Mike & Jane

Thanks Jim and Vanessa&Tony.We will move to Duluth,MN next year around Feb as our Apt lease will be over in Feb.We just hope that this divorce mess wouldn't cause any problems at the time of her removal of conditions.She got her welcome letter today .Thanks a lot everyone for helping us through our AOS journey.

As advised by Jim,Bob4Anna,and other members, we went to our AOS interview.The interviewer was a very friendly guy and told us that he has gone through our file very thoroughly just before our interview and that scared me to death.

He just asked the normal things like how we met,our addresses,future plans, and then all the Y/N questions.My wife was very nervous about this whole interstate divorce mess and she started crying there .The interviewer asked her why she was crying and she said she's very nervous.

Surprisingly, this guy is also from Duluth,MN where we got married and knows the city very well.He talked about Lake Superior, Enger park, Canal Park, and after sharing his beautiful experiences at Enger Park where we got married he said he's approving our AOS and we should be getting her GC in next 2 weeks and took her I-94.

But he didn't talk abt removal of conditions after the interview and didn't stamp her passport .After about 2 hrs we got an email saying that her card production has been ordered.

We really are still shocked if we are approved or not? Did he approve us without looking at the divorce decrees and state laws? or USCIS doesn't care about the state marriage laws and just cares abt the validity of the marriage in the state where the couple got married? Could this be a problem in the future if they look into this seriously at the time of removal of conditions? What should we do to fix this? Should we leave it the way it is or go to a family lawyer and ask for possible setbacks and solutions?

We are very happy and relieved but we don't know whether we should be happy or worried abt this...Living in the state of uncertainity would be a very hard thing for the next 2 years...

We really thank VJ and all the members who helped us through this complex journey.Thanks in advance for any answers...

Thanks again, Bob and Jim,one last query,what should we do with Minnesota marriage? It costs $370 to annul the marriage in Duluth,Minnesota.Is it absolutely necessary? or, we just go to Superior, Wisconsin court house on Dec 5( waiting period of 6 months over) marry and reapply for AOS? This way we could save our $370 at least!!

Thanks Bob 4 Anna.This is why the lawyers said my marriage in Minnesota is not recognized in Wisconsin.

http://www.burnettcounty.org/DocumentView.aspx?DID=126

Previous Marriage: If your last marriage ended by divorce, you cannot marry in Wisconsin until 6 months after the date of final decree of your divorce. This is true even if: You do not live in Wisconsin You were not divorced in Wisconsin There is no provision for waiving the 6-month waiting period for any cause.

Important Information for Wisconsin Residents about Marrying Out of State

General Wisconsin law prohibits Wisconsin residents from marrying out of state for the purpose of avoiding Wisconsin marriage restrictions (such as the 6-month post-divorce waiting period). Such marriages are “null and void” according to s. 765.04 (1-3), Wis. Statutes. You cannot use a Wisconsin marriage license to marry outside of the state. You cannot file an out of state marriage certificate in a vital records office in Wisconsin.

Legal Penalties for Violating Wisconsin Marriage License Laws (s. 765.30, Wis. Statutes)

(1) Not less than $200 nor more than $1,000 or imprisoned for not more than 2 years or both for:

a. Marrying outside the state for the purpose of avoiding Wisconsin laws

(2) Not less than $100 nor more than $1,000 or imprisoned for not more than 2 years or both for:

a. Making certain false statements to obtain a license to marry

b. Issuing a marriage license illegally (County Clerk)

c. Wilfully and knowingly performing a marriage without statutory authority to perform marriages in the state (see the list of authorized officiants)

d. Being a party to performing a fictitious marriage ceremony for fraudulent purposes

(3) Not less than $100 nor more than $500 or imprisoned for not more than 6 months or both for:

a. Unlawfully solemnizing a marriage (by the officiant or by the two parties themselves)

(4) Not less than $10 nor more than $200 or imprisoned for not more than 3 months or both for:

a. Failing to file a marriage certificate (the officiant must mail the certificate to the Register of Deeds within 3 days of the marriage ceremony per s. 69.16, Wis. Statutes.)

b. Failing to keep a public marriage docket (County Clerk)

Thanks a lot everyone, for helping us in this very tough condition. We'd have to go for annulment which will cost us $370,file I-130 and I485($1365) and hopefully not another $300 for I-693 and this is when we wouldn't have removal proceedings started.

Those living in Wisconsin,please learn from our bad experience, and please never do what we did, out of ignorance.

Thanks Jim and Bob.I called two family lawyers in Superior,WI and they told me that my marriage in Minnesota is not recognized in the state of Wisconsin as we didn't wait for 6 months, even though, she was divorced in Texas.Again,not sure,if could rely on them.I'm very sure if the IO denies our case, we wouldn't get any money back.I deserve this as I'm so stupid.My questions:

1) In order to remarry in Wisconsin on Dec 5,should we annul the marriage in Minnesota?

2) After the annulment,can we marry in Wisconsin or will we have to wait another 6 months to remarry here?

3) Could we move to Minnesota ,annul the first marriage and remarry?

4) How long after the Denial of I-130,removal proceedings begin?

5) Could she refile AOS(after remarrying) if she is in removal proceedings?

Thanks a lot, again,Jim.I was becoming very hopeful before I came across this-

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/247654-i-130-notice-of-denial/

In this case, the OP's wife got divorced in the state of Alabama,got remarried in Florida (bypassing 60 day waiting period).Their marriage in Florida is legal and valid but, in their interview they weren't asked many questions, and were sent a denial letter for I-130. According to OP,the IO denied their I-130 because their marriage in Florida was not considered valid in the state of Alabama(they were Alabama residents)even though it is valid in Florida and other states.

Now,in our case, we were living together in Wisconsin,when her ex-husband filed for the divorce in Texas,in Texas there is a waiting period of 60 day from petition to granting of the divorce.After this, there is a waiting period of 30 day for divorce decree to be final.I called a divorce lawyer in Houston, and confirmed with her that I could go to another state, marry there,and my marriage will be considered valid in that state.

But,we live in Wisconsin(waiting period of 6-Month)and our marriage in Minnesota is not recognized in Wisconsin.Now as the IO goes by the state you reside,Wouldn't it cause a problem?

The OP got their denial letter after 3-4 months, which might not be the standard.What in case the IO at our interview deny our case, and sends us a denial letter with in a week? IMO,we still will have 30 days to refile.

We live in Wisconsin ,we could remarry on Dec 5(6-Month waiting period over).My questions-

1) In order to remarry in Wisconsin on Dec 5,should we annul the marriage in Minnesota?

2) After the annulment,can we marry in Wisconsin or will we have to wait another 6 months to remarry here?

3) Could we move to Minnesota ,annul the first marriage and remarry?

4) How long after the Denial of I-130,removal proceedings begin?

5) Could she refile AOS(after remarrying) if she is in removal proceedings?

I already have called five lawyers and they all give conflicting answers...Please help ...

Marriage laws are COMPLICATED, and each state has it's own completely different laws. USCIS doesn't even attempt to get involved in the details of marriage law in each state. They just want a validated certificate from the states in question that previous marriages have been properly terminated, and a new marriage has been granted in accordance with the laws of the state. It sounds like you've got the necessary documents. I honestly believe you'll be fine.

The only way I could see this coming back to bite you in the future is if 'someone' files a lawsuit to have the marriage annulled. After a year there will be no chance of that happening.

BTW, be careful with "reciprocity" laws. They aren't absolute, as I pointed out. For example, a same sex marriage granted in Massachusetts would NOT be recognized in Texas, in spite of the reciprocity laws. Some states will also not recognize a proxy marriage which was legally conducted in another state, or won't consider the marriage to be valid until it's been consummated. Most reciprocity laws carry a caveat that the union must fit the state's definition of a lawful marriage.

Thanks a lot, Jim,God bless you! I asked the same thing question on Avvo.com and some lawyer said that the divorce decree from Texas is not even final before 30-day waiting period and so she didn't have capacity to remarry in the first place.I don't know if that lawyer knows what he is talking about.

Actually,I trust you more than him.Sorry, for bothering you again,I wanted to know that in case they deny our case,how long after the AOS denial, they start deportation process? Could we remarry on Dec 5 in Wisconsin(waiting period of 6 months over) and apply(I-130,I-485) again if our AOS is denied? We are so horrified because she's pregnant.I feel so stupid and dumb because we didn't do any research before our marriage.

Thanks Jim,Aztec&Taino,and Bob 4 Anna.Now we feel little bit better.I also tried to do some research, and found out that there is something called "reciprocity between states" and according to that if our marriage is valid in Minnesota then it should be considered valid by other states too.For instance,there is a waiting period of 60 days in Alabama and if someone marries with in those 60 days in the state of Alabama then, that marriage will be void but then the law(Alabama divorce law) clearly states that if the person divorced in Alabama gets marries in any other state, then Alabama will consider that marriage valid.

Several states divorce laws clearly state that if a person remarries in the waiting period(after divorce) then their marriage wouldn't be valid in those states but if they marry outside those particular states then the marriage would be considered valid.There are exceptions to this rule in case of Wisconsin and others.

According to Texas law, Prior to 1/1/70, where a divorce was granted upon the ground of cruel treatment, neither party could marry another person for a period of 12 months.

A marriage in Texas in violation of this prohibition was voidable. A marriage entered into outside the State of Texas during the 12-month period would be recognized as valid by the courts of Texas and of other States.

After 12/31/69, neither party to a divorce may marry a third party for a period of 6 months following the date the divorce is decreed. However, this prohibition may be waived by the court granting the divorce for good cause shown either at the time of the divorce decree or thereafter as to either or both of the parties. The divorced parties may marry each other at any time. A marriage to a third party in Texas within the 6-month prohibited period is voidable.

Effective 1/1/74, if either party to a divorce marries a third party within the 30-day period immediately following the date the divorce is decreed, such a marriage is voidable and subject to annulment on the suit of a party to the marriage if the suit is brought within one year from the date of the marriage. However, the parties divorced may marry each other at any time.

Again, this law doesn't mention if it has extraterritorial effect or not.

According to Minnesota marriage requirements for my county,

Residency Requirement:

You do not have to be a resident of Douglas County.

ID Requirement:

You must provide proper identification along with Social Security numbers.

Previous Marriages:

If you were previously married, you must show proof of divorce, death, or annulment from your most recent marriage.

All this is very confusing and frustrating. I want to know what would be our options in case they deny us at the interview? Remarry,and file the AOS again?

We could marry again right now, but it'd be of no use(AOS already filed) .What, if we marry again on Dec 5(Wisconsin waiting period of 6 months for remarrying is over) and apply for the AOS again?

How she'd know that she is not in deportation? One more last question,even, if they approve our AOS and grant her Conditional Green card ,could they come back and revoke that later on ,if they found about the waiting period screw up?

Sorry for the massive post.I know,I'm asking a lot of questions but we are going thorough a lot of stress because of this drama...

Thank you all very very much.Her ex is now married to someone so I don't think he'd do anything like that but you never know I just want to confirm that our marriage in Duluth, Minnesota would be considered valid by the USCIS at the interview or not?.We were(and still are) residents of Wisconsin when we got married in Duluth,MN, and then her husband in Texas filed for the divorce and she got divorced on June 4 and we didn't wait for 30 days( wanna punch myself in the face for being so stupid and naive about all this waiting period thing)

We both are very much stressed about all this drama. We don't want to pay USCIS $1365 again,when they should have just returned our paper work because of invalidity of the marriage.They issue RFE to people for I-693, I-864, and several other reasons,they could have simply issued an RFE to us too or simply returned our whole AOS packet if our marriage is not valid.Instead, they issued her EAD and also we have to go to our interview on OCT 14.Why all this drama from USCIS's part when our marriage is not even valid for them?

Jim,could you or anyone else please confirm that we wouldn't be denied just because of our marriage screw up?Thanks a lot everyone for being so helpful...

You go by the Texas court order, as they have jurisdiction.

You didnt follow it....so what do you think???

Thanks for replying.The divorce decree she got from Texas doesn't mention any waiting period and that's the thing which is confusing us.

After the divorce case is filed, how long does it take to finalize?

There is a 60 waiting period in Texas from the date of filing of the petition with the court. That means that a divorce cannot be final for at least 60 days after filing - it does not mean that the divorce is automatically final on the 61st day. If the parties are in agreement as to all the terms of their divorce, the final decree of divorce can be prepared and signed by the parties during the 60 day period and can be entered by the court on the 61st day. The divorce is final as soon as the judge pronounces it so in open court and signs the decree of divorce. If the parties are not in agreement, the average time it takes to finalize a divorce is about 6 months to one year or longer, depending on the complexity of the issues and the degree of dispute.

Her ex filed in April and after the waiting period of 2 months,their divorce was granted on June 4

Also,

Previous Marriage: ( This is to remarry in Texas)

If divorced within thirty days, Texas requires that you show a certified copy of your divorce decree stating the 30 day waiting period is waived.

Since we married in Duluth,Minnesota where there is no waiting period after the divorce,we didn't follow 30 days waiting period(Actually we just married in Duluth without having any idea of waiting periods!!).

Please help,don't know what to do and how to fix this.Thanks...

Thanks for the reply.Truly appreciated.We also want to go to the interview and waited for the interview for almost three months and yeah we're lucky that we got our interview.It's not like that we don't want to attend our interview but the fact that Wisconsin has a waiting period of 6 months which we didn't know about and also Texas has a waiting period of 30 days to remarry is making me crazy.Also,we were so stupid that we even didn't know about all this till yesterday.We married in Duluth, Minnesota, because our pastor is from there and also we live very close to the Duluth court house.

We had no idea of this "waiting period" and it was our mistake that we didn't do any research.We got married on June 17 after her divorce in Texas on June 4.We were in relationship for a year.She moved to Wisconsin in March,we started living together and her ex-husband started the divorce process in Houston,TX.

We filed for our AOS and got her EAD and Interview letter yesterday.My questions-

1. Should we remarry in Duluth, and get a new marriage license (Since 30 days have passed-Waiting period for Texas)

2. Since, we live in Wisconsin and here in order to marry, we have to wait for 6 months,should we wait till December and marry again?

3.Our interview is on Oct 14 and we have only two options available A) Go to the interview and leave everything to the discretion of IO B) Remarry in Duluth, Minnesota, to fulfill Texas waiting period?

We got out EAD and Interview letter already,should we presume that this is not going to an issue in the interview? What could be the best possible way to fix this?

I live in Wisconsin,my wife got divorced in Texas(waiting period to remarry,30 days) moved to Wisconsin(waiting period of 6 months) and we got married in Duluth,Minnesota, which doesn't have any waiting period.We did this without WAITING for 30 days because there is no waiting period mentioned on her divorce decree.We didn't marry to circumvent the law but, because Duluth court house is very close to our house! We filed for AOS and we receieved her EAD yesterday and we have our interview coming up on OCT 12.

I'm getting really nervous as if our marriage is valid or not? Could they issue an EAD without looking through the divorce decrees?.The divorce decree she got from Texas doesn't mention any waiting period .

Are we going to have hard time in the interview? Should we even go to the interview?

Thanks you, all, very much...

I could swear there was another member who didn't want to observe the 30 day waiting period in Florida so they married in Alabama but got denied because their divorce oder set the waiting period.

If I was you, I'd make extra sure that circumventing the waiting period where you get divorced doesn't cause you a problem.

As far as I know, Florida doesn't have a waiting period of 30 days so why did they marry in Alabama which has a waiting period of 60 days?

I live in Wisconsin,my wife got divorced in Texas(waiting period to remarry,30 days) moved to Wisconsin(waiting period of 6 months) and we got married in Duluth,Minnesota, which doesn't have any waiting period.We didn't marry to circumvent the law but, because it's very close to our house! We filed for AOS and we receieved her EAD today and we have our interview coming up on OCT 12.

After reading the responses here, I'm getting really nervous. Is our marriage valid or not? Could they issue an EAD without looking through the divorce decrees?.The divorce decree she got from Texas doesn't mention any waiting period .

Are we going to have hard time in the interview? Should we even go to the interview?

She got her EAD today. but, on the EAD card her last name is printed first, followed by a comma, and then her first name.Is this the standard for everyone or a mistake their part? If it's a mistake, what should we do to fix it? Thanks in advance...

Thank you, all for being so helpful.We had a conversation about that and I told her that she can't do this to people.USCIS people try to help and quite often they are not helpful but this doesn't mean that you could say anything to them and abuse them.Hopefully,this wouldn't cause any prob in our AOS.Sorry for replying late.Thanks again folks...

My wife called the USCIS to know about the updates of our case.We filed our AOS and haven't received our biometrics letter.The representative at USCIS was reading off the computer and was very aggresive with my wife, and after some time my wife just lost her temper and started calling the representative F!@#$$ W!^@%#$# and all the mean names which was very stupid of her .

Now, I really don't know what to do,should I call them and say sorry or what exactly could be done in this regard? Is there anything like abuse of customer care representatives? Could they deny our case because of my wife calling the USCIS rep dirty names?

Thanks a lot Jim,Payxibka,Bobby + Umit, and Robert B. I will just send pay stubs now.

I will submit pay stubs to show proof of my current income ($21,000) and also send bank statements.My issue is, I have zero balance on my bank statements and also i do have students loans.They just want pay stubs,bank statements or they are also very ####### about balances on the bank statements ?

they can only check the pay stubs you provide.... they won't know about an hour cut unless you tell them

Hey thanks again.You're amazing...

Paystubs that shows your periodic rate of pay... you then convert that by multiplying it by the number of periods in a year

That's awesome.Hey so i just have to send pay stubs ,right ? I will send pay stubs with 30 hours right now but if suppose my employer cuts my hours to 25 or less than 30 then could it cause problem ? Do they check pay tubs till the time of interview ?

Thanks for the reply.What documents do i need to get to show proof of current income ? How'd i show that i'd make $21,600 for 2010 ?

I work 30 hours a week and make $15/hr.I'm trying fill the form I-864 for my wife and they ask for my current income.According to pay stubs my current total till July is $12,600 which is below $18,212 but i still have 5 months left for the current year.

I do know they want gross income .My last year's gross income on the IRS transcript is $21.600.I'm very confused about this current income thing .Do they want current income for the year 2010 which would be 21,600 or they are looking for current income till July ? What supporting documents do i need to show my current income ? Thanks in advance ...