Divorce - issue that needs attorney for K1?

[greg1984 19]

Hello!

 

Part 1

 

Been lurking around here for a bit and saw a comment somewhere that you should have an attorney do your K1 if you have a past divorce.  This seems strange as it appears all they want is a copy  of your divorce decree?  Seems cut and dried.  I'm trying to determine if I should file myself, get an attorney, or split the difference and use a "service" like rapidvisa.  I'm not the best with paperwork and legal stuff to be honest.  I have a very straight forward case with my fiancée being a never married South African national.  So the ONLY issue my application would have is my past marriage. 

 

Part 2

 

Is the government concerned with (and I would hope not) with your marriage status at the time you met your new mate?  I was separated (not legally) from my ex wife and living in South Africa at the time I met my fiancée.  So "on paper" it appears much of our dating and relationship was started while I was married.  So this isn't  like a moral issue as my ex wife and I very amicably just moved on with our lives...just took a while for the divorce paperwork to catch up.  Hope this question makes sense...?

[eyaJ 0]

22 minutes ago, greg1984 said:

22 minutes ago, greg1984 said:

Part 2

 

Is the government concerned with (and I would hope not) with your marriage status at the time you met your new mate?  I was separated (not legally) from my ex wife and living in South Africa at the time I met my fiancée.  So "on paper" it appears much of our dating and relationship was started while I was married.  So this isn't  like a moral issue as my ex wife and I very amicably just moved on with our lives...just took a while for the divorce paperwork to catch up.  Hope this question makes sense...?

They don't question that during the process of filing K1 because what they look at is if both of you are single at the time of filling the papers and marriage. In my case, they ask me that question on the embassy during my K1 interview and I just tell them we start talking and having a relationship when they were separated (don't forget to tell the month and year the separation was filed).

Edited February 15, 2017 by eyaJ

[A'n'L 735]

1) You don't need an attorney just because you have been divorced. Had you been married and petitioned for immigrants several times in recent years, your case might have been more challenging.

 

2) USCIS could not care less, they only want to know that you are both free to marry at the time you file the petition. However, make sure that you have plenty of relationship proof, and that your fiancée is 100% up to speed on your ex-wife, the separation and divorce circumstances. They might ask about it during her interview.

[greg1984 19]

Thanks guys.  I had a free consult with an immigration attorney yesterday.  He thought perhaps my case would be scrutinized more because the actual date of divorce is so close to when I'm filing a K-1 to marry someone new.  He mentioned I may have to write a letter explaining that my relationship with my fiancée started while my ex wife and I had still not bothered to file the divorce paperwork.

 

I was planning to use RapidVisa because I don't think my case is that complicated that it needs at attorney and despite what many will say here I really (for peace of mind) want to have some other eyeballs on this thing.

 

But now I'm wondering...is this a big deal?  Has anyone heard of having to explain their personal life like this? 

[Limey 551]

When I met my now wife she was not yet divorced (must be separated a year in our State). As soon as she was eligible she filed for divorce and we filed k1 about a month after her divorce was formalized legally. We obviously couldn't file while she was still married, as you have to be free to marry to file for k1.

 

So her divorce was dated only a month or less before our k1 was applied for. This presented no problem at all (in some states there is a waiting period after a divorce where you cannot get married, in that case the situation might be different). We were not asked to explain that short date period - it was clear from our documentation and application that we'd met a year or so earlier, and seen each other quite a few times during that period. I imagine many are in the same situation as us and have to wait for a divorce quite a while, and hence apply for k1 soon afterwards.

 

I don't see why a divorce would necessitate a lawyer for the k1. And meeting while one or other or both of you was still married is not an issue either. Just follow the advice on these forums and save yourself a lot of money and a lot of bother (if you do use a lawyer, you have all the same work to do, as they can't gather your documents, fill in details about your previous trips, family, etc).

Edited February 16, 2017 by Limey

[greg1984 19]

Thanks so much!  Okay so I just checked.  The divorce is out of Texas although I currently live in PA.  So not sure which state rules apply.  PA has no requirement.  Texas 30 days.  So I wonder if that means I must wait 30 days to file the K1?  Because surely we are not getting married within 30 days unless this is the fastest K1 in the history of man haha

[Marco&Bettina 502]

24 minutes ago, greg1984 said:

Thanks guys.  I had a free consult with an immigration attorney yesterday.  He thought perhaps my case would be scrutinized more because the actual date of divorce is so close to when I'm filing a K-1 to marry someone new.  He mentioned I may have to write a letter explaining that my relationship with my fiancée started while my ex wife and I had still not bothered to file the divorce paperwork.

 

I was planning to use RapidVisa because I don't think my case is that complicated that it needs at attorney and despite what many will say here I really (for peace of mind) want to have some other eyeballs on this thing.

 

But now I'm wondering...is this a big deal?  Has anyone heard of having to explain their personal life like this? 

is what they tell you to make money. Your case will be fine. No one will ask you to explain anything as long as you didn't file for I-129F until your divorce was final.

[Marco&Bettina 502]

2 minutes ago, greg1984 said:

Thanks so much!  Okay so I just checked.  The divorce is out of Texas although I currently live in PA.  So not sure which state rules apply.  PA has no requirement.  Texas 30 days.  So I wonder if that means I must wait 30 days to file the K1?  Because surely we are not getting married within 30 days unless this is the fastest K1 in the history of man haha

State where you apply for marriage license is what's important.

[greg1984 19]

Funnily enough the date for the divorce is TODAY.  Good day, my ex and I are still very good friends and very happy to have this behind us.  Anyhow...so it appears Texas has a 30 day rule.  This means I cannot apply for K-1 until 30 days from today.  That's fine I suppose but does that mean we can't begin compiling all the necessary paperwork?  Can we sign and date things starting now or we can do NOTHING until next month?

[jstryker 41]

On 2/15/2017 at 5:23 AM, greg1984 said:

Hello!

 

Part 1

 

Been lurking around here for a bit and saw a comment somewhere that you should have an attorney do your K1 if you have a past divorce.  This seems strange as it appears all they want is a copy  of your divorce decree?  Seems cut and dried.  I'm trying to determine if I should file myself, get an attorney, or split the difference and use a "service" like rapidvisa.  I'm not the best with paperwork and legal stuff to be honest.  I have a very straight forward case with my fiancée being a never married South African national.  So the ONLY issue my application would have is my past marriage. 

 

Part 2

 

Is the government concerned with (and I would hope not) with your marriage status at the time you met your new mate?  I was separated (not legally) from my ex wife and living in South Africa at the time I met my fiancée.  So "on paper" it appears much of our dating and relationship was started while I was married.  So this isn't  like a moral issue as my ex wife and I very amicably just moved on with our lives...just took a while for the divorce paperwork to catch up.  Hope this question makes sense...?

 

 

No and No 

 

To both questions.

 

I had two divorces....  one was to a regular US Citizen married for 5 years with one child.

The second divorce was to a DACA qualified individual who then gained a green card as a result of our marriage.  We were married for 3 years.

 

Word of note - the EMBASSY officer in Manila doing the interview grilled her and asked her - "Why do you want to be #3?  No woman wants that.  It looks like you just want a Visa"

With regard to original divorce paperwork - Get original paperwork from the courthouse in the county you received your divorce WITH THE SEALS EMBOSSED.   Tell the clerk its for immigration purposes and they will know exactly what you need.  If you were divorced like 20 years ago - they will probably have to retrieve the records from offsite physical storage and it will be a 10 day wait.  Others are microfisched and you can get them in one visit.

 

 

I was then single for 10 years before my LAST and FINAL marriage and if you see my process in my signature - you will see it went from A - Z in no time.  No attorneys needed.

Edited February 16, 2017 by jstryker