To marry or not to marry, that is a question

[LadyS 0]

Hi everybody.

I am an American citizen. In August 2008 I married a man overseas. We were deeply in love.

We filed 6 months after our marriage, neither one of us had a clue how to immigrate anywhere.

The case took a long time, was rejected as "fraud marriage". The attorney fees were enormous

but the the untrue claim was overturned. He received IR1 visa and came to the United

States in July 2012. We started experiencing small problems in our marriage a

year prior to his arrival. Within weeks of his arrival I realized that our marriage

is completely broken and that I want a divorce.

A little over a year ago I met another foreign man. We met in the US. He has valid

EU and US non-immigrant visas but is currently outside of the US. I last saw him

overseas some six weeks ago on vacation. He is coming back early in 2013.

Over the year we've known one another we realized we are deeply in love and are even

contemplating marriage. Please, don't judge.

So here are the questions:

1) Does the divorce from my husband invalidate his IR1 / green card if we divorce so

soon after his arrival and does he have to return to his home country?

2) If I marry a foreign national again, will a divorce from an IR1 holder cause

us undue problems from USCIS if I apply for another marriage visa within a year

or so of the divorce? Or will it make more sense if we marry and live together in

the US on his non-immigrant visa before even applying for the immigrant one?

If I marry again, I don't want to spend four years apart from the person that I love.

That is enough to destroy even the strongest marriage. I learned the hard way.

Thanks.

[Thatgirl2 21]

1.no, he has two year green card, he can apply for ten year himself with a divorce waiver.

2.it won't be an issue in a sense that it won't be ground for denial. BUT it will come up, and you WILL have to do more than usual explaining considering you first got fraud verdict and then got separated so soon after his arrival. As far as your options before filing goes. Sure. You can get married and live together , but don't fall for those who try to convince you to file for adjustment of status instead of ir-1. That's visa fraud.on and all, your case is nothing special, don't get scared or nervous, just study similar cases.

[dwheels76 5,463]

Hi everybody.

I am an American citizen. In August 2008 I married a man overseas. We were deeply in love.

We filed 6 months after our marriage, neither one of us had a clue how to immigrate anywhere.

The case took a long time, was rejected as "fraud marriage". The attorney fees were enormous

but the the untrue claim was overturned. He received IR1 visa and came to the United

States in July 2012. We started experiencing small problems in our marriage a

year prior to his arrival. Within weeks of his arrival I realized that our marriage

is completely broken and that I want a divorce.

A little over a year ago I met another foreign man. We met in the US. He has valid

EU and US non-immigrant visas but is currently outside of the US. I last saw him

overseas some six weeks ago on vacation. He is coming back early in 2013.

Over the year we've known one another we realized we are deeply in love and are even

contemplating marriage. Please, don't judge.

So here are the questions:

1) Does the divorce from my husband invalidate his IR1 / green card if we divorce so

soon after his arrival and does he have to return to his home country?

2) If I marry a foreign national again, will a divorce from an IR1 holder cause

us undue problems from USCIS if I apply for another marriage visa within a year

or so of the divorce? Or will it make more sense if we marry and live together in

the US on his non-immigrant visa before even applying for the immigrant one?

If I marry again, I don't want to spend four years apart from the person that I love.

That is enough to destroy even the strongest marriage. I learned the hard way.

Thanks.

You have to realize also the affidavit of support is still binding divorce doesn't change that. Just in case u didn't know..

[Lainie B 465]

1.no, he has two year green card, he can apply for ten year himself with a divorce waiver.

2.it won't be an issue in a sense that it won't be ground for denial. BUT it will come up, and you WILL have to do more than usual explaining considering you first got fraud verdict and then got separated so soon after his arrival. As far as your options before filing goes. Sure. You can get married and live together , but don't fall for those who try to convince you to file for adjustment of status instead of ir-1. That's visa fraud.on and all, your case is nothing special, don't get scared or nervous, just study similar cases.

They were married for over two years prior, he would have a 10-year green card, hence no need for divorce waiver

[Penguin_ie 5,986]

You can petition for your current boyfriend once divorced but yes, it will be a big red flag. Not only because of the quick =divorce and re-marriage, but also because you knew (and seemed to have feelings) for the man before your soon-to-be ex-husband came to the USA, and because the first marriage was initially found to be fraud (and now it looks to them like they were right, with you divorcing as soon as he gets here).

It would be better for you to spend some time as a couple and make sure to meet eachother's family before marrying and petitioning him for a visa. If you can go and spend some serious time in his country (as in, several months, a year), that would help too. As mentioned above, do make sure everything is above board- he can visit on his visa waiver probram/ non-immigrant visa, but must make sure not to overstay.

[N-o-l-a 7,167]

I'd highly suggest you give yourself some time before getting married again and that you live with this man in his country for a longish time. You wouldn't believe how helpful that will be in terms of getting to know him, his culture, and his family. I think it'll also speak volumes to your commitment to the relationship in terms of immigration. Is there some reason that you feel he'd have to come live in America permanently versus you living in his country?

Edited December 3, 2012 by Nola123

[pushbrk 12,230]

Hi everybody.

I am an American citizen. In August 2008 I married a man overseas. We were deeply in love.

We filed 6 months after our marriage, neither one of us had a clue how to immigrate anywhere.

The case took a long time, was rejected as "fraud marriage". The attorney fees were enormous

but the the untrue claim was overturned. He received IR1 visa and came to the United

States in July 2012. We started experiencing small problems in our marriage a

year prior to his arrival. Within weeks of his arrival I realized that our marriage

is completely broken and that I want a divorce.

A little over a year ago I met another foreign man. We met in the US. He has valid

EU and US non-immigrant visas but is currently outside of the US. I last saw him

overseas some six weeks ago on vacation. He is coming back early in 2013.

Over the year we've known one another we realized we are deeply in love and are even

contemplating marriage. Please, don't judge.

So here are the questions:

1) Does the divorce from my husband invalidate his IR1 / green card if we divorce so

soon after his arrival and does he have to return to his home country?

2) If I marry a foreign national again, will a divorce from an IR1 holder cause

us undue problems from USCIS if I apply for another marriage visa within a year

or so of the divorce? Or will it make more sense if we marry and live together in

the US on his non-immigrant visa before even applying for the immigrant one?

If I marry again, I don't want to spend four years apart from the person that I love.

That is enough to destroy even the strongest marriage. I learned the hard way.

Thanks.

1. If he really has an IR1 (ten year) green card, then no, he can stay in the USA as long as he wishes. If he has a two-year CR1 green card, then he can file to remove conditions on his own as soon as the divorce is final, then stay for a lifetime if he wishes.

2. This will likely bring extra scrutiny to your new immigration process. People with non-immigrant visas, by definition, do NOT "live" in the USA. They visit. Time spent together in person is the strongest evidence of a bona fide relationship. Immigration from the EU, is generally less of a challenge than immigration from high fraud countries.

[LadyS 0]

Thank you everyone for your responses.

My husband has a 10 year green card, so his staying in this country

wont be a problem if he wishes to remain. He is unsure.

I am also aware of the 10 year support rule and I explained it to him.

He is some years younger than I and from a "high risk" country hence

why we probably why we received the original 221g refusal.

I visited his country several times prior to the marriage, met his family

and we traveled together before our marriage.

I wish our the marriage would've lasted. We've decided to try marriage

counseling to see if it can be saved. Yes, I did love him, but I feel

I no longer do because of what we want for each other and for the

relationship. If we break up, I hope we can remain friends.

The reason that I would like to remarry again so soon is to have children.

Both me and the new man in my life would like to have biological children

but not out of wedlock. I am in my early 40's. Moving to his country

is not an option. I have my career which I could not pursue there

and limited vacation time. He is an entertainer and he travels abroad

part of the year. His own career is more portable than mine as far as

"home base". I am not wealthy and neither is he, so we would not be able

to see one another for long periods of time during the year if he is not

in the United States. Long distance relationships are very hard.

After the original 221g, I just don't want the stress of another such

refusal if I marry a foreigner. I would not wish that for anyone.

I can take comfort that he is not from a high risk country and he has never

overstayed any of his visas in any country, including United States.

Thank you again.