He divored his wife after our marriage?

[hasana 0]

HI All,

I am a US citizen and I got married to a lebanese friend moved to Lebanon with him, he had a wife prior to our marriage and he had divorced her islamically(His prior marriage was due to social pressures from family and parents and he never consumated it) but had not registered his divorce with the authorities, later after we came here he got it registered.

i was never worried about this thing, however now after 3 years of marriage, due to all the problems going on in this part of the world, we want to move to US.

So Do I have a chance to take my husband to US on immigrant visa? As registration date of divorce is later then that of our marriage, Is my marriage acceptable to US immigration authorities? Is there any thing that i can do before i and my husband can be illegible for an marriage based immigration?

I will be very grateful of any help,

Hasana!

[diadromous mermaid 36]

HI All,

I am a US citizen and I got married to a lebanese friend moved to Lebanon with him, he had a wife prior to our marriage and he had divorced her islamically(His prior marriage was due to social pressures from family and parents and he never consumated it) but had not registered his divorce with the authorities, later after we came here he got it registered.

i was never worried about this thing, however now after 3 years of marriage, due to all the problems going on in this part of the world, we want to move to US.

So Do I have a chance to take my husband to US on immigrant visa? As registration date of divorce is later then that of our marriage, Is my marriage acceptable to US immigration authorities? Is there any thing that i can do before i and my husband can be illegible for an marriage based immigration?

I will be very grateful of any help,

Hasana!

I'm not familiar with islamic custom for marriages, and what is required, but typically, for a marriage to be considered valid, all prior marriages must be terminated legally. In the event that you married before that was done, I'd imagine your marriage to be void. You could remarry. Better speak with someone familiar with marriage requirements in Lebanon before doing anything.

[Jersey Girl 2]

I'm not familiar either, but wonder if you married in a religious or civil ceremony. At this point, I'd do whatever it takes to qualify as a U.S. petitioner. If you're not considered legally married, there may be a possibility of petitioning for K-1. Not sure if that might be faster or advisable, given his country of origin. It may be time for a specialist lawyer.

[Sabr con baraye Azize delam 0]

As I am Muslim, I can understand where you are coming from. I do know US law only recognizes 1 marriage at a time. For instance, if a man has 2 wives, he could only file for the 1st wife to come to the US.

According to the instructions on the I-130 you must show documentation that all prior marriages were legally terminated. So you may still be OK, since he has already legally ended all other marriages, and is only married to you.

In my opinion, I can't see that you would have to remarry, because there are scores of countries around the world that recognize polygamy. So, I'm not sure it would be fair to make some one remarry his wife after they have been married for say 30 years, and then have to go through the conditional residence status scenario.

Another thing to think about for additional supporting evidence, is since he did Islamically divorce his other wife some time ago, maybe he could have the witnesses (possibly a shiekh or imam) sign an affadavit stating when/where he divorced her.

But I would definitely consult an immigration attorney before you file anything.

I wish you the best.

[diadromous mermaid 36]

As I am Muslim, I can understand where you are coming from. I do know US law only recognizes 1 marriage at a time. For instance, if a man has 2 wives, he could only file for the 1st wife to come to the US.

According to the instructions on the I-130 you must show documentation that all prior marriages were legally terminated. So you may still be OK, since he has already legally ended all other marriages, and is only married to you.

In my opinion, I can't see that you would have to remarry, because there are scores of countries around the world that recognize polygamy. So, I'm not sure it would be fair to make some one remarry his wife after they have been married for say 30 years, and then have to go through the conditional residence status scenario.

Another thing to think about for additional supporting evidence, is since he did Islamically divorce his other wife some time ago, maybe he could have the witnesses (possibly a shiekh or imam) sign an affadavit stating when/where he divorced her.

But I would definitely consult an immigration attorney before you file anything.

I wish you the best.

OK ptcruuizer, but the way I read the initial post, the parties were married in the USA. Perhaps, that was not the case, but I am led to believe this due to the wording "I got married to a lebanese friend moved to Lebanon". If that were the case, since the US does NOT recognise polygamous unions, then without a divorce decree, the current marriage may be void. Perhaps some clarification is needed from hasana.

[Jersey Girl 2]

Very astute, mermaid. Not only is polygamy against the law in the U.S., but it's a deal breaker when petitioning for a visa. But weren't they asked at the marriage license stage to produce proof that the previous marriage was dissolved? I had to in New Jersey.

[diadromous mermaid 36]

Very astute, mermaid. Not only is polygamy against the law in the U.S., but it's a deal breaker when petitioning for a visa. But weren't they asked at the marriage license stage to produce proof that the previous marriage was dissolved? I had to in New Jersey.

Conjecture on my part, of course, but something inherent in this statement leads me to wonder if hasana's husband questioned whether it (the former marriage) was legal in the first place.

"he had a wife prior to our marriage and he had divorced her islamically(His prior marriage was due to social pressures from family and parents and he never consumated it) but had not registered his divorce with the authorities, later after we came here he got it registered."

Ergo no need to declare? Perhaps the OP will fill in the blanks.

[Jersey Girl 2]

He may not have considered the marriage important or binding, but it could still have been legal in the eyes of USCIS. He never had it annuled, as a Catholic might who did not consummate. Instead, he divorced, which presupposes a marriage.

Time for the legal beagles. Hope hasana doesn't find her 3-year marriage isn't recognized. Better find out before filing any petitions.

[hasana 0]

Thank you every one for sharing all this,

Well, i think i should talk to some lawyer before proceeding any further, after looking at all the documents that i have regarding history of all this he might be able to gimme a better advice, interesting thing is that all my records here and in US show that i am married to my husband (like my US passpost, my lebanese driving license etc), he has a document (affidevit) showing he divorced her before our marriage, missing thing was the registration of divorce with local authorities.

Also i renewed my passport, driving licence, and some other documents showing change in my merital status after the divorce was registered, will that help?

again i am thankful to all, and i wish you all the best regarding ur efforts to be with ur families.

peace to all,

hasana!

Also i wanted to add that even though we got married in US, but it was a religious marriage, and we got it registered here in lebanon.

[babybunny 2]

Very astute, mermaid. Not only is polygamy against the law in the U.S., but it's a deal breaker when petitioning for a visa. But weren't they asked at the marriage license stage to produce proof that the previous marriage was dissolved? I had to in New Jersey.

But ..they married in a country where at the time of the marriage its reconized

but, they decided to make the 1st marriage legal < 1st wife > she is saying its registard.

Mermaid is right.. the marriage <USC marriage > is void. its flat out not reconized.

her husband would have to divorce the 1st wife! and the 2nd wife would have to remarry.

Good luck with that. its a battle..

btw, marriages to other ladies at the same time is one reason why

the Embassys, DOS and USICS - place those from islamic nations on AP/AR

to check there is only one wife. - they actully will do field investigations.

Edited September 1, 2006 by babybunny

[hasana 0]

I am not getting this re-marry thing, should my husband divorce me first and then remarry me? or should we get a new marriage certificate from lebanese authorities/court saying "YES! we are married"? or what? i guess lebanese authorities will be amused by the fact that me and my husband want to "marry" each other

hasana!

[diadromous mermaid 36]

Also i wanted to add that even though we got married in US, but it was a religious marriage, and we got it registered here in lebanon.

Only a religious ceremony in the US? How could you reigster the US marriage in Lebanon without a signed marriage certificate issued by the person that solemnised the union?

[Yodrak 7]

diadromous mermaid,

Perhaps Lebanon has marriage laws similar to those in some countries, such as my wife's country, where a wedding ceremony is not required to register a marriage. All it takes for a couple to 'solemise the union' is to go to the registrar's office, sign the necessary papers, and you're married. (But most couple's in my wife's country do just the opposite - they have a wedding and never register. My wife did the former, her sister did the latter. It was much easier for the sister to kick the first bum out and move on to #2.)

Or perhaps hasana had another wedding in Lebanon.

Yodrak

Also i wanted to add that even though we got married in US, but it was a religious marriage, and we got it registered here in lebanon.

Only a religious ceremony in the US? How could you reigster the US marriage in Lebanon without a signed marriage certificate issued by the person that solemnised the union?

Edited September 1, 2006 by Yodrak