fester001

I am from the uk came over to US on VWP to see a girl I had communicated with for a year. We fell in love & decided to get married my I had previously been informed by my ex that the Divorce had been finalised. So I married my US girlfriend on preparing my papers for a change of status I found It hadnt been declared "decree absolute" so we decided I needed to return to the uk to sort things out properly to later return & remarry as we want to do things right. I will have to apply for a fiance visa.

What should my wife do will she have to divorce me or get an annulment how will this error be viewed when applying for the fiance visa? we want to re-marry soon. We did not intend to commit bigamy or fraud we just want to be married & live our live together as we love each other so much. What will be the quickest course of action for us?

jeffreyhy

She should have a consultation with an attorney who practices family law in the state where she lives.

Is that the same state where you and she got married?

Regards, JEff

ian-mstm

My opinion - you have no wife... since the marriage wasn't legal from the get go. To that end, neither a divorce nor annulment is required. Your marriage certificate is just a useless piece of paper. Again, just my opinion!


The quickest course of action may not necessarily be the best course of action. This goes a bit beyond the collective wisdom of the forum... I suggest the best course of action is to speak to an attorney prior to taking any other action... and before you leave the US.

Ian

Marocco

I think you may have a problem with that plan due to your previous overstay.

fester001

Sorry I thought I had made it clear I am back in the UK with my wife in the US.
I am getting so worried about things I love her so much and we just want to be together.

Marocco

Which is precisely why you have a problem. As was explained in your other thread, you now have a ban on reentry.

fester001

so does that mean there is absolutely no hope at all?

Marocco

You can apply for a hardship waiver, if you qualify, or have your wife join you in the UK until the ban is over. Just out of curiosity, why did you go back to the UK after it was made very clear to you in the other thread that you were facing a ban?

Kaffy Mintcake

Follow the advice of others and seek an attorney. This is beyond the capabilties of this forum.

fester001

My father was very ill and as i mentioned previously my daughter was also begging me come back & see her, my wife also was panicing and wanted things done right I felt under a lot of pressure to do things that way. I in no way was ignoring any advice given and sorry if it appeared that way.

Marocco

If you consult an attorney, make sure they have plenty of experience with hardship waivers, i.e. they have successfully represented several clients in that area.

Rete

Fester, you sitting between a rock and a hard place and the only way for sure to get out of it is to consult with an immigration attorney and see what your options are. As for the issue of your "too early" marriage, again, you need the word from the horse's mouth on this.

Your wife can go to city hall and see what their take on it is. It is very strange that if you answered the question "yes" to previous marriages that you were not required to show your divorce decrees. I know my husband and I were when we applied for a marriage license at our city hall. If you lied about it, the license would be invalid and probably the marriage as well.

Most areas that have two stage divorce decrees there is a 30 day period of limbo between the nisi and the absolute. If this is the same in your country, check the dates on the absolute and the date of your license application and your marriage and on the absolute. Do they coincidence?

As for overstay, were you out of status more than 180 days from the expiration of your I-94? If not, then there is no ban. If so, there should be a ban on your re-entry.

Now, please, please, please, do not apologize for your actions. The comments given here are not given by attorneys and are not always correct and/or fully correct. You do not have to follow anyone's suggestions, even mine. If a poster comes across to you in that manner, then don't give their post another thought. Take whatever knowledge you gleamed here and get the sound advice of an immigration attorney. Your case is not cut and dried but filled with pitfalls. You cannot do this yourself.

Noorah101

Each state is different. Here in AZ, I did not have to show proof that my previous marriages were terminated, when we applied for our marriage license.

Rene

fester001

Thanks for that it was in Arizona and I was racking my brain as I was sure I had said "yes" and not been asked to show proof but if i had I probably been able to avoid this mess.
This whole saga has been very depressing

BritishGuy36

Well you made a choice.....and you'll have to deal with the fallout. It must be a terrible decision to have to make....to leave the US to visit an ill family member, knowing that to do so will incur a ban from the US - or to stay where you are.

You can't get married if you aren't divorced. But like Rete said....when you applied for a marriage license, did you declare your prior marriage?

Immigration attorney is your only recourse now.....and one that's tried cases involving bans etc.