RFE - Final (absolute) Divorce Decree in Russia

[Vitaliy_and_Katya 3]

Hello guys!

We have joined the forum quite a long time ago and were mostly reading through all the help here Now we need some direct help from more experienced members of the community.

On June 19th we received an RFE and a hard copy 3 weeks later.

"-- Submit proof of legal termination of the marriage.

Such proof would normally be a a final (absolute) divorce decree. ....

In order for the legal termination of the marriage to be considered valid for immigration purposes, it must have been registered with a civil authority.

Note: A Divorce Nisi is not considered to be evidence of a final divorce."

Here's my situation:

I'm Russian and was divorced in Russia with help of the lawyer.

The divorce was conducted by Russian court.

In Russia once you receive the court's decision you can apply for Divorce Certificate in ZAGS (court's paper is taken by ZAGS and exchanged to Divorce certificate) and that's the document that's recognized in Russia as being the final divorce document.

What we'd like to do is send a reply to USCIS with a certified copy of Divorce Certificate (we sent just a plain copy with translation with initial petition) with apostile and a letter explaining that in Russia there's no Divorce Nisi and Divorce Certificate issued by ZAGS is the final divorce decree.

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What do you think? Would that be sufficient enough for the officer? I'm afraid to be denied for such a silly reason. Can anyone give any advice if you have experience in a similar situation?

I would really appreciate if someone could ease out our worries about the subject.

Thank you so much, guys! It's been great getting all the valuable information from the forum so far.

[DJ&L 83]

You shouldn't need to send a certified copy of a divorce. A regular copy of a divorce decree is fine. That being said, if you have a certified copy you can send it can't hurt.

I would resubmit the Divorce Certificate with an explanation as to what it is and how it works in Russia.

I and and RFE for the same thing. The paperwork I provided was both the Joint Petition (Nisi) and the Decree of Divorce but they didn't bother to read beyond the first page and didn't see the court order later in the document. I simply resent the decree with a letter of explanation.

I haven't gotten a response back but I don't expect and issues.

[Vitaliy_and_Katya 3]

Hello DJ&L,

Thank you for your quick response.

Your case is more straightforward I think because you did have both Divorce Nisi and Divorce Decree with the officer simply overlooking it. It's sad we get punished for such silly things.

In our case what we can do is to resubmit the certificate of divorce (original) with our explanation or explanation of the lawyer who handled my case. She is certified in Russia and US.

Did anyone have similar experience? Does simple explanation work in US?

[Tanya&momsIR5 0]

Hey guys,

here is explained where civil documents may be obtained in Russia:

http://travel.state.gov/visa/fees/fees_5455.html?cid=8941

may be print the page out and send it with your certified copy of Divorce Certificate from ZAGS with apostile? should be enough, imo.

hope it helps,

Tanya

[Vitaliy_and_Katya 3]

Thank you for the advice, Tanya!