K1 RFE - Asking for Marriage Termination Evidence; never been previously married

[KBCN 53]

Hi all,

 

We just received our RFE in the mail and it is requesting proof of termination of a previous marriage for my fiancé (the beneficiary)... but he's never been previously married. I'm posting to see if anyone else has more recently dealt with this and, if so, any advice to the following (as many of the topics I found regarding were fairly old on Visa Journey):

 

1. My fiancé was able to confirm an appointment to go to the county office and potentially receive a certificate indicating he has never had a previous marriage. 

2. We plan to provide an additional written statement as well (looking for advice to the copy/if anyone recommends including anything else to this):

• "I, [my fiancé’s name], do hereby state that I have never been previously married. I have been and continue to be legally able to marry the person of my choosing. Additionally, I would like to reiterate and state that I am legally able and willing to marry [my name/petitioner], and intend to do so within 90 days of my arrival into the US using the K-1 visa."

3. Both of the above would have to be copies of the documents that he faxes over to me - is there any potential issues with submitting the copy versus the original of these two documents? (Worried that it'll take forever for him to put them in the mail to me and actually get them, etc.)

4. Is there anything else that we should do/provide to fulfill the RFE request? It's just so bizarre they are asking for this and indicate a record of a previous marriage - and hard to just "prove" that you have never been married versus submitting proof of a terminated one.

• I still plan on calling USCIS to try and get a hold of someone and see what else we can do.

5. I've seen mixed reviews on submitting "more proof of the ongoing relationship" (photos, travel documents, etc.) along with what the RFE request is - any advice on if we should include more ongoing evidence? A part of me is just stick to what they are asking (and had they wanted more proof of the relationship, they would have asked), the other side is I've seen people include ongoing proof and stating it's a benefit so I'm a little torn to include this. 

 

I know that we sort of have a plan here so I'm really looking for any additional advice or recommendations to some or all of the above. This process is certainly timely and I would kick myself if something goes wrong because I didn't just double check with people that have been through this and/or a similar situation. 

 

Thank you all so much for any advice and help on this!!! 

[Ben&Zian 4,398]

Can't specifically answer about the RFE information, but don't send extra stuff, just send in what they ask for.

[payxibka 10,045]

Legible copies are ok to submit 

[dentsflogged 352]

11 minutes ago, KBCN said:

Hi all,

 

We just received our RFE in the mail and it is requesting proof of termination of a previous marriage for my fiancé (the beneficiary)... but he's never been previously married. I'm posting to see if anyone else has more recently dealt with this and, if so, any advice to the following (as many of the topics I found regarding were fairly old on Visa Journey):

 

1. My fiancé was able to confirm an appointment to go to the county office and potentially receive a certificate indicating he has never had a previous marriage. 

2. We plan to provide an additional written statement as well (looking for advice to the copy/if anyone recommends including anything else to this):

• "I, [my fiancé’s name], do hereby state that I have never been previously married. I have been and continue to be legally able to marry the person of my choosing. Additionally, I would like to reiterate and state that I am legally able and willing to marry [my name/petitioner], and intend to do so within 90 days of my arrival into the US using the K-1 visa."

3. Both of the above would have to be copies of the documents that he faxes over to me - is there any potential issues with submitting the copy versus the original of these two documents? (Worried that it'll take forever for him to put them in the mail to me and actually get them, etc.)

4. Is there anything else that we should do/provide to fulfill the RFE request? It's just so bizarre they are asking for this and indicate a record of a previous marriage - and hard to just "prove" that you have never been married versus submitting proof of a terminated one.

• I still plan on calling USCIS to try and get a hold of someone and see what else we can do.

5. I've seen mixed reviews on submitting "more proof of the ongoing relationship" (photos, travel documents, etc.) along with what the RFE request is - any advice on if we should include more ongoing evidence? A part of me is just stick to what they are asking (and had they wanted more proof of the relationship, they would have asked), the other side is I've seen people include ongoing proof and stating it's a benefit so I'm a little torn to include this. 

 

I know that we sort of have a plan here so I'm really looking for any additional advice or recommendations to some or all of the above. This process is certainly timely and I would kick myself if something goes wrong because I didn't just double check with people that have been through this and/or a similar situation. 

 

Thank you all so much for any advice and help on this!!! 

I've seen a few threads on VJ where people admit to claiming they were married on previous visa applications to "give them a better chance of approval" - is it possible your SO did this? If so it's going to be harder to overcome than a simple mistake on USCIS' end. 

[Amhara 460]

I believe in the letter where we submitted our intent to get married, my and my husband (then fiance) had explicitly attested to the fact that we both have never been married before and have no children.  We didn't receive an RFE for the K-1.

[Crazy Cat 41,981]

15 minutes ago, KBCN said:

Hi all,

 

We just received our RFE in the mail and it is requesting proof of termination of a previous marriage for my fiancé (the beneficiary)... but he's never been previously married. I'm posting to see if anyone else has more recently dealt with this and, if so, any advice to the following (as many of the topics I found regarding were fairly old on Visa Journey):

 

1. My fiancé was able to confirm an appointment to go to the county office and potentially receive a certificate indicating he has never had a previous marriage. 

2. We plan to provide an additional written statement as well (looking for advice to the copy/if anyone recommends including anything else to this):

• "I, [my fiancé’s name], do hereby state that I have never been previously married. I have been and continue to be legally able to marry the person of my choosing. Additionally, I would like to reiterate and state that I am legally able and willing to marry [my name/petitioner], and intend to do so within 90 days of my arrival into the US using the K-1 visa."

3. Both of the above would have to be copies of the documents that he faxes over to me - is there any potential issues with submitting the copy versus the original of these two documents? (Worried that it'll take forever for him to put them in the mail to me and actually get them, etc.)

4. Is there anything else that we should do/provide to fulfill the RFE request? It's just so bizarre they are asking for this and indicate a record of a previous marriage - and hard to just "prove" that you have never been married versus submitting proof of a terminated one.

• I still plan on calling USCIS to try and get a hold of someone and see what else we can do.

5. I've seen mixed reviews on submitting "more proof of the ongoing relationship" (photos, travel documents, etc.) along with what the RFE request is - any advice on if we should include more ongoing evidence? A part of me is just stick to what they are asking (and had they wanted more proof of the relationship, they would have asked), the other side is I've seen people include ongoing proof and stating it's a benefit so I'm a little torn to include this. 

 

I know that we sort of have a plan here so I'm really looking for any additional advice or recommendations to some or all of the above. This process is certainly timely and I would kick myself if something goes wrong because I didn't just double check with people that have been through this and/or a similar situation. 

 

Thank you all so much for any advice and help on this!!! 

It will be difficult to prove he isn't married.  This is either a mistake by USCIS...or there is more to the story........hopefully, the sworn statements will trigger a recheck by USCIS.

[Amhara 460]

The petitioner may not have been married previously.  Proving being free for marriage is just part of the K-1 visa:

1. Evidence you or your fiancé legally terminated any previous marriages (if applicable)

• Divorce decree
• Annulment order
• Death certificate for prior spouse

I believe a statement expressing lack of prior marriages is just a requirement.  We mixed ours in the intent to marriage and that was enough.  We didn't need to provide documentation nor do I think we would have been able to.

[KBCN 53]

Amhara:

 

- We included the intents of marrying, it's the template we found on VJ and similar to the copy we are looking to reiterate in the updated letter that says he was never married. We both included our own copy of this letter that indicates "I am legally able and willing to marry..." (to your point, it doesn't disclose if you had a previous marriage, just that you are saying you are legally able to marry)

- That being said, without scrutiny please <3, I have been divorced and included my divorce decrees with our filing. The RFE is specifically asking for HIS (the beneficiary's [includes his name as well in the RFE]) of a previous marriage / proof of termination.

- I doubled checked our application: We marked him Single; in the area that asks if he was ever married we marked "No" and in the area that asks about previous spouses we left all fields blank

 

missileman:

- He applied for (and received) a B2 Tourist Visa in 2016. This is the only Visa he ever received; it is still valid to date. He has never applied for any other Visas. We just did the retrieve/recover his DS-160 Application to double check he marked "Single" for his marital status and it is marked Single. 

- Maybe we should include a copy of this DS-160 confirmation so they can confirm the Application ID number and a short narrative around this? 

[payxibka 10,045]

Something tipped the USCIS to believe a previous marriage had occurred,  either an erroneous indication in the evidence provided or just a plain error by the adjudicator 

[Amhara 460]

@KBCN  It sounds like you just didn't explicitly state that he has never been married with his signature and date.  If I were to respond to this, I would provide the governmental document you said he is getting, and have him include an attestation that he never has been married and has never claimed to be married.  I know it sounds too simplistic, but you could be single by being divorced.  Then in that case, he would have failed to provide that documentation.  But he is single by never being married, so that part just needs to be addressed.

 

Also, remember that his B2 visa was worked more on the Dept of State, not USCIS.  While I know there are connections, I don't think the USCIS would review his B2 visa to answer the question for your petition.

 

Let us know how it goes!  I am sure it will be just fine!

[KBCN 53]

In our Letter of Intents, we just went with the example and I didn't really think to include something that indicated more. The application is where we marked him "single" - the RFE does reference this:

 

"You indicated on your I-129F Petition that the beneficiary is currently single, however, USCIS records indicate that the beneficiary was previously married. You must establish that all prior marriages were legally terminated...." (I can type out the rest - it just goes on to state that we need to show proof of a terminated marriage, examples of acceptable proof, etc.).

 

The I-129F application specifically asked if you are Single, Married, Divorced or Widowed. Obviously for me, I marked "Divorced" - for him, we marked Single since there was no previous marriage(s). 

 

With the B2 Visa, I figured we'd double check he didn't mark something wrong on another Visa application as MissileMan stated. But that's the only Visa he ever received and it was definitely marked "Single" then as well. The B2 was issued in 2016 and we at least know there wasn't a mistake there. So to your point, including anything on this might just be a moot point because I don't know what reference of the USCIS "records indicate" a marriage and it's been 3 years since the B2 Visa Application.

 

Thanks for your help! Really hoping that just the official certificate from the county office and a more clear statement from him will suffice. If I get other news after contacting USCIS, I'll definitely include it. 

 

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

Has he applied before and not gotten a visa ?  Or maybe someone claimed to be his spouse on their application. 

[carmel34 3,639]

1 hour ago, KBCN said:

USCIS records indicate that the beneficiary was previously married

This is the issue you need to overcome.  Maybe send a request with your other documents asking them for what records they have showing that the beneficiary was previously married?  It could be that they are confusing him with someone else.  Or maybe your boyfriend is hiding something from his past?  We've seen this before here on VJ.

Edited June 18, 2019 by carmel34

[SalishSea 17,928]

Did he claim to be married on his tourist visa application, in order to try to show "ties" to his country?  We have seen this before here on VJ.

[SalishSea 17,928]

1 hour ago, KBCN said:

Really hoping that just the official certificate from the county office and a more clear statement from him will suffice

This may or may not work.  That document can really only attest to no history of marriage in that particular jurisdiction.  People can get married anywhere in the world.