K1 RFE Divorce decree did not have clear verbiage of dissolution

[sonicgihad 4]

Got my RFE hard copy today. As it turned out, my divorce did not say anything about the divorce. My attorney was horrible!!! I scheduled an emergency hearing to have our judge amend the decree to clearly state that the marriage between john an mary smith has been dissolved!

Its all there though, the title of the decree is judgement for dissolution, custody and child support was addressed, so was the cause of the divorce.

I am filing a petition to amend the decree and to clearly state that the marriage has been dissolved retroactive the date of the actual divorce and also to have the amendment filed along with the original decree.

Do you guys think this will be enough? I dont want the uscis to say, i wasnt officially divorced due to the missing verbiage and deny my petition.

Edited February 16, 2012 by sonicgihad

[L+T 71]

Got my RFE hard copy today. As it turned out, my divorce did not say anything about the divorce. My attorney was horrible!!! I scheduled an emergency hearing to have our judge amend the decree to clearly state that the marriage between john an mary smith has been dissolved!

Its all there though, the title of the decree is judgement for dissolution, custody and child support was addressed, so was the cause of the divorce.

I am filing a petition to amend the decree and to clearly state that the marriage has been dissolved retroactive the date of the actual divorce and also to have the amendment filed along with the original decree.

Do you guys think this will be enough? I dont want the uscis to say, i wasnt officially divorced due to the missing verbiage and deny my petition.

If the title of the decree is "judgement for dissolution", then it has been dissolved. Typically there is waiting period from actual divorce to absolute decree, doubt you could get the date moved back... by law. The divorce is in effect, per divorce decree (nisi) as of date of divorce, and you can then re-marry after decree absolute (90 days for example).

[L+T 71]

Got my RFE hard copy today. As it turned out, my divorce did not say anything about the divorce. My attorney was horrible!!! I scheduled an emergency hearing to have our judge amend the decree to clearly state that the marriage between john an mary smith has been dissolved!

Its all there though, the title of the decree is judgement for dissolution, custody and child support was addressed, so was the cause of the divorce.

I am filing a petition to amend the decree and to clearly state that the marriage has been dissolved retroactive the date of the actual divorce and also to have the amendment filed along with the original decree.

Do you guys think this will be enough? I dont want the uscis to say, i wasnt officially divorced due to the missing verbiage and deny my petition.

Was it stamped? What did the RFE actually say?

[sonicgihad 4]

RFE

Marriage Termination: Submit a legible copy of the final divorce decree signed by the judge or magistrate that shows proof of filing, issued by the civil authorities, that terminated the prior marriage between john smith and mary smith.

Please note: the documentation that you submitted does not contain the language that the marriage was in fact dissolved or terminated, etc.

I submitted a cerrified copy from the courts with stamp and clerk's signature. The title of the decree is "Judgement for dissolution of marriage". Ordered May 6, 2011.

It is missing the excat verbiage that john and mary smith are divorced... Its implied but not explicitly written.

[L+T 71]

RFE

Marriage Termination: Submit a legible copy of the final divorce decree signed by the judge or magistrate that shows proof of filing, issued by the civil authorities, that terminated the prior marriage between john smith and mary smith.

Please note: the documentation that you submitted does not contain the language that the marriage was in fact dissolved or terminated, etc.

I submitted a cerrified copy from the courts with stamp and clerk's signature. The title of the decree is "Judgement for dissolution of marriage". Ordered May 6, 2011.

It is missing the excat verbiage that john and mary smith are divorced... Its implied but not explicitly written.

So they are now asking for Divorce Decree. The document you sent was Decree Absolute. The Divorce Decree is the long document that you, your ex, (perhaps lawyers) and the judge signed the day you divorced, this is the Agreement, the Rule of Law post marriage. (ie child support or visitation terms etc... is in this document, maybe 10-30 pages or so) They are not asking for another Decree Absolute, you already sent them this.

[L+T 71]

RFE

Marriage Termination: Submit a legible copy of the final divorce decree signed by the judge or magistrate that shows proof of filing, issued by the civil authorities, that terminated the prior marriage between john smith and mary smith.

Please note: the documentation that you submitted does not contain the language that the marriage was in fact dissolved or terminated, etc.

I submitted a cerrified copy from the courts with stamp and clerk's signature. The title of the decree is "Judgement for dissolution of marriage". Ordered May 6, 2011.

It is missing the excat verbiage that john and mary smith are divorced... Its implied but not explicitly written.

PS, sounds to me like your Decree Absolute was fine, however the Service Center was not happy with the expedite over-ride so they slapped you with a RFE. Just speculation...

[sonicgihad 4]

So they are now asking for Divorce Decree. The document you sent was Decree Absolute. The Divorce Decree is the long document that you, your ex, (perhaps lawyers) and the judge signed the day you divorced, this is the Agreement, the Rule of Law post marriage. (ie child support or visitation terms etc... is in this document, maybe 10-30 pages or so) They are not asking for another Decree Absolute, you already sent them this.

I'm not familiar with what the difference is between a decree and decree absolute. What I sent them I thought was the final decree/judgement. The ruling was made by the judge on the last day of trial then we came back to court a month or so later to have the judgement signed. Being such a noob at divorces, I had no clue what to look for in decrees. The doc I sent had the right title, it addressed issues of custody, child support, tax filing, each parties personal posessions, each parties own debt, me relinquishing any claim on a property we owned, child's college education and how the case will be handled and who will have jurisdiction from thenon out. but it did not outline/state that the marriage has been dissolved. Looking at thi document, one might think it was implied but it wasn't there. My atty sucked, I wish I bought a Lambo instead and just represented myself.

This is extremely frustrating. I called USCIS and I spoke to an officer that sounded like he had no clue what he was saying and when he was unsure of his answer, he'd mumble. I surprisingly kept my cool and was extremely polite no matter how frustrated I got.

I dunno how to handle this really, I'm gonna go to my county in the morning to see if they can provide me any document at all. I'm also going to call my contact at my Senator's office and I will file my petition to amend the decree tomorrow just in case that's what's needed so I can get things inmotion. I already know the ex-wife is not gonna sign anything so forget about an agreed order.

PS, sounds to me like your Decree Absolute was fine, however the Service Center was not happy with the expedite over-ride so they slapped you with a RFE. Just speculation...

Ha ha! I knew they'll find a way to stick it to me!

[pushbrk 12,119]

Got my RFE hard copy today. As it turned out, my divorce did not say anything about the divorce. My attorney was horrible!!! I scheduled an emergency hearing to have our judge amend the decree to clearly state that the marriage between john an mary smith has been dissolved!

Its all there though, the title of the decree is judgement for dissolution, custody and child support was addressed, so was the cause of the divorce.

I am filing a petition to amend the decree and to clearly state that the marriage has been dissolved retroactive the date of the actual divorce and also to have the amendment filed along with the original decree.

Do you guys think this will be enough? I dont want the uscis to say, i wasnt officially divorced due to the missing verbiage and deny my petition.

Not sure if "decree absolute" is the applicable term in your state. What you need is a certified copy of a public record indicating the divorce was terminated. Generally, this is referred to as a "Certified Copy of Divorce Decree". In some states it is called Certified Copy of Decree Absolute. Get the one that is applicable to you, photocopy it and send it in. If that's what you already did, I assure you USCIS has seen lots of divorce decrees from your State and they know what they expect to see.

[L+T 71]

I'm not familiar with what the difference is between a decree and decree absolute. What I sent them I thought was the final decree/judgement. The ruling was made by the judge on the last day of trial then we came back to court a month or so later to have the judgement signed. Being such a noob at divorces, I had no clue what to look for in decrees. The doc I sent had the right title, it addressed issues of custody, child support, tax filing, each parties personal posessions, each parties own debt, me relinquishing any claim on a property we owned, child's college education and how the case will be handled and who will have jurisdiction from thenon out. but it did not outline/state that the marriage has been dissolved. Looking at thi document, one might think it was implied but it wasn't there. My atty sucked, I wish I bought a Lambo instead and just represented myself.

This is extremely frustrating. I called USCIS and I spoke to an officer that sounded like he had no clue what he was saying and when he was unsure of his answer, he'd mumble. I surprisingly kept my cool and was extremely polite no matter how frustrated I got.

I dunno how to handle this really, I'm gonna go to my county in the morning to see if they can provide me any document at all. I'm also going to call my contact at my Senator's office and I will file my petition to amend the decree tomorrow just in case that's what's needed so I can get things inmotion. I already know the ex-wife is not gonna sign anything so forget about an agreed order.

Ha ha! I knew they'll find a way to stick it to me!

Then it sounds like you need to send them the absolute, which is 1 page, with court seal. go the the cashier in the court and request certified divorce document. It is available after (so many maybe 90) days after the agreement. You sent the wrong one 1s time. There is typically a waiting period after what you signed... once the waiting period expires, the divorce is absolute... ie, too late to change your minds.... then you are free to marry.

[pushbrk 12,119]

Then it sounds like you need to send them the absolute, which is 1 page, with court seal. go the the cashier in the court and request certified divorce document. It is available after (so many maybe 90) days after the agreement. You sent the wrong one 1s time. There is typically a waiting period after what you signed... once the waiting period expires, the divorce is absolute... ie, too late to change your minds.... then you are free to marry.

Without knowing the State, no way to tell whether the above is correct. Usually the above applies to a Commonwealth, like MA, PA or VA. I think the OP is in the midwest.

[L+T 71]

Without knowing the State, no way to tell whether the above is correct. Usually the above applies to a Commonwealth, like MA, PA or VA. I think the OP is in the midwest.

6? or 1/2 dozen? I'm sure asking the clerk for the (as stated) "certified divorce document" was general enough for all english speaking clerks to understand.

[pushbrk 12,119]

6? or 1/2 dozen? I'm sure asking the clerk for the (as stated) "certified divorce document" was general enough for all english speaking clerks to understand.

Certified Copy of final decree is the correct terminology for any state that doesn't use the "Decree Absolute" system. Most folks never heard of a decree absolute, including court clerks in States that don't issue them.

[sonicgihad 4]

Here's what I have...

Page 1

Page 2

Page 3

Page 4

[L+T 71]

This is your divorce agreement (nisi). Every State has a time period from filing the nisi, until the divorce becomes Absolute Divorce. You must return to the court and request the 1 page certificate which certifies this divorce as final, ie nisi conditions have been meet, generally meaning an amount of time has passed.

Barron's Law Dictionary:

nisi

Top Home > Library > Law & Legal Issues > Law Dictionary (n¯e 9 -s¯e)—Lat.: unless; “It is used in law after ‘decree,’ ‘order,’ ‘rule’ to indicate [that the adjudication referred to] shall take permanent effect at a specified time unless cause is shown why it should not or unless it is changed by further proceedings.” 215 A. 2d 779, 783. A “decree nisi” usually refers to a conditional divorce, becoming absolute upon the expiration of a stipulated period unless cause to the contrary is shown within the time period. 92 A. 791, 793. See also decree [decree nisi].

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/nisi#ixzz1mc30jGLN

[sonicgihad 4]

This is your divorce agreement (nisi). Every State has a time period from filing the nisi, until the divorce becomes Absolute Divorce. You must return to the court and request the 1 page certificate which certifies this divorce as final, ie nisi conditions have been meet, generally meaning an amount of time has passed.

Barron's Law Dictionary:

nisi

Top Home > Library > Law & Legal Issues > Law Dictionary (n¯e 9 -s¯e)—Lat.: unless; “It is used in law after ‘decree,’ ‘order,’ ‘rule’ to indicate [that the adjudication referred to] shall take permanent effect at a specified time unless cause is shown why it should not or unless it is changed by further proceedings.” 215 A. 2d 779, 783. A “decree nisi” usually refers to a conditional divorce, becoming absolute upon the expiration of a stipulated period unless cause to the contrary is shown within the time period. 92 A. 791, 793. See also decree [decree nisi].

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/nisi#ixzz1mc30jGLN

Thanx. I'll find out tomorrow when I go tomy county! Hope I was just a dummy and sent them thewrong doc.