Filed for CR1, just found out I have a previous marriage.

[Uoiee 2]

I've been married and living abroad for almost 15 years. I got married out of the US. Previously, when I was young and dumb, I was briefly married in the US, and apparently I still am.

 

My then (and still now) spouse said a very long time ago, before I got married to my now wife, that she annulled the marriage. All this time I thought that our marriage had ended. I'm just now finding out that that was not the case and that there is no record of our divorce.

 

I've already filed the i130 and waiting for the NOA.

 

What will happen now and how can I remedy this? 

 

Thank you for any advice.

[Jordanian Bride 268]

You just take people’s word for it when it comes to important things like divorce? Annulment is so difficult to do, btw. Most people who want to annul their marriages end up being told they’re not eligible. That should have been your first red flag.

 

You are not a child, you should have asked for the annulment decree many years ago. Now you are committing bigamy, and you put your current spouse in a bad position.

 

From my limited knowledge, you’ll have to divorce your spouse in the US, then your second spouse abroad. Lastly, you’ll have to marry your second spouse again. 

Edited November 23, 2022 by Jordanian Bride

[Jordanian Bride 268]

17 minutes ago, Jordanian Bride said:

You just take people’s word for it when it comes to important things like divorce? Annulment is so difficult to do, btw. Most people who want to annul their marriages end up being told they’re not eligible. That should have been your first red flag.

 

You are not a child, you should have asked for the annulment decree many years ago. Now you are committing bigamy, and you put your current spouse in a bad position.

 

From my limited knowledge, you’ll have to divorce your spouse in the US, then your second spouse abroad. Lastly, you’ll have to marry your second spouse again. 

You’ll need your previous marriage’s divorce certificate. File for divorce and obtain the certificate ASAP. The reason you’ll need to divorce your second spouse afterwards is because USCIS will not accept the overlap in the marriages. You’ll need a new marriage certificate that shows no overlap. Lastly, you’ll have to sign a letter explaining what happened and that you never intended to commit bigamy.

Edited November 23, 2022 by Jordanian Bride

[mamba69 40]

1 hour ago, Uoiee said:

I've been married and living abroad for almost 15 years. I got married out of the US. Previously, when I was young and dumb, I was briefly married in the US, and apparently I still am.

 

My then (and still now) spouse said a very long time ago, before I got married to my now wife, that she annulled the marriage. All this time I thought that our marriage had ended. I'm just now finding out that that was not the case and that there is no record of our divorce.

 

I've already filed the i130 and waiting for the NOA.

 

What will happen now and how can I remedy this? 

 

Thank you for any advice.

1) You have to withdraw the I-130 because your current marriage is invalid. 

2) Do a proper divorce with 1st spouse

3) remarry the current “spouse”

4) File a new I-130 and be ready to explain the reason why you withdraw the previous one. 
 

As long as you do the right thing and follow the steps you should be fine. Only down side is lost time but more you wait more time you’ll lose at this point. Good luck!
 

 

Edited November 23, 2022 by mamba69

[Unlockable 7,314]

3 hours ago, Uoiee said:

I've been married and living abroad for almost 15 years. I got married out of the US. Previously, when I was young and dumb, I was briefly married in the US, and apparently I still am.

 

My then (and still now) spouse said a very long time ago, before I got married to my now wife, that she annulled the marriage. All this time I thought that our marriage had ended. I'm just now finding out that that was not the case and that there is no record of our divorce.

 

I've already filed the i130 and waiting for the NOA.

 

What will happen now and how can I remedy this? 

 

Thank you for any advice.

First question I have is, where did your second marriage take place? If it is from a country that doesn't recognize divorce, it will add so much more complexity to this.

 

But the first thing you should do is withdraw your I-130 application. It is best for you to withdraw it and do everything to fix this rather than to have USCIS or the embassy find out. Because you may get hit with a material representation which could lead to a ban. 
 

After you withdraw your I130 case immediately, you should go through the formal process of divorcing both wives. Getting divorced from your first wife is critical at this point.

 

Once everything is free and clear, you can remarry your second wife and officially file.

 

This is not going to be fast nor easy. Your new wife will not be able to immigrate through you  until you get this situation with your first wife figured out. This may very well take a couple of years to remedy. 
 

 

[seekingthetruth 1,246]

4 hours ago, Jordanian Bride said:

You just take people’s word for it when it comes to important things like divorce?

If he would have been honest on the applications he would have disclosed the first marriage, and would have had to provide proof at that time.  Apparently he tried to skate around that little detail.  You don't just forget a marriage.

[Jordanian Bride 268]

Just now, seekingthetruth said:

If he would have been honest on the applications he would have disclosed the first marriage, and would have had to provide proof at that time.  Apparently he tried to skate around that little detail.  You don't just forget a marriage.

Yeah, it’s dishonest and even if the divorce were finalized, he’d still have to be transparent about it and attach a divorce certificate. It’s one of the most important documents in a petition like that. What a careless attitude.

[Beth & Achraf 328]

1.  You will need to obtain a divorce from your first wife, then re-marry your 2nd wife.

 

2.  You will need to refile with Immigration and write an explanation of what happened o0f why you did not disclose first marriage,  and include with your Divorce Decree from #1 Wife

 

You're not the first and won't be the last this happens to a person, but your attitude at time of interview on this matter and why you did not mentioned first marriage in the petition could make or break a visa being issue for your 2nd wife.

 

 

 

 

 

[Uoiee 2]

10 hours ago, mamba69 said:

1) You have to withdraw the I-130

3) remarry the current “spouse”

 

 

Thanks everyone. Yes I agree. It was stupid on my part. I should have known better.

 

1) How do I withdraw?

 

2) When I finalize both divorces and "remarry" my wife, am I still doing IR1 (which is what I meant in the title)?

[mamba69 40]

8 minutes ago, Uoiee said:

Thanks everyone. Yes I agree. It was stupid on my part. I should have known better.

 

1) How do I withdraw?

 

2) When I finalize both divorces and "remarry" my wife, am I still doing IR1 (which is what I meant in the title)?

1) Write a letter to the exact USCIS service center currently processing your case. Make sure it includes all the information such as names of petitioner and beneficiary, date of birth, receipt number + your statement saying you want to withdraw the petition.

 

2) CR1/IR1 yes. Most likely CR1 since time will restart. 

Edited November 23, 2022 by mamba69

[Scandi 4,166]

44 minutes ago, Uoiee said:

Thanks everyone. Yes I agree. It was stupid on my part. I should have known better.

 

1) How do I withdraw?

 

2) When I finalize both divorces and "remarry" my wife, am I still doing IR1 (which is what I meant in the title)?

Yes you file a new i-130 once you have the divorce decree from ALL your prior marriages (doesn't matter if it's just 1 or 100) and have married your girlfriend (she is not your wife). Depending on how long the process takes, it could be a CR-1 or an IR-1 visa. IR-1 if you have been married for over two years when she enters the US (the clock starts counting from the wedding day, which you haven't had yet). 

[A&J22 30]

your current marriage is invalid, you need to withdraw your i-130, divorce your first wife, then remarry your current wife and then refile for your i-130, it's going to be a mess, if i were you i would probably consider hiring an immigration lawyer. 

[A&J22 30]

3 hours ago, Uoiee said:

Thanks everyone. Yes I agree. It was stupid on my part. I should have known better.

 

1) How do I withdraw?

 

2) When I finalize both divorces and "remarry" my wife, am I still doing IR1 (which is what I meant in the title)?

there is no divorce in your current marriage because it's invalid, you have to get married again.

[pushbrk 12,870]

15 hours ago, Jordanian Bride said:

You just take people’s word for it when it comes to important things like divorce? Annulment is so difficult to do, btw. Most people who want to annul their marriages end up being told they’re not eligible. That should have been your first red flag.

 

You are not a child, you should have asked for the annulment decree many years ago. Now you are committing bigamy, and you put your current spouse in a bad position.

 

From my limited knowledge, you’ll have to divorce your spouse in the US, then your second spouse abroad. Lastly, you’ll have to marry your second spouse again. 

Correct, but FIRST, withdraw the I-130.  Don't say why.  Just do it.  What's strange to me is that you knew you were married before, even if you thought it was annulled.  U-130 instructions are clear that you list the previous marriages and evidence they were terminated.  That you had no evidence should have been a CLUE.  Note that if you are "married" you're married everywhere, not just in the country where the marriage was officiated.

 

[pushbrk 12,870]

3 hours ago, Uoiee said:

Thanks everyone. Yes I agree. It was stupid on my part. I should have known better.

 

1) How do I withdraw?

 

2) When I finalize both divorces and "remarry" my wife, am I still doing IR1 (which is what I meant in the title)?

No.  Your new marriage date will be the effective date of your marriage.  Do you not understand yet that you are NOT legally married to the woman you are calling your wife of 15 years.  You issue is not just that you neglected to mention a prior marriage. You failed to mention you are currently married to the woman you trusted "annulled" your marriage.  You are NOT legally married to the person you filed the petition for, but you cannot remarry her without divorcing first.  Real can of worms.  You do understand Bigamy is a CRIME, right?

You may also have committed fraud.  Probably did. Every country I know of besides the USA, requires an affidavit Notarized by a US Consular Officer regarding any past marriages when Americans apply for a marriage license.  You signed that false affidavit in front of a US Consular Officer.

Edited November 23, 2022 by pushbrk