Is it legal to get married to my foreign first cousin in IL with the marriage license from TN, meaning the officiant is from IL?

[thetruefinale 0]

Guys, I stated already that I decided to get not only my marriage license in TN, but to also get married there (with officiant signing there) as well. Now I'm just going to have the celebration in IL. One of the main issues is, if in the eyes of TX, the marriage is invalid for being "evasive." I don't know if TX family law has anything against evasive marriages (getting married out of state to avoid domicile state's marriage laws). For instance, this would be illegal in IL. If I was a resident of IL and married my first cousin in TN for the purposes of avoiding IL marriage law, then moved back to IL, my marriage would be considered void. I have found this clearly expressed in the family code. However, I am unsure about TX, though I am hoping it isn't an issue.

My other issue is if I intend to reside in TX as the petitioner for my wife. I know some cases have been approved like this, and some have been denied. This is because cousin marriages are illegal in TX, but recognized/legal if the marriage took place in a state/country where the marriage was legal. From the suggestions so far, if the visa gets denied down the road for that reason, it is probably better to just move to another state.

[aaron2020 11,651]

Lots of people get marry in states they do not live in. The Las Vegas quickie marriage industry would be significantly smaller if out-of-state residents could not marry in Nevada.

Your marriage will not be automatically voided. Texas has to take legal action against you. This is extremely unlikely to happen since there is no requirement for you to report to Texas that you married your cousin. If you Google for cases where Texas has voided 1st cousin marriages legally performed out-of-state, you will not find anything because it doesn't happen.

You are over thinking this.

[Ryan H 3,790]

Two off topic posts removed; stick to the topic or do not post.

[Ash.1101 1,755]

Again you should just seek a lawyers advice.

The last case I found of a cousin couple being arrested was from 1995, but apparently the law preventing cousin couples to marry was as recent as 2005.

There is this site where a "lawyer" says you can have sexual relations with your first cousin as long as you're married in Texas, but not while you're unmarried.

http://www.justanswer.com/family-law/5u4bm-marry-cousin-state-tx-recognize.html

[Saffer 27]

Please find a lawyer, you seem to know more than people answering you and get upset with them. Your case is complicated, this is a self help site. Seek legal advice.

[Villanelle 4,121]

Please find a lawyer, you seem to know more than people answering you and get upset with them. Your case is complicated, this is a self help site. Seek legal advice.

IMO hes not getting upset because people are simply answering him, his tone has changed because people are answering him with out reading his his complete posting.

If one read through the thread in its entirety they would see where he stated I am now going to marry in TN with a TN license. So reading a post that says what you are doing is wrong you cant obtain a license in TN and use it in TEXAS causes him to bang his head against the wall.

Just like how I wrote back in post 32 that all laws are not enforced but when failing to restate it when referencing the laws again it was pointed out as new info. This is why some threads go on and on here. The OP may be surprised that he got such an overwhelming response to his topic but Im not. This is a classic hot thread. A legal based scenario where everyone can one up each other with tidbits of information pointing out how each others posting was wrong. Or reposting the same thing with slightly different wording as if that makes it right-er. Im somewhat sorry I participated except for the fact that the OP gained the info he was seeking.

--------------------------------

. One of the main issues is, if in the eyes of TX, the marriage is invalid for being "evasive." I don't know if TX family law has anything against evasive marriages (getting married out of state to avoid domicile state's marriage laws).

. However, I am unsure about TX, though I am hoping it isn't an issue.

My other issue is if I intend to reside in TX as the petitioner for my wife. I know some cases have been approved like this, and some have been denied. This is because cousin marriages are illegal in TX, but recognized/legal if the marriage took place in a state/country where the marriage was legal. From the suggestions so far, if the visa gets denied down the road for that reason, it is probably better to just move to another state.

Lots of people get marry in states they do not live in. The Las Vegas quickie marriage industry would be significantly smaller if out-of-state residents could not marry in Nevada.

Your marriage will not be automatically voided. Texas has to take legal action against you.

I made a mess of the quotes above- sorry. Aaron is right. Texas code does not void your marriage. I posted the relevant sections previously. They simply do not issue licenses to cousins.

Did you read the code referenced of what is void?

A marriage is void if one party to the marriage is related to the other as:

(1) an ancestor or descendant, by blood or adoption; NO

(2) a brother or sister, of the whole or half blood or by adoption;NO

(3) a parent's brother or sister, of the whole or half blood or by adoption; or NOT YOU

(4) a son or daughter of a brother or sister, of the whole or half blood or by adoption. AGAIN NOT YOUR BRO OR SISTERS KIDS SO NOPE

- See more at: http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/txstatutes/FA/1/C/6/C/6.201#sthash.u4xgsTRj.dpuf

THE ONLY LEGAL ACTION that can be taken is under the penal code- and again this generally does not happen. It can but it doesnt.

USCIS can deny you because of the existing penal code- but as the attny lets call it theorized for lack of a better word even though he referenced BIA decisions- The official requirements for USCIS is that the marriage is legal. Technically it is and it does not violate laws. A marriage does not need to include sexual relations. So you can be married there legally and not violate laws. Technically USCIS should be forced to approve you, but because of that number 3 (individual facts vary) they can deny you and say whoah we are not comfortable with you going to a place where you all would be violating penal codes by having sexual relations especially if you express intent on having sexual relations and violating the law so we are denying you. A simple innocent do you plan of having children? can seal your fate in the interview. This is something to bring up with the lawyer btw.

There is just so many variables involved. You have not disclosed anything about your personal relationship/history, the region she is from, the embassy you would be going through etc. All of this is going to effect how smoothly the process will go.

Anyway it would be helpful to the forum if you were to post back after meeting with attnys whatever information you are given and when you do file if you would like you can use the timeline feature to participate in tracking your case to get an idea of how its moving in comparison to others that filed at the same time.

[Cathi 5,610]

Cousin marriage is very common in the Middle East, in some Middle Eastern countries the percentage of first cousin marriage is as high as 60%. My husband's parents are first cousins and his sister is married to a first cousin. My husband is one of 9 children and with the exception if his sister they have all married people outside of the family. I could never wrap my head around it because in this culture it just isn't done, but to Middle Eastern families it is normal and has been going on for thousands of years. Arranged marriages are still very common place, as well. Way back when it was a way to keep money and wealth in the family/tribe, and yes there are still tribes. With the percentage of cousin marriages that still take place I am sure there have been many cousin marriages that have been approved recently and in the past, they just haven't posted here on VJ. The burden of proof will be on the petitioner to prove that in fact the marriage is a real and true relationship and not for the benefit of immigration purposes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cousin_marriage_in_the_Middle_East

Edited May 24, 2015 by mimolicious

[thetruefinale 0]

After I consult with attorneys about my case, I will get back to you guys. Thanks for all your help! I hope this thread has information that will help people in the future, and for that reason I think I will use the timeline as well so that people can track relative progress if they are in a similar situation.