Divorce abroad US

[Roxy123 0]

Hi,

Well here´s my question, if anyone can help me please!!

My ex husband is from Colombia and I have both nationalities (American and Colombian) we got married in Colombia and then we moved to the US, there he wanted to obtain the green card, so I was told we could either get our marriage to be legalized in the US by having it translate, apostille and …. Or we could get married again in the US. So it sounded easier to get married there, and so we did.

Three years ago we moved back to Colombia and one year ago we got divorced from our Colombian marriage. Now I want to get the divorce from our US marriage but I wrote the embassy and they just answered they didn´t have any information in that topic and advice me to talk to an attorney. I called the County Court where we got married (in the US) and they told me I couldn´t do it there because we have not lived there for the last past six months.

Now I don´t have a clue of what to do. How do I get divorce in Colombia of my US marriage? What do I need to do?

Thanks a lot!!

Roxy

[Boiler 46,094]

Just wondering when you married the second time what you put down as you marital status.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

It is usually possible to get a foreign divorce recognized in the US, but the requirements vary depending on who you need to get the divorce recognized by, and for what reason. Divorce falls under state law rather than federal law, and each state can establish it's own requirements. As long as the foreign divorce follows the general rules of comity, a state will usually recognize the divorce as being valid. The rules of comity apply to basic fairness in the process - both parties were given notice and at least one of the parties was domiciled in the foreign country when the divorce was granted, etc.

Federal and state governments will only recognize a foreign divorce at the time you ask for a benefit or service that requires that you NOT be married (a marriage license application, for example). They don't issue formal declarations that a foreign divorce is valid, nor do they issue a valid divorce decree derived from a foreign divorce. There is no certificate you can obtain that says you are now officially divorced in the US based on a divorce obtained in a foreign country. If you request a benefit or service that requires that you NOT be married, then you can present your foreign divorce decree and ask that it be recognized. If you receive the service or benefit, then your foreign divorce was recognized. There is no "stamp of approval" that says your foreign divorce is officially recognized for all purposes in the US.

The short of it is that you don't need to have a foreign divorce recognized by the federal or state government unless you're asking for a service or benefit that requires the divorce to be recognized.

You have an additional problem. You have two overlapping marriages. If you obtained a marriage license in the US then you declared you were free to marry at the time you applied for the license. I couldn't find any specific cases on the internet where this sort of thing has happened, but it raises a whole host of legal and ethical questions. Your foreign divorce would not automatically terminate your US marriage because they are two different marriages that occurred on two different dates. However, your US marriage may be invalid because you were not actually free to marry when you obtained the marriage license. Couples who wish to have a second legal ceremony will have a renewal of vows, but will not get a second marriage license. You may be able to get the US marriage voided because of the first marriage, but that would probably constitute an admission that you perjured yourself when you obtained the marriage license. Even if there's a way to have the US marriage nullified because the marriage license was issued in error (i.e., no penalty of perjury) you have the problem that your ex-husband obtained an immigration benefit based on that marriage and with your assistance. So now you not only have the problem of potentially having falsely obtained a marriage license in a state, but you dragged the federal government into it by obtaining the immigration benefit.

I think you should consult with a family law attorney and an immigration attorney in the state where you were married, and determine a course that will allow you to legally terminate your US marriage without exposing yourself to legal liabilities. The potential legal conflicts are making my head swim.