When to submit w/possible legal to marry issue?

[douglas1 0]

So my fiancée was divorced in Mexico, the divorce decree is complete/final but it states she will regain her right to marry after 1 year per our(*Mexican) law system. Some people say that 1 year has no effect on us getting married in the US, but others that say we can't until after that 1 year.

I am going to assume we can not until after the "1 year" (which expires Sept 1, 2010)

I know upon K1 approval she can wait 6 months to enter the US, and then we have 90 additional days to marry. So that adds up to 9 months. Plus the 6-9 months for the K1 to get approved.

Our I129F is ready but I am not sure how long I should wait to send it in, due to the "1 year" issue on her decree. Any suggestions?

Also, would they approve it before that 1 year is up, being after approval we have up to 9 months to get married?

And, how would you word her letter of intent? I don't want her to perjure herself saying it is legal for to marry now (not that I know for certain if it is or isn't).

Thanks!

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

So my fiancée was divorced in Mexico, the divorce decree is complete/final but it states she will regain her right to marry after 1 year per our(*Mexican) law system. Some people say that 1 year has no effect on us getting married in the US, but others that say we can't until after that 1 year.

I am going to assume we can not until after the "1 year" (which expires Sept 1, 2010)

I know upon K1 approval she can wait 6 months to enter the US, and then we have 90 additional days to marry. So that adds up to 9 months. Plus the 6-9 months for the K1 to get approved.

Our I129F is ready but I am not sure how long I should wait to send it in, due to the "1 year" issue on her decree. Any suggestions?

Also, would they approve it before that 1 year is up, being after approval we have up to 9 months to get married?

And, how would you word her letter of intent? I don't want her to perjure herself saying it is legal for to marry now (not that I know for certain if it is or isn't).

Thanks!

With a K-1 you must be married in the USA, so Mexican law does not have an effect, per se. And you say that it is final. Some states, such as Wisconsin grant a divorce but delay the final recording of the divorce for 6 months, therefore the divorce is not final until 6 months has passed. If the decree is final and it is only a Mexican law, then you are good to go. I think we reviewed this earlier, yes? Maybe it was you, maybe a similar case. My advice is simply this...take the divorce decree to the office where you will get a marriage lisence here. Ask them if they will issue a lisence based on that divorce. If the answer is YES, then she is free to marry in the US where you intend to get married...exactly the I-129f qualification. Ask them to put this in writing. Attach it to your petition and send it off.

If they say. NO you are out of luck and cannot file the petition until she is free to marry. She MUST be free to marry WHEN you file the petition. If not, the petition will be denied and you lose the $455.

VJ has an excellent fiancee intent letter, copy it and insert the appropriate names and dates, it is exactly what we did.

[douglas1 0]

With a K-1 you must be married in the USA, so Mexican law does not have an effect, per se. And you say that it is final. Some states, such as Wisconsin grant a divorce but delay the final recording of the divorce for 6 months, therefore the divorce is not final until 6 months has passed. If the decree is final and it is only a Mexican law, then you are good to go. I think we reviewed this earlier, yes? Maybe it was you, maybe a similar case. My advice is simply this...take the divorce decree to the office where you will get a marriage lisence here. Ask them if they will issue a lisence based on that divorce. If the answer is YES, then she is free to marry in the US where you intend to get married...exactly the I-129f qualification. Ask them to put this in writing. Attach it to your petition and send it off.

If they say. NO you are out of luck and cannot file the petition until she is free to marry. She MUST be free to marry WHEN you file the petition. If not, the petition will be denied and you lose the $455.

VJ has an excellent fiancee intent letter, copy it and insert the appropriate names and dates, it is exactly what we did.

Yes, it is final.

(I posted about this before, but did not ask how how long to wait to submit the I129F)

I went to my local town and city, and they said no to a marriage license. But other people including 2 lawyers said to go ahead and submit the K1.

Also, I bet if I went to a different town/city clerk and didnt point out the "1 year" statement and ask if that would prevent us from getting a marriage license, they wouldn't even notice it and give us one.

Another option would just head out to Vegas to get married - I am sure they wouldn't care about some pain in the #### Mexican law.

Edited October 21, 2009 by douglas1

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

With a K-1 you must be married in the USA, so Mexican law does not have an effect, per se. And you say that it is final. Some states, such as Wisconsin grant a divorce but delay the final recording of the divorce for 6 months, therefore the divorce is not final until 6 months has passed. If the decree is final and it is only a Mexican law, then you are good to go. I think we reviewed this earlier, yes? Maybe it was you, maybe a similar case. My advice is simply this...take the divorce decree to the office where you will get a marriage lisence here. Ask them if they will issue a lisence based on that divorce. If the answer is YES, then she is free to marry in the US where you intend to get married...exactly the I-129f qualification. Ask them to put this in writing. Attach it to your petition and send it off.

If they say. NO you are out of luck and cannot file the petition until she is free to marry. She MUST be free to marry WHEN you file the petition. If not, the petition will be denied and you lose the $455.

VJ has an excellent fiancee intent letter, copy it and insert the appropriate names and dates, it is exactly what we did.

Yes, it is final.

(I posted about this before, but did not ask how how long to wait to submit the I129F)

I went to my local town and city, and they said no to a marriage license. But other people including 2 lawyers said to go ahead and submit the K1.

Also, I bet if I went to a different town/city clerk and didnt point out the "1 year" statement and ask if that would prevent us from getting a marriage license, they wouldn't even notice it and give us one.

Another option would just head out to Vegas to get married - I am sure they wouldn't care about some pain in the #### Mexican law.

Well, if she is indeed not eligible to marry in the US, then the lawyers are wrong. If they know this law does not apply (I would imagine it does not) then they should cite their source for you so you can include it.She MUST be eligible before you file the petition. It really doesn't matter what a town clerk says, it matters what the USCIS decides, just thought it may be a cheap and easy "guage" of the situation. Yes maybe another town clerk (town clerks do marriage lisences in our state...insert official name as you will) wpould say other wise, again, if you get it in writing, that is one thing. Not pointing things ot to them won't help. USCIS will read the translation. Don't even THINK of omitting something from the translation.

It seems to me you need a legal/official opinion that the Mexican ban on marriage for one year does not apply here. Perhaps an opinion from the State's Attorney General's office? You may be able to find such opinions or court precedent on the web at your state's courts sites.

I guess my feeling is that clause would worry me unless I had some official ruling to show USCIS is does not apply. Ask around the regional sub-forum also. You can't be the first guy dealing with a Mexican divorce. VJ member "Len" is a knowledgeable "Mexican member", or seems to be...she could just be faking it. She HAS been agreeing with ME more lately.

[CoffeeMuse 5]

It sure doesn't seem a Mexican law would be binding in the US. If you have a document from Mexico showing legal divorce is final, I would think a US Town Hall would accept that as status to be able to marry in the US. I would certainly try to check this out in another city to see what they say based strictly on the divorce document you have (although it may state somewhere in the doc that in Mexico you are not able to marry for one year following the divorce final date). Again, it makes no sense that a law in another country would be binding here, although the US does recognize marriages from abroad I would think as binding here. But I'd check in another town.

[douglas1 0]

update: We have our approved VISA. USCIS, NVC, & Juarez consulate did not even mention her divorce or the "1 year" no remarry law.