uhuru

You would be applying based on the 5 year rule. Marital status is not relevant.

but marriage annulment means that the marriage was not valid from the very beginning..(it is like the marriage never took place so my GC can potentially be revoked since it was issued based on a marriage that was annuled???). Is this not the same view USCIS takes while reviewing past marriages? Why do they ask applicants to provide divorce decree, annulment decree, etc as proof that marriage was terminated??? I am just nervous and curious because 'one never knows what can happen once you submit your application for naturalization'. I do not want to do anything that would jeopardize my permanent residency status i.e if they decide to deny my citizenship based on annulled marriage, they can go ahead and question the validity of my green card..

Thanks.

Uhuru

Hi all,

How does annulled marriage affect citizenship application?

I have had a 10 yr green card for 8 yrs now. I want to apply for naturalization/citizenship but my fear is that since my marriage was annulled (not divorce), this may prevent me from getting citizenship. The annulment decree talks about 'irreconcilable differences' so reasons for annulment would be similar to those of divorce had we decided to file for divorce instead of annul the marriage. To be honest, I agreed to annulment without thinking about its consequences on citizenship application-- I was just glad that we were moving on our separate ways instead of staying in an unhappy situation. I didn't have a lawyer, my ex wife had a lawyer prepare the forms and I just signed them.

Would marriage annulment negatively affect my citizenship application? Who knows the law regarding marriage annulment vs. divorce in relation to citizenship application?

Thanks.

Uhuru

Nope, don't care how it ended, citizenship is being based on 5 years of residency, not on 3 years being married to a US Citizen.

That check box about all prior marriage had ended has to do with showing that you are properly married to current spouse, or not married.

Nothing to worry about here.

On Section 8-F (5), this is where they ask you to provide proof of How Marriage Ended. Here I should mark "Other" and write "Annulment". Then I should attach the annulment decree. I should not worry about explaining/detailing how the marriage actually ended e.g were we happy, not happy, etc. I guess sometimes we think too much. This may sound like a 'simple thing' but what worries me is that we are dealing with human beings who have the authority to say "Yes or No" to the naturalization application. So, my worry has always been what if the Immigration Officer says "No" and then goes ahead to conclude that since my marriage was annulled, I do not deserve to have my Green Card?. This is a huge risk.

PS: Nothing is more scary than dealing with immigration (in any country not just in the US).

Thanks

Makes no difference what happened with marriage with regards to applying for citizenship at 5 years or residency.

You are not basing your application on three years of marriage.

1,2,3 and 4 not needed.

The last point, proof that all earlier marriages ended.. (divorce decree/s, annulment decree/s, etc) this is what is making me uncomfortable. Do they care HOW the marriage ended if you are applying based on 5 yrs of having Green Card?

PS: I know that I have asked this question before so forgive me is this sounds like repeating stuff. Like most of you, Immigration Officers are very scary.. they have a lot of powers over any applicant before them. They can make or break your future so it is best to be 100% confident before going to see them. Not saying that they are "bad people", just saying that going through this process is very scary-- from getting a visa, to getting a green card to naturalization..

Thanks.

Hi,

Just wondering if somebody can help me understand the difference between Divorce and Marriage Annulment with regards to Naturalization application. I want to apply for Naturalization/Citizenship based on me having my Green Card for over 5 yrs now (10 yrs now). However, my green card was sponsored by marriage to a US citizen; marriage that ended in annulment instead of divorce. The petition for dissolution of marriage (which the annulment was based on) stated that the marriage was insupportable due to "discord or conflict of personalities, etc". The annulment decree does not state any reason why annulment was awarded.

Will this be a problem for me when I apply? My fear is that the Immigration Officer may decide that my marriage was not real (since it was annulled) and recommend that my green card be taken away. This is a real risk I fear.

Do you know anybody who has gone through Naturalization process after marriage annulment?

Thanks.

Part 8a on the N-400 you were married once, in regards to 8b type in N/A on all the blanks, you never remarried as with 8c, 8d, and 8e. Part 8f has to be filled out, 8f5 would be other, typed in Annulled plus all the other information required for your prior and only spouse.

Is asked, your spouse applied for the petition of annulment at the advice of her attorney, you just went along with it. Don't volunteer any information that can be misconstrued. Wonder if my stepdaughter did that, I wasn't there. 8g will be all N/A's as you do not have a current spouse.

I feel you will be okay.

But maybe it is good to be paranoid, was really confident my stepdaughter would pass her interview. Have no idea what she said and why she was to provide certified court documents for a battery charge when she was one year old and an assault charge when she was four years old. Did sent that letter to my attorney, waiting to find out what he has to say. My head is spinning.

Thanks for the info. I have filled the N-400 application form and ready to go. I called a few lawyers but as expected they want me to use them just to be safe. However, from what I am reading here it doesn't look like I need a lawyer. In this case what would the lawyer be doing for me? Just filling the N-400 form? I don't think they can speak for me during interview, can they?

Thank you.

I was married to a USC for 4 years who abuses me for the time of our marriage. Since I am a foreigner here, I do not know any better. In January of 02 I got married with my USC husband all is well until his gambling problems took over the relationships,I work day and night and all he does is get my paycheck and deposits it to his account to sustain his habit. If I do not give in to his wishes he would hurt me. I was abuse in a way that I would not want no one to encounter.He left and divorce me, and since I am so ignorant at that time. I was left with nothing.Not a penny, not any clothes and worst no paper work as to which stage am I on my Immigration. To make the story short, I was left with NOTHING, and do not know where to start. In 2006 I found a lawyer that was willing to help me build my case and that is when we file I-360.In Jan of 2008 I gain my GC. Since my X husband is a USC i was told that i do not have to wait 5 years and that I am eligible to file My N-400 on Oct 2010. Which I did,And now my long awaited interview is set third week of March 2011. I am very nervous as to what to expect on this interview.I have studied my history of the United States,My only worry is in Aug of 2009 I remarried, woud this be a problem?Does this mean I do not fall on the 3 year rule anymore? Does this means my waiting will fall onto 5 year rule now? I was hoping that I can find an individual with the same case as mine. Your response will be greatly appreciated and would mean a lot to me. May we all be blessed on our future endeavor.

They may ask why you remarried so fast? What was the urgency?

Beating around a dead horse in this thread, not even sure how you got that annulment. Was that done in the USA? But then divorce or annulments are a state issue, and we have 50 of those. Some religion institutions can annul an marriage, but not honored by any court of law. While marriage can be performed by anybody, divorce or annulment has to be done in a court of law to be considered legal. Civil annulments generally occur days after the marriage, like a couple getting drunk aboard a cruise ship or in Las Vegas.

But if you want to be less paranoid, what happened since your marriage was dissolved? Who petitioned for the dissolvent? Did you remarry? And was it to a girl from your home home country? Those are the key issues.

Here is a summary of the specifics--

a) Annulment was petitioned by my ex wife (and her lawyer). I did not have a lawyer. I read the petition and saw nothing wrong-- reason for annulment is "significant misunderstanding" i.e she wanted children, I wanted to wait.

b) Secondary reason was that she wanted to be free to marry in a Church.. in some cases divorced people cannot marry in a church..(this was not a legal issue but rather a religious issue-- it supported the request for annulment). We are both religious people so even me I think that annulment was the best option.

c) The last reason was that we didn't have shared property-- we rented a house.. we met in college, got married while we were still in college, stayed together in apartment, went to grad school, stayed together in apartment, etc and then 1 yr after grad school, things didn't work out and we terminated the marriage. However, the year we were to terminate the marriage my ex wife's grandfather passed away. He was a rich man so she inherited some money.. she felt that if we got divorced may be I could have a claim on some of her money (???). I didn't object to annulment in this case.

d) I have NOT re-married.. I am single. My ex-wife however is re-married with 3 children now. That's what she wanted: children.

PS: A good lawyer can get married annulled based on many different reasons including irreconcilable differences, significant misunderstanding, etc. The law is not black and white-- there are states with strict marriage laws and states with flexible marriage laws.

Thanks.

USCIS treats divorce and annulment, which is very hard to get in the US, by the way, equally. Had this happened before you removed conditions, you would have had to file with a waiver and prove that you entered the marriage in good faith. All of this is long water under the bridge, will not come up anymore, and even if it did, it would be a non-issue for naturalization purposes.

Thanks.

Do you know people, or anybody, whose marriage was annulled and successfully applied and received citizenship?

I think I am just paranoid.. this process reminds me of how hard it was to get a GC in the first place.. having flashbacks.

USCIS treats divorce and annulment, which is very hard to get in the US, by the way, equally. Had this happened before you removed conditions, you would have had to file with a waiver and prove that you entered the marriage in good faith. All of this is long water under the bridge, will not come up anymore, and even if it did, it would be a non-issue for naturalization purposes.

Thanks to all who responded.

So even though under the law an annulment is retroactive and acts as though you were never married, under Naturalization rules the annulment is not different from divorce, furthermore the 10-yr green card was issued when we were still married. The immigration officials reviewed my marriage and concluded that it was legitimate and done in good faith that's why they issued the 10-yr green card. They can't now go back and say that "oops, because your wife chose an annulment, this means that you were not married???" So, I shouldn't worry much about annulment??????

Thank you.

Hi all-

I have been a Permanent Resident since 2000. However, my marriage to a US citizen was annulled in 2003 after I received my 10-yr green card. I am considering applying for naturalization but would like to fully understand what the ramifications would be since my marriage was annulled (not divorce).

What are the chances of being denied citizenship?

Will they revoke my green card?

Technically, I am not applying for citizenship based on marriage to a US citizen but rather based on the fact that I have had the green card for over 5-yrs. However, since my green card was based on marriage to a US citizen, the immigration officer would want to know what happened to the marriage. Will they automatically deny me citizenship based on my marriage having been annulled?

My annulment was very simple: significant misunderstanding. My ex wife miscarried and wanted us to try to have a baby again, I got scared and wanted to wait and focus on other things. She basically got tired of waiting and decided to annul the marriage. No hard feelings-- just part of life.

Thank you!