Possible red flag?

[Nigel&Meggie 40]

Hi, was hoping for some advice and possibly hear from anyone with similar circumstances. Here is a description of our situation.

I am the beneficiary in the UK and I met my fiance in the US in Dec 09. She visited me in the UK for New Year and then I made trips to see her in Feb, March and April. She then visited me in June and July and I recently visited her in September, so there is plenty of evidence to prove this is a genuine relationship. My issue is as follows. I was married to an English girl in May 2008, but we broke up in September 2008. We didn't actually get the divorce completed until July 2010 even though we weren't living together or in a relationship since Sept 2008. I got engaged to my fiance one week after the divorce papers came through, but we were obviously having a relationship while I was technically still married. When we sent in the I-129f, we included a copy of the divorce certificate dated July 2010. Having done some research I discovered that this might be a red flag issue on our case, because we were having a relationship whilst I was still married, and because we got engaged so soon after the divorce.

Is this likely to be the case and do you think it will cause us problems? I have got paperwork from the divorce proceedings, stamped by the court, that state I separated from my wife in Sept 2008 - should we have sent this in with the I-129f? Or can/should I send it in as extra evidence now, or is it better just to sit tight and wait? We have already had the NOA1.

Sorry that was so long! Thanks in advance for any advice.

[J&N* 68]

But you filed AFTER you got divorced, while you were single and FREE to marry, if they ever ask you anything about it during on your interview, tell them that you and your ex wife were separated. I don't think it's a red flag. You can always say you were still just friends while you were married, it's not necessary to lie though.

[ScottThuy 140]

It was a red flag for us and we were in AP after the interview for 8 months... it all depends on the country and the CO handling the case...

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Hi, was hoping for some advice and possibly hear from anyone with similar circumstances. Here is a description of our situation.

I am the beneficiary in the UK and I met my fiance in the US in Dec 09. She visited me in the UK for New Year and then I made trips to see her in Feb, March and April. She then visited me in June and July and I recently visited her in September, so there is plenty of evidence to prove this is a genuine relationship. My issue is as follows. I was married to an English girl in May 2008, but we broke up in September 2008. We didn't actually get the divorce completed until July 2010 even though we weren't living together or in a relationship since Sept 2008. I got engaged to my fiance one week after the divorce papers came through, but we were obviously having a relationship while I was technically still married. When we sent in the I-129f, we included a copy of the divorce certificate dated July 2010. Having done some research I discovered that this might be a red flag issue on our case, because we were having a relationship whilst I was still married, and because we got engaged so soon after the divorce.

Is this likely to be the case and do you think it will cause us problems? I have got paperwork from the divorce proceedings, stamped by the court, that state I separated from my wife in Sept 2008 - should we have sent this in with the I-129f? Or can/should I send it in as extra evidence now, or is it better just to sit tight and wait? We have already had the NOA1.

Sorry that was so long! Thanks in advance for any advice.

Not a problem. You need to be legally able to marry when the petition is filed. They couldn't possibly care less about your marital status when you met.

[ScottThuy 140]

Not a problem. You need to be legally able to marry when the petition is filed. They couldn't possibly care less about your marital status when you met.

I wish that were the case for us. we were both specificaly asked by the CO... her in person as well as by phone and me by phone, why we entered into a relationship when we were both still legally married. Our divorces took a long time to get finalized. They also contacted both of our former spouses to verify the fact that we were not still living together or comitting fraud. It can be an issue and as I said depending on the country and the CO, it could be a big issue...

Just be prepared to explain if needed...

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

Absolutely no problem for you.

I can't speak for the Vietnamese folks and people from "problematic" countries, but the U.K. . . . once again, not a problem at all.

[JoannaV 174]

I'd say just sit tight and wait. As far as approving the I-129f goes, they just need to know that you are both single and able to marry. The Embassy itself might ask questions about your ex-wife, but you will be there to answer them. Sometimes the UK Embassy is interested in the demise of the prior marriage, so you might be asked. But deal with that when you come to it. You have the divorce paperwork, take it with you to the interview if you're not asked for it before. It won't be a problem.

[Nigel&Meggie 40]

Thanks for your replies, it's a relief! I was worried it might cause an issue or slow things down, but I guess I have all the paperwork they might require about it so I'll just make sure I have it to hand at the interview. Thanks again.

[US_SL 2]

Hi, was hoping for some advice and possibly hear from anyone with similar circumstances. Here is a description of our situation.

I am the beneficiary in the UK and I met my fiance in the US in Dec 09. She visited me in the UK for New Year and then I made trips to see her in Feb, March and April. She then visited me in June and July and I recently visited her in September, so there is plenty of evidence to prove this is a genuine relationship. My issue is as follows. I was married to an English girl in May 2008, but we broke up in September 2008. We didn't actually get the divorce completed until July 2010 even though we weren't living together or in a relationship since Sept 2008. I got engaged to my fiance one week after the divorce papers came through, but we were obviously having a relationship while I was technically still married. When we sent in the I-129f, we included a copy of the divorce certificate dated July 2010. Having done some research I discovered that this might be a red flag issue on our case, because we were having a relationship whilst I was still married, and because we got engaged so soon after the divorce.

Is this likely to be the case and do you think it will cause us problems? I have got paperwork from the divorce proceedings, stamped by the court, that state I separated from my wife in Sept 2008 - should we have sent this in with the I-129f? Or can/should I send it in as extra evidence now, or is it better just to sit tight and wait? We have already had the NOA1.

Sorry that was so long! Thanks in advance for any advice.

You are in the same situation as i am. i had the same thing. BUT i was legally divorced when i filed the I-129F. Foreign affiars manual says that we need to be able to legally marry. I guess we are good. But depending on the consulate they might think the morality of the issue. Lets hope nothing goes wrong.

[Nigel&Meggie 40]

You are in the same situation as i am. i had the same thing. BUT i was legally divorced when i filed the I-129F. Foreign affiars manual says that we need to be able to legally marry. I guess we are good. But depending on the consulate they might think the morality of the issue. Lets hope nothing goes wrong.

Yeah, we filed the I-129F in August so I was legally divorced too. I was just worried how it looked to an officer dealing with the case, because I was still married until July (obviously he/she wouldn't know that my wife and I had separated almost 2 years before). Thought it might raise a red flag and make it look like the relationship with my fiance wasn't genuine.

[Rebecca Jo 1,962]

You are in the same situation as i am. i had the same thing. BUT i was legally divorced when i filed the I-129F. Foreign affiars manual says that we need to be able to legally marry. I guess we are good. But depending on the consulate they might think the morality of the issue. Lets hope nothing goes wrong.

It's never a morality issue at any consulate.

It's only an issue because of marriage fraud. At "high fraud" consulates one of the oldest tricks in the book is for a foreign beneficiary to get themselves to the US via marriage to a USC; divorce as soon as they have a 10 year greencard; then petition for the former foreign spouse to come to the US.

[US_SL 2]

Hi, was hoping for some advice and possibly hear from anyone with similar circumstances. Here is a description of our situation.

I am the beneficiary in the UK and I met my fiance in the US in Dec 09. She visited me in the UK for New Year and then I made trips to see her in Feb, March and April. She then visited me in June and July and I recently visited her in September, so there is plenty of evidence to prove this is a genuine relationship. My issue is as follows. I was married to an English girl in May 2008, but we broke up in September 2008. We didn't actually get the divorce completed until July 2010 even though we weren't living together or in a relationship since Sept 2008. I got engaged to my fiance one week after the divorce papers came through, but we were obviously having a relationship while I was technically still married. When we sent in the I-129f, we included a copy of the divorce certificate dated July 2010. Having done some research I discovered that this might be a red flag issue on our case, because we were having a relationship whilst I was still married, and because we got engaged so soon after the divorce.

Is this likely to be the case and do you think it will cause us problems? I have got paperwork from the divorce proceedings, stamped by the court, that state I separated from my wife in Sept 2008 - should we have sent this in with the I-129f? Or can/should I send it in as extra evidence now, or is it better just to sit tight and wait? We have already had the NOA1.

Sorry that was so long! Thanks in advance for any advice.

Lets say it is a possible red flag! I am in teh same situation as you are as i noted in my previous reply. How can we fix this? What if we truly fell in love while we were still living with our exes but on the way for divorce? That's why we need this forum to find answers. Please guys, throw all you guys have and lets brain storm this....

Can they deny K-1 at teh consulate based on that?

[Nik+Heather 121]

Lets say it is a possible red flag! I am in teh same situation as you are as i noted in my previous reply. How can we fix this? What if we truly fell in love while we were still living with our exes but on the way for divorce? That's why we need this forum to find answers. Please guys, throw all you guys have and lets brain storm this....

Can they deny K-1 at teh consulate based on that?

The way to combat that red flag is to have a lot of evidence of a real relationship. Some people might make up a timeline of events which would include the end of the previous marriages. It's really important for these questions to seek out consulate specific advice. What someone might tell someone going through the UK will be DIFFERENT for someone going through Sri Lanka. (or Someone from Sri Lanka who is going through London for some reason). In order to keep the questions and answers straight, I would gently suggest that a different thread (or a search of your regional forum) might be more appropriate for you as the OP here is from London, where the situation may not be very difficult to overcome. Makes sense?

[ScottThuy 140]

The way to combat that red flag is to have a lot of evidence of a real relationship. Some people might make up a timeline of events which would include the end of the previous marriages. It's really important for these questions to seek out consulate specific advice. What someone might tell someone going through the UK will be DIFFERENT for someone going through Sri Lanka. (or Someone from Sri Lanka who is going through London for some reason). In order to keep the questions and answers straight, I would gently suggest that a different thread (or a search of your regional forum) might be more appropriate for you as the OP here is from London, where the situation may not be very difficult to overcome. Makes sense?

He already has