notice of intent to deny

[neely 0]

My husband who became LPR december 2012{ through his US citizen son }submitted the I130 to petition for me as his wife.My husband married me in 1997 in my home country.At that time he was still having his first wife in Saudi Arabia.He divorced her in 1998.In his country Jordan he is allowed to have more than 1 wife.The issue is that the divorce and my marriage is more than 16 years ago.I am still married to him and we are both in the 60s and late 50s.We were emailed by USCIS that they are sending us the Notice of intent to deny.Is it that they deem my marriage to my husband as invalid and if so what should we do?My husband did obtain a Jordan marriage certificate in 2005 but it indicated the marriage was in Malaysia in 1997.Is there anyway I could use the Jordan marriage certificate to prove that my marriage was after the divorce from his first wife.The Jordan marriage certificate was needed to obtain my Jordan citizenship.

Has anyone experienced this type of situation.?

[Penguin_ie 5,988]

You are not legally married by US standards. He must travel to you and marry you again.

[aaron2020 11,651]

For US immigration, a person can only have one legal spouse at a time. Under US immigration laws, your marriage is not valid for an immigration benefit because your husband already had a legal wife when he married you.

You will need to remarry legally before you will be considered for an immigration benefit.

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

I would consult someone like Marc Ellis , Even though your husband had a plural marriage which was legal in your country , he had reduced it to a singlar one by the time he submitted your petition. There is a small chance that would be ok. If so you need to quick submit a response stating such. Had you been in the US your marriage wouldn't be valid because here you can only be married to one wife at a time but US laws don't apply in foreign places. You are current ( at at the time of submission ) his only wife. Do consulate a lawyer.

[belinda63 2,990]

I concur. I spent some time looking at the embassy sites but they have changed in the several years since I was filing. I seem to remember the Ankara site stating that if you had multiple wives you had to divorce all but one prior to applying. Kind of silly for the US to try to hold Christian standards to a Muslim country. Seriously, do double check and I will keep looking.

[MIDUVIL 34]

.........My husband married me in 1997 in my home country.At that time he was still having his first wife in Saudi Arabia.He divorced her in 1998............Is there anyway I could use the Jordan marriage certificate to prove that my marriage was after the divorce from his first wife.........

I didn't understand what you wrote.

[Cathi 5,630]

I concur. I spent some time looking at the embassy sites but they have changed in the several years since I was filing. I seem to remember the Ankara site stating that if you had multiple wives you had to divorce all but one prior to applying. Kind of silly for the US to try to hold Christian standards to a Muslim country. Seriously, do double check and I will keep looking.

this has nothing to do with religion, there is separation of church and state in this country. In the US you are not allowed to be married to more than one person at a time, irregardless of religion.

[neely 0]

Thank you for your replies.The problem in a Muslim country is that it is not possible to divorce and remarry again so easily .Under the sharia law ,I will need to marry another man and then get divorced before my current husband can remarry me.So it is impossible to get a new marriage certificate to meet the USA's requirement of a valid marriage.As commented by one member,at the time of my husband's I130 petition for me,I am his only wife and has been for the last 15 years plus[married in 1997].The divorce of his first wife was also years back in 1998.My only hope is that the USA will accept the Jordan marriage certificate of 2005[registration of the Malaysian marriage of 1997]and deem our marriage as valid for immigration purpose.

I read in the Board of Immigration Appeal in the matter of Arenas,15 I&N Dec.174 "A marriage is void if either party was married and the prior marriage is not dissolved.However the marriage becomes valid when the prior marriage is dissolved and the parties continue to reside as husband and wife and present themselves to others as married.

Also in the Immigration Adjudicators' field manual Chapter 21 under S101 [Validity of marriage celebrated in a foreign country]states that if the marriage is voidable but no action to void the marriage has taken place it will be considered valid for immigration purposes.

I wonder whether the above 2 items are favourable to my case?

[aaron2020 11,651]

I concur. I spent some time looking at the embassy sites but they have changed in the several years since I was filing. I seem to remember the Ankara site stating that if you had multiple wives you had to divorce all but one prior to applying. Kind of silly for the US to try to hold Christian standards to a Muslim country. Seriously, do double check and I will keep looking.

US law recognizes one valid marriage at a time. Bigamy is a crime in the US. The US Is not applying "Christian standards to a Muslim country." The OP' marriage is valid in her country. US laws against bigamy does not apply in her country. By seeking to live permanently in the US, she is agreeing to abide by US laws. US laws does not apply to her marriage as long as she does not seek to live in the US.

Using your logic, should we give a US immigration visa to a 15 years old girl forced to marry a 90 years old man based on a valid marriage in a Muslim country? Guess it would be okay for him to bring his wife to the US and treat her as his wife since the marriage is valid in Saudi Arabia, right? (Please use Google since I cannot access international news site in my iPhone while in Vietnam.)

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

US law recognizes one valid marriage at a time. Bigamy is a crime in the US. The US Is not applying "Christian standards to a Muslim country." The OP' marriage is valid in her country. US laws against bigamy does not apply in her country. By seeking to live permanently in the US, she is agreeing to abide by US laws. US laws does not apply to her marriage as long as she does not seek to live in the US.

Using your logic, should we give a US immigration visa to a 15 years old girl forced to marry a 90 years old man based on a valid marriage in a Muslim country? Guess it would be okay for him to bring his wife to the US and treat her as his wife since the marriage is valid in Saudi Arabia, right? (Please use Google since I cannot access international news site in my iPhone while in Vietnam.)

Yes the marriage would be valid for immigration purposes even if you don't approve. It was valid in the country it happened in at the time it happened.

[aaron2020 11,651]

Yes the marriage would be valid for immigration purposes even if you don't approve. It was valid in the country it happened in at the time it happened.

Actually, it wouldn't be because she was FORCED TO MARRY against her will.

Since Saudia Arabia does not have a minimum age for marriage - how about a 9 years old? A 5 years old? The Imans there have opposed all attempts to have a minimum age for marriage.

My point is that not all foreign marriages are recognized for immigration purposes. I am not picking on Muslims. I'm trying to make the point that a valid marriage in a foreign country is not necessarily recognized for an immigration visa.

Another example - gay marriages valid in Canada do not qualify for an immigration benefit either.

So not all valid foreign marriages meet the criteria for spousal visas. The US still gets to enforce its marriage laws inside its borders. Muslim countries have their sovernties. Canada has its sovernty. The US has its sovernty.

If the OP was applying for a tourist visa, her marriage would not be a problem. However, she is seeking to live here with a green card which eventually could lead to US citizenship. And thus the rules are different.

Edited February 25, 2013 by aaron2020

[Villanelle 4,121]

The Jordan Marriage Certificate just shows that you registered your Malaysian marriage of 1997 in Jordan in 2005. (It doesnt mean you were married in Jordan in 2005).

They are intending to deny you because your husband submitted papers showing he was married previously and divorced in 1998. Thats overlapping and not allowed in the US. Thats what Aaron is referring to

"if a marriage is valid in the country where celebrated but considered offensive to public policy of the United States, it will not be recognized as valid for immigration purposes. Plural marriages fall within this category."

I suggest you send in the Jordan Marriage Certificate, even though its not going to mean anything because the US is not going to care that Jordan recognized it, and you should also submit a printout of the complete section "21.3 Petition for a Spouse."

http://www.uscis.gov/ilink/docView/AFM/HTML/AFM/0-0-0-1/0-0-0-3481/0-0-0-4484.html

At the bottom of the page you can find the decision you referred to " Matter of Arenas , 15 I&N Dec. 174 (BIA 1975)" Highlight it.

It says " Matter of Arenas , 15 I&N Dec. 174 (BIA 1975) . In determining the validity of a marriage for immigration purposes, the law of the place of celebration of the marriage will generally govern. Under Section 2.22 of the Texas Family Code, a marriage is void if either party was married and the prior marriage is not dissolved. However, the marriage becomes valid when the prior marriage is dissolved and the parties continue to reside together as husband and wife and present themselves to others as being married."

Attach proof that the prior marriage was dissolved (the divorce of spouse 1) and proof you presented yourself to others as being married (the Jordan Certificate) and other supporting evidence from 1999 on.

If its denied, you have 2 choices, either remarry legally by US standards or appeal the denial through proper channels.

[belinda63 2,990]

I can no longer find the information but I seem to remember that for immigration purposes the US would recognize only the first wife OR the only wife if all the others were divorced. By divorcing wife one prior to applying for immigration or even coming to the US it should make wife two (the only wife) a valid marriage. I'll look a little more and see what I can find but this seems to be a confused subject.

[belinda63 2,990]

Found it, oddly enough on the UAE site, I was almost right. You did have to marry him after all the other marriages were terminated. So idea......since the US doesn't recognize your marriage......file for a fiance visa. Or you could go to another country and marry.

[aaron2020 11,651]

Found it, oddly enough on the UAE site, I was almost right. You did have to marry him after all the other marriages were terminated. So idea......since the US doesn't recognize your marriage......file for a fiance visa. Or you could go to another country and marry.

She will not qualify for a fiancée visa since she is not free to marry.