US Citizen Married then Divorced in China now in a bind

[mintos 0]

Hi All,

I'm trying to start the I-129F form for my love in China but got stuck on question 6, Martial Status. I was married for a very brief period in China in May 2007 then divorced in Sept 2007. I found the girl I met and her parents where trying to con me. Thier attitude towards me changed greatly after I signed the marriage papers. This was all done in China, and I never filed any kind of papers here in the US.

Now I fell in love again, and this time made sure it's all real. However, I never told the woman I was married before and am pretty certain she will not take well to the news. What can I do? Can I still file as single as my status was never changed in the US? Can the marriage be treated as it never happened because I felt I was conned into it?

If I filed as divorced I think she'll be notifed and have to bring the copies of my previous marriage and divorce to the interview. :'( What should I do.....

[Cecile and Bryan 0]

Maybe you should just tell her...

For the legal aspect of it, you were married so I would assume that you HAVE to write it down on the petition. I mean, I am not an expert on the subject, but even though you never changed your status in the USA, you were married and that is what they are asking. You don't want to lie to the government.

And seriously, I don't know anything about you or your fiancee, but if my now-husband had been married before I would have liked to know. It usually isn't good to start a relationship with lies or by hiding things.

[brnidokiegurl 1]

best rule is dont lie as im sure you knew....come clean and then take steps to straighten it out and in the end it will best for all

[Otto 83]

Hi All,

I'm trying to start the I-129F form for my love in China but got stuck on question 6, Martial Status. I was married for a very brief period in China in May 2007 then divorced in Sept 2007. I found the girl I met and her parents where trying to con me. Thier attitude towards me changed greatly after I signed the marriage papers. This was all done in China, and I never filed any kind of papers here in the US.Married is married - country doesn't matter. Guess what? You're Divorced.

Now I fell in love again, and this time made sure it's all real. However, I never told the woman I was married before and am pretty certain she will not take well to the news. What can I do? Can I still file as single as my status was never changed in the US? Nope.Can the marriage be treated as it never happened because I felt I was conned into it? The ostrich defense?

If I filed as divorced I think she'll be notifed and have to bring the copies of my previous marriage and divorce to the interview. :'( What should I do..... You do what's right for you. From a USCIS/DOS point of view - should your marriage come to light - they will not likely look kindly on being dishonest and that could jeopardize your current situation.

Edited November 11, 2008 by Karin und Otto

[Zee Bee 61]

Do not lie on the forms.

[mintos 0]

This is really a bind... I don't want to lie, but from a cultural point of view this is a major issue. I've already dicussed this with the person that introduced us and she while she understands my situation, admitting I was previously married would hurt my love. It would have probally been best to tell her before the introduction, but now it would be looked on as a very bad sign of me. Even though I was tricked into my first marriage... :'(

[Labhrais 6]

It sounds like you would like permission to lie on a government form and to continue lying to your future wife about your past.

Be prepared to answer the "what else have you been keeping from me" questions from the fiance, and obtain the documents you need for the government forms.

Otherwise, you should be prepared for a penalty for knowingly falsifying the I129F. When you sign it, you acknowledge that "you may be fined up to $10,000 or imprisoned up to fiveyears, or both, for knowingly and willfully falsifying or concealing a material fact or using any false document in submitting this petition."

So what's more important: keeping your secret or being subject to fine/imprisonment?

[himher 634]

Hi All,

I'm trying to start the I-129F form for my love in China but got stuck on question 6, Martial Status. Stuck? There are only (4) answers to marital status. Single, married, divorced, widowed

I was married for a very brief period in China in May 2007 then divorced in Sept 2007. A clue. You are divorced.

I found the girl I met and her parents where trying to con me. Thier attitude towards me changed greatly after I signed the marriage papers. This was all done in China, and I never filed any kind of papers here in the US.

Which makes NO difference. How would you feel if your fiance married you in the US then never considered herself married at all just because you didnt file any papers in china?

Now I fell in love again, and this time made sure it's all real. However, I never told the woman I was married before and am pretty certain she will not take well to the news. What can I do?

Since she has to bring (both) your and her original divorce decrees for prior marriage to the embassy for interview, and the divorce decree has to be attached to the I129F that you are filling out, the correct answer is that you probably should have owned up to this up front

Can I still file as single as my status was never changed in the US? Can the marriage be treated as it never happened because I felt I was conned into it?

Are you asking if it is OK to file false information with your I129F? Did you read all the fine print at the bottom where you sign? Where it says that's a felony?

If I filed as divorced I think she'll be notifed and have to bring the copies of my previous marriage and divorce to the interview. :'( What should I do.....

Now I fell in love again, and this time made sure it's all real.

"It's all real", but you have to commit a felony to hide the truth about yourself to your "true love". Yeah. That sounds like true love. Here's a hint and maybe a way for your shallow a$$ to detect real love - if she does not accept you for who you are and your past and your previous marriage, it probably isn't true love, even if she is asian with a cute figure. and BTW Its easy to get conned when you think with your d**k

[pushbrk 14,079]

Hi All,

I'm trying to start the I-129F form for my love in China but got stuck on question 6, Martial Status. I was married for a very brief period in China in May 2007 then divorced in Sept 2007. I found the girl I met and her parents where trying to con me. Thier attitude towards me changed greatly after I signed the marriage papers. This was all done in China, and I never filed any kind of papers here in the US.

Now I fell in love again, and this time made sure it's all real. However, I never told the woman I was married before and am pretty certain she will not take well to the news. What can I do? Can I still file as single as my status was never changed in the US? Can the marriage be treated as it never happened because I felt I was conned into it?

If I filed as divorced I think she'll be notifed and have to bring the copies of my previous marriage and divorce to the interview. :'( What should I do.....

Lies and omissions often come back to bite us. Time to cowboy up and tell the truth. Your other options have grave consequences.

[Alli and Léo 0]

It sounds to me that you want to do the right thing but are afraid of the consequnces. Perhaps you should try looking at it this way, if the woman really is the right person for you then she will be understanding and accepting of your past. If not, then do you really want to spend the rest of your life with her?

[pushbrk 14,079]

Hi All,

I'm trying to start the I-129F form for my love in China but got stuck on question 6, Martial Status. I was married for a very brief period in China in May 2007 then divorced in Sept 2007. I found the girl I met and her parents where trying to con me. Thier attitude towards me changed greatly after I signed the marriage papers. This was all done in China, and I never filed any kind of papers here in the US.

Now I fell in love again, and this time made sure it's all real. However, I never told the woman I was married before and am pretty certain she will not take well to the news. What can I do? Can I still file as single as my status was never changed in the US? Can the marriage be treated as it never happened because I felt I was conned into it?

If I filed as divorced I think she'll be notifed and have to bring the copies of my previous marriage and divorce to the interview. :'( What should I do.....

Lies and omissions often come back to bite us. Time to cowboy up and tell the truth. Your other options have grave consequences.

Replying to myself... There are some logistical issues you'll need to deal with. You'll need a certified translation of the Chinese divorce decree. If you don't already have this, it could be somewhat difficult to obtain. If you have it in Chinese, pretty much anybody fluent (written) in both languages can translate it for you to USCIS's satisfaction.

Although you must include the translated divorce decree with your petition, your fiance does not necessarily need to present this document at the interview but will need to include the name and other particulars for your former wife on the GIV-24 form required by the Consulate in Guangzhou. The Consular Officer would generally expect your fiancee to be aware of your former marriage as a part of their evaluation of the bona fides of the current relationship. There's really no getting around any of this.

[afisher 0]

I don't know how it is in China, but I do know that in Thailand if you marry a Thai citizen and file the papers and report the marriage to the Thai gov't, then the U.S. gov't considers you married. Married is married, regardless of where the ceremony took place.

[canadian_wife 1,831]

Married is married, if it happens in China, the US, Canada, Antartica.

I KNOW that the Canadian government filed with the US embassy when we got married so probably count on China doing the same.

It doesn't matter if you got conned or swindled or fandangled, you were married and you ARE divorced. Man up and tell the woman before she marries your a$$. It is her right as your 2nd wife to know about what she's getting into. ESPECIALLY since she's the one going to be asked the questions in your interview.

And if she loves you, she'll accept it.

[maggieNomar 0]

If you are going to start your marriage on a lie, you might as well quit before you start. That skeleton will chase you all of your married days. What if she finds out by another method? Then she'll question everything you told her. Come clean and be honest from this point forward. Besides, orange jumpsuits may not be your fashion.

[SunDrop 59]

It all boils down to choice and risk. You can risk the disappointment of your fiancee when she finds out that you omitted your previous marriage from your life history or risk the relationship ending because of your visa petition being denied for deception.

You got involved in a relationship with a woman from a culture that frowns upon divorce. You were selfish in decision to withhold the information and now you are suggesting starting your married lives in a lie? The USCIS ask questions in order to test how bona fide a marriage is. You'd better believe that they'd expect your future wife to know you were married.