Immigration application

[Nina Nina 1]

Hello,

I am a US citizen and I am planning to sponsor my father for US Immigration.

He is currently married with 2 women back home, my mother and my step mom. He doesn’t have any intentions of practicing polygamy here in the US. He doesn’t have any plans to bring any of his wives here either. He is currently in the US on visit visa.

My questions are:

1) Is he eligible to apply for change of status from visit visa to immigrant, if I file I-130 and I-485 for him despite of having 2 wives outside US?
 

2) On form I-130, he has to disclose all the marriages (current, previous etc). Since both of his marriages are current he would have to disclose them as current marriages. Will this fact make him ineligible to get his green card and eventually US citizenship?

 

If someone has gone through this situation please share your experiences. I would also appreciate if you can recommend attorneys who specialize in handling these types of immigration cases that involve polygamy.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

 

[Crazy Cat 41,984]

You might be interested in the following article.  Personally, I think an I-130 approval is unlikely as USCIS will want to see documentation that marriages earlier than the latest one have been terminated.   

 

Will You Be Denied U.S. Citizenship Based on Polygamy, Bigamy, or Multiple Marriages? | Nolo

 

 

***Moved to Adjustment of Status from Work, Student, and Tourist Visas****

Edited August 21 by Crazy Cat

[Nina Nina 1]

Thanks for the response.
In the article that you have shared I see that the person / refugee who was involved in polygamy had to inform USCIS that out of 2 wives which one he would like to be designated as the beneficiary wife for the purpose of immigration so similarly why can’t he mention that he wants my mom to be his designated wife and they can ignore the second one? Thought?

[OldUser 6,979]

35 minutes ago, Nina Nina said:

Thanks for the response.
In the article that you have shared I see that the person / refugee who was involved in polygamy had to inform USCIS that out of 2 wives which one he would like to be designated as the beneficiary wife for the purpose of immigration so similarly why can’t he mention that he wants my mom to be his designated wife and they can ignore the second one? Thought?

What's the overall plan and when would divorce take place? It's essential to stop polygamy to get immigration benefit and adhere to US laws. USCIS most likely won't ignore the second wife and use it as a bar for I-130 approval instead.

Edited August 22 by OldUser

[walran1963 2]

Two wives at the same time won't fly in the US... The government sent an army to Utah to stop the Mormons. It is culturally unacceptable and illegal.. Sorry for bad news it is tough.

[OldUser 6,979]

Bonus question...

3 hours ago, Nina Nina said:

He is currently married with 2 women back home, my mother and my step mom. He doesn’t have any intentions of practicing polygamy here in the US. He doesn’t have any plans to bring any of his wives here either. He is currently in the US on visit visa.

 

How did he answer questions about marriages for visit visa? Was there a question requiring to disclose name of the spouse? Was he asked about spouse name at the interview? If yes, did he disclose both or just one? Because this may be a misrepresentation issue 

 

 

[Nina Nina 1]

There is no question on DS160 form that requires an applicant to mention if he has more than one wife. 

Moreover he wasn’t asked either during the visa interview if he has multiple wives.

[Nina Nina 1]

Moreover, during his visa interview he wasn’t asked if he has multiple wives.

[Nina Nina 1]

If he doesn’t have any of the 2 wives in US living with him nor he intends to bring them here, how is he practicing polygamy in US?

[OldUser 6,979]

25 minutes ago, Nina Nina said:

If he doesn’t have any of the 2 wives in US living with him nor he intends to bring them here, how is he practicing polygamy in US?

By virtue of being married to both. It doesn't matter where they are in the world.

[SalishSea 17,970]

36 minutes ago, OldUser said:

By virtue of being married to both. It doesn't matter where they are in the world.

Kind of like how crimes committed in other countries still count for US immigration.

[SalishSea 17,970]

5 hours ago, Nina Nina said:

2) On form I-130, he has to disclose all the marriages (current, previous etc). Since both of his marriages are current he would have to disclose them as current marriages. Will this fact make him ineligible to get his green card and eventually US citizenship?

Don't even think about lying on the petition.

 

Also - just curious, but how is someone who sees fit to love and marry two women at once, okay with immigrating and living separately from BOTH of them forever?  That seems incongruent.

[Nina Nina 1]

Who said that he will lie on I130 application if he were to pursue immigration?

There could be lot of reasons for him to stay away from his kids/wives, so please don’t be judgmental as you don’t know someone’s personal situation. If you can’t be helpful, please refrain from being sarcastic.

[SalishSea 17,970]

6 minutes ago, Nina Nina said:

Who said that he will lie on I130 application if he were to pursue immigration?

There could be lot of reasons for him to stay away from his kids/wives, so please don’t be judgmental as you don’t know someone’s personal situation. If you can’t be helpful, please refrain from being sarcastic.

These are real questions that will matter to USCIS/DOS.  To ignore the legal implications of his case is foolish, IMHO.

[Boiler 45,733]

My recollection without looking it up etc is that the requirement is not to practice polygamy in the US, which if he is here and they are there seems the case.

 

It appears he is abandoning both of his wives.

 

Not declaring the second one when applying for a B is another issue.

Maybe a case for Hacking?