Visa refused under section 212(a)5(A)

[Aj06 11]

Hi guys,

I had my immigrant visa interview on 05/22 and it was refused.lO said that he believed the marriage is real but not valid.

Here is my story:-

I got married to my now ex in 2004 and due to difficulties in our marriage we separated in May 2008.In July 2008 she summons me to court for divorce which was delivered by a court marshal.From July 2008 to March 2009 i received three notices to appear for the divorce.I consulted a lawyer and he advised me that once i agreed to the divorce i dont need to waste time and money to contest it,that the marriage will eventually be terminated and the divorce will pass and judgement will be ruled in my ex favor.So in March 2009 i received the final notice to appear for the hearing in April and the notice stated that "this is the final notice to appear and if you fail to appear judgement will be ruled in your absence".So since then i believed that,that marriage was terminated and the divorce passed.

In July 2009 i entered into a common law relationship with my present wife and after she migrated in 2016 i went to visit and we got married in October 2016.Before we got married i asked my dad to go and get a copy of my divorce from the family court since i was not in the country and he was told that he needed my ID to get it or i have to come in person,so i believed that the divorce absolute was there and my previous marriage had been terminated and i acted in good faith and got remarried to my now wife and we believed that our marriage is a true and valid union.In December 2016 my wife petitioned for me.On the i130 application i did mentioned that i was previously married and stated that it ended in April 2009.when i returned to my country in January 2017 and i went to the family court to get a copy of my divorce i was told that they can't find it in their system.Upon inquiring further i pleaded with the clerk to search for the hard copy and i was told that,thats since 2009 they can't find it now...very disappointed.

I then asked my dad to call my ex and ask her if she has a copy and she said that she has to go and get it at court.To my surprise one week later my dad received a call from her lawyer saying that he has a divorce summons for me filed by my ex.Note this is the second time she is filing two separate divorces for same marriage. 

So i went and i asked the lawyer what is going on and he said i have been served.I then asked him if he was aware that she filed for divorce since 2008 and what happend to that.His response was same as the clerk at the court and was hasty saying that my ex is almost nine months pregnant and she dont have time to run about and since she filed for the divorce i have to pay half the fee and so on.Any way this divorce passed and the marriage was terminated in late January 2017.I now messed  up big time by taking it for granted buy not informing uscis since they never asked for it and approved my petition anyway.I then submitted the divorce absolute to nvc along with other civil docs for visa processing and my case was completed without any difficulty.

Now at the interview i was refused because my marriage is not valid.The IO said he believed my marriage is real but not valid and then typed the refusal letter saying that i am not qualified for the visa i am applying for and my case will be returned to uscis with recommendation to revoke.I messed up big time, my wife is so disheartened everytime she calls she is crying and this is eating me up because i have let my family down as a husband and as a father.

Dont know what to do?Can this be fixed?

Plz help!

[Elsalove2016 34]

I am very sorry this happen to you I understand and know is very hard to be away from your loved one . I believe the best thing to do now is to do another petition with new paper work and all and also seek the service of an attorney . It will take time and money but at the end it will all be worth it . Good luck with everything the best part of all is that it is clear to them that the relationship is real . 

[Crazy Cat 41,874]

If your first marriage was not legally dissolved before Oct 2016, your current marriage is invalid.  If that is the case, I think your only option is to remarry your current wife, and refile a new petition...from scratch....I see no other way.....if I am reading your post correctly.

 

EDIT:  Make sure you have the proper paperwork showing the previous marriage was legally terminated...

Edited May 25, 2019 by missileman

[kris&me 572]

Looks like you need proper documentation of the divorce and to remarry and apply 

[Crazy Cat 41,874]

10 minutes ago, Elsalove2016 said:

I am very sorry this happen to you I understand and know is very hard to be away from your loved one . I believe the best thing to do now is to do another petition with new paper work and all and also seek the service of an attorney . It will take time and money but at the end it will all be worth it . Good luck with everything the best part of all is that it is clear to them that the relationship is real . 

But his current marriage is not valid......doesn't he have to marry first?

[Aj06 11]

23 minutes ago, missileman said:

If your first marriage was not legally dissolved before Oct 2016, your current marriage is invalid.  If that is the case, I think your only option is to remarry your current wife, and refile a new petition...from scratch....I see no other way.....if I am reading your post correctly.

 

EDIT:  Make sure you have the proper paperwork showing the previous marriage was legally terminated...

Do i have to wait to hear frm uscis first or my petition will be automatically revoked once it reaches there?

[Crazy Cat 41,874]

1 minute ago, Aj06 said:

Do i have to wait to hear frm uscis first or my petition will be automatically revoked once it reaches there?

I don't think so........It seems to me that any appeal would be futile.......

[Aj06 11]

8 minutes ago, missileman said:

I don't think so........It seems to me that any appeal would be futile.......

So do i have to wait for uscis to close my case first before i reapply or i can go a head and remarry and file a new petition?

[carmel34 3,633]

1. get copy of divorce decree from first marriage

2.  get married to USC spouse

3.  she files another I-130 for you

 

In that order.  Good luck!

[IssaCaptureFL 120]

Also I would differently address the situation at hand as well when refiling. Give them the heart felt letter of what happened, take accountability and state how it has impacted your life. One thing about USCIS and the embassy they research and pull up everything. 

[Aj06 11]

1 hour ago, kris&me said:

Looks like you need proper documentation of the divorce and to remarry and apply 

Divorce #2 filed by my ex was legally terminated on the 27th of jan 2017 and i am trying to find out the status of divorce #1 which was also filed by her in 2009, because that's the date i give uscis as my marriage termination date.

[Aj06 11]

52 minutes ago, IssaCaptureFL said:

Also I would differently address the situation at hand as well when refiling. Give them the heart felt letter of what happened, take accountability and state how it has impacted your life. One thing about USCIS and the embassy they research and pull up everything. 

I was surprised they didn't pick up anything about the said divorce which was previously filed in 2009 by the high court.

[Crazy Cat 41,874]

5 minutes ago, Aj06 said:

Divorce #2 filed by my ex was legally terminated on the 27th of jan 2017 and i am trying to find out the status of divorce #1 which was also filed by her in 2009, because that's the date i give uscis as my marriage termination date.

I think you were wrong.....your marriage wasn't actually terminated until after your current marriage, it seems......therefore, you are not currently legally married.

1 minute ago, Aj06 said:

I was surprised they didn't pick up anything about the said divorce which was previously filed in 2009 by the high court.

Because filing a divorce doesn't finish the divorce.

[Elsalove2016 34]

2 hours ago, missileman said:

But his current marriage is not valid......doesn't he have to marry first?

Well the he has to divorce and then marry his wife and file the petition and address the situation to uscis . The relationship is real so it should come around just fine the second time one he has proof that his first marriage is completely terminated . 

[Aj06 11]

7 minutes ago, missileman said:

I think you were wrong.....your marriage wasn't actually terminated until after your current marriage, it seems......therefore, you are not currently legally married.

Because filing a divorce doesn't finish the divorce.

I hear you my friend,but i am trying to find out what happened to divorce #1,if it did pass in 2009 then that would solve my problem.