipino citizen, submit four (4) photocopies of the spouse’s naturalization certificate as proof that he/she was a U.S. citizen at the time of the divorce and a Certificate of No Marriage Record (CENOMAR) from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA, formerly NSO), as proof that the previous marriage was not registered in the Philippines.
B. IF THE SPOUSE IS A WIDOW / WIDOWER
Four (4) photocopies of Death Certificate of deceased spouse
The Consular Officer reserves the right to require additional proof or documents from an applicant. Source: ROM Chicago
Note: We are not professional visa lawyers or a visa agency. We will however, inform you of OUR experience, and we can point you into the right direction if you have further questions if we don’t know the answer.
Update: 3/11/2019
We received our report of Marriage form (10 days after submitting) stating that we are finally REGISTERED as of March 4, 2019 with an official seal from the Philippine Consulate General in Chicago. Yeheeeey! So now it's time to renew my Philippine passport!
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