RFE for "divorce decree" for marriage(s) that never happend?

[Crazy Cat 42,032]

2 minutes ago, Richard B said:

I have seen incidents of documents rejected from other countries. Marriage certificates, dual citizenship I.D cards and more. That's the reason why I made those assumptions.

They were likely rejected because they were fake documents.....

 

I agree with those who have said you should:

1.  Answer the RFE with a letter to withdraw the K-1.

2.  File for spousal visa.

 

I don't see any other way to fix this issue or to shorten the 12-14 month processing period.......good luck.

[javadown2 308]

19 hours ago, Richard B said:

I really screwed up on this one. 

Six months more wait time.

Very costly mistake on my part. 

Should I wait for them to deny that or I should file some "withdrawal forms"

Sorry for your mistake, but wow you really had no clue? You should have looked at VisaJourney BEFORE filing your paperwork! Anyways, yep you've put your self into a bind that will cost you more time away from your wife! 

Edited May 8, 2018 by javadown2

[javadown2 308]

4 hours ago, payxibka said:

It is actually a double whammy.  Not only did they waste six months but the new petition is double the wait time of what they thought it might be

Yep, they pretty much wasted, time, money and now a little heartache to explain this to his wife, haha. 

[Calicolom 266]

1 hour ago, Richard B said:

This was not done with any malicious intent. No I did not lie. I was never married before I married my current wife. Never married before.

The U.S government barely accepts documents or actions from other countries. They usually take it with a grain of salt. Lots of skepticism.

I assumed that until my wife gets here(into the US)  and we get married in a courtroom, we are still not married as far as they are concerned.

That was the reason why I filed the I-129 F. I did this with clear conscience and with absolutely NO malice in mind.

When you filed out the form, where you married. 

[Illiria 980]

1 hour ago, Richard B said:

Actually she did  not sign any statement to that effect. Such a statement was not added to the packet.

 

1 hour ago, Richard B said:

I checked 4 B for spouse.  I made it clear on all occasions that she was my wife and not a fiancee. I did not hide that fact at all.

Well at least there’s that. Respond to the rfe with a withdrawal letter then apply for spouse petition.

 

When you look up the application number in the USCIS case update search thingy what does it say you applied for, they might have ignore what you ticked and put you down for a fiancée petition anyway. 

 

There really has been an uptick in people thinking that just because they got married elsewhere than the US they are only married in the other country.

[David & Diana R 1,005]

1 hour ago, Richard B said:

I checked 4 B for spouse.  I made it clear on all occasions that she was my wife and not a fiancee. I did not hide that fact at all.

I assumed that a  marriage here in  a U.S court ONLY will be accepted and that a marriage outside the U.S does not count as valid to the USCIS.

 

Marriage counts everywhere.  So you made a mistake.  Move on, say some prayers and be patient.  I am sorry this is happening to you guys.  Good luck and God Bless.  david

[Londonergirl 133]

5 hours ago, Richard B said:

This was not done with any malicious intent. No I did not lie. I was never married before I married my current wife. Never married before.

The U.S government barely accepts documents or actions from other countries. They usually take it with a grain of salt. Lots of skepticism.

I assumed that until my wife gets here(into the US)  and we get married in a courtroom, we are still not married as far as they are concerned.

That was the reason why I filed the I-129 F. I did this with clear conscience and with absolutely NO malice in mind.

Mate, if you are married, you are married. You can not get married twice(Without having a divorce first). What was your plan when you were going to apply for a marriage license in the US? Were you going to lie on the oath? Say that you have never been married? 

[Ashaaa 52]

On 5/8/2018 at 9:45 AM, Richard B said:

Hello, please any helpful tips will be appreciated.

I got married outside the US in May 2017 to my (wife) beneficiary. I am a U.S citizen.

I filed the K-1 (I-129f) in October 2017. Exactly six months later (April 27th, 2018)  I got an email notification from USCIS about a status change.

They sent me a Request For Evidence to submit  divorce decrees from our "previous marriages" which  never happened.

On the I-129F forms I ticked "married" for questions #6 and #23 because I was married to my wife in October,2017. We are still married by the way.

They are assuming we were both married to other people before our marriage which is false.

We were never married to other people prior to our wedding.  The divorce document simply  does not exist.

Please how do I respond to this RFE. Does anyone have a similar experience?

Hi, just curious... was the marriage under the law or only culture marriage? Which is you weren't filing anything legal.

[Paul & Mallory 1,398]

13 hours ago, javadown2 said:

Sorry for your mistake, but wow you really had no clue? You should have looked at VisaJourney BEFORE filing your paperwork! Anyways, yep you've put your self into a bind that will cost you more time away from your wife! 

To be fair, neither me nor my fiancé even knew this site even existed when we first began our journey and filed our K1 application. We didn't come across it until after we had been waiting a little while. Can't hold people accountable for not using a site they may not have even known about.

[tsabbas 47]

14 hours ago, Richard B said:

I checked 4 B for spouse.  I made it clear on all occasions that she was my wife and not a fiancee. I did not hide that fact at all.

I assumed that a  marriage here in  a U.S court ONLY will be accepted and that a marriage outside the U.S does not count as valid to the USCIS.

 

That's good...then you didn't really do anything "wrong" that would hurt your future petition. It seems unfortunate there are so many people here that have forgotten that the I-129F can be used for a K3 spousal visa and that you can in fact be married to use this form. The unfortunate thing for you is that when you're married, the K3 can only be processed if there was a I-130 filed first.

 

The K3 visas used to be issued when the I-130s were taking a long time to process. Once the I-130 was accepted, you could file the I-129F to request a K3 for your spouse then they would adjust status here in the US much like a K1 does. The K3 is technically still valid visa program; it's just that the I-130s are processed so much faster now that the K3 doesn't have time to get processed and issued so they're closed out. In your case, the only thing you did wrong was not filing the I-130 prior to filing the I-129F. 

 

As long as you completed the I-129F properly as married, you are not at any risk of being in trouble with USCIS! You just have to explain that you did not realize you had to file the I-130 first and that you are still happily married to the same spouse. Then file the I-130 with your marriage evidence and get that ball rolling! I wouldn't send a new I-129F as it's doubtful a K3 would come through. Just wait on the CR1. It will be here before you know it. Ours took 16 months but they're processing faster now.

 

Best of luck to you! 

Edited May 9, 2018 by tsabbas

[Crazy Cat 42,032]

6 minutes ago, tsabbas said:

so many people here that have forgotten that the I-129F can be used for a K3 spousal visa and that you can in fact be married to use this form.

No one has forgotten that.  The OP is saying that he didn't think a marriage outside the US was valid, yet he referred to her as his spouse on the US forms. Anyway, he still must withdraw the I-129, then file the I-130 to start the CR-1 process imo.

[Boiler 45,876]

Just now, missileman said:

No one has forgotten that.  The OP is saying that he didn't think a marriage outside the US was valid, yet he referred to her as his spouse on the US forms. Anyway, he still must withdraw the I-129, then file the I-130 to start the CR-1 process imo.

This is the K1 forum as well.

[geowrian 22,338]

I wonder why they even accepted the I-129F if the spouse/K-3 option was checked? That requires a copy of the I-130's NOA1 or the packet is supposed to be rejected.