Females Polygamy

[Miss smarty pants 84]

Hey guys!

I have an interesting question for you all. I have a friend here. She's a US born US citizen female. Ten years ago she lived in Morocco and married a man there. Ultimately their marriage did not work out. She eventually left Morocco without him because he refused to divorce her and she says she was hunted and followed and could not escape him there. So......she came back to the US alone with the help of the US Consulate there in Casa. She never divorced him legally here or there. No visa had ever been filed for that man.

Fast forward ten years........she is now married to one of my friends from Morocco, a man living here with US Citizenship which he aquired without any female help. She married her current husband here in the US, already with US citizen status.

Here's my question........ both my friend and her husband say that they believe they have a valid marriage because she had only been married in Morocco and was never married here and she never brought her foreign husband here and never applied for a visa for her foreign husband. They both say that merely the fact that she abandoned her foreign husband is instant divorce in Morocco and that no legal paperwork or court appearances are necessary. And they believe that the US will only honor a foreign marriage here anyway if the foreign spouse is brought here or has been applied for a visa.

Since no visa was ever applied for any husband, this is not a visa question. It's more of a marriage validity question. Thoughts on this???? I think her current marriage is probably invalid without a prior divorce.

Thanks.

[Sunny123 44]

Your friend unfortunately is still legally married to her first husband. The US government recognizes all legal marriages that are recognized in the country they took place. Your friend can file for divorce here in America iwth out her husbands concent. So technically her second marriage to is not valid. The United States outlawed in the 1800's. Right now your friend could be charged for bigamy.

[Sunny123 44]

I am not a lawyer I would definately speak with an attorney one who maybe specializes in international cases.

[Anh map 2,098]

US law recognizes the first marriage. So they ought to see a family law attorney to get this sorted out.

[Sofiyya 1,687]

She needs to divorce the first one, then marry the second one. As it stands right now, she's a bigamist.

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

If she would still be legally married to her first husband in that country still is still legally married to him here. Different countries have different methods of terminating a marriage but running away usually isn't one of them. She really needs to file for a divorce in her home state, serve him by public notice and then remarry her current husband. Not only is bigamy an issue but benefits collected for spouse number 2 can be considered fraudulently gotten ( my ex got into trouble for this , it wasn't a bigamy charge that caused him headache , his employers insurer asked for him to return all benefits she had taken )

[Beauty for Ashes 257]

Hey guys!

I have an interesting question for you all. I have a friend here. She's a US born US citizen female. Ten years ago she lived in Morocco and married a man there. Ultimately their marriage did not work out. She eventually left Morocco without him because he refused to divorce her and she says she was hunted and followed and could not escape him there. So......she came back to the US alone with the help of the US Consulate there in Casa. She never divorced him legally here or there. No visa had ever been filed for that man.

Fast forward ten years........she is now married to one of my friends from Morocco, a man living here with US Citizenship which he aquired without any female help. She married her current husband here in the US, already with US citizen status.

Here's my question........ both my friend and her husband say that they believe they have a valid marriage because she had only been married in Morocco and was never married here and she never brought her foreign husband here and never applied for a visa for her foreign husband. They both say that merely the fact that she abandoned her foreign husband is instant divorce in Morocco and that no legal paperwork or court appearances are necessary. And they believe that the US will only honor a foreign marriage here anyway if the foreign spouse is brought here or has been applied for a visa.

Since no visa was ever applied for any husband, this is not a visa question. It's more of a marriage validity question. Thoughts on this???? I think her current marriage is probably invalid without a prior divorce.

Thanks.

Instead of all this mumbo jumbo. Has anyone thought of the fact that he might have divorced her in Morocco? All anyone would have to do is somehow contact someone in Moroccan affairs at the prefecture where they lived or where he lived and see if he filed a divorce in absentia. For all you know ,he divorced her as having abandoned him and has 6 kids by now and everyone is driving themselves crazy looking for a solution. Just find out if he divorced her already, get a copy and problem solved

[littleadv 1]

The US government recognizes all legal marriages that are recognized in the country they took place.

Although not relevant to the thread, but the claim is definitely false. US doesn't recognize all legal marriages that are recognized in the country the took place because not all are created equal, and some people have no rights in the US. In fact, US doesn't recognize all legal marriages that are performed and recognized by the US States themselves. People legally married in Massachusetts or California are not legally married according to the Federal government (and with respect to the immigration laws, Federal government is what counts).

For more info, see the DOMA act, that deprives certain populations of their Constitutional rights.

Edited December 26, 2010 by littleadv

[Sunny123 44]

Although not relevant to the thread, but the claim is definitely false. US doesn't recognize all legal marriages that are recognized in the country the took place because not all are created equal, and some people have no rights in the US. In fact, US doesn't recognize all legal marriages that are performed and recognized by the US States themselves. People legally married in Massachusetts or California are not legally married according to the Federal government (and with respect to the immigration laws, Federal government is what counts).

For more info, see the DOMA act, that deprives certain populations of their Constitutional rights.

Do we need to really spit hairs here?

Edited December 26, 2010 by Sunny1678

[Boiler 46,122]

I thought when you re married in the US you had to show evidence that your previous marriage had been terminated.

Certainly if they file for immigration benefits they will need to do so.

If your friend thinks about it she will soon realise how silly her assumption is, just move country and you are divorced, a family moves from say Canada and the parents are instantly now unmarried...

Edited December 26, 2010 by Boiler

[venusfire503 54]

It sounds like there's no way the US would know about that first marriage, since it took place in Morocco, and no paperwork was filed here about it, and the first husband was never in this country. While it MIGHT be possible for them to "get away with it", I wouldn't advise trying. Even if they never ran into a problem, worrying about it isn't a good thing. And you never know what might happen later. I think checking to make sure the marriage was ended legally is the best idea. If it wasn't, then work on getting that done. Since there is nothing about this marriage that involves immigration, then if she has to get a divorce and then 're'marry her current husband, it will be less complicated.

Best of luck for them.

venusfire

[venusfire503 54]

It sounds like there's no way the US would know about that first marriage, since it took place in Morocco, and no paperwork was filed here about it, and the first husband was never in this country. While it MIGHT be possible for them to "get away with it", I wouldn't advise trying. Even if they never ran into a problem, worrying about it isn't a good thing. And you never know what might happen later. I think checking to make sure the marriage was ended legally is the best idea. If it wasn't, then work on getting that done. Since there is nothing about this marriage that involves immigration, then if she has to get a divorce and then 're'marry her current husband, it will be less complicated.

Best of luck for them.

venusfire

meaning get a divorce from her first husband and then legally marry her second husband.....

[morocco4ever 63]

Was it a legal marriage, or an orfi marriage? That could make a significant difference.