Help

[Naijabound 1]

Hello guys...I have a friend with a situation that she is wanting advice on. She married in Nigeria in 2006. Her husband was previous married and divorced. They filed a K3. When her husband went to the embassy for his interview the embassy told him the divorce letter was done in the same level of court (customary court) as the marriage was done in and that he needed to obtain a divorce decree from a higher level of court. The case was denied and sent back to the US stating their marriage was not valid since the proper divorce decree was not obtained from the first marriage therefore he was not free to marry my friend. She appealed the case in the US but didnt have the proper divorce decree. In December 2009 she received a notice from the Dept of State to send in any additional info to assist with the appeal (new divorce letter). Her husband had not at that time completed getting another divorce decree (they didnt have all the money yet to hire an attorney to obtain the proper level of divorce). In the end the case was denied/ closed stating the marriage was invalid. Her husband is still in the process of getting the correct divorce decree. The question is since they are saying their marriage is invalid since they are not counting the original divorce decree as valid can they proceed with a K1 visa once he gets the correct divorce letter? Or once it got back to the embassy again as a K1 would they try to say they cant file a K1 since they married in Nigeria at one time?

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

Your friend is in a tricky spot, Nigeria likes to deny, and their marriage is legal in Nigeria even though USCIS didn't like it. I would really suggest that she consult with an attorney. This could go either way

[Naijabound 1]

Thanks NigeriaorBust. I was thinking the same way as that it could go either way.

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

I think a good consult with the likes of Marc Ellis would help. The thing is Nigeria itself only allows one wife. I think also a good study of the marriage laws. Nigerian marriage act There is something about not allowing marriage is the person is married natively to someone else. The government allows for one "legal" wife but many men take on other wives. There is actually a custom in my husbands tribe that would allow me to have a "wife" All that being said you need someone to tell you if it is better to fight that they are in a valid marriage or if they are single. I would almost suggest getting remarried in Nigeria and filing as married again so as not to leave any doubt as to marital status.