Help please

[Dashinka 24,741]

30 minutes ago, USS_Voyager said:

Section 212(a)(6)(C)(i) of the Immigration & Nationality Act (INA) states that foreign nationals, who by fraud or willfully misrepresenting a material fact, seek to procure (or have sought to procure or have procured) a visa, other documentation, or admission into the United States or other immigration benefit are inadmissible. 

 

He is completely toast. There is nothing he can do. When he appears for the interview this time, they will ask him for proof that his "previous marriage" was terminated. If he cannot produce the divorce papers (which is nonexistent because there was no marriage), he will not be granted a visa because he could not produce proof that he was "free to marry" "the second time". If he admits to lying on the B1/2 application, even though he did not get the visa (have sought to procure the visa is enough), he will be found inadmissible under 212a6c1, which carries a lifetime ban from entering the US. 

 

There is technically a waiver for that. That will involves his wife being able to prove that his absence in the US will cause her extreme physical or emotional hardship, which is very hard to do. Anyway, he has long long road ahead.  

Or the wife immigrates to the husband's country.

[Hope2020 14]

2 minutes ago, arken said:

They could ask him for divorce decree from the marriage stated in the B2 visa application. From their point, the 2019 marriage isn’t valid if he was already married in 2018.

Yes that's true. Ok thanks so much. I'll let them know the different outcomes and options. 

[USS_Voyager 1,972]

20 minutes ago, missileman said:

so it might not be material misrepresentation

The language is very clear: Section 212(a)(6)(C)(i) of the Immigration & Nationality Act (INA) states that foreign nationals, who by fraud or willfully misrepresenting a material fact, seek to procure (or have sought to procure or have procured) a visa, other documentation, or admission into the United States or other immigration benefit are inadmissible. 

[Crazy Cat 42,125]

3 minutes ago, arken said:

They could ask him for divorce decree from the marriage stated in the B2 visa application. From their point, the 2019 marriage isn’t valid if he was already married in 2018 and not divorced so they can’t issue a visa based on an invalid marriage.

Exactly.....This is why a single lie can create a great deal of havoc............

[Hope2020 14]

21 minutes ago, missileman said:

He didn't receive the B2, so it might not be material misrepresentation....but could be seen as serious by the consulate.....I'm not sure how he proves a negative.  I think I would just confess and see what happens.......

Right at this point if it comes up just have to tell the truth. Saying anything else will make it much worse.

2 minutes ago, missileman said:

Exactly.....This is why a single lie can create a great deal of havoc............

Agreed

[Hope2020 14]

5 minutes ago, Bill & Katya said:

Or the wife immigrates to the husband's country.

Good point 

[jan22 3,056]

35 minutes ago, USS_Voyager said:

The language is very clear: Section 212(a)(6)(C)(i) of the Immigration & Nationality Act (INA) states that foreign nationals, who by fraud or willfully misrepresenting a material fact, seek to procure (or have sought to procure or have procured) a visa, other documentation, or admission into the United States or other immigration benefit are inadmissible. 

But you also should have bolded the phrase just before where you started "...who by fraud or willfully misrepresenting a material fact...".  There is no requirement that a person be married to qualify for a visa, so whether they are or aren't is not automatically a material fact.  It can become one, if it is a strong part of why a visa was approved, i.e., because of this factor (he's married), I will approve the visa; if he weren't married, I would not.  So, missleman is correct -- because he did not get the visa, the misrepresentation may not be considered a material fact that rises to a finding of a 6C1 ineligibility. 

 

It will be seriously reviewed by the consular officer during the interview and a determination of the consequences made at that time.  For example, while it might not rise to the 6C1 ineligibility, it can become a factor in determination of things like validity of the current relationship. Since it was fairly recent (2018), it could be viewed as a somewhat desperate attempt to get to the US through any means possible. They might then question a marriage that occurred quickly thereafter (2019) as a continuation of that attempt, instead of a legitimate marriage.  I'm not saying that's what will happen, but it is an example of what some of the consequences might be, even if 6C1 does not apply.

 

And, of course, they can demand that he submit documentation for the dissolution of that marriage -- which he cannot supply.  Catch 22.

Edited January 21, 2020 by jan22

[USS_Voyager 1,972]

3 minutes ago, jan22 said:

There is no requirement that a person be married to qualify for a visa, so whether they are or aren't is not automatically a material fact

The requirement is to have ties with the home country. Marriage and a wife is a very big "tie". It is so a material fact. The whole reason they told the guy to put down marriage is to increase his "ties". It seems very material to me, in the B1/2 case. 

[jan22 3,056]

11 minutes ago, USS_Voyager said:

The requirement is to have ties with the home country. Marriage and a wife is a very big "tie". It is so a material fact. The whole reason they told the guy to put down marriage is to increase his "ties". It seems very material to me, in the B1/2 case. 

While it may seem material to a lot of people, in most cases it is not -- on it's own -- a material fact.  It can be a factor in determining ties, but unless it is the only factor that convinces the officer or is the factor that "tips the scales", it is not automatically a material fact.  People Ieave spouses behind all the time, so it's not seen as a strong tie on its own -- there needs to be other supporting factors..

Edited January 21, 2020 by jan22

[carmel34 3,650]

The "husband of your friend" will likely be denied a CR-1 spousal visa at the interview, rightly so because he lied on a government form and signed it, a federal offense that is serious.  The USC spouse should make plans to move to Nigeria to live with him if they want to be together.  The only hope is if he is given the opportunity to file for a waiver, this would happen at or after the visa interview at the US embassy in Lagos.  In that case, he should find the best attorney he can afford in Nigeria, come clean about the lie, admit it, and see what the outcome of the waiver process is.  It will take a long time and cost a lot of money, with no guarantee of success.  Lying has serious consequences for US immigration.  Good luck to your friend and her husband!

[Dashinka 24,741]

6 minutes ago, carmel34 said:

The "husband of your friend" will likely be denied a CR-1 spousal visa at the interview, rightly so because he lied on a government form and signed it, a federal offense that is serious.  The USC spouse should make plans to move to Nigeria to live with him if they want to be together.  The only hope is if he is given the opportunity to file for a waiver, this would happen at or after the visa interview at the US embassy in Lagos.  In that case, he should find the best attorney he can afford in Nigeria, come clean about the lie, admit it, and see what the outcome of the waiver process is.  It will take a long time and cost a lot of money, with no guarantee of success.  Lying has serious consequences for US immigration.  Good luck to your friend and her husband!

This is the Catch-22 that @jan22 mentioned.  It might be waiverable, but how does one prove they were actually never married without admitting they purposefully lied to try and obtain an immigration benefit?  It is hard to prove a negative.

[designguy 1,179]

The problem is now he goes to the CO and says "Actually I wasnt married when I applied for the B2". What is the CO supposed to believe, because in reality he could have been married and just didnt want to go through a divorce. Its a big screw up.

 

 

It seems highly unlikely a CO would approve a spousal visa at this point

[Crazy Cat 42,125]

@Hope2020, it would be great if you could keep us informed regarding this case.  We see this exact situation from time to time.....but no one ever returns to tell us how and if the issue was resolved........

Edited January 21, 2020 by missileman

[Hope2020 14]

Thank you very much everyone for your responses. I'll definitely pass along the different choices and outcomes possible. I'll post an update once everything is over. Hopefully this will help someone else from making such a terrible mistake no matter what they're advised. 

[Sandra G. 5,057]

5 hours ago, Hope2020 said:

A friend of mine got married in 2019. They filed for the spouse visa in 2019 and things had been moving along in the process. They recently submitted all required documents and are awaiting a decision from NVC.

 

Her husband filed for a tourist visa in 2018 and stated after the urging from an agent that he was married. Problem is that he was never married to anyone else other than my friend. He was denied the tourist visa due to lack of ties to home country in 2018. Will that cause an issue for this current visa application? Will the interviewer review a previous application?

 

Any help or suggestions are greatly appreciated!

It will be a problem ,he should submit the waiver l601 to overcome the misrepresentation.