Can a married US immigrant (still legally married in the Philippines) marry again in the US?

If someone is married, that marriage would first need to be terminated before a new marriage could be entered into. If he resides in California he may file for dissolution of marriage in California. Use the calculator at: www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp/family/divorce/where/ to confirm where the filing could be. Harvey Mechanic, Attorney at Law [email protected] Authorized to handle Immigration matters throughout the United States

No, to be married to two different people at the same time is bigamy and is illegal and lead to negative immigration consequences. He will have to obtain a legal divorce, either from the USA or the Philippines, before remarrying. He will have to include proof of divorce with his immigration files as well, so make sure he keeps a copy.

He must divorce his Philippines marriage before he can marry again in the US. The fact that he was married in another jursidiction that recognizes that marriage is good enough for the US. If he remarries without divorcing his first wife, he will have committed bigamy -- a very serious charge. As to laws that protect spouses, she will have to check the laws of the Philippines. The US cannot interfere because he failed to file paperwork to bring her here.