Where Exactly is my Marriage Recognized?

[Darnell 8,478]

Go argue about it with my law professor. He's the one that told us that. If you jump over a broomstick in Fiji it may be a legal marriage in Fiji but it may not be recognised elsewhere. There are many kinds of 'marriage', not just the ones that come with a piece of paper.

The beauty of that type of marriage, is that there's some extra stuff to do, for the spouse in Fiji to come INTO the USA. IF the couple chooses to immigrate legally to the USA, a 'paper trail' is generated, including that magical piece of paper most ppl recognized as a 'Fiji Marriage Certificate'.

Unless this prof is teaching you immigration law - his opinion isn't worth the ink used on his School ID card, IMO.

If he IS teaching you immigration law - then he's put out a straw-man argument, in the hopes that you'll do yer own research, for the 10,000 word monograph that he's requiring you to write, to cover the 'how-to's' , for the upcoming week.

OTOH - I'd be happy to argue about it with yer law professor - with the only caveat that I record the telephone conversation, and have full publications rights (which he would waive, btw, with a signed release form).

*** moving topic from K-3 discussion to Effects of Major Family Changes on Immigration Benefits forum, for greater exposure ***

Edited June 21, 2010 by Darnell

[Y&E 12]

If he IS teaching you immigration law - then he's put out a straw-man argument, in the hopes that you'll do yer own research, for the 10,000 word monograph that he's requiring you to write, to cover the 'how-to's' , for the upcoming week.

]

He was lecturing divorce law (NZ uses Socratic method in all law classes) and it's a long time since I was studying at uni - contrary to my youthful good looks

[himher 634]

You are married worldwide. It does not matter where you live or move to as long as you have legitimate marriage documents issued by a ligitimate state/country/agency.

Your divorce has to be filed in Maryland and the laws of that state will determine the disolution of the marriage. From your standpoint you are legally divorced once the case is final and you are able to move on with your life. From her standpoint if anything else needs to be done she will have to take the divorce decree to her own country and have it done. You will not be required to answer to the laws of her country unless you reside there and divorce her there (or she divorces you there)

Divorce decrees, like marriage documentation, are recognized worldwide. You marry under the regulations / following the laws of where you get married and you divorce under the regulations / following the laws of where you divorce. There is no science to it.

On a softer note, sorry to hear about your situation. Good luck!

Hey, my wife and I got married in Fujisawa, Japan in 2005. Through the visa process, we've used the translated marriage certificate from Fujisawa as our "proof of marriage." We never got married in the US (legally nor ceremonial). We are thinking about getting a divorce, and she wants to go back to Japan. We are wondering where we need to go to accomplish the legal steps of the actual divorce.

So my question is, where are we married? When she immigrated, we lived in Virginia. That's where she got her Green Card and all that. Now, we live in Maryland. The USCIS is aware that we live in Maryland. So, do we need to file for divorce under Virginia law or Maryland law? Or, are we only married in Fujisawa, and her Green Card was granted based on a marriage recognized overseas?

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Hey, my wife and I got married in Fujisawa, Japan in 2005. Through the visa process, we've used the translated marriage certificate from Fujisawa as our "proof of marriage." We never got married in the US (legally nor ceremonial). We are thinking about getting a divorce, and she wants to go back to Japan. We are wondering where we need to go to accomplish the legal steps of the actual divorce.

So my question is, where are we married? When she immigrated, we lived in Virginia. That's where she got her Green Card and all that. Now, we live in Maryland. The USCIS is aware that we live in Maryland. So, do we need to file for divorce under Virginia law or Maryland law? Or, are we only married in Fujisawa, and her Green Card was granted based on a marriage recognized overseas?

Your wife got a green card based on your marriage, so the US obviously recognizes your Japanese marriage. For YOUR purpose, you are married in both Japan and the US. Whether it is also recognized in any other country is not relevant to you. USCIS will not grant a green card based on a marriage which is only recognized in a foreign country but not recognized in the US.

Every state I'm aware of requires at least one of the litigants to be a resident of the state in order to obtain a divorce in that state. If you are both currently residing in Maryland then you will likely have to file for divorce there. Maryland divorce law requires that you have grounds for divorce unless you've lived apart for two years. You can use voluntary separation as grounds if you have a separation agreement and live apart. Otherwise, valid grounds include adultery, conviction of a felony, insanity, cruelty, vicious conduct, bigamy, etc. If you claim the grounds occurred in another state then you need 1 year of residency in Maryland before you can file. If you claim the grounds occurred in Maryland then you only need to be currently residing in Maryland in order to file. The easiest and most expedient is the separation agreement. No accusations against your spouse are required, and no minimum term of separation is needed. However, you MUST be separated by mutual agreement to qualify.

If she is awarded spousal support as part of your Maryland divorce then you will have to pay it. Whether she can also sue in Japan depends on the laws of Japan, which I have no knowledge of. If she can sue in Japan, then actually collecting is another matter entirely. Reciprocal child support enforcement agreements are far more common than reciprocal spousal support enforcement agreements. In other words, there would need to be reciprocal agreement of enforcement between Japan and either the United States or the State of Maryland to enforce an order of spousal support. If such an agreement exists, then the State of Maryland could force you to pay spousal support ordered in Japan. I don't have time to try to dig up an answer for this question now. Perhaps it would be a good idea to bring it up with your divorce lawyer, since that's the sort of thing you pay them for.

[GabiandVi 34]

So, name a country where the marriage in question would not be recognized. While you're at it, let us know what a married couple would need to do in order to live their lives together as a husband and wife in that country, assuming they otherwise individually had permission to remain there.

Well my husband and I were married in Thailand. We got our marriage certificates (two - one for each, I guess) and had them translated, but initially we did not register the marriage with the Thai government, an important step for the marriage to be recognized in Thailand, but optional for people not remaining in Thailand. I don't remember the details, but I think it might have been that China wouldn't recognize the marriage certificate (and therefore wouldn't add my husband to my resident visa) that we mailed it back to our translator/go-to guy in Bangkok to have it stamped by the proper authorities. I clearly remember, however, the US embassy instructions on marrying in Thailand stating that that step was not necessary for the marriage to be recognized in the US.