To marry a Filipina in the US, a U.S. citizen typically files a K-1 fiancé visa petition, brings her to the country, holds the wedding within 90 days of her arrival, and then files to adjust her status to permanent resident. Couples who prefer to marry first can instead marry in the Philippines and petition for a CR-1 spousal visa, which brings her in already holding a green card. Either way, the process runs on two tracks at once: U.S. immigration paperwork and Philippine civil documents that must be in order before she can leave the country.
Pick the Right Immigration Pathway
The choice comes down to where your fiancée is now and whether you’d rather marry in the U.S. or in the Philippines.
K-1 Fiancé Visa
The K-1 lets a U.S. citizen bring a foreign fiancée to the United States to get married. Once she arrives, you have exactly 90 days to hold the ceremony. Miss that window and her status expires automatically with no extension available. After the wedding she files to adjust status to permanent resident without leaving the country.1U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Visas for Fiancé(e)s of U.S. Citizens
To qualify, you must be a U.S. citizen (not a green card holder), you and your fiancée must have met in person at least once within the two years before filing, and both of you must be legally free to marry. USCIS can waive the in-person meeting requirement only in narrow circumstances, such as when meeting would violate long-established cultural customs or cause extreme hardship to the U.S. citizen.2U.S. Department of State. Nonimmigrant Visa for a Fiancé(e) (K-1)
You start by filing Form I-129F with USCIS. After approval the case transfers to the U.S. Embassy in Manila for her visa interview. Total processing runs about 10 months, though this fluctuates.3U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-129F, Petition for Alien Fiancé(e)
CR-1 Spousal Visa
If you’d rather marry first and handle immigration afterward, the CR-1 is often the better path. You marry your fiancée in the Philippines (or elsewhere), then file Form I-130 to petition for her as your spouse. She enters the U.S. already a permanent resident, skipping the adjustment of status filing and its $1,440 fee. She can work immediately and travel freely.
The trade-off is time. Median CR-1 processing runs around 14 to 15 months, longer than the K-1. But because it eliminates the post-arrival paperwork and fees, total cost can come in lower.4U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-130, Petition for Alien Relative
If She’s Already in the U.S.
If your fiancée is already lawfully present on a valid visa, you can marry here and she can file Form I-485 to adjust status without leaving the country. She must have been lawfully admitted or paroled.5U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Green Card for Immediate Relatives of U.S. Citizen
One serious warning: if she entered on a tourist visa and marries or files for a green card within 90 days of arrival, USCIS may presume she entered with preconceived intent to immigrate. That’s inconsistent with the temporary purpose of a tourist visa and can be treated as misrepresentation. It won’t always mean denial, but it shifts the burden to you to prove she didn’t misrepresent her intentions at the border or during her visa interview. Using a tourist visa as a shortcut to a green card is a real risk. The K-1 and CR-1 exist precisely for this situation.
Philippine Documents She Has to Secure
This is where couples lose months. The Philippines has its own requirements that must be complete before she can attend her U.S. Embassy interview or leave the country. Start early.
PSA Birth Certificate and CENOMAR
She needs a birth certificate issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), not a local civil registrar copy. She also needs a CENOMAR (Certificate of No Marriage Record), a PSA-issued document certifying she has never been married in the Philippines. Both typically need authentication by the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). Embassies and immigration officers use the CENOMAR to verify she is legally free to marry.
The No-Divorce Problem
The Philippines does not recognize divorce. If she was previously married, she cannot get a divorce decree the way someone in the U.S. would. Her only option is a court annulment declaring the original marriage void based on defects that existed when it was entered into, such as psychological incapacity or fraud. Philippine annulments are expensive, often running well into the thousands of dollars, and can take a year or more. Until the annulment is finalized and registered with the PSA, she is not legally free to marry and cannot obtain a CENOMAR showing single status. If she has a prior marriage, build this timeline in from the very beginning.
Certificate of Legal Capacity to Contract Marriage
If she plans to marry in the United States rather than in the Philippines, she may need a Certificate of Legal Capacity to Contract Marriage (LCCM) from the nearest Philippine embassy or consulate. Both parties must appear in person to file for it. She’ll need her DFA-authenticated PSA birth certificate, her DFA-authenticated CENOMAR, a valid passport, and recent photos. If she was widowed, add the deceased spouse’s death certificate and prior marriage certificate.6Department of Foreign Affairs – Philippines. Certificate of Legal Capacity to Contract Marriage
CFO Guidance and Counseling Certificate
Before she can depart the Philippines on a fiancé or spouse visa, she must complete the Guidance and Counseling Program run by the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO). This is a mandatory pre-departure seminar, and she receives a CFO Guidance and Counseling Certificate upon completion. Airlines and immigration officers at Philippine airports check for it. CFO advises applicants not to purchase airline tickets until the certificate has been issued. The registration fee is ₱400, and sessions run Monday through Friday at the CFO office.7Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO). CFO Guidance and Counseling Appointment System
Police Clearances and Medical Exam
For the U.S. Embassy interview in Manila, she needs police clearances from every country where she has lived for six months or more since age 16, plus a medical examination from the embassy-designated clinic (currently St. Luke’s Medical Center Extension Clinic in Manila). The adult medical exam fee is ₱28,650, which covers required lab work including tuberculosis screening.8U.S. Embassy in the Philippines. Medical Examination Fee Change Effective August 19, 2024
Prove You Can Support Her
The U.S. government wants assurance she won’t need public assistance, and the financial proof required differs by stage.
At the K-1 visa stage, you file Form I-134 (Declaration of Financial Support), and your income must meet at least 100% of the federal poverty guidelines.2U.S. Department of State. Nonimmigrant Visa for a Fiancé(e) (K-1)
After the marriage, when you file for her green card, the bar goes up. You submit Form I-864 (Affidavit of Support), and your household income must reach 125% of the federal poverty guidelines. For 2026, a household of two in the 48 contiguous states needs an annual income of at least $27,050. In Alaska the threshold is $33,813; in Hawaii it’s $31,113. Each additional household member adds $7,100 to $8,875 depending on where you live.9U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-864P, HHS Poverty Guidelines for Affidavit of Support
You prove income with your most recent federal tax return, all W-2s and 1099s, and recent pay stubs. If your income alone doesn’t meet the threshold, a joint sponsor (any U.S. citizen or permanent resident willing to accept legal responsibility) can file their own I-864 with their own tax documentation.10U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-864 Instructions for Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the INA
Get the Marriage License and Hold the Ceremony
Marriage licenses are issued by county clerks or their equivalent, and rules vary. In most places both of you appear in person with valid government-issued photo ID such as a passport or driver’s license. Some jurisdictions also require proof of date of birth, though a passport typically covers both. If either of you was previously married, bring the divorce decree, annulment order, or death certificate proving that marriage ended.
Most states set 18 as the minimum marriage age without parental consent, though a handful differ. Many states issue the license on the spot; where a waiting period exists, it runs from 24 hours to five days. Once issued, the license is valid for a set window, commonly 30 to 90 days. Fees generally fall between $20 and $115.
If she’s on a K-1, remember the 90-day clock. Get the marriage license early and confirm your county’s timeline so the visa window doesn’t close on you.
The ceremony itself can be as simple or elaborate as you want, but someone legally authorized (a judge, justice of the peace, ordained minister, or in some states a friend with temporary officiant credentials) must officiate. Afterward the officiant and both spouses sign the license, and the officiant returns it to the issuing office for recording, usually within a few days. Once recorded, order several certified copies of the marriage certificate. You’ll need them for immigration filings, name changes, and identification updates.
File for Her Green Card
After the wedding, the paperwork shifts to getting her permanent resident status. If she entered on a K-1, she files Form I-485 along with Form I-864, photos, and copies of the marriage certificate, her passport, and the I-129F approval notice.11U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Green Card for Fiancé(e) of U.S. Citizen
If she was already in the U.S. and you married without a K-1, the process starts with Form I-130. She then files Form I-485 concurrently or after approval depending on the situation.12U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Adjustment of Status
USCIS then schedules a biometrics appointment, followed by an in-person interview at a field office where an officer evaluates whether the marriage is genuine. Expect questions about how you met, your daily life, your living arrangements, and your future plans. Bring originals of every document you submitted as copies, plus evidence of a shared life: a joint lease, shared bank statements, photos together, text logs, travel receipts. Officers conduct these constantly and can spot rehearsed answers.
The Two-Year Green Card and Form I-751
If she receives her green card less than two years after the wedding date, it comes with conditions. A conditional green card is valid for only two years, and she must file Form I-751 (Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence) to convert it to a full 10-year green card. This is not optional. If she doesn’t file, her permanent resident status automatically terminates when the conditional card expires.13U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Removing Conditions on Permanent Residence Based on Marriage
The filing window is tight: file jointly during the 90-day period immediately before the conditional green card expires. Not 90 days after, not six months before. Mark the date on a calendar the day the green card arrives. If the marriage has ended by then, she can file the I-751 on her own with a waiver request, but that path is significantly harder and requires substantial evidence the marriage was entered in good faith.
Total Cost and Timeline
Federal filing fees as of March 2026:14U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. G-1055 Fee Schedule
- Form I-129F (K-1 petition): $675
- Form I-130 (spouse petition, if using CR-1): $625 online or $675 by mail
- Form I-485 (adjustment of status): $1,440
Beyond USCIS fees, the medical exam in Manila runs ₱28,650 (roughly $500, depending on exchange rate) for adults. Add the U.S. marriage license ($20 to $115), Philippine document procurement and DFA authentication, the CFO seminar (₱400), passport photos, translation if needed, and postage. Many couples also hire an immigration attorney, from a few hundred dollars for document review to several thousand for full representation. Budgeting $3,000 to $5,000 or more for the K-1 route from filing to green card is realistic; the CR-1 route can sometimes come in lower because it skips the separate I-485 filing fee.
Rough timelines for 2026 planning:
- K-1 fiancé visa (I-129F through visa issuance): about 10 months from USCIS filing to embassy interview in Manila.
- Adjustment of status after marriage (I-485): median processing is roughly 8 to 9 months, though field offices vary.
- CR-1 spousal visa (I-130 through arrival): about 14 to 15 months total.
None of these include the weeks or months spent gathering Philippine documents before you file. A CENOMAR takes a few weeks from the PSA. A Philippine annulment, if needed, can take a year or longer. Factor document procurement into every conversation about when she can actually come.