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Filed: FB-2 Visa Country: Philippines
Timeline
Posted

Hi capsule:

i know what you are goingthru right now.. since you have put the countries she can enter without a visa why not go to asia. I live in asia and its in asia where thet allow relatives to be married. I also thought of since she has a degree in nursing as well she can apply for work in canada.. CAnada i think is now open and i have friends who got hold od a working visa in canada she can also get a canadian visa with any job that she can get. (it may not mean nursing job right) but the question is, is she willing to travel and work abroad?

I hope you well and your wife..

Mrsartis

😁

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Filed: Country: Armenia
Timeline
Posted

She, also like me, is willing to do anything. She doesn't know English, she would not past the TOEFL.

I don't know how Canada is with Armenian nurses, but Canada does a lot of weird things. For instance, it needs more police officers, it goes to Britain to recruit, when it needs more nurses, it goes to the Philippines to find nurses, when it needs Wendy's workers, it goes to China to find people who will work at Wendy's.

The nurses you know that were hired to come to Canada, did they speak English? She speaks almost no word of English except for the regular, "Hi, how are you? I love you (and "I am your wife").

Hmmmm, she can not go to the Philippines w/o a visa. These are the Asian countries that she is allowed to enter visa free or one that will be issued to her upon arrival.

Bangladesh 90 days (visa issued upon arrival)

Cambodia 1 month (visa issued upon arrival)

Georgia visa-free access <-----That one would be nice and easy, but I don't think cousin marriages are legal there.

Iran 15 days (visa issued upon arrival)

Jordan 1 month (visa issued upon arrival)

Kazakhstan visa-free access

Kyrgyzstan visa-free access

Laos 15 days (visa issued upon arrival)

Lebanon 3 months (visa issued upon arrival)

Macau 30 days (visa issued upon arrival)

Malaysia 1 month

Maldives 30 days

Mongolia 90 days

Nepal 60 days (visa issued upon arrival)

Sri Lanka 30 days

Syria 15 days (visa issued upon arrival)

Tajikistan visa-free access

Timor-Leste 30 days (visa issued upon arrival)

Turkey 1 month (visa issued upon arrival)

Uzbekistan visa-free access <-----I'm thinking cousin marriages are legal here, there is no limit how long she can stay, maybe this would be a good choice.

  mrsartis said:
Hi capsule:

i know what you are goingthru right now.. since you have put the countries she can enter without a visa why not go to asia. I live in asia and its in asia where thet allow relatives to be married. I also thought of since she has a degree in nursing as well she can apply for work in canada.. CAnada i think is now open and i have friends who got hold od a working visa in canada she can also get a canadian visa with any job that she can get. (it may not mean nursing job right) but the question is, is she willing to travel and work abroad?

I hope you well and your wife..

Mrsartis

Filed: Country: Armenia
Timeline
Posted

I spoke with a lawyer in Southern California. He was an Armenian gentleman, earned his bachelors from UCLA and his law degree from USC. He said I NEED to go to have the civil registry office in Armenia to recognize our marriage and obtain documentation that it will not be invalidated because we are cousins.

Now, I know what's going to happen if I go to Armenia and go to the civil registry office. I will speak to a judge who will say he will do this, IF I pay him 20 thousand dollars or whatever. I know how that country works, how that government works and what they're like. If that happens, I don't have that kind of money. I will do it if I have to, the money doesn't mean a thing to me at all as long as I have it and I can be with her.

I spoke to another lawyer who told me that it would not work and move to Armenia if I love her so much, boy that frustrates me sometimes.

Posted
  rebeccajo said:
  pushbrk said:
  cattattude said:
  Reba said:
If the marriage is not considered legal in the country in which it took place, then a marriage based visa to the US would not be possible. If they petitioned and applied now, it would open up all kinds of worms. Their marriage would likely be nulified, once it is discovered to be illegal, would it not?

You're right Reba. If this couple was married in Armenia where marriage of first cousins is illegal, then this marriage would be a nullity (aka, invalid marriage).

His option would be to marry again in the US, where marriage between first cousins is considered valid.

We cannot know what will happen. From the information the OP posted the marriage "could be" nullified but it's not at all clear how the familial relationship would come to light or what actions would be taken, if any if and when it did come to light. We certainly cannot assume a Consular officer will ever know or if so ever care about whether the couple are first cousins.

They either have a legal marriage certificate or they don't.

Bolded one point for discussion - we can't know what a CO may think, but we have a post very early in this thread from William33 (who has worked in consulates around the globe) that the OP has a difficult case.

I kind of wish William would come back and expound on this a bit.

As I understand the immigration rules, this relationship will be allowed and processed as any other. As opposed to wasting time on speculative or "potential" issues, why not process the normal way and hope for no issues? If issues arise, hire attorneys and so forth. This is my advice.

Filed: Country: Armenia
Timeline
Posted
  William33 said:
As I understand the immigration rules, this relationship will be allowed and processed as any other. As opposed to wasting time on speculative or "potential" issues, why not process the normal way and hope for no issues? If issues arise, hire attorneys and so forth. This is my advice.

  k & o said:
I'm sorry to hear of the ordeal you're going through. I was just thinking, why not apply for visa to come here as normal, and hope for no issues?

There are ways to work things out. Good luck.

I have a good friend, one of my coaches in my sport who is willing to be the cosponsor, he tells me the same thing.

Filed: K-1 Visa Country: United Kingdom
Timeline
Posted
  pushbrk said:
  miranda said:
Armenia is part of the European Union, right? She could live in another country within Europe without having to apply for a visa within that country, I think. That way she would at least be away from the pressures of her family while you work this out. Once she's living in another country, you could just apply for the fiance visa (K-1). She would have to travel back to Armenia for her medical and interview, but she wouldn't have to live there.

Armenia is not part of the EU but she may well be able to arrange to live in the EU more easily than the US or Canada with the rest of your suggestion being worth looking into, IMO.

Ah! I asked my husband if it was and he said "I think so." He's from Europe, I figured he knew.

December 12 2005 ~ sent I129F packet to

December 14 2005 ~ Packet Recieved by

December 20 2005 ~ NOA 1

December 29 2005 ~ Touched

March 9 2006 ~ NOA2

April 5 2006 ~ Packet 3 arrives

April 11 2006 ~ Packet 3 returned to London Embassy

June 12 2006 ~ Interview Date (APPROVED!)

June 26 2006 ~ Entered the U.S. under K-1 Visa

July 06 2006 ~ JOP marriage

September 12 2006~ I-485 Received by INS

September 18 2006~ NOA recieved

September 30 2006~ Married

October 3 2006 ~ Biometrics Appointment (Fingerprinted)

November 16, 2006~ RFE reply received ...didn't even know we had an RFE (INS stated that the RFE was

probably sent to the DR. that did our biometrics)

January 17, 2007 ~ CSC is now processing cases received September 25 (11 days after ours was received) :(

Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Nepal
Timeline
Posted
  Capsule said:
  William33 said:
As I understand the immigration rules, this relationship will be allowed and processed as any other. As opposed to wasting time on speculative or "potential" issues, why not process the normal way and hope for no issues? If issues arise, hire attorneys and so forth. This is my advice.

  k & o said:
I'm sorry to hear of the ordeal you're going through. I was just thinking, why not apply for visa to come here as normal, and hope for no issues?

There are ways to work things out. Good luck.

I have a good friend, one of my coaches in my sport who is willing to be the cosponsor, he tells me the same thing.

I agree. Please keep us posted!

Maya

Many thanks to the Visajourney community for all the help!

Filed: IR-1/CR-1 Visa Country: Iran
Timeline
Posted
  Capsule said:
Hi,

Before people jump to conclusions, make assumptions and make fun of me for what is going on, if you have the time, please read what I’m writing and maybe you will understand this issue.

In the summer of 2006 my mother, brother and I went on a trip to Armenia so I can meet my mother’s family. In Armenia I met a girl I fell deeply in love with. In denial that I was in love with her, I would always tell myself, “No, that’s wrong, don’t think that, etc.” Because I was staying at her family’s house, I grew deeper in love with this woman. At the time she was 19 and I was 18 (I am now 20 and she is 21).

I came back home to the U.S. in denial, yet couldn’t believe that I was in love with her. I had to see her one last time though, before I went on with my life (or at least try to). One year went by in agony, and in the summer of 2007 I went back “to see my family.” In all actuality, it was to see her and only her. No one else mattered to me. While I was there she kissed me in a way “she’s not supposed to.” Then began to apologize and cry, and I asked her what’s wrong.

She told me that she has fallen in love with me and she can’t help it. She thought by saying that I would never talk to her again, but I told her not to worry, because I had fallen deeply in love with her also.

At first we talked about how we will never forget each another, and we are deeply in love, but we can’t be together because of what family would say.

Three weeks went by and I did a lot of research on the internet and found out what I was experiencing is NOT abnormal, it is actually pretty common. It is common for relatives (in our case, first cousins) to meet for the first time or reunite after years of not seeing each another and fall in love. It’s a phenomenon called ‘genetic sexual attraction.’

Contrary to what we have learned in society (I also), the offspring of cousins has a very minimal risk in increasing chances for a birth defect, it is equal to a 40 year old female to have a child.

And like that, after three weeks I thought to myself, “Forget what other people think, I don’t care, I love her and it is no one's business!” We discussed it and decided the only way to be together is to get married (not to mention the fact that both of us were crazy for each another, even after a year).

With little research about Armenian law, and after a daunting task, we got married. After coming back to the United States I consulted with a lawyer and he said I’m probably going to end up having problems. After I researched Armenian family law, I found out that this:

i) Cousin marriages are not allowed

ii) Cousin marriages will be considered invalid if they will be brought up to the courts for a consideration

iii) Cousin marriages will only be considered valid if she is pregnant or a child is already born

iv) Any marriage CAN be considered valid if deemed by the court

Now you see my problem? I we must’ve slipped through the cracks, because I am a naturalized U.S. citizen, I was born in Armenia. We did not lie on anything, no forms asked if we are related and it was not asked to us verbally either.

After reading this I was devastated, I didn’t know what to do. Someone recommended me to go to Canada, she come to Canada and we get married here. I contacted an attorney in Canada, and explained my situation and she said that is just fine, she could help me out with it and it will be a no problem job.

So like that, as a 19 year old, busting my butt working 50 hours a week AND a full time college student I came to Canada as a student for one year. After six months of being here she was denied entry because a study permit has already been issued to me.

I’ve pretty much spent my life savings on this (about 10 thousand dollars) and now I’m at a dead halt. I’m beginning to become depressed as I know I have a long road ahead of me if I am forced to go to Armenia and flee with her from there. Her brother saw a picture of us that looked a little “risky” and told me that if anything is going on between us two I am a dead man.

I am in serious need of legal help and am desperate. I only have a couple thousand dollars left of student loans and my car which I will sell if I need more funds. I have worked all throughout high school, I never receive a dime from my parents (I come from a fairly poor family). It is difficult surviving the way it is, yet all the costs. I’m 20 years old and I raised some money by selling my motorcycles (I started racing motocross at 16 after I was able to earn money).

What do I need to do? How can I prove to the embassy that this is not a sham? She is the only thing helping me cling on to life right now, if I new she wasn’t in my future my fingers would slip and I would be gone.

I am willing to do anything. I have found some contacts in Armenia that will allow me to live in their home temporarily. If need be, I can move to Armenia and flee with her until things are sorted out, if need be, I can go to Armenia, officially nullify our marriage, flee to a country such as Egypt or Jordan where cousin marriages are legal and get married over there. I will do anything!

I am desperate, and there is no way I can turn to family for help :( .

First of all...

In some cultures, first cousins can get married....I know that many muslim families have "cousin marriages."

Secondly, I would not be too worried about the issue of Armenian marriage certificate. If you were able to get it because the Armenian government made a small mistake of not realizing that you and your wife were blood cousins, I would not let them know at all. Just go with the fact that the license was issued.

The other option is to find a country that allows "cousin marriages" and get married in that country and the marriage certificate there. Then it will be a proper and legal marriage within the law.

The USCIS accepts marriage certificates from other countries based on the laws of the foreign country. The only acception to this rule is pologymy (more than one wife).

Filed: IR-1/CR-1 Visa Country: Iran
Timeline
Posted

Pick a country close to Armenia. But make sure how long it takes to get a marriage license issued.

I know from my first marriage in India it took about a month (you had to wait one month to appear a second time in front of the magistrate to collect your marriage certificate)

From my second marriage in Thailand, it took two weeks for all the paperwork to be issued.

Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Canada
Timeline
Posted (edited)

Just to add some clarification to the mis-information stated earlier in this thread - Canada is not weird. Canada is not importing nurses from the Philippines nor police officers from Britain nor Wendy's worker from China. Like the US, anyone in Canada who wishes to employ a non-Canadian or non-Canadian resident must prove that there are no Canadians available to do the job, and then prove that the person they wish to hire has all of the qualifications to do the job (language requirements are almost always a requirement except for something like agricultural labourers). If you see people of these nationalities working in these jobs in Canada it is not because they were imported from those specific countries to do the job, but almost always because they were already in Canada and had the necessary qualifications to do that job.

You will find a lot of useful information on this website about working in Canada: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/work/apply-who-eligible.asp

Eligibility to apply from outside Canada -excerpt

To apply for a work permit from outside Canada, you must submit the following documents:

* a job offer from a Canadian employer

* a completed application, that shows that you meet the requirements of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, and

* written confirmation from Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC) that the employer can hire a foreign worker to fill the job. This confirmation is called a positive labour market opinion.(LMO)

o In most cases, it is up to your employer to get that written confirmation. Information on the labour market opinion is found under Information for Canadian employers on the right-hand side of this page.

o In some cases, you do not need a labour market opinion. (See Jobs that require a work permit but no labour market opinion.)

You must also do the following:

* Satisfy a visa officer that you will leave Canada at the end of your work permit.

* Show that you have enough money to support yourself and your family while you are in Canada.

* Respect the law and have no criminal record. (You may have to provide a police clearance certificate. See Have a medical exam or criminal check done in the I Need To… section on the right-hand side of this page.)

* Show that you are not a risk to the security of Canada.

* Be in good health. (You may have to have a medical examination.)

Here is the link to those who do not require a positive LMO but still require a work permit. Nurses are not listed:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/work/apply-who-permit.asp

Edited by Kathryn41

“...Isn't it splendid to think of all the things there are to find out about? It just makes me feel glad to be alive--it's such an interesting world. It wouldn't be half so interesting if we knew all about everything, would it? There'd be no scope for imagination then, would there?”

. Lucy Maude Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

5892822976_477b1a77f7_z.jpg

Another Member of the VJ Fluffy Kitty Posse!

Filed: Country: Armenia
Timeline
Posted (edited)
  miranda said:
Ah! I asked my husband if it was and he said "I think so." He's from Europe, I figured he knew.

This is from the CIA World Factbook

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/th...ok/geos/ee.html

"27 countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, UK; note - Canary Islands (Spain), Azores and Madeira (Portugal), French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Reunion (France) are sometimes listed separately even though they are legally a part of Spain, Portugal, and France."

I do not think Armenia will be part of the EU anytime soon, probably not in my lifetime if ever. There is too much overt corruption in the country. The reason your husband hears a lot about is probably because Turkey is a candidate to be in the EU, but there is a lot of talk about Turkey first having to recognize the massacre of 1.5 million Armenians in 1915 as genocide.

  maya62 said:
I agree. Please keep us posted!

Maya

Thank you, Maya. I will definitely keep you all updated on my case and after we are over this mountain I hope to put my knowledge and experience to use by helping another couple who happens to be in the same situation I am in.

  Nutty said:
First of all...

In some cultures, first cousins can get married....I know that many muslim families have "cousin marriages."

Secondly, I would not be too worried about the issue of Armenian marriage certificate. If you were able to get it because the Armenian government made a small mistake of not realizing that you and your wife were blood cousins, I would not let them know at all. Just go with the fact that the license was issued.

I think this is probably what I'm going to have to do first. I HIGHLY doubt they will not notice it. Our mother's share a very uncommon maiden name, which is almost unheard of amongst many Armenians. I don't know whether I should roll my dice and hope it is not found out (again, I highly doubt that it will not be spotted), or whether I should be open from the beginning so it doesn't appear to be that I'm hiding anything. I think the prior is better than the latter though.

The other option is to find a country that allows "cousin marriages" and get married in that country and the marriage certificate there. Then it will be a proper and legal marriage within the law.

I was thinking Egypt, but I recently found out that at least one of us has to be an Egyptian national, so that is out of the question. Now maybe I should inquire some information on marriages from Jordan.

Armenian law states though that a judge can deem cousin marriages legal if he/she deems it is a legit marriage. Knowing the type of country it is, and the overt corruption I spoke of above in this same post, it is possible that I can speak with a judge and he or she will deem it legit. They will almost certainly want some money for it, which I have no problem with, I will work, earn the money and pay it, I don't care what the cost is, I just want to be with her. The cost will probably be in the 5 digits.

The USCIS accepts marriage certificates from other countries based on the laws of the foreign country. The only acception to this rule is pologymy (more than one wife).

I believe there were some other exceptions such as parent/child, grandparent/grandchild, sibling/sibling, aunt/uncle/niece/nephew marriages.

The bold writing is my response to the paragraph above.

  Nutty said:
ANOTHER OPTION POSSIBLE

Get the marriage nullified in Armenia.

Sponsor your ex-wife as a fiance on a k3 Visa.

Get married here.

There are some problems with that. I received a PM from someone who was in the same predicament in a country where cousin marriages were legal, however, they would not allow her entry until they were married in THEIR country.

However, as a U.S. Citizen, would I run into problems if I headed down to Iran with her to get married with her over there if I find out that is something I can do and something that is another option?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kathryn, PM sent.

Edited by Capsule
  • 3 months later...
Posted

I just want to say do not worry about what other people think, in my religion this is allowed and even old english people have married first cousins.

My question is if the marriage took place in a country which allowed first cousin marriages, then will the US accept that and give them a visa? Or is it likely it will cause problems when trying to get a visa? I think that as long as it is valid where it took place then the US will accept it to but i may be wrong.

Hope you work it out!

All the best

Sent I-130 - 15 Aug 2008

I-130 NOA1 - 26 Aug 2008

Sent I-129f - 29 Aug 2008

I-129f NOA1 - 3 Sept 2008

Last Updated 4 Sept 2008

Sent letter to congress 9 March 2009 - no response

Spoke to CSC - "background checks" - 9 April 2009

APPROVAL NOTICE i-130 & i-129f - Received 21 April 2009

Got NVC Case no - 30 April 09

DS3032 generated - 1 May 09

Emailed DS3032 - 5 May 09

AOS fee paid online - 8 May 09

Sent AOS package - 13 May 09

Received IV email - 18 May 09

IV fee paid online - 10 June 09 (delay as was considering K3 at this point but the K3 interview was July 15th, so decided CR1 better and only 1 month longer!)

IV package sent - 17 June 09

CASE COMPLETE - 1 July 09

Interview date recieved via email - 9 July 09

Medical - 11 August 09

Interview 14 August 09

Filed: K-3 Visa Country: Netherlands
Timeline
Posted
  Capsule said:
I'm beginning to lose hope day by day.

Her parents are trying to force her to marry some rich dirt bag in Armenia, it is killing me to hear that. Imagine someone who comes around to the person you love and wants to marry them and their parents are forcing them to marry them.

It kills me every time this happens.

I swear, if it wasn't for her I would be dead right now. I can't believe that a couple imaginary lines on a map and some laws are keeping me from being with the person I love!

I'm sure you've all been in a stressful situation of wondering if you will be approved or not, you've all gone through some of the feelings I'm going through right now. I cry as I write this, the first year I came back while I was still in denial that I was in love with her, I couldn't handle it anymore, I purposely ran in front of a car, and thought to myself that it would be wrong of me to emotionally hurt another person for my selfishness, and after that one time I never did that again. I can't turn to ANY Armenians in Armenia or even here for help, they all have their prejudices, biases and assumptions like none other.

I could care less about my parents "disowning" me, and I know it's going to happen soon, same on her side.

Every time I've consulted a lawyer, I've just spent hundreds of dollars for an hour of "discussion" leaving more hopeless than I got there, does anyone know any good lawyers that will be willing to help? I am willing to leave my life here and give up my citizenship and move over there to be with her, but I know if that was to happen I would put her life in danger and I know I will surely be killed.

Many many many Arab and Asian cultures and maybe even some north African cultures marry their first cousins. It's quite common and I don't know of anyone having a problem. Do you two share the same exact last name? If not, then don't tell anyone you're cousins.

And if shés being forced to marry someone she doesn't want, then maybe she can come here and seek refugee status? I'm sure she can make an argument that her family will force her and she could face harm and shame if she disobeys them.???? Just an idea, not sure if it's possible or not.

 
Didn't find the answer you were looking for? Ask our VJ Immigration Lawyers.

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