Scared and confused

[Miss_Saskia 2]

This is going to be long, please bear with me!

My husband and I had our greencard interview about a month ago and still haven't received a decision.

We have no reason to believe that they wouldn't approve us, apart for one issue which I will be going into in a minute.

My husband was previously married and his divorce was finalized about 10 days before we got married.

Kansas, the state where his dovorce was finalized has a waiting period of 30 days to get remarried, so we had our ceremony in a different state, thinking that would be fine.

Now, during our interview, the officer insisted that, because we did not wait 30 days, our marriage is void..

But, he also said that he was no expert on that subject and he would have to look at the exact laws after the interview.

So granted we started panicking and frantically researched the internet and found that while a marriage in this case would be considered voidable for the duration of these 30 days, if nobody appeals it, it becomes valid once this time period has passed.

My question now is, should they deny us based on this, is there anything we can do?

We would obviously consult a lawyer, but I would already like to hear what possible scenarios would look like.

Also, apparently USCIS already mailed us the decision (we went to jag who emailed USCIS and they said that the decision has been mailed to us), however the case online hasn't updated yet and we have obviously not received any mail.

I filed an e-request today, but if there are any deadlines listed, I am assuming they would extend them, based on our request?

If there is anybody else who has gone through anything similar, please share your experience.

Thank you for reading

[f f 725]

in short he got married before he was able to. since Kansas said he had to wait 30 days before marrying going to a different state does not take the requirment away since the divorce was done in Kansas, Kansas decides when you are able to get married again.

as for what to do.

talk to a lawyer since the way I see it is not easy and I do hope I'm wrong.

get marriage annulled since he was not able to marry then get married and then refile the forms. it must be in this order and do not do one part before the others are finished.

good luck

[Miss_Saskia 2]

After 6/30/83, a marriage entered into within 30 days of entry of the divorce decree is voidable. The voidable period ends when the divorce decree becomes final. If no appeal is taken, the divorce decree is final after 30 days. The parties may agree to shorten or eliminate the 30-day voidable period by an agreement included in the divorce decree.

After 6/29/65 and continuing, if an appeal is taken, the period of prohibition from remarrying or the voidable period of the subsequent marriage extends until the clerk of the appropriate district court receives the final decision of the Kansas Court of Appeals or Supreme Court of Kansas with respect to the appeal. The validity of a remarriage prior to the final decision of the reviewing court is dependent upon the date the divorce decree was entered and the law as set forth above.

According to this, since no appeal was taken, the marriage does become valid once the divorce from the previous marriage is final.

[Miss_Saskia 2]

It clearly states that a marriage in this case would be considered VOIDABLE and not void, which is a big difference.

[delilah2016 1]

It clearly states that a marriage in this case would be considered VOIDABLE and not void, which is a big difference.

Have a lawyer write all this. It will have more weight than your own research. You can pay just for the letter from him then.

[Miss_Saskia 2]

Thanks for your reply.

As of right now we are still waiting for the letter they supposedly sent. For all you know we might even be approved.

At this point it would almost be too good to be true, but we've got to have a little hope.

Should they infact deny us though, we will absolutely consult a lawyer.

[Rc123rc 528]

Someone correct me if I am wrong.

1) Get your marriage annulled.

2) Wait until the previous marriage divorce is final and the 30 waiting period is over.

3) Get married again

4) Refile application.

Person Note: Sorry to be judgmental on this but not waiting 20 days when it was known there was a 30 day wait period was a bad decision. Please make sure to follow "all" the rules in the future and stop trying to short cut the system.

[EM_Vandaveer 2,408]

Someone correct me if I am wrong.

1) Get your marriage annulled.

2) Wait until the previous marriage divorce is final and the 30 waiting period is over.

3) Get married again

4) Refile application.

Person Note: Sorry to be judgmental on this but not waiting 20 days when it was known there was a 30 day wait period was a bad decision. Please make sure to follow "all" the rules in the future and stop trying to short cut the system.

Unnecessary, the marriage was only voidable, not void and became valid once the 30 days passed.

[Cathi 5,783]

No one can tell you one way or another which way they ruled so at this point the only thing you can do is wait for the decision. They are required to follow the letter of the law and if they didn't rule in your favor the only thing you can do is remarry and file again. Sorry if it doesn't go your way and unfortunately you will be yet another example why people need to follow the laws of their state. It would make sense that if there is a waiting period for the divorce to become final to marry, marrying out of state would do nothing to get around that waiting period if you still reside in said state.