IR-1 NVC stage. The RFE : Marriage Termination document Rejected.

[Tops 3]

IR-1  NVC stage. 
The RFE : Marriage Termination document Rejected.
Please replace this with an acceptable divorce, annulment or death certificate from a correct issuing authority. 

Here's my story; While filling the form DS160 some year back I did put married as there was no option of life partner in the form. 

While filling the  i-130 I had to include my ex who i had life partnership with as a form of previous marriage but indicated it was a life partnership agreement.

I provided the termination document of my life partner cancellation from a Notary, I was never married but I think Life partner in South africa is considered a form of marriage in the US. 

I went back to the Notary who did the life partner cancellation, who  happens to be the same person attorney who initially did the life partnership agreement contract. but told me it cannot go through the highcourt or supreme court as it was not a legal form of marriage in South Africa. 

Now i am confused of what document to submit to the NVC. 

I will appreciate if any help can be rendered.

Edited March 25, 2022 by Rashp
keyboard error

[iwannaplay54 985]

So “life partner” is a legal marriage in South Africa or not?

[iwannaplay54 985]

Never mind.  
 

You were never actually married.  You were playing house.  Playing house is still “unmarried” in South Africa as the “life partner” agreement is only binding between the parties.  We don’t put every chickie we lived with on the USC part of the I130 - for many of us that would fill boxes.

 

So, you fraudulently (in the eyes of the US government) dinged a box on a visa application years ago then doubled down by (fraudulently in the eyes of the US government) listed a “not marriage” in a section on previous spouses on an I130.  
 

Why?  Why on the I130?  That can’t be fixed.

 

 

Edited March 25, 2022 by iwannaplay54

[Dashinka 24,831]

2 hours ago, Rashp said:

IR-1  NVC stage. 
The RFE : Marriage Termination document Rejected.
Please replace this with an acceptable divorce, annulment or death certificate from a correct issuing authority. 

Here's my story; While filling the form DS160 some year back I did put married as there was no option of life partner in the form. 

While filling the  i-130 I had to include my ex who i had life partnership with as a form of previous marriage but indicated it was a life partnership agreement.

I provided the termination document of my life partner cancellation from a Notary, I was never married but I think Life partner in South africa is considered a form of marriage in the US. 

I went back to the Notary who did the life partner cancellation, who  happens to be the same person attorney who initially did the life partnership agreement contract. but told me it cannot go through the highcourt or supreme court as it was not a legal form of marriage in South Africa. 

Now i am confused of what document to submit to the NVC. 

I will appreciate if any help can be rendered.

I am confused, so on the DS160 you checked the box "married" and included the information of your then life partner which subsequently ended.  So what did you put on the I130, "divorced"?  And how did you indicate this previous relationship was not a legal marriage, but rather a life partnership?  You may want ask for this to be moved to the South Africa regional forum as this seems to be a topic more regionally specific.

 

Good Luck!

 

https://www.visajourney.com/forums/forum/89-africa-sub-saharan/

[Crazy Cat 42,393]

3 hours ago, Rashp said:

Now i am confused of what document to submit to the NVC. 

Court document terminating the "agreement"...... I see no other option.  

Edited March 25, 2022 by Crazy Cat

[arken 4,197]

4 hours ago, Rashp said:

I was never married but I think Life partner in South africa is considered a form of marriage in the US. 

 

1 hour ago, Dashinka said:

went back to the Notary who did the life partner cancellation, who  happens to be the same person attorney who initially did the life partnership agreement contract. but told me it cannot go through the highcourt or supreme court as it was not a legal form of marriage in South Africa.

Only if you had asked the same notary about your marital states when filing ds160. Even if you had not put your so called ex's info on i130, you would be asked about the divorce decree during visa interview.

 

You went with your own assumption and now are paying the price. Honestly not sure on how one can convince uscis or the embassy about not being married prior to the current marriage. It's a tough road. 

[Timona 4,208]

1 hour ago, Crazy Cat said:

Court document terminating the "agreement"...... I see no other option.  

 

It's gonna be difficult to fill a water in a cup with a hole at the bottom. 

 

This type of arrangement, is in some countries, I believe. Additionally, the law state that though it's recognized as partnership, it's not fully binding..

Edited March 25, 2022 by Timona

[Crazy Cat 42,393]

3 minutes ago, Timona said:

 

It's gonna be difficult to fill a water in a cup with a hole at the bottom. 

 

This type of arrangement, is in some countries, I believe. Additionally, the law state that though it's recognized as partnership, it's not fully binding..

It's a big mess.

[Redro 4,612]

FYI to VJ members

@Rashp is not South African.

We know all about legal SA marriages

Cultural or religious marriages will be registered BUT common law marriage is not a thing in South Africa.

My friend decided to lie about being married and is trying to use South Africa law as a front. 

Edited March 25, 2022 by Kor2USA

[iwannaplay54 985]

41 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

It's a big mess.

Has anyone in your memory survived the “I put I was married but really wasn’t” mess? I see this often, never seen anyone pull themselves out of it.

Researched that South Africa thing.  Those “life partner” agreements are not marriages nor are recognized as such.  In a choice of “married” “not married” - if not legally married the correct answer is “not married”  Wow

Edited March 25, 2022 by iwannaplay54

[Crazy Cat 42,393]

7 minutes ago, iwannaplay54 said:

Has anyone in your memory survived the “I put I was married but really wasn’t” mess?

Over the past several years, we have seen multiple cases of entering oneself as married on a previous DS-160 in order to "improve the chances" of getting a non-immigrant visa.  Years later, this "mistake" re-surfaces when DOS asks for the termination document for the claimed marriage.  Either the members were not able to resolve the issue, or they just never returned to tell us how they resolved it. No, I have never seen one of these cases end well.

 

This case sounds eerily similar.

Edited March 25, 2022 by Crazy Cat

[Redro 4,612]

8 minutes ago, iwannaplay54 said:

Has anyone in your memory survived the “I put I was married but really wasn’t” mess? I see this often, never seen anyone pull themselves out of it.

Researched that South Africa thing.  Those “life partner” agreements are not marriages nor are recognized as such.  In a choice of “married” “not married” - if not legally married the correct answer is “not married”  Wow

Registering a marriage in South Africa is complicated especially if a foreign national is involved. We don't have common law marriage (marriage because you lived together for X years). EVERYTHING is registered... OP lied about their situation and is now living with the consequences

Edited March 25, 2022 by Kor2USA

[SteveInBostonI130 3,488]

Time for the USC to move to the OP's country.

 

I have not seen anyone successfully overcoming the "stated married on a DS-160 but in reality wasn't really married" situation. 

[iwannaplay54 985]

8 minutes ago, Kor2USA said:

Registering a marriage in South Africa is complicated especially if a foreign national is involved. We don't have common law marriage (marriage because you lived together for X years). EVERYTHING is registered... OP lied about their situation and is now living with the consequences

Doubled down by putting it on an I130 but I wonder how that got through without a divorce decree.  
Straightening this out will take forever and OP will have to convince someone that this error was unintentional.

Perhaps a copy of the original agreement, the agreement that ended it, a snip of the South African law that describes this arrangement, and a formal statement from OP outlining his error will suffice.  This kind of thing is a real speed bump for sure.  In South Africa these agreements are enforcable between the parties but not legally recognized as a marriage.

 

4 minutes ago, SteveInBostonI130 said:

Time for the USC to move to the OP's country.

 

I have not seen anyone successfully overcoming the "stated married on a DS-160 but in reality wasn't really married" situation. 

There may be some gray here but I agree, these seem to be next to impossible to overcome.  

Edited March 25, 2022 by iwannaplay54

[Redro 4,612]

Just now, iwannaplay54 said:

Doubled down by putting it on an I130 but I wonder how that got through without a divorce decree.  
Straightening this out will take forever and OP will have to convince someone that this error was unintentional.

Perhaps a copy of the original agreement, the agreement that ended it, a snip of the South African law that describes this arrangement, and a formal statement from OP outlining his error will suffice.  This kind of thing is a real speed bump for sure.

There is a lot of marriage fraud in SA. 

OP is probably not South African. I'm not sure but I know the laws and I know what type of unions are seen as marriages. And generally if they're not immediately registered with the State they are second/third marriage (think polygamy) so OP has a major issue to figure out.