Common law marriage requires divorce?

[Hypnos 6,576]

If you hadn't filed taxes as married then I would say consider it just a relationship, not a marriage, and move on. The fact that you filed these taxes though is quite a clear indication that you considered yourself married under the common-law provisions in RI.

Put it another way: if USCIS even begin to suspect that you are still married then they will deny the I-129F due to you not being free to marry. You also run the risk of bigamy by remarrying when the state already considers you married to someone else. That's a far-fetched option, granted, but it's still there.

I myself would file for divorce. It will likely be extremely cheap and take a few months, but it will CYA when it comes to the other issues I mentioned. Unfortunately the I-129F could not be filed until your divorce was final, since you would not be free to marry until then.

[boosbear 37]

Hello again, thank you all for the advice so far. I did speak with an immigration lawyer here & I'll have to file a subpoena to end the common law relationship, so different from a divorce & in that case I can't do it myself. It will take at least 90 days. My next question is in regards to sponsoring & income. I was told I need to show $24,000 annually. For those who have had to use co-sponsors could this be a friend who lives out of state from you or do they have to live in the same state? Thank you in advance.

[dwheels76 5,463]

Hello again, thank you all for the advice so far. I did speak with an immigration lawyer here & I'll have to file a subpoena to end the common law relationship, so different from a divorce & in that case I can't do it myself. It will take at least 90 days. My next question is in regards to sponsoring & income. I was told I need to show $24,000 annually. For those who have had to use co-sponsors could this be a friend who lives out of state from you or do they have to live in the same state? Thank you in advance.

Co-sponsor can be anyone who is a US citizen or LPR living in the US. They don't have to be a family member.

[boosbear 37]

Thank you! That's wonderful!! So appreciated.

[Hypnos 6,576]

A subpoena is a request for information; I'm not sure how you can use one to end a common-law marriage. IANAL though.

[boosbear 37]

Thank you Hypnos, I meant an affidavit, the form to file for divorce is asking for a marriage certificate. I don't have one. Silly RI only one of 9 states that recognize CL marriage.

[Hypnos 6,576]

That makes more sense