"Legally Free to Marry"

[dacsa79 1]

So, my Brazilian fiancee got divorced this past April, and we submitted our I-129F in June. However, we weren't aware at the time of the Brazilian law that requires women to wait 300(!) days before remarriage. Brazilian men only have to wait 180 days.

 

Further, Massachusetts requires anyone divorced in the state to wait 90 days before remarriage. I have never been married. 

 

So, now, we're scared whether we are or were legally free to marry when submitting our application. Is the Brazilian law irrelevant to an American marriage? Is the Massachusetts law binding for a divorce finalized in another country? Thank you to anyone who can help or give information that puts our minds at ease.

Edited July 17, 2019 by dacsa79

[Lil bear 3,831]

1 minute ago, dacsa79 said:

So, my Brazilian fiancee got divorced this past April, and we submitted our I-129F in June. However, we weren't aware at the time of the Brazilian law that requires women to wait 300(!) days before remarriage. Further, Massachusetts requires anyone divorced in the state to wait 90 days before remarriage. I have never been married. 

 

So, now, we're scared whether we are or were legally free to marry when submitting our application. Is the Brazilian law irrelevant to an American marriage? Is the Massachusetts law binding for a divorce finalized in another country? Thank you to anyone who can help or give information that puts our minds at ease.

K1 requires you to marry in the US, so Brazilian law won’t affect that. You don’t have to marry in Massachusetts.. any where in the US will do ... so even if the 90 days you refer to  is a problem there,it won’t be somewhere else 

[Ontarkie 13,916]

21 minutes ago, Lil bear said:

K1 requires you to marry in the US, so Brazilian law won’t affect that. You don’t have to marry in Massachusetts.. any where in the US will do ... so even if the 90 days you refer to  is a problem there,it won’t be somewhere else 

Wrong she needs to be free to marry also before filling. 

[Lil bear 3,831]

10 minutes ago, Ontarkie said:

Wrong she needs to be free to marry also before filling. 

With all states having different rules , does that mean that you must comply with the state of residency rule even though you would be considered free to marry in many other states of the US? 

[Allaboutwaiting 2,500]

As long as you sent the divorce decree, it will be fine. Agents at USCIS do not take in account foreign policies when approving petitions.

A problem could arise at embassy level, at the time of the interview, as consular officers are well aware of local laws/ customs.

Besides, it is very possible that by the time of the interview, 300 days would have passed. 

Edited July 17, 2019 by Allaboutwaiting

[Ontarkie 13,916]

1 minute ago, Lil bear said:

With all states having different rules , does that mean that you must comply with the state of residency rule even though you would be considered free to marry in many other states of the US? 

Yes the state that the divorce is granted in is the state one has to go by. So you can't get divorced in state A that has a 90 wait period and try to say you will get married in state B with no wait period. 

[Lil bear 3,831]

1 minute ago, Ontarkie said:

Yes the state that the divorce is granted in is the state one has to go by. So you can't get divorced in state A that has a 90 wait period and try to say you will get married in state B with no wait period. 

Wow. Ok. Thx for the information... 

[Ontarkie 13,916]

6 minutes ago, Allaboutwaiting said:

As long as you sent the divorce decree, it will be fine. Agents at USCIS do not take in account foreign policies when approving petitions.

A problem could arise at embassy level, at the time of the interview, as consular officers are well aware of local laws/customs.

Besides, it is very possible that by the time of the interview, 300 days would have passed. 

From the quick google search they would not get the final decree until after the wait period. They issue more than one form and no it does not matter if by the time they interview it would be over the wait period. You must be free to marry when you file that very first form. 

 

What the OP needs to find out is what did she give him to submit. He needs to find out if he has the right form. 

Edited July 17, 2019 by Ontarkie

[dacsa79 1]

1 minute ago, Ontarkie said:

From the quick google search they would not get the final decree until after the wait period. They issue more than one form and no it does not matter if by the time they interview it would be over the wait period. You must be free to marry when you file that very first form. 

 

What the OP needs to find out is what did she give you to submit. He needs to find out if he has the right form. 

Please share the results of your "quick google search," as if I didn't think of that before writing here.

[Ontarkie 13,916]

1 minute ago, dacsa79 said:

Please share the results of your "quick google search," as if I didn't think of that before writing here.

I just did. If she didn't get the final order she is not free to marry. Check the order you have and see if it is the final one or not.

[Allaboutwaiting 2,500]

1 minute ago, Ontarkie said:

From the quick google search they would not get the final decree until after the wait period. They issue more than one form and no it does not matter if by the time they interview it would be over the wait period. You must be free to marry when you file that very first form. 

 

What the OP needs to find out is what did she give you to submit. He needs to find out if he has the right form. 

In such a case, IF the divorce decree was not included, the petition would be incomplete, so the officer could request for evidence or deny.

[dacsa79 1]

We included the finalized divorce agreement and the certificate from the court. She is divorced and it's finalized with official signatures. 

[Allaboutwaiting 2,500]

6 minutes ago, dacsa79 said:

We included the finalized divorce agreement and the certificate from the court. She is divorced and it's finalized with official signatures. 

If you provided all the requested evidence in the petition, you'll be fine. 

In case the agent had some sort of doubt about that or any other document, you'd just receive a RFE.

Edited July 17, 2019 by Allaboutwaiting

[Ontarkie 13,916]

18 minutes ago, dacsa79 said:

We included the finalized divorce agreement and the certificate from the court. She is divorced and it's finalized with official signatures. 

Then if I'm reading the law right she is free to marry. 

 

edit to add 

you probably did this a few hundred times but just check the date it it take effect of. Mine says effective on this day blah blah blah. Which is the day the judge signed off on.

Edited July 18, 2019 by Ontarkie