Bigamy and spousal visa

[serpico1 0]

I am an American working in Pakistan and have an inquiry on behalf of one of my local co-workers. She is a young woman whose father left her and her mother, immigrated to the US, married another Pakistani woman, and sponsored this second wife for a visa and residence permit for the US. He never divorced his first wife and is not providing the first wife and daughters (including my co-worker) any financial support. Given the economic status of women in Pakistan, this puts them in a difficult position and my co-worker is trying to get some recourse to force her father to provide support. The reason I am posting this question here is to see if anyone has advice on whether there is any potential recourse through immigration law given that the father did not properly disclose the continuing existence of his first marriage when sponsoring the immigration of his second wife. Other options may be to try to sue him for child support or even get him prosecuted under bigamy laws, but those require legal resources that my co-worker cannot afford or be able to handle from Pakistan.

[Otto 83]

** Topic moved from Immigration News and Discussion to Effects of Major Family Changes on Immigration Benefits where it may be more appropriate.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

I am an American working in Pakistan and have an inquiry on behalf of one of my local co-workers. She is a young woman whose father left her and her mother, immigrated to the US, married another Pakistani woman, and sponsored this second wife for a visa and residence permit for the US. He never divorced his first wife and is not providing the first wife and daughters (including my co-worker) any financial support. Given the economic status of women in Pakistan, this puts them in a difficult position and my co-worker is trying to get some recourse to force her father to provide support. The reason I am posting this question here is to see if anyone has advice on whether there is any potential recourse through immigration law given that the father did not properly disclose the continuing existence of his first marriage when sponsoring the immigration of his second wife. Other options may be to try to sue him for child support or even get him prosecuted under bigamy laws, but those require legal resources that my co-worker cannot afford or be able to handle from Pakistan.

You can't use immigration law to force him to pay support. He would not be guilty of bigamy in the US if both marriages are recognized in Pakistan. However, the US would only recognize the first marriage as being valid. If you report him to immigration authorities, and you have proof that the first marriage was never terminated, then his second wife's immigration status would be revoked. In addition, he may face criminal penalties for immigration fraud. None of this is going to help force him to support his first wife, though.

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

You can't use immigration law to force him to pay support. He would not be guilty of bigamy in the US if both marriages are recognized in Pakistan. However, the US would only recognize the first marriage as being valid. If you report him to immigration authorities, and you have proof that the first marriage was never terminated, then his second wife's immigration status would be revoked. In addition, he may face criminal penalties for immigration fraud. None of this is going to help force him to support his first wife, though.

Other than blackmail/extortion....which is illegal. See David Letterman.

[Darnell 8,478]

Oh- I'd be concerned about some minutiae, as well - ie

Under what visa did he immigrate initially?

What was his status when he filed for a residence permit for his 2nd wife ?

What petition did he file, and what subsequent visa (if any) did the 2nd wife receive ?

IF all of this is under 'H1-B' or 'E-5/E-2' then much also depends on WHERE he was married, as well. IF he was married to both women in Pakistan, is different scenario altogether, than if he married the 2nd woman IN the USA.

Jim covered some issues, as well -

but I'm thinking there are still more, even unthought and unasked.

IF, for example, the area in which husband and first wife lived, followed Islamic Law, the divorce process is very quick, simply a 'I divorce you' said three times, orally, and then the divorce registered with an Imam at the local mosque. In many ppl's eyes - that's it, they're done, no more stuff to do. Is possible to review any of the divorces registered at that Mosque, by any chance ? Did Dad register a divorce there, from the mother ? (Is no requirement for the wife to be notified, either )

Now, I'm no subject matter expert on this - but - there are several 'womens coalitions' in Pakistan that would be able to assist the 1st wife and your friend - I can't remember the names of them , much less the coverage areas they have (Pakistan is large and strange place, suggest you keep digging, or have her keep digging )

[IncorrectPolitics 26]

You can't use immigration law to force him to pay support. He would not be guilty of bigamy in the US if both marriages are recognized in Pakistan. However, the US would only recognize the first marriage as being valid. If you report him to immigration authorities, and you have proof that the first marriage was never terminated, then his second wife's immigration status would be revoked. In addition, he may face criminal penalties for immigration fraud. None of this is going to help force him to support his first wife, though.

He married the second woman AFTER he got to the United States, not when he was in Pakistan.

[justashooter 430]

Oh- I'd be concerned about some minutiae, as well - ie

Under what visa did he immigrate initially?

What was his status when he filed for a residence permit for his 2nd wife ?

i would be interested to know whether he indicated on his visa application that he was married, or not. this is important if his first marriage was not formally ended before the application. if he was formally married when he made application and lied on the application this is material misrepresentation, which is a deportable offense.

[belinda63 2,981]

As to the immigrant being forced to pay any support for his first wife that would have to be addressed in the Pakistani Courts (not sure what if any laws there are in regard to this) as the marriage took place there. Although legally he is now living in the US it is very doubtful any US family Court would want to assume jurisdiction (or that the first wife could afford an attorney to represent her in Court here if they did) over this marriage.

As to his having married a second time if you can verify he did not divorce the first wife (could have happened without her knowledge) then it might be possible to file a complaint and have the second wife and possibly the husband deported but what would this accomplish other than a small, temporary sense of satisfaction?

[Nartaki 7]

In many Muslim countries, a divorce can simply happen by the "Triple Talaq". I know this because one of my best friends had this happen to her.

If the marriage to the first wife was simply a religious ceremony with no legal paperwork, as it is in some of the Muslim Asian countries the divorce can happen without the legal process. That is Triple Talaq. The husband simply has to say " I divorce you" 3 times and thats the end of it. There is no divorce decree or court judgement. However if there was a legal marriage certificate produced, then the divorce must occur through a legal process.

So I doubt if there is bigamy involved here.

[Myopia 93]

In many Muslim countries, a divorce can simply happen by the "Triple Talaq". I know this because one of my best friends had this happen to her.

If the marriage to the first wife was simply a religious ceremony with no legal paperwork, as it is in some of the Muslim Asian countries the divorce can happen without the legal process. That is Triple Talaq. The husband simply has to say " I divorce you" 3 times and thats the end of it. There is no divorce decree or court judgement. However if there was a legal marriage certificate produced, then the divorce must occur through a legal process.

So I doubt if there is bigamy involved here.

Just wanted to correct something. The triple talaq is something that became invented but divorce in Islam isnt really that easy but that being said. He could have divorced the mother without her knowledge. All he had to do is say to a few witnesses that he divorced her. Also the mother can ask for a Khula which allows her to free herself from a man who clearly has no intention of taking care of her.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

He married the second woman AFTER he got to the United States, not when he was in Pakistan.

It doesn't matter where he lived when he got married. It matters where the marriage took place. You said he married a Pakistani woman, and then petitioned for a visa and green card for her. I got the impression from this statement that the marriage took place in Pakistan. If he got married in the US then he would be guilty of bigamy, presuming the first marriage was never terminated.

If he obtained a divorce without his first wife's knowledge, and he never concealed that fact when he remarried or filed a petition for his second wife, then he hasn't broken any laws. If, on the other hand, you can prove to USCIS that his first marriage was never terminated then he's guilty of immigration fraud. He and his new wife could both lose their immigration status in the US. If he's a naturalized US citizen then his citizenship could be revoked. Both he and his new wife could be deported. Indirectly, that might help his first wife obtain support because he'd probably have to return to Pakistan.

Just wanted to correct something. The triple talaq is something that became invented but divorce in Islam isnt really that easy but that being said. He could have divorced the mother without her knowledge. All he had to do is say to a few witnesses that he divorced her. Also the mother can ask for a Khula which allows her to free herself from a man who clearly has no intention of taking care of her.

It depends on the Islamic school of jurisprudence on which the sharia is based. In the Sunni fiqh it is apparently accepted. I have no idea if it's generally accepted in Pakistan, but I do recall a story about a man in Pakistan who got drunk and declared 'talaq' three times in the presence of witnesses. When he sobered up he tried to recant, but the divorce was determined to be valid.

[IncorrectPolitics 26]

I hope he gets caught and deported. I hate when people do these things and don't take responsibility for their children.

[serpico1 0]

Thanks for the responses, a lot of good insights. I agree with Darnell that there are a lot of facts that are still missing, most notably the immigration status of the father and his 2nd wife. Problem is this poor girl has no idea what the difference between K-1, K-3, and any other visa issues and has little means to find out the history of his father's USCIS file. Just from what she's told me, I infer that they did a K-3. The father immigrated to the US, then married his 2nd wife who was in Pakistan OVER THE PHONE (how romantic), which I've found is not uncommon here. Therefore, the 2nd marriage was technically in Pakistan. He then sponsored her to go to the US somehow.

As for whether or not the father actually divorced the 1st wife, my co-worker is understandably confident that he didn't. She says that there is no record of a divorce within the legal system. The triple talaq thing is not legal in Pakistan but I'm not entirely sure what the full divorce process entails. Also, she says that they have documents that the father signed after his marriage to the 2nd wife such as property documents and a power of attorney identifying the 1st wife as his wife.

I did a K-1 visa for my wife a few years ago and remember having to answer a bunch of questions about whether I was currently or previously married and they required proof of divorce if married before. Not sure how it works for K-3, but I assume that having multiple wives should be a disqualifying factor and lying about it doesn't fly after the fact either.

Based on these comments, I think the best thing for my co-worker to do is to just get all the facts and documentation together, figure out what kind of immigration status her father and the 2nd wife have, and make a clear case that something illegal happened. Once the father knows that the jig is up, maybe he becomes more cooperative.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

US immigration law recognizes that it's legal in some countries for a man to have multiple wives. It isn't required that he divorce all but one of them in order to obtain an immigration benefit. However, only the marriage that existed first will be recognized in the US, and eligible for immigration benefits. A man with two wives could not submit a spousal visa for his second wife unless he divorced his first wife. Even if he had three wives, he'd only have to divorce the first wife in order to submit a spousal visa petition for the second wife, but the third wife would not be recognized as his spouse under US law.

His telephonic marriage may not have been valid for the purpose of immigration. Because he was not physically present at the ceremony, his marriage would be considered a "proxy marriage". A proxy marriage would not become valid until the marriage was consummated. Presuming he were otherwise eligible (no previous marriage existed) then he would be able to submit a fiancee visa petition. If he submitted a spousal visa petition without consummating the proxy marriage then you can chalk up one more immigration violation.