# Help Obtaining US Citizenship For Child Born In Philippines Of American Father



## Kano (Jul 9, 2016)

I just found out that my girlfriend in the Philippines is pregnant. As a natural born American Citizen my children have a right to be American citizens however there is a complication I have come across. My girlfriend's original marriage ended just before we started communicating after meeting there 15 years ago when I was there with my ex, yet she still shares a house with her ex and apparently never officially got an annulment or separation. I was told by the embassy that to be eligible for US citizenship the child will have to have my name on the birth certificate however I was told by others that that will be impossible there because the ex husband's name has to be on the birth certificate unless they get an annulment. I am in the process of getting my girlfriend a new apartment where she can survive her pregnancy without the constant battles with her alcoholic ex. Her ex has agreed to an annulment as long as she continues to support her grand children but that will take too long for the baby. Does anyone know how my name can legally be put on the birth certificate so citizenship can be assertained?


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

Ooff I remember one posting on this issue and the initial husband is the legal father regardless of who the baby belongs to, what a mess. Your gonna have cough up allot of money it sounds like because the husband isn't going silent, not to mention the cost of an annulment and possible black mail, I really feel sorry for you, also annulments aren't always granted.

Careful also because since there's no annulment you could wind up in jail for a very long time, it's against the law and enforced here if the husband pushes it so (black mail). My wife's cousin is married but she has a boyfriend and the husband complained so the boyfriend was arrested and has been locked up for months now, don't have any idea when they'll let him go.


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## Kano (Jul 9, 2016)

M.C.A. said:


> Careful also because since there's no annulment you could wind up in jail for a very long time, it's against the law and enforced here if the husband pushes it so (black mail). My wife's cousin is married but she has a boyfriend and the husband complained so the boyfriend was arrested and has been locked up for months now, don't have any idea when they'll let him go.


Luckily the husband is the only one who can bring charges under the law and I have now arranged it so he is legally barred from doing so. Blackmail or jail is no longer a threat


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

Wish someone could help here with your issue I think there are a few of us that have done this here. I did find a short cut for the US Embassy.

Consular Report of Birth Abroad and Derivative Citizenship | Manila, Philippines - Embassy of the United States

Good luck Kano hope things work out and also possibly some more advice from other expats in the same situation as you. I feel the husband will still be a serious threat regardless of what anyone has promised you or any other assurances, always be weary of professionals and their advice on this matter.


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## Asian Spirit (Mar 1, 2010)

Kano said:


> Luckily the husband is the only one who can bring charges under the law and I have now arranged it so he is legally barred from doing so. Blackmail or jail is no longer a threat


Legality on anything in this country means very little and as a foreign citizen, the Philippines courts will always side with the Filipino. Hopefully you won't have legal issues like many other do. The inside of a Philippine jail is the very last place on earth you wanna be.

Also, what about your GF (the mother)? Without an annulment here she can not marry you. Also without it you can not get a fiancee visa to get her and the child to the States to marry there.

In addition, to have any chance of legal custody of the child and to bring that child to the US, the embassy will require you to prove paternity by a DNA test. If that test shows you are indeed the biological father, her husband can still file adultery charges regardless of any existing agreement as the child was conceived before the agreement was made.

Taking responsibility for ones actions is one thing; but to risk a long term in jail in a foreign country under life threatening conditions is another entirely.
Once jailed here there is not thing one the US government can do for you. I would seriously reconsider continuing your efforts.



Regards

Jet Lag


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## lefties43332 (Oct 21, 2012)

Kano said:


> I just found out that my girlfriend in the Philippines is pregnant. As a natural born American Citizen my children have a right to be American citizens however there is a complication I have come across. My girlfriend's original marriage ended just before we started communicating after meeting there 15 years ago when I was there with my ex, yet she still shares a house with her ex and apparently never officially got an annulment or separation. I was told by the embassy that to be eligible for US citizenship the child will have to have my name on the birth certificate however I was told by others that that will be impossible there because the ex husband's name has to be on the birth certificate unless they get an annulment. I am in the process of getting my girlfriend a new apartment where she can survive her pregnancy without the constant battles with her alcoholic ex. Her ex has agreed to an annulment as long as she continues to support her grand children but that will take too long for the baby. Does anyone know how my name can legally be put on the birth certificate so citizenship can be assertained?


Run fast!!!!! Maybe it's not your child...


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## Kano (Jul 9, 2016)

Legally the husband can not file adultery charges if he gave permission before the event or if he issued a pardon after the event. He also has to charge both the spouse and the man. He has wanted his freedom to find someone else for some time. I had her hire a lawyer to draw up papers to give him a pardon for any past transgressions and permission for future adulterous acts and for him to do the same for her and me. He signed and she took it to her lawyer. 

There is a very good chance she will lose the baby because of her age, it is really a miracle that she became pregnant at all and this will be our last chance. Her granddaughter is 4 years older than she was when she became pregnant with her first child. We won't be able to marry or have her come to the states without an annulment which we have a better chance than most of getting because she was 14 when she was pregnant and pushed into marriage after her mother had abandoned her with her grandparents and her grandparents died. Her mother thus did not give written permission as required even though she was alive at the time, plus her husband lied about his age on the marriage application. The citizenship has to come first, then we can work on the annulment which will cost a lot more and be a lot more complicated.


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## Asian Spirit (Mar 1, 2010)

Kano said:


> Legally the husband can not file adultery charges if he gave permission before the event or if he issued a pardon after the event. He also has to charge both the spouse and the man. He has wanted his freedom to find someone else for some time. I had her hire a lawyer to draw up papers to give him a pardon for any past transgressions and permission for future adulterous acts and for him to do the same for her and me. He signed and she took it to her lawyer.
> 
> There is a very good chance she will lose the baby because of her age, it is really a miracle that she became pregnant at all and this will be our last chance. Her granddaughter is 4 years older than she was when she became pregnant with her first child. We won't be able to marry or have her come to the states without an annulment which we have a better chance than most of getting because she was 14 when she was pregnant and pushed into marriage after her mother had abandoned her with her grandparents and her grandparents died. Her mother thus did not give written permission as required even though she was alive at the time, plus her husband lied about his age on the marriage application. The citizenship has to come first, then we can work on the annulment which will cost a lot more and be a lot more complicated.


That sounds like an extremely complex set of tasks for sure. Specially here where so many things operate slowly and have unexpected problems.

Have you ever considered taking care of the annulment and citizenship and then find a good place to live here in the islands? After being declared an American citizen, your child can with you as the payee collect a pretty good chunk of Social Security till he or she turns 18. A lot less expensive living here and life is not too bad under the right conditions..


Jey


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

I'm with Jet Lag why not live here if you are retired. I too had a hard time but my issue was with adopting my kids (legally adopted) and the effort, cost and red tape stateside made me give up and I retired here my wife was the first to give up and she wanted to live here with the kids plus she got bored of the states and so finally joined her.


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## Kano (Jul 9, 2016)

I'm not retired and have my own home business. Every time I go over there I have to shut everything down and lose income. Once I get back it takes a month to get sales back up where they were. I will probably move there part time anyway, at least until we can get the annulment. I'm also looking at other options to pay a big company here to do the work that has to be done in the states. I have hired her son and granddaughter to help doing the parts of the work that can be offshored and that may help me grow the business enough to pay Amazon here to do the final manufacturing, sales and delivery freeing me up to move there. For most things Amazon will warehouse and ship items you sell so you can operate a business selling through them from anywhere. For custom books though they have a new service where they will print them also which will be just what I need. The problem is the cost for them to do so will leave me with little to live on unless I really expand inventory. I have thought about becoming an expert in trendy Philippine handmade tribal fabric or similar niche item and selling that stateside through Amazon although the trend now is to buy mass market items in bulk on Alibaba produced with your own brand name and sell them on Amazon. Buy the items, ship them to Amazon then create the listings to sell them. Your own brand name gives you a separate listing which is important because the customer is shown the least expensive or highest rated seller for each listing by default and if they don't see your add they will not buy from you. It is a good business for ex pats though because you are selling to higher paying American customers without having to be there.


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