Invalid Marriage

[Mohammed Nuruzzam 3]

a little background:  i got divorced in my county on April 2014 and got married outside USA on September 2014.  after my second wife came to USA, my ex decided to file for divorce in USA.  When i told the court that i got divorce in my country, the court did not accept the divorce of my country and awarded my ex a divorce in 2016 from me.  Now in 2020 i am going through divorce from my current wife who by now became a US Citizen two years ago.  my current wife received the green card and citizenship through marriage with me.

 

my divorce attorney and her divorce attorney are now saying that since the court in Virginia did not accept the divorce of 2014 and gave me a divorce in 2016.  My marriage to my current wife will be invalid.  Therefore, now instead of granting me a divorce from my current wife, the court will grant me a "declaratory judgement" to invalidate the marriage to my current wife.

 

my question is, now that my current wife is a USA citizen, will USCIS revoke her citizenship and send her back to her country?  I did not know that after the state of virginia gave me a divorce, i was supposed to remarry my current wife after she came into the county.  this was a honest mistake from my side.  My current wife was aware about the divorce in USA and she also did not know that she is supposed to remarry me.  We also have a child born in USA, if she is sent back to her country, can she take the child with her back to her country without me knowing?   

[Lemonslice 4,886]

Are you a US citizen? Is "your county" a typo for country - could mean something totally different in your case.

 

Your (current?) wife should consult an immigration attorney to see the possible problems heading her way. 

 

You should discuss with your attorney about custody for your child.  Separate issue from her status.

[Mohammed Nuruzzam 3]

3 minutes ago, Lemonslice said:

Are you a US citizen? Is "your county" a typo for country - could mean something totally different in your case.

 

Your (current?) wife should consult an immigration attorney to see the possible problems heading her way. 

 

You should discuss with your attorney about custody for your child.  Separate issue from her status.

thank you for your reply, sorry i meant "COUNTRY" and yes, i am a US Citizen.  we already have a JOINT CUSTODY (50/50).  the custody issue is resolved.  neither of us are asking for child support yet.  since her income is lower than mine, i am paying for the child's health and dental insurance and also for his school.  all in total is around (23K per year).  She is only paying for the child's food when the child is staying with her.

[Mohammed Nuruzzam 3]

30 minutes ago, Mohammed Nuruzzam said:

a little background:  i got divorced in my county on April 2014 and got married outside USA on September 2014.  after my second wife came to USA, my ex decided to file for divorce in USA.  When i told the court that i got divorce in my country, the court did not accept the divorce of my country and awarded my ex a divorce in 2016 from me.  Now in 2020 i am going through divorce from my current wife who by now became a US Citizen two years ago.  my current wife received the green card and citizenship through marriage with me.

 

my divorce attorney and her divorce attorney are now saying that since the court in Virginia did not accept the divorce of 2014 and gave me a divorce in 2016.  My marriage to my current wife will be invalid.  Therefore, now instead of granting me a divorce from my current wife, the court will grant me a "declaratory judgement" to invalidate the marriage to my current wife.

 

my question is, now that my current wife is a USA citizen, will USCIS revoke her citizenship and send her back to her country?  I did not know that after the state of virginia gave me a divorce, i was supposed to remarry my current wife after she came into the county.  this was a honest mistake from my side.  My current wife was aware about the divorce in USA and she also did not know that she is supposed to remarry me.  We also have a child born in USA, if she is sent back to her country, can she take the child with her back to her country without me knowing?   

i meant to write " i got divorce from my "COUNTRY"  NOT COUNTY...I am a US Citizen (naturalized).  and the child custody has been completed by the circuit court in virginia.  We have joint custody (50/50) and neither of us are asking for child support yet.  I am paying for the child's health and dental insurance and his school.

[Pinkrlion 2,724]

They can revoke both as she does not have a legal marriage to obtain an immigration benefit from.  

[HRQX 4,145]

1 hour ago, Mohammed Nuruzzam said:

after my second wife came to USA

Did your second wife get a spousal visa or did she adjust status? Either way (assuming your marital history was properly disclosed), USCIS/DOS recognized your foreign divorce with your first wife. They dictate immigration matters, not the Commonwealth of Virginia.

[Mohammed Nuruzzam 3]

1 minute ago, Pinkrlion said:

They can revoke both as she does not have a legal marriage to obtain an immigration benefit from.  

after the court finalizes the paper work to invalidate the marriage, how will USCIS know that the marriage has been invalidated to revoke her citizenship and green card?

[Mohammed Nuruzzam 3]

2 minutes ago, HRQX said:

Did your second wife get a spousal visa or did she adjust status? Either way (assuming your marital history was properly disclosed), USCIS/DOS recognized your foreign divorce with your first wife. They dictate immigration matters, not the Commonwealth of Virginia.

my second wife had 2 years conditional green card then i filed to remove condition.  After the third year, i filed for her citizenship.  USCIS did accept the foreign divorce but Virginia did not.  we were assuming that since USCIS is federal and they accepted the foreign divorce, whatever the state says is not an issue.  

[HRQX 4,145]

6 minutes ago, Mohammed Nuruzzam said:

after the court finalizes the paper work to invalidate the marriage

Do you have an attorney? Could you ask the court to halt the current proceedings pending an appeal on the 2016 decision? What specific reasons did the court have in 2016 for not recognizing the foreign divorce?

[Mohammed Nuruzzam 3]

1 minute ago, HRQX said:

Do you have an attorney? Could you ask the court to halt the current proceedings pending an appeal on the 2016 decision? What specific reasons did the court have in 2016 for not recognizing the foreign divorce?

i have a divorce attorney not an immigration attorney.  and i can't appeal the 2016 decision since there is a statue of limitation which is only 30 days after the decision.  the court in virginia said when i filed the divorce in 2014 in my country my first wife was living in USA and she was a Virginia resident.  Apparently both party has to be living and residing in foreign country to validate the divorce.  Also, the divorce rules in Virginia are not the same as the foreign country.

[Lemonslice 4,886]

25 minutes ago, Mohammed Nuruzzam said:

my second wife had 2 years conditional green card then SHE filed to remove condition.  After the third year, SHE filed for her citizenship.  USCIS did accept the foreign divorce but Virginia did not.  we were assuming that since USCIS is federal and they accepted the foreign divorce, whatever the state says is not an issue.  

 

Correction, she filed.  It's her status, she has to contact an immigration attorney to get advice and see the possible legal repercussions. 

 

If you have a courteous relationship, let her know that she needs advice from a immigration lawyer, not from the internet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[INF 96]

Can you choose to give her a proper divorce? That way there will be no issues from immigration. 

[Mohammed Nuruzzam 3]

12 minutes ago, Lemonslice said:

 

Correction, she filed.  It's her status, she has to contact an immigration attorney to get advice and see the possible legal repercussions. 

 

If you have a courteous relationship, let her know that she needs advice from a immigration lawyer, not from the internet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

thank you again for your reply.  you are right, SHE filed, i just did the paper work for her.  in spite of her being a horrible horrible human being, i do not want her to be deported.  i have a terrible relationships with her but i am hoping eventually she will get her act together with our son.  She thinks since he is only 3.5 years old, he does not have any feelings and she can continue to torture him.  i am willing to help even with paying an immigration attorney ONLY for the sake of child.  hopefully, she will treat him properly in the future.  I just don't want the child to blame me if she gets deported   

5 minutes ago, INF said:

Can you choose to give her a proper divorce? That way there will be no issues from immigration. 

nope. the court will not allow a divorce. 

Edited March 7, 2021 by Mohammed Nuruzzam

[milimelo 4,503]

Well the court wasn’t wrong - you file for divorce where you reside even if the marriage took place overseas. If you were also in Virginia why did you file divorce in your country? 
 

Yes, DOS will accept foreign divorce decree but that doesn’t prevent Virginia to act of your 1st wife’s petition. 

[Mohammed Nuruzzam 3]

1 minute ago, milimelo said:

Well the court wasn’t wrong - you file for divorce where you reside even if the marriage took place overseas. If you were also in Virginia why did you file divorce in your country? 
 

Yes, DOS will accept foreign divorce decree but that doesn’t prevent Virginia to act of your 1st wife’s petition. 

divorce in my country was done because marriage was done in my country as well.  USCIS/DOS didnot have any objections but now will they have any objections because State objected to the foreign divorce?  if they do, how will they know that Virginia objected to foreign divorce?