Skype marriage (pakistan) spouse visa (merged)

[Nitas_man 3,100]

2 hours ago, Saa Isha said:

Need to ask something 
One of my friend’s story !!!
She and her husband done Skype marriage in a year of 2016 and also registered in their homeland country(pakistan) 2016.
And after that they have met together in a another country and done their all marriage functions in a year 2018 , made photos together videos
 and both families were also present. 
Now they want to enter a spouse case but unfortunately, Skype marriage will not acceptable in a USCIS. 
So now what should they do 
Any best way or suggestions for them .?????

Travel to home country affecting citizenship is untrue.

Why did he lie to her and her family about that?

Edited August 3, 2019 by Nitas_man

[portorusa 431]

1 hour ago, JFH said:

Posting for a friend or yourself? Your post history shows you were denied a K-1 due to “being ineligible for this visa category” (too married?)

Or ineligible to apply for K1 due to not being a US citizen...

[portorusa 431]

32 minutes ago, Nitas_man said:

Travel to home country affecting citizenship is untrue.

 

Maybe he got his green card as a refugee from Pakistan? 🙄

[geowrian 22,338]

Just saw this thread now...

 

Yes, the big issue was that one party was in Massachusetts, where proxy marriages are not allowed. As such, the entire marriage is invalid. Pakistan can recognize it fine, but it does not meet the requirements to be recognized by the US for immigration purposes. This is really, really something that should have been worked out before any such marriage. Always do your research first. It's very time consuming and expensive to fix later, as they are now seeing. Don't take marriage requirements lightly.

 

As for how to "fix" it, it means getting legally married. Getting legally married when you hold a marriage certificate valid in your home country is not simple - presumably a divorce or annulment is required first. Then getting legally married. Then starting the process over again.

 

Research, research, research. Then act.

[HRQX 4,145]

10 minutes ago, geowrian said:

Yes, the big issue was that one party was in Massachusetts, where proxy marriages are not allowed. As such, the entire marriage is invalid. Pakistan can recognize it fine, but it does not meet the requirements to be recognized by the US for immigration purposes.

I'm curious. Is this a precedent from court/BIA? Or is it from the Policy Manual (or INA)?

Edited August 3, 2019 by HRQX

[Nitas_man 3,100]

48 minutes ago, portorusa said:

Maybe he got his green card as a refugee from Pakistan? 🙄

Don’t eyeroll me.  Go get the regs and show us the relationship between travel and citizenship in any context (other than the clock reset rule for long absences)

[geowrian 22,338]

38 minutes ago, HRQX said:

I'm curious. Is this a precedent from court/BIA? Or is it from the Policy Manual (or INA)?

There are some BIA cases (I researched this in the past but don't have them off-hand) and the rulings have been consistent that the marriage must be legal in the location in which it was performed. When it comes to a proxy marriage within the US, this means the marriage has to be legal in the state in which is was celebrated (IIRC, only 1 or 2 states permit it still). It gets a bit more complicated if the location of celebration is not the same as residence, but I don't believe that is an issue in the OP's case.

There was actually a somewhat recent case (months old?) on VJ where both parties were in the same country (living together) but the officiant was in the US in a state for which proxy marriages are not legal. USCIS also denied their petition due to the marriage being deemed invalid.

 

If I get a minute later, I'll see if I can pull up some example rulings.

For now, I would refer to the AFM: https://www.uscis.gov/ilink/docView/AFM/HTML/AFM/0-0-0-1/0-0-0-3481/0-0-0-4484.html

Specifically, see the "Legality of Marriage in the Place of Celebration." section followed by the "Validity of the Marriage in Petitioner and Beneficiary’s State of Residence or Presumed State of Residence and State Public Policy Considerations." section.

Quote

Where the beneficiary resides abroad, unless otherwise indicated or known to the officer, officers should presume that the couple will reside in the petitioner’s state of residence [See Matter of Manjoukis, 13 I&N Dec. 705 (BIA 1971)]. The officer should consult with local USCIS counsel for assistance in determining the validity of the marriage or considering whether to issue an RFE for the petitioner to establish whether the marriage is or will be recognized as valid in the petitioner’s current or presumed state of residence.

This indicates that the marriage must be legal within the state of residence of the petitioner.

As a side note, this provision has been held up for other issues (such as marriage of first cousins, marriage of minors, etc.).

Edited August 3, 2019 by geowrian

[Nitas_man 3,100]

45 minutes ago, HRQX said:

I'm curious. Is this a precedent from court/BIA? Or is it from the Policy Manual (or INA)?

https://www.alllaw.com/articles/nolo/us-immigration/proxy-marriage-validity.html

 

Good article

 

Other day a guy’s petition got nailed because he married an underage girl while he lived in California.

Marriage was legal in Afghanistan, but earned him an unanswerable RFE in California.

Edited August 3, 2019 by Nitas_man

[HRQX 4,145]

18 minutes ago, geowrian said:

There are some BIA cases (I researched this in the past but don't have them off-hand) and the rulings have been consistent that the marriage must be legal in the location in which it was performed. When it comes to a proxy marriage within the US, this means the marriage has to be legal in the state in which is was performed (IIRC, only 1 or 2 states permit it still).

Are double-proxy Montana marriages for active duty service member and foreign beneficiary that have been consummated not valid for immigration? [Let's also say the service member was stationed and physically located in Bedford, Massachusetts at the time the Montana officiant performed the marriage]

Edited August 3, 2019 by HRQX

[geowrian 22,338]

8 minutes ago, HRQX said:

Are double-proxy Montana marriages for active duty service member and foreign beneficiary that have been consummated not valid for immigration? [Let's also say the service member was stationed in Bedford, Massachusetts at the time the Montana officiant performed the marriage]

I don't want to speak with certainty (I do NOT know all state's marriage laws - far from it!), but a quick search indicates that Montana does specifically permit it so it should be fine for immigration (Edit: Once consummated, of course). It sounds like a fairly common route for military members.

The only possible snag there would be that the individual resides in Massachusetts, so there would be a potential question if the marriage violates the state's public policy.

Edited August 3, 2019 by geowrian

[Nitas_man 3,100]

3 hours ago, Saa Isha said:

Ok now they should again meet and do make marriage certificate again together in their homeland country ???

Nothing here about fear of traveling back home?

[HRQX 4,145]

10 minutes ago, geowrian said:

so there would be a potential question if the marriage violates the state's public policy.

Is the following MA law the issue? https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartII/TitleIII/Chapter207/Section10

[geowrian 22,338]

17 minutes ago, HRQX said:

Is the following MA law the issue? https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartII/TitleIII/Chapter207/Section10

Possibly, although one would also have to look at the statute covering proxy marriages as well (is it just not permitted under law or is it explicitly prohibited by law, which are not necessarily the same). The statute there is written in a way to avoid somebody going to another state to engage in marriage that is prohibited within the state (i.e. to marry a minor or relative). When it comes to public policy decisions, the officer looks at the specifics to determine validity.

Edited August 3, 2019 by geowrian

[Saa Isha 25]

2 hours ago, JFH said:

Posting for a friend or yourself? Your post history shows you were denied a K-1 due to “being ineligible for this visa category” (too married?)

Lol im just asking for my friend .. i dont know why ISb embassy rejct my visa .. my husband is by Birth US ctzn .. i already applied for cr1 visa now these days im waiting for my NoA2 (NSC ) 

[HRQX 4,145]

17 minutes ago, geowrian said:

Possibly, although one would also have to look at the statute covering proxy marriages as well (is it just not permitted under law or is it explicitly prohibited by law, which are not necessarily the same).

Proxy marriage isn't explicitly prohibited: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartII/TitleIII/Chapter207 There isn't a statute that covers proxy marriages.

Edited August 3, 2019 by HRQX