DISCOVERED I'M STILL MARRIED

[Princess&Brit 7]

I thought I'd share this nightmare with you all. If I write it down and share it this may just sink in to my brain, seem more real. I've been previously married 4 times. Divorced three times and widowed once. To my horror, whilst we were preparing the initial supporting paperwork for my fiance's visa to marry I failed to locate my first divorce decree, way back in 1978. I contacted the court to get a certified copy and they could find no record of it. I contacted the law firm who acted for me and filed the divorce papers and they said they had no record either. I told them the name of the attorney who dealt with it and was told that he has been dis-barred, banned from practicing, and had probably never filed the papers at the court in the first place, meaning I was still married to my first husband! I've married 3 times since then, and never had to prove I was legally free to marry, so a bit of paper saying I was divorced in 1978 was never needed and hadn't flagged up the problem before now. After some effort I managed to track down my ex, (or so I thought he was)and gave him the good news and he confirmed he hadn't received a copy of the divorce decree either, so we are still legally married, and my subsequent marriages are . . . what? OMG! And, can you believe this . . . The original law firm now want over a thirteen hundred bucks to get me divorced, something called a stipulated divorce, which I find is outrageous as they messed up back then, so I'm going to file the papers myself. Why should I pay them to handle my divorce again, when I paid them once already and their man fraudulently took my money and pocketed it without doing the work. There are obviously offences here I imagine, and the law firm haven't confirmed if he was ever prosecuted, but have I committed any offences? This is going to make the USCIS look very closely at our application for the K1 isn't it, when they read the covering letter that goes with the paperwork. I am so worried now. And in our state there is a 90 day cooling off period between filing of the divorce papers and the granting of the decree, unless there are circumstances which the judge considers extreme, then he can waive the 90 day wait. I hope he does in our case. I can't bear the thought of adding 90 days to the unimaginably long wait we K1 applicants have to suffer already, can you?

Any thoughts on how I should approach the paperwork on this, i.e. the covering letter or anything else I need to do. Perhaps I'll wake up in a minute and realize this has just been a bad dream.

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

There is a special granting in which the divorce can be backdated. I think it is called pro tunc . My ex needed to do it to clear up with path to citizenship as he was married to 2 woman for a couple of decades. Anyway the gist of the thing is that you request the divorce to be dated at some past date and they make that be the effective date of the divorce. Did your ex ever remarry ?

Edited November 7, 2012 by NigeriaorBust

[D N Medellin COL 75]

I thought I'd share this nightmare with you all. If I write it down and share it this may just sink in to my brain, seem more real. I've been previously married 4 times. Divorced three times and widowed once. To my horror, whilst we were preparing the initial supporting paperwork for my fiance's visa to marry I failed to locate my first divorce decree, way back in 1978. I contacted the court to get a certified copy and they could find no record of it. I contacted the law firm who acted for me and filed the divorce papers and they said they had no record either. I told them the name of the attorney who dealt with it and was told that he has been dis-barred, banned from practicing, and had probably never filed the papers at the court in the first place, meaning I was still married to my first husband! I've married 3 times since then, and never had to prove I was legally free to marry, so a bit of paper saying I was divorced in 1978 was never needed and hadn't flagged up the problem before now. After some effort I managed to track down my ex, (or so I thought he was)and gave him the good news and he confirmed he hadn't received a copy of the divorce decree either, so we are still legally married, and my subsequent marriages are . . . what? OMG! And, can you believe this . . . The original law firm now want over a thirteen hundred bucks to get me divorced, something called a stipulated divorce, which I find is outrageous as they messed up back then, so I'm going to file the papers myself. Why should I pay them to handle my divorce again, when I paid them once already and their man fraudulently took my money and pocketed it without doing the work. There are obviously offences here I imagine, and the law firm haven't confirmed if he was ever prosecuted, but have I committed any offences? This is going to make the USCIS look very closely at our application for the K1 isn't it, when they read the covering letter that goes with the paperwork. I am so worried now. And in our state there is a 90 day cooling off period between filing of the divorce papers and the granting of the decree, unless there are circumstances which the judge considers extreme, then he can waive the 90 day wait. I hope he does in our case. I can't bear the thought of adding 90 days to the unimaginably long wait we K1 applicants have to suffer already, can you?

Any thoughts on how I should approach the paperwork on this, i.e. the covering letter or anything else I need to do. Perhaps I'll wake up in a minute and realize this has just been a bad dream.

Although unusual circumstances this is not unheard of. The attorney who represented you certainly bears the majority of blame but as individuals we also must be responsible for verifying things that we hear or "want to be so" nevertheless lessons learned, pay the thirteen hundred and get it finalized then submit application for K-1. Just IMHO.

Good luck and Gods speed!

[Princess&Brit 7]

Well well . . . nunc pro tunc . . thank you so much. I don't suppose the clerk would've suggested that process when I see them next week . . . I never knew there was such a thing. This site is pretty wonderful isn't it peeps! Thanks again.

nunc pro tunc (nuhnk proh tuhnk): adj. Latin for "now for then" this refers to changing back to an earlier date of an order, judgment, or filing of a document. Such a retroactive re-dating requires a court order which can be obtained by a showing that the earlier date would have been legal, and there was error, accidental omission, or neglect which has caused a problem or inconvenience which can be cured. Often the judge will grant the nunc pro tunc order ex parte (with only the applicant appearing and without notice). Examples: a court clerk fails to file an answer when he/she received it, and a nunc pro tunc date of filing is needed to meet the legal deadline (statute of limitations); a final divorce judgment is misdirected and, therefore, not signed and dated until the day after the re-marriage of one of the parties---the nunc pro tunc order will prevent the appearance or actuality of a bigamous marriage.

Oh, and yes, my ex has re-married, and has children I believe.

[khwaidee1 196]

Well well . . . nunc pro tunc . . thank you so much. I don't suppose the clerk would've suggested that process when I see them next week . . . I never knew there was such a thing. This site is pretty wonderful isn't it peeps! Thanks again.

nunc pro tunc (nuhnk proh tuhnk): adj. Latin for "now for then" this refers to changing back to an earlier date of an order, judgment, or filing of a document. Such a retroactive re-dating requires a court order which can be obtained by a showing that the earlier date would have been legal, and there was error, accidental omission, or neglect which has caused a problem or inconvenience which can be cured. Often the judge will grant the nunc pro tunc order ex parte (with only the applicant appearing and without notice). Examples: a court clerk fails to file an answer when he/she received it, and a nunc pro tunc date of filing is needed to meet the legal deadline (statute of limitations); a final divorce judgment is misdirected and, therefore, not signed and dated until the day after the re-marriage of one of the parties---the nunc pro tunc order will prevent the appearance or actuality of a bigamous marriage.

Oh, and yes, my ex has re-married, and has children I believe.

I believe the nunc pro tunc order must be issued by the judge to correct an error made by the court. You might want to contact your local bar association to talk to an attorney about a potential malpractice claim for messing up the divorce. Your prior attorneys may be more "amenable" to rectifying the situation free of charge if they face a potential claim.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

I know what nunc pro tunc means and how it works, trust me, but you and your husband are responsible for making sure you are divorced before getting married again and had to swear to this effect under the penalty of perjury, which is a serious crime. I call the polygamist card out here, and while it's not personal (as I don't even know any of you), I can assure you that this is something you don't want to tackle without the help of an attorney.

[Jacque67 7,328]

I know what nunc pro tunc means and how it works, trust me, but you and your husband are responsible for making sure you are divorced before getting married again and had to swear to this effect under the penalty of perjury, which is a serious crime. I call the polygamist card out here, and while it's not personal (as I don't even know any of you), I can assure you that this is something you don't want to tackle without the help of an attorney.

+1

This is far too difficult to solve by yourself IMHO. You were not legally free to marry at the time of your application.

Edited November 7, 2012 by Jacque67