free to marry

[wissooner 0]

Hello, I am new to the forum. I have tried to search the forum for the answer to my question but to no avail. I am recently divorced. The state I live in requires a six month wait to remarry. So my question is do I also have to wait six months to submit a I-129f? The law onlys mentions divorce and annulment when referring to being legally free to marry(remarry). IIRC a fiance has six months upon receiving a K-1 to use it, so the six month wait to remarry is not an issue unless the USCIS does not see it that way. Does anybody know?.........................Ken

[KarenCee 3]

Hmmm....I'm guessing (guessing being the operative word here) that you would need to wait 6 months before filing. However, seeing how long it takes for a K-1, the six month waiting period would be up before the K-1 is approved. Maybe someone else who's been in this situation will be able to help you further. Good luck

[GaryC 7]

The rules say you must be free to marry at the time of the filing of your petition. If your state says you must wait 6 months before you can marry again then you are not free to marry even though you are divorced. IMO you must wait.

[rebeccajo 14]

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...mp;#entry359631

[ljs 1]

Although you may not be free to marry in the state you reside are you not free to marry in say Las Vegas? And it appears it will be a moot point anyways as you will surely wait quite a while for your visa, so that with the 90 days you get on your visa to marry you will be able to fufill your states requirements. This is purely speculation on my part, you may wish to check in with a lawyer on this, there are some who do free online consults.

[JenT 0]

If you have your divorce decree, that's all you need to submit to prove dissolution of the marriage. Even if the USCIS is aware of states having 'waiting periods' (which I doubt they keep track of), they also know how long this process takes. You'll have well exceeded the 6 months period once your fiance is able to act on her K1.

Best wishes,

Jen

[rebeccajo 14]

If you have your divorce decree, that's all you need to submit to prove dissolution of the marriage. Even if the USCIS is aware of states having 'waiting periods' (which I doubt they keep track of), they also know how long this process takes. You'll have well exceeded the 6 months period once your fiance is able to act on her K1.

Best wishes,

Jen

One must be free to marry when filing. Not when marrying. Otherwise you could file the K1 whilst divorce proceedings were still in process. Which of course we all know cannot be done.

Edited August 6, 2006 by rebeccajo

[john_and_marlene 162]

Although you may not be free to marry in the state you reside are you not free to marry in say Las Vegas? And it appears it will be a moot point anyways as you will surely wait quite a while for your visa, so that with the 90 days you get on your visa to marry you will be able to fufill your states requirements. This is purely speculation on my part, you may wish to check in with a lawyer on this, there are some who do free online consults.

No, you are not free to marry anywhere until the specified time has passed. If you remarry anywhere in the world before the specified time, you will be a bigamist.

[asante 0]

This is nonsense, john and marlene.

He can file for the I-129F ASAP. Divorce are regulated by state laws and one is free to marry anywhere as long as they comply with THAT STATE'S laws. He is not a bigamist because hes already divorced. I-129F and immigration are federal matters and the federal govt will look at the generic way of divorcing a marriage common among all states, which is the decree and thats what they will go by.

They have no time to look at what state requires what time to remarry. They are not that smart anyway otherwise they would be working at the court house!

Although you may not be free to marry in the state you reside are you not free to marry in say Las Vegas? And it appears it will be a moot point anyways as you will surely wait quite a while for your visa, so that with the 90 days you get on your visa to marry you will be able to fufill your states requirements. This is purely speculation on my part, you may wish to check in with a lawyer on this, there are some who do free online consults.

No, you are not free to marry anywhere until the specified time has passed. If you remarry anywhere in the world before the specified time, you will be a bigamist.

[JenT 0]

The waiting period that some states have imposed is intended to 'let the dust settle' on the divorce, in case there's any chance of reconciliation. In MI, the 6 month waiting period occurs after filing if there are children involved, before the divorce can be declared final.

A marriage license would not be granted in the OP's case until the 6 months had expired, but there's nothing stopping that person from pursuing a relationship, or becoming engaged to, someone else.

So, one could argue that the pursuit of a fiance visa is in line with that... I know that the petition specifically states that one must be free to marry... but they USCIS only requires proof of divorce or annulment in order to validate that. If the divorce decree specifically states that 6 months must pass, then that's the bottom line.

My point is that there is room for interpretation if the decree is not specific. If the OP submits a the petition, he should know that he 'could' get denied based on these grounds but I'd like to see evidence of that actually having happened before I will advise someone that this is black and white.

Jen

Edited August 6, 2006 by JenT

[wissooner 0]

I know that I cannot remarry for six months anywhere in the world. This is the price I pay for getting a divorce in Wisconsin. It would seem that I would have to wait for six months to submit a I-129f. I guess I will try and find a definitive answer from a lawyer. Anyone have any links to one? Almost all states have some sort of waiting period after divorce, funny the law does not make mention of this. Only refers to divorce and annulment. Also, fiance has six months to use visa, I wonder if it was intended for this six months to be used to wait out any state required wait to remarry? I dunno..........................Ken

[rebeccajo 14]

In the case of the poster from the previous Wisconsin thread wherein this topic arose, they stated that the six month period was clearly stated in the decree.

[JenT 0]

I know that I cannot remarry for six months anywhere in the world. This is the price I pay for getting a divorce in Wisconsin. It would seem that I would have to wait for six months to submit a I-129f. I guess I will try and find a definitive answer from a lawyer. Anyone have any links to one? Almost all states have some sort of waiting period after divorce, funny the law does not make mention of this. Only refers to divorce and annulment. Also, fiance has six months to use visa, I wonder if it was intended for this six months to be used to wait out any state required wait to remarry? I dunno..........................Ken

Michigan does not. The waiting period is after filing, before the final decree, but only if there are children involved.

Does your divorce decree specifically state the '6 month' waiting period? That would be the only thing stopping you from filing now, IMO.

[asante 0]

The question is whether you have a divorce decree. If yes, then you can file your I-129F.

You have the option to wait the 6 months, and waste time that way but USCIS does not care about the 6 months period because they know you have the choice of getting married in another state that does not have residency requirements like Nevada.

You dont have to get married in the state you live in or the state you got divorced in, as long as you dont break any laws.

[rebeccajo 14]

.......but I'd like to see evidence of that actually having happened before I will advise someone that this is black and white.

Jen

Not me. A denial is far worse to overcome than an RFE. Personally I would not like to have my advice be a contributing factor to someone's denial.

The question is whether you have a divorce decree. If yes, then you can file your I-129F.

You have the option to wait the 6 months, and waste time that way but USCIS does not care about the 6 months period because they know you have the choice of getting married in another state that does not have residency requirements like Nevada.

You dont have to get married in the state you live in or the state you got divorced in, as long as you dont break any laws.

That's some pretty strong advice to give someone that could potentially open the door to their petition being denied.

BEFORE EITHER OF YOU GET DEFENSIVE you will be well served to remember that posters in this type of forum sometimes make shotgun decisions based on one response they get.

Edited August 6, 2006 by rebeccajo