planning to petition my mom :(

[Tan Light 0]

Hi Everyone,

I have a serious question here.

I'm planning to file a petition for my mom soon, the problem is she has a previous marriage before she married my father when i was 7 years old, her first marriage is not terminated yet or annulled when she married my father.

When she was a teenager she was forced to marry my 2 Elder sister's father, my grandma sold her to their father, now i'm afraid that this issue will affect the said petition i am planning for her.

Second, I don't have Job as of today, only hubby works for us now, Is that fine if his income is above the poverty guidelines? I need my mom so she can take care of my LO, so i can work. hmm

I really need advice

[Boiler 43,381]

Pretty sure Bigamy is a CIMT.

Lawyer time.

[Penguin_ie 5,984]

That could be an issue.

1. How was she able to marry your father legally?

2. Was the first marriage ever annulled, later?

[minions2 24]

They surely look for some annulment or divorce papers.

[apple21 953]

Tell your mother to get a CENOMAR to verify which marriage is recorded at NSO. You can decide your next move from there.

Good luck!

[GeorgeH 8]

How does the person your mom is married to impact your filing for her?

[JFH 12,189]

How does the person your mom is married to impact your filing for her?

It doesn't. The issue is that there is potentially bigamy here and that would make obtaining a visa for her extremely difficult, if not impossible.

[GeorgeH 8]

It doesn't. The issue is that there is potentially bigamy here and that would make obtaining a visa for her extremely difficult, if not impossible.

Why? She doesn't need to submit her mother's marriage certificate. There are no bigamy questions on the I-485. The only possibly relevant question is about the CIMT.

A CIMT is a "depraved or immoral act, or a violation of the basic duties owed to fellow man, or recently as a “reprehensible act” with a mens rea of at least recklessness." First, if they were legally married (without fraud), it obviously wasn't a crime. Regardless of that, I'm not sure this fits into that definition. She was forced into the marriage, she did not take a depraved or immoral act with any sort of intent.

Even if it is a CIMT, I think this can be explained given the strange situation and her mother's age at the time.

I'd say this will work out fine.

[Boiler 43,381]

Why? She doesn't need to submit her mother's marriage certificate. There are no bigamy questions on the I-485. The only possibly relevant question is about the CIMT.

A CIMT is a "depraved or immoral act, or a violation of the basic duties owed to fellow man, or recently as a “reprehensible act” with a mens rea of at least recklessness." First, if they were legally married (without fraud), it obviously wasn't a crime. Regardless of that, I'm not sure this fits into that definition. She was forced into the marriage, she did not take a depraved or immoral act with any sort of intent.

Even if it is a CIMT, I think this can be explained given the strange situation and her mother's age at the time.

I'd say this will work out fine.

ROFL

[jan22 2,897]

The key is if she were convicted of bigamy. Doesn't sound like she was.

[Jojo92122 1,924]

The mother will need to list all marriages, divorces, annulments, etc. on the DS-260.

The US does not need a conviction for bigamy to deny her a visa. The fact that she can't produce an annulment for the first marriage is enough to show she is a bigamist. Bigamy is a bar from getting a visa.

This will not work out fine.

https://fam.state.gov/fam/09FAM/09FAM030210.html

9 FAM 302.10-2(B)(1) Polygamy Defined

(CT:VISA-85; 03-07-2016)

Polygamy is the historical custom or religious practice of having more than one wife or husband at the same time. It is also called plural marriage. It is distinguished from bigamy which is a criminal act resulting from having more than one spouse at a time without benefit of a prior divorce.

9 FAM 302.10-2(B)(4) Aliens Coming to the United States to Practice Polygamy

(CT:VISA-85; 03-07-2016)

We interpret the phrase "...coming to the United States to practice polygamy..." to mean that an alien who intends to practice polygamy when he or she enters the United States in any immigrant category is ineligible, not that the alien necessarily must be coming to the United States in a spousal category. Thus, an immigrant who seeks an immigrant visa based upon his or her employment in the United States and who intends to practice polygamy upon entry is inadmissible.

[Jojo92122 1,924]

Why? She doesn't need to submit her mother's marriage certificate. There are no bigamy questions on the I-485. The only possibly relevant question is about the CIMT.

A CIMT is a "depraved or immoral act, or a violation of the basic duties owed to fellow man, or recently as a “reprehensible act” with a mens rea of at least recklessness." First, if they were legally married (without fraud), it obviously wasn't a crime. Regardless of that, I'm not sure this fits into that definition. She was forced into the marriage, she did not take a depraved or immoral act with any sort of intent.

Even if it is a CIMT, I think this can be explained given the strange situation and her mother's age at the time.

I'd say this will work out fine.

Why? Because bigamy is a CIMT making a person inadmissible and therefore ineligible for an immigration visa.

While there is no bigamy questions on the I-485 or the DS-260, they both require the beneficiary to list all marriages, divorces, and annulments. Furthermore, the beneficiary must provide proof that all prior marriages were terminated. That's how the US Government will know the mother is a bigamist. Look at page 24 of the DS-260 exemplar from the US State Department where it asks about previous spouse. https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/DS-260%20Exemplar.pdf The mother will have to submit annulment papers to prove her first marriage ended.

Bigamy is a CIMT. Look for bigamy under "Sexual Offenses" under the CIMT listing. http://immigration.lawyers.com/deportation/grounds-for-deportation-moral-turpitude.html

How does she explain that she knowing committed bigamy when she married the second husband at a time when she was an adult? There was no bigamy until that point. What prevented her from getting an annulment at that time? You are focused on the wrong time point. It does not matter the strange situation or her mother's age at the time because that was the first marriage which was legal. It does not matter that she was forced into the first marriage. The second marriage is the criminal act in the Philippines. She knowing committed a criminal act by marrying her second husband without annulment of her first marriage.

This will not work out fine. You got every single thing wrong.

Edited October 2, 2016 by Jojo92122

[GeorgeH 8]

Oops, sorry all. I wrote bigamy but was thinking incest. I did not read the part about the second marriage. Please disregard my post.

[jan22 2,897]

The mother will need to list all marriages, divorces, annulments, etc. on the DS-260.

The US does not need a conviction for bigamy to deny her a visa. The fact that she can't produce an annulment for the first marriage is enough to show she is a bigamist. Bigamy is a bar from getting a visa.

This will not work out fine.

https://fam.state.gov/fam/09FAM/09FAM030210.html

9 FAM 302.10-2(B)(1) Polygamy Defined

(CT:VISA-85; 03-07-2016)

Polygamy is the historical custom or religious practice of having more than one wife or husband at the same time. It is also called plural marriage. It is distinguished from bigamy which is a criminal act resulting from having more than one spouse at a time without benefit of a prior divorce.

9 FAM 302.10-2(B)(4) Aliens Coming to the United States to Practice Polygamy

(CT:VISA-85; 03-07-2016)

We interpret the phrase "...coming to the United States to practice polygamy..." to mean that an alien who intends to practice polygamy when he or she enters the United States in any immigrant category is ineligible, not that the alien necessarily must be coming to the United States in a spousal category. Thus, an immigrant who seeks an immigrant visa based upon his or her employment in the United States and who intends to practice polygamy upon entry is inadmissible.

The issue of coming to the US to practice polygamy does not apply in this case -- there is nothing to indicate the mother would be coming to the US to practice polygamy. A polgamist can immigrate his/her first spouse, as that is considered the only valid marriage under US law. It would preclude the mother from petitioning her second husband, but not her benefitting from the IR-5.

And, in order to apply a criminal ineligibility, the visa applicant must have been convicted; no conviction means the 2a ineligibility cannot be applied to the applicant. Consular officers cannot make an independent decision that someone violated the law and is, therefore, ineligible.

Not saying that all of this makes the second marriage legal -- it means that, under US law, the petitioner was born out-of-wedlock, but that doesn't have any direct impact on an IR-5 petition.

[Jojo92122 1,924]

The issue of coming to the US to practice polygamy does not apply in this case -- there is nothing to indicate the mother would be coming to the US to practice polygamy. A polgamist can immigrate his/her first spouse, as that is considered the only valid marriage under US law. It would preclude the mother from petitioning her second husband, but not her benefitting from the IR-5.

And, in order to apply a criminal ineligibility, the visa applicant must have been convicted; no conviction means the 2a ineligibility cannot be applied to the applicant. Consular officers cannot make an independent decision that someone violated the law and is, therefore, ineligible.

Not saying that all of this makes the second marriage legal -- it means that, under US law, the petitioner was born out-of-wedlock, but that doesn't have any direct impact on an IR-5 petition.

Bigamy is a CIMT. A conviction is not required to make a person inadmissible.

Polygamy is permitted and legal in some countries. Bigamy is not. Bigamy by LEGAL definition is a criminal act. Polygamy is not. Therefore bigamy is worse than polygamy.

CO can make an independent decision with no convictions. US immigration does not need a conviction to deny a visa. Immigration is civil, so the criminal standard of beyond a reasonable doubt does not apply. Mere evidence of bigamy because mom can not provide annulment papers is enough to deny her a visa.

Mom is bigamist. Her admission at the interview that she knowingly married her second husband without an annulment is sufficient to deny her a visa. Coming to the US while marry to her second husband without divorcing her husband still makes her a bigamist. Mom will still be married to two men at the same time in the US. That's illegal because that is bigamy which is a crime no matter where her husbands are.

Bigamy has nothing to do with the petitioner being born out-of-wedlock. Absolutely nothing. It's the second marriage without an annulment that is the problem, not the petitioner being born.

Edited October 2, 2016 by Jojo92122