Prior marriage and a marriage-based AOS

[eckoin 211]

Wondering if any of you have a similar background or have any thoughts. 

 

I met my now-husband while traveling in the US, early 2014. I met with him again a couple of months later, while we were still travelling around. I moved back home to finish college, and then moved down to the US for work in late 2015, and well, now we're married. 

 

I married my first husband in 2012. In the first year, we realized that we're better friends than spouses, but didn't do much about it. By the end of 2013, we had our own separate social lives and were basically roommates. We "officially" separated late 2014, in that he moved across the country and I stayed at our old apartment. We officially divorced late 2016 (after a mandated one year separation period which was more like two years). 

 

I'm concerned that this will come up unfavourably during our AOS interview, since I met my husband while married and not even technically separated, even though the marriage part of my marriage was long dead by then. Any thoughts? 

[little immigrant 800]

Was your first husband a USC? When did you get married again? You didn't mention any dates when you got married only when you divorced. 

[eckoin 211]

10 minutes ago, little immigrant said:

Was your first husband a USC? When did you get married again? You didn't mention any dates when you got married only when you divorced. 

Oh no, first husband was in Canada. I didn't get to the US until 2015 when we were already completely separated. 

 

My USC husband and I got married in 2017. So the timeline is:

 

2012: married first spouse - Canada 

2013: decided marriage isn't working out, but to continue our lives as is - Canada

2014: met current (second) spouse on vacation in US, returned to Canada 

2014: separated from first spouse (still married) - Canada 

2015: moved to US for work, started dating current spouse - US

2016: first marriage dissolved by Canadian court 

2017: married current spouse - US 

[JFH 12,189]

It won’t be a problem. I was still legally married to my first husband when I met my current husband but we had been separated for some time. It wasn’t even mentioned during my interview that the date of my divorce decree was two years after I met my second husband.

Edited October 8, 2018 by JFH

[eckoin 211]

54 minutes ago, JFH said:

It won’t be a problem. I was still legally married to my first husband when I met my current husband but we had been separated for some time. It wasn’t even mentioned during my interview that the date of my divorce decree was two years after I met my second husband.

Good to hear, thanks! I can explain my life story, but really hoping it won't come up so I don't have to summarise 

[USC4SPOUSE 506]

20 hours ago, eckoin said:

Good to hear, thanks! I can explain my life story, but really hoping it won't come up so I don't have to summarise 

It probably won't even come up. You did not seek US immigration benefits through your previous marriage. HOWEVER, if you want to be ready for everything, I would have a brief timeline ready on paper. If the Immigration Officer asks, then you can walk him/her through it. BUT I seriously doubt it. It's just a lot of information to throw at someone who does not  even know you. So it might help them quickly process the info if you have a concise timeline with you. 

Remember that even if you were physically separated, most likely you were not legally separated. Make sure that if asked, you specify. 

[eckoin 211]

2 minutes ago, USC4SPOUSE said:

It probably won't even come up. You did not seek US immigration benefits through your previous marriage. HOWEVER, if you want to be ready for everything, I would have a brief timeline ready on paper. If the Immigration Officer asks, then you can walk him/her through it. BUT I seriously doubt it. It's just a lot of information to throw at someone who does not  even know you. So it might help them quickly process the info if you have a concise timeline with you. 

Remember that even if you were physically separated, most likely you were not legally separated. Make sure that if asked, you specify. 

That's a really good idea, thank you! I'll prepare a timeline just in case (but yeah, definitely won't throw it at the officer if not asked first!) 

 

It's my understanding that in Canada, there is no distinction between physically and legally separated, in that legal separation doesn't have a definition. In order to get a divorce, you need to have either been "separated" for a year or more, or have evidence of physical or mental abuse, or cheating (with like, witness statements and everything). Separation is more or less defined by you, and while physical separation helps the case, you don't even have to be physically separated.

 

So we were technically separated for a while, but also technically shared an apartment thought my ex husband spent 8 out of 12 months in another province. It made financial sense to keep one apartment, and we were and are relatively good friends. 

 

Basically, we were young and confused. I'll definitely lay it out on paper if it does spark questions. Thanks again!