K-1 Filing Requirement

[*JG* 2]

Wow....great thread. Anyone know what happened to them? Did they eventually get the visa?

I met Andre while still married. My divorce was a long and overly stressful process. I got the final decree about a month and a half before we filed the K-1. No issue was made of it nor did any additional proof have to be shown.

[Carlawarla 1]

There are a variety of reasons why people don't get their final "divorce decree" immediately after seperation. In my case, I had a legal seperation from my ex-husband in 2000. We could not progress further with the divorce due to financial disagreements. We went back and forth between each other, then lawyers, set pre-trial dates etc. In the interim, I was dating my now husband Gene. I ended up getting a "divorce", and my "decree" in 2004. We ended up attending mediation, and in lieu of a trial, I cut my losses and agreed to a final financial agreement which was then filed with the court. Since this has occurred, in Saskatchewan anyway, you cannot get a divorce now until all your financial arrangments and dispersment of properties has been agreed to.

Anyway, on my applications to USCIS and my interviews thus far, I have always included in paperwork that my divorce was final in 2004 albeit property settlement, and that Gene and I began dating in 2002. I've never been questioned, or had eyebrows raised. It is ridiculous to believe that anyone would question the length of time seeing someone new, and the date of your divorce.

Carla

[*JG* 2]

There are a variety of reasons why people don't get their final "divorce decree" immediately after seperation. In my case, I had a legal seperation from my ex-husband in 2000. We could not progress further with the divorce due to financial disagreements. We went back and forth between each other, then lawyers, set pre-trial dates etc. In the interim, I was dating my now husband Gene. I ended up getting a "divorce", and my "decree" in 2004. We ended up attending mediation, and in lieu of a trial, I cut my losses and agreed to a final financial agreement which was then filed with the court. Since this has occurred, in Saskatchewan anyway, you cannot get a divorce now until all your financial arrangments and dispersment of properties has been agreed to.

Anyway, on my applications to USCIS and my interviews thus far, I have always included in paperwork that my divorce was final in 2004 albeit property settlement, and that Gene and I began dating in 2002. I've never been questioned, or had eyebrows raised. It is ridiculous to believe that anyone would question the length of time seeing someone new, and the date of your divorce.

Carla

Yes, I am in agreement with this.

However, you still cannot file the paperwork until you are both free to marry. Regardless of any other reasoning, you are not free to marry while a divorce is pending. So, the answer to the original question is, you have to wait till the divorce is official before you can file for the K-1.

[Sinergy 3]

I filed for divorse and as soon as i had a copy of it in my hot lil hands i filed the K1, ofcorse id been trying to divorse my ex husband for 10 yrs, so its not like Edi broke my marriage, but i did no revisit him after the divorse was final and before filing the K1 as i had just had our son. Either way i was approved. so im having a hard time understanding why the OP is being told to go revisit after the divorse papers are final

There are a variety of reasons why people don't get their final "divorce decree" immediately after seperation. In my case, I had a legal seperation from my ex-husband in 2000. We could not progress further with the divorce due to financial disagreements. We went back and forth between each other, then lawyers, set pre-trial dates etc. In the interim, I was dating my now husband Gene. I ended up getting a "divorce", and my "decree" in 2004. We ended up attending mediation, and in lieu of a trial, I cut my losses and agreed to a final financial agreement which was then filed with the court. Since this has occurred, in Saskatchewan anyway, you cannot get a divorce now until all your financial arrangments and dispersment of properties has been agreed to.

Anyway, on my applications to USCIS and my interviews thus far, I have always included in paperwork that my divorce was final in 2004 albeit property settlement, and that Gene and I began dating in 2002. I've never been questioned, or had eyebrows raised. It is ridiculous to believe that anyone would question the length of time seeing someone new, and the date of your divorce.

Carla

Yes, I am in agreement with this.

However, you still cannot file the paperwork until you are both free to marry. Regardless of any other reasoning, you are not free to marry while a divorce is pending. So, the answer to the original question is, you have to wait till the divorce is official before you can file for the K-1.

and i agree with this statement 10000%!!!

Me and Edi were together as of May 2000 and my divorse was finally final on July 2005. I went back and forth as well between lawyers and getting the SOB to actually sign the papers. but i was never and edi was never questioned on this at all

Edited May 31, 2007 by Ionescu

[pushbrk 12,824]

There are a variety of reasons why people don't get their final "divorce decree" immediately after seperation. In my case, I had a legal seperation from my ex-husband in 2000. We could not progress further with the divorce due to financial disagreements. We went back and forth between each other, then lawyers, set pre-trial dates etc. In the interim, I was dating my now husband Gene. I ended up getting a "divorce", and my "decree" in 2004. We ended up attending mediation, and in lieu of a trial, I cut my losses and agreed to a final financial agreement which was then filed with the court. Since this has occurred, in Saskatchewan anyway, you cannot get a divorce now until all your financial arrangments and dispersment of properties has been agreed to.

Anyway, on my applications to USCIS and my interviews thus far, I have always included in paperwork that my divorce was final in 2004 albeit property settlement, and that Gene and I began dating in 2002. I've never been questioned, or had eyebrows raised. It is ridiculous to believe that anyone would question the length of time seeing someone new, and the date of your divorce.

Carla

It may well be ridiculous for anyone to question these issues in your circumstances, but I'm not conjecturing. Consular Officers in Guangzhou routinely suspect visa fraud when the USC's divorce was within months of the couple's first meeting and petition filing. They do so because the see a lot of this kind of fraud. Of course quite often the couple (legitimate or not) jumps through the hoops and gets the visa. The most common hoop is to provide evidence of the current residence and wherabouts of any and sometimes all former spouses.

A good friend I made during my second visit to China was going the K1 route. It turns out his initial visit and engagement was a few weeks prior to the Chinese woman's date of final divorce decree. This was a misunderstanding. She thought the divorce was final but when the actual papers were examined the date on the decree was after the visit and engagement. They were blue slipped and had to provide overcome information that included a statement from him about why he came to visit and pursue a relationship with a married woman. They were able to overcome the initial denial but her arrival was delayed about 75 days. That was this time last year. Now its taking about three months from initial interview until an appointment date to submit overcome evidence in Guangzhou.

So, again, as ridiculous as it sounds, this couple needs to be prepared to explain the timing of their relationship, not from a moralistic eyebrow raising standpoint but to satisfy the Consulate they aren't involved in a very common form of visa fraud.

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

Okay, I know I'm not a K-1, but something very similar happened to me. As part of my RFE, I had to provide details on when my relationship with my first husband ended as my decree absolute was handed down only 11 days before my wedding. (Classy!) I explained that the ex ended it and I moved out of our house four months before I met Bruce, and that my ex was very happy I had found someone to love me again. I was a little miffed about having to do this, because I thought what business is it of theirs whether I was still technically married (although separated) when I was out there dating -- it's not like Bruce is a homewrecker. Then I remembered: oh yes, this is USCIS we're dealing with and EVERYTHING is their business.

So it's not just confined to China -- even "low-risk" countries like the UK can throw up issues like this.

Edited June 2, 2007 by elmcitymaven