Denied Citizenship, Lawyers won't appeal

[Boiler 45,519]

25 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

For the OP's husband.......correct?

Yep

[Boiler 45,519]

I was married in Church

 

Very legal in my case.

[Mike E 11,739]

7 minutes ago, Boiler said:

I was married in Church

 

Very legal in my case.

What state in the USA recognizes a church wedding without civil marriage certificate?

[Boiler 45,519]

3 minutes ago, Mike E said:

What state in the USA recognizes a church wedding without civil marriage certificate?

I do not know, I would assume none now.

 

I am sure they did in the past, when did it change?

[Mike E 11,739]

1 minute ago, Boiler said:

I do not know, I would assume none now.

 

I am sure they did in the past, when did it change?

Apparently it changed after you got married, since you are implying you didn’t have marriage certificate issued by a USA state or county when you adjusted status after entering  the USA on a K-1.  The K-1 visa category  was created in 1970 according Wikipedia.  I can say with certainty that by the 1980s, in the state I was married, a church wedding absent a county issued marriage license signed by the officiant was not legally recognized by the state.  
 

Anyway a digression from the matter at hand, and I expect this comment to be deleted. 

[JeanneAdil 6,509]

4 minutes ago, Mike E said:

Apparently it changed after you got married, since you are implying you didn’t have marriage certificate issued by a USA state or county when you adjusted status after entering  the USA on a K-1.  The K-1 visa category  was created in 1970 according Wikipedia.  I can say with certainty that by the 1980s, in the state I was married, a church wedding absent a county issued marriage license signed by the officiant was not legally recognized by the state.  
 

Anyway a digression from the matter at hand, and I expect this comment to be deleted. 

church clergy must see a marriage license to perform the ceremony to be legally married

some states have fines for a clergy performing a religious ceremony only in eyes of the church (not recognized by the state)

 

This is an answer that varies according to the jurisdiction. I was asked this question once so I researched the laws of the state where I lived then (Colorado) and found that a marriage license was not required to be considered legally married, but that any person performing such an unlicensed marriage could be fined $25.

So I told the couple I’d do the wedding free with a license, but without a license my fee was $25.

 

Michigan its $1000 

 

Is religious marriage legal in Michigan?

 

It is clear that Michigan only recognizes marriages that follow the proper legal formalities. Michigan does not give any legal recognition to a religious marriage.Oct 24, 2013

 

in this case the marriage would be legal  according to immigration if legal in their country which according to the OP the CO considered the marriage validity and therefore denied his right to citizenship

[Boiler 45,519]

 Have no idea where you are going with this but I am pretty sure in early American history church weddings was as good as it got. Off to find out when the US changed

[JeanneAdil 6,509]

4 minutes ago, Boiler said:

 Have no idea where you are going with this but I am pretty sure in early American history church weddings was as good as it got. Off to find out when the US changed

depends on the state 

i can go back to World war II mom and dad married in Tacoma Washington  and marriage in 1945  -no license needed and marriages there were not registered till 1968

 

understanding its not as hard now to get the license / in NY state there was a 3 day wait as a blood test was needed / thank God not anymore

 

When did the US start issuing marriage licenses?

 

 

Marriage license application records from government authorities are widely available starting from the mid-19th century. Some are available dating from the 17th century in colonial America. Marriage licenses have been required since 1639 in Massachusetts, with their use gradually expanding to other jurisdictions.

[Boiler 45,519]

Well we are getting off track and I also came across that in the US it is generally a State issue a bit like Driving Licenses

 

Back to the OP they said they were married and nothing to suggest it was not legal.

[JeanneAdil 6,509]

7 minutes ago, Boiler said:

Well we are getting off track and I also came across that in the US it is generally a State issue a bit like Driving Licenses

 

Back to the OP they said they were married and nothing to suggest it was not legal.

i think basically OP u r SOL

[aaron2020 11,651]

This is a fairly common mistake and it will not end well.

 

Beneficiaries who are petitioned requiring them to be unmarried must be unmarried when they enter the US for the first time.  The problem is that after getting their visas, they get marry and then fly to the US.  They enter the US married using a visa requiring them to be unmarried.  They file for the foreign spouse and then it all goes to .  

 

The married beneficiary in this case is NOT ELIGIBLE to use the visa.  Any benefit will be taken away.  Any petitions filed by this person will be deny.

 

Ignorance is not an excuse.  Not knowing is not an excuse.  

There is absolutely nothing that can be done to help the beneficiary and kids.  The husband is likely to have his case reviewed with a possible revocation of his green card.  There is NO WAY for him to petition for anyone since he screwed up his immigration journey.

 

Sorry OP.  There is no good news to give you.  

[Timona 4,207]

Church weddings are legal in Kenya. The church offers a marriage certificate signed by the church officials. 

[Family 3,988]

9 hours ago, African Zealot said:

believe USCIS indicated they would not go after his permanent residency however he would never become a citizen.

USCIS ( after many many challenges in various courts , including The Supremes ) won’t rescind LPR because they cannot…since 5 years have passed.
https://www.justice.gov/eoir/eoir-policy-manual/7/3
 

OP’ husband thus remains an LPR and given described hardships ( terminal illness of USC father and assumption he is supporting wife and kids overseas) is not in a position to challenge N-400 denial, even if he lives in 3rd Circuit … BUT certainly OP’s husband should not travel internationally for a bit without expecting a rough road, cause many POE staff rely more on their opinion and theory ( Bam ! Got One! Bad ! Fraud! Error! Improper! ..) 

https://www.seyfarth.com/a/web/6592/WhentheGreenCardIsIssuedinError.pdf

 

He can and should KEEP LOOKING for immigration attorneys that specialize in distinction between discretion and statute…like any other skilled practice u won’t get much help from a urologist when you need a neurologist. Gist of argument being, if they CANNOT RESCIND LPR status, can they deem u just a little bit of an LPR…
 

 

[Crazy Cat 41,882]

57 minutes ago, Family said:

OP’ husband thus remains an LPR and given described hardships ( terminal illness of USC father and assumption he is supporting wife and kids overseas) is not in a position to challenge N-400 denial, even if he lives in 3rd Circuit

He misrepresented himself when entering the US.  That is justification for revocation of all or any immigration benefits.  He shouldn't even be in the US (depending on a proper F3 PD).   Any "hardship" in this case is totally irrelevant to the law.

Why would he need an attorney if no one can touch his status as an LPR? 

 

By your logic, he is fine.  I disagree.  

Edited April 5, 2022 by Crazy Cat

[African Zealot 1,455]

3 hours ago, aaron2020 said:

There is absolutely nothing that can be done to help the beneficiary and kids.  The husband is likely to have his case reviewed with a possible revocation of his green card.  There is NO WAY for him to petition for anyone since he screwed up his immigration journey.

Pump the brakes. It’s not set in stone. More improbable things have happened. I won’t be completely surprised if a year or so from now OP returns to say she was approved.

 

It’s USCIS we’re dealing with here, not NASA 😂

Edited April 5, 2022 by African Zealot