B1/B2 was denied will it affect my CR1

[Love nia 4]

My B1/B2 was denied I did mention I was in a common law marriage at the time. That’s something recognized in Jamaica. Three months later I got married and applied for the CR1. It’s a true and real relationship. Would it bring up red flags. The relationship wasn’t working out and I was in communication with my wife at the time. We have a lot of evidence of our relationship. Would we be denied ? 
 

Also, I did put my wife name as a relative and her address on the application. I know I did screw up now I’m trying to fix it.

Edited April 24, 2020 by Love nia

[Just Paul 4,595]

5 minutes ago, Love nia said:

My B1/B2 was denied I did mention I was in a common law marriage at the time. That’s something recognized in Jamaica. Three months later I got married and applied for the CR1. It’s a true and real relationship. Would it bring up red flags. The relationship wasn’t working out and I was in communication with my wife at the time. We have a lot of evidence of our relationship. Would we be denied ? 
 

Also, I did put my wife name as a relative and her address on the application. I know I did screw up now I’m trying to fix it.

No issue as long as it was simply refused.   It is only and issue if it was denied because of a fradualent application.

[Love nia 4]

16 minutes ago, Paul & Mary said:

No issue as long as it was simply refused.   It is only and issue if it was denied because of a fradualent application.

No he was denied for no ties to the country. However, I did receive a rfe for this very reason. The common law marriage is an ex relationship.  Will it come up In the interview??? What should I say ?? 

Edited April 24, 2020 by Love nia

[SalishSea 17,804]

47 minutes ago, Love nia said:

No he was denied for no ties to the country. However, I did receive a rfe for this very reason. The common law marriage is an ex relationship.  Will it come up In the interview??? What should I say ?? 

It can.  Any claims made on prior visa applications or in interviews can be revisited. We have seen cases here on VJ where the current marriage's legitimacy is questioned because of a previous claimed "married" status for which a divorce document cannot be produced.

[Love nia 4]

56 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

It can.  Any claims made on prior visa applications or in interviews can be revisited. We have seen cases here on VJ where the current marriage's legitimacy is questioned because of a previous claimed "married" status for which a divorce document cannot be produced.

Understood, it was a honest mistake. He shouldn’t have put a common law marriage but that’s what the agency where he went to told him to put. They were just living together. I’m confused and nervous it will affect our case 

[Villanelle 4,122]

You have major issues.....

 

Are you the US wife or the immigrant husband? Because the first post is written by the immigrant husband and the additional posts are written by the US wife.

[Love nia 4]

29 minutes ago, Villanelle said:

You have major issues.....

 

Are you the US wife or the immigrant husband? Because the first post is written by the immigrant husband and the additional posts are written by the US wife.

Us wife but it’s regarding my husband 

[Villanelle 4,122]

Ok. So the exact specifics matter for you to get the best advice. Can you please clarify:

 

At the time of his B interview- was he in a common law marriage? If so did he have that common law marriage terminated before you guys married? If not did he claim to be in a common law marriage at the tourist interview?  On your CR paperwork did you list any prior marriages for him? What did the RFE want and what did you send as response. How long ago was the RFE answered/where are you in the overall process? 

 

You also stated you guys married 3 months after that interview- so was there any overlap of relationships? If so for how long? 

 

You also mentioned your name (current wife) was listed on the B as a relative. Are you relatives or was this a flat out lie? Was it possibly done because the purpose of the B was to visit you so your address was listed as where he would be staying? 

 

Most likely there will be a misrep waiver needed. You wont know if you need one until the interview where they will deny him and tell him theres a waiver. The waiver can take up to 6 months, so dont make any travel/relocation plans in anticipation of approval at the interview. 

 

[geowrian 22,337]

Lots of possibilities here...

1) No issue

2) Misrep

3) Visa refused pending evidence of the prior common law marriage being formally terminated before remarrying.

 

In addition to the above questions...

What did you list as the relationship to your now-wife on the DS-160?

When did the common law marriage end? What terminated it? What evidence of the termination do you have or did you present?

Edited April 25, 2020 by geowrian

[Love nia 4]

2 hours ago, Villanelle said:

Ok. So the exact specifics matter for you to get the best advice. Can you please clarify:

 

At the time of his B interview- was he in a common law marriage? If so did he have that common law marriage terminated before you guys married? If not did he claim to be in a common law marriage at the tourist interview?  On your CR paperwork did you list any prior marriages for him? What did the RFE want and what did you send as response. How long ago was the RFE answered/where are you in the overall process? 

 

You also stated you guys married 3 months after that interview- so was there any overlap of relationships? If so for how long? 

 

You also mentioned your name (current wife) was listed on the B as a relative. Are you relatives or was this a flat out lie? Was it possibly done because the purpose of the B was to visit you so your address was listed as where he would be staying? 

 

Most likely there will be a misrep waiver needed. You wont know if you need one until the interview where they will deny him and tell him theres a waiver. The waiver can take up to 6 months, so dont make any travel/relocation plans in anticipation of approval at the interview. 

 

At the time of the interview he was staying with a previous gf. It wasn’t formally registered as a common law marriage. He just informed the agency who did the paperwork this information. She decided it was a common law marriage. Wasn’t terminated because we wasn’t aware of this wasn’t together that long. Didn’t list any previous marriage on cr1 application.

 

Rfe was given on April 16. Wants evidence for bonafide marriage. Refused a tourist visa which state you were in a common law marriage. Three months later married me. To sum it up. Hasn’t respond as yet. But I have pictures of two trips after the wedding. Upcoming trip in July. Picture with him and my dad. Life Insurance. Beneficiary On my bank accounts. Letter from my dad,mom friends and siblings. PD sep 24 RFE pending. 
 

 

We knew each other since 2014 on and off. This occur 2018. He explained to the agency that he was talking to someone oversea so in actuality it’s a lie. Even though a relative couple be a fiancé. yes he was coming to visit me 

 

 

Thanks for the response. 

[Love nia 4]

1 hour ago, geowrian said:

Lots of possibilities here...

1) No issue

2) Misrep

3) Visa refused pending evidence of the prior common law marriage being formally terminated before remarrying.

 

In addition to the above questions...

What did you list as the relationship to your now-wife on the DS-160?

When did the common law marriage end? What terminated it? What evidence of the termination do you have or did you present?

Didn’t formally terminate it. Didn’t know that was thing. Wasn’t a real common law marriage. It was a honest mistake. End of relationship. Did list as a relative at the time we did plan to get married. 

[geowrian 22,337]

Thanks for the info.

Hard to say exactly how it will go. The main issue I see is she claimed to be in a common law marriage when she believed it was advantageous to her (a spouse is a tie to return home), but without a material change in circumstances married somebody else when that was advantageous to do so.

From a legal standpoint, one is not married based upon how they personally view their relationship. They are married or not based upon local laws (either via registering it or custom).

 

The potential issue is they will want to see evidence that common law marriage was dissolved prior to remarrying. I'm not nearly familiar enough with local law in Jamaica to know what is involved to terminate a common law marriage. There are some AAO and BIA decisions covering Jamaican common law marriages, but I couldn't find anything definitive as to what constitutes sufficient evidence of dissolving one (they mainly dealt with claiming to be in one when they failed to establish that they were - see below).

The closest thing I saw in those decisions was a reference to the property rights act, which allowed a separation upon termination of cohabitation, although that had caveats too.

 

The second potential issue would be misrepresentation. Matter of F-S dealt with this scenario where somebody claimed a common law marriage in Jamaica on a visa application, but then later applied for another immigration benefit where they discovered he was not in any such marriage. This resulted in a finding of being inadmissible for fraud or misrepresentation.

A hardship waiver was ultimately approved (I-601), although that is a consequence of the specific circumstances of that couple (like any waiver decision).

Relevant image from the case, as pasting the text came out garbled:

[Edit: Note a key difference here is they were granted the visa. Even if a misrep is established, it may or may not be deemed material since it apparently did not alter the outcome of the decision.]

 

Either way, there is not really anything to do at the time IMHO. The applicant still interviews for the visa. The CO makes a decision on eligibility and any inadmissibilities.

If there is no issue, great. The visa can be issued once processing completes.

If the issue is the dissolution of the common law marriage, then I suggest seeking local assistance on how one shows a common law marriage is dissolved.

If the issue is misrepresentation, they will refuse the visa and note if a waiver is available. Only then can a waiver (I-601) can be filed. I'd generally suggest assistance from an immigration attorney experienced with hardship waivers there as well.

Edited April 25, 2020 by geowrian

[Love nia 4]

4 hours ago, geowrian said:

Thanks for the info.

Hard to say exactly how it will go. The main issue I see is she claimed to be in a common law marriage when she believed it was advantageous to her (a spouse is a tie to return home), but without a material change in circumstances married somebody else when that was advantageous to do so.

From a legal standpoint, one is not married based upon how they personally view their relationship. They are married or not based upon local laws (either via registering it or custom).

 

The potential issue is they will want to see evidence that common law marriage was dissolved prior to remarrying. I'm not nearly familiar enough with local law in Jamaica to know what is involved to terminate a common law marriage. There are some AAO and BIA decisions covering Jamaican common law marriages, but I couldn't find anything definitive as to what constitutes sufficient evidence of dissolving one (they mainly dealt with claiming to be in one when they failed to establish that they were - see below).

The closest thing I saw in those decisions was a reference to the property rights act, which allowed a separation upon termination of cohabitation, although that had caveats too.

 

The second potential issue would be misrepresentation. Matter of F-S dealt with this scenario where somebody claimed a common law marriage in Jamaica on a visa application, but then later applied for another immigration benefit where they discovered he was not in any such marriage. This resulted in a finding of being inadmissible for fraud or misrepresentation.

A hardship waiver was ultimately approved (I-601), although that is a consequence of the specific circumstances of that couple (like any waiver decision).

Relevant image from the case, as pasting the text came out garbled:

[Edit: Note a key difference here is they were granted the visa. Even if a misrep is established, it may or may not be deemed material since it apparently did not alter the outcome of the decision.]

 

Either way, there is not really anything to do at the time IMHO. The applicant still interviews for the visa. The CO makes a decision on eligibility and any inadmissibilities.

If there is no issue, great. The visa can be issued once processing completes.

If the issue is the dissolution of the common law marriage, then I suggest seeking local assistance on how one shows a common law marriage is dissolved.

If the issue is misrepresentation, they will refuse the visa and note if a waiver is available. Only then can a waiver (I-601) can be filed. I'd generally suggest assistance from an immigration attorney experienced with hardship waivers there as well.

Thank you very much  for your time and effort to assist me with your findings. I think I will go ahead and get a lawyer and see what they say. This is soo stressful 

[Nitas_man 3,100]

1 hour ago, Love nia said:

Thank you very much  for your time and effort to assist me with your findings. I think I will go ahead and get a lawyer and see what they say. This is soo stressful 

Note that if it was an actual recognized common law marriage and requires formal divorce it will invalidate your current marriage and you guys will have to remarry and start over.  
No comment on misrep.  May or may not have consequences but right now I’d be more concerned about the legal validity of the current marriage.

Edited April 25, 2020 by Nitas_man

[carmel34 3,620]

I seem to remember quite a few similar cases here on VJ during the last year, they all sound very familiar.  In Jamaica or the DR, sometimes Nigeria, there's a man who is in a long distance relationship with an American woman and wants to go meet her, maybe even stay and marry her and try to adjust status, so on the B tourist visa application he makes "an honest mistake" and puts married to increase his chances for approval but it backfires as the immigration officers know the scheme so the B gets rightly denied.  Then the couple gets married and files for a spousal visa, or sometimes decide to try for a K-1, and in the petition process or at the visa interview, a document proving the dissolution of the prior common law "marriage" is requested but cannot be provided because it was never officially a marriage or even a legitimate common law marriage.  There's no easy way out of this mess, time to lawyer up and hope for the best.  Do more research and find a very experienced US immigration attorney who also knows the marriage laws of Jamaica.  It will likely be a long, expensive process with no guarantee of success at the end, so have a plan B ready.  Would you be okay with moving to Jamaica to live with your husband if it comes to that?

Edited April 25, 2020 by carmel34