i married an american girlfriend over one year ago, i live in columbia right now. so now she tell me that after we married in u.s., she never mail paper to imigration. and now she say she don't want me to come. i wonder three question: 1. if she didn't turn in paper to imigration, are we not married (i do have marriage license) 2. if she gets divorce does she do it by herself or do i have to sign anything. 3. how long divorce take since i'm in columbia? thank you so much. sorry if i don't make sense, i'm going too crazy!
2006-07-01 00:10:09 · 50 answers · asked by jose 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Immigration
oh, she have new boyfriend that's why she's doing this.
2006-07-01 00:23:51 · update #1
oh i meant i have marriage certificate (not only license)
2006-07-01 00:30:42 · update #2
1. You are legally married. The United States would recognize the marriage.
2. You will have to sign papers if she tries to divorce you. She has to send those papers to you. She just can't get a divorce without your consent.
3. I am not sure how long it would take? It could take years. So, she would not be able to remarry until then.
4. If you decide to divorce her, then she would have to sign the papers you would have. Again, it could take years for a divorce to happen.
I am sorry you have this problem. Good luck in your life.
2006-07-12 10:58:20 · answer #1 · answered by kepjr100 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
1. If you didn't have a marriage ceremony (civil or church), then you are not married. A person can obtain a marriage license, which is the state's acknowledge that a marriage can be "perfected" under civil or church law, or both. BUT, just having a license doesn't get a person married. Only the ceremony authorized by the license does that.
2. This question can only be answered by assuming that you and this girlfriend used the license and had a marriage ceremony. If that is the case, then she can probably get a divorce but only by lying to the court and I doubt that her attorney will allow that, since you appear to be the innocent party. But I write that only on the assumption that you have done nothing to void the marriage vows (such as adultery or abandonment).
If her state has some legal provision that allows her to file a divorce on some technicality such as a lack of cohabitation, then you will not have to respond. BUT, you run the risk in not responding that she could possibly obtain an aliimony award from the court. In any case, process would have to be served on you by the court--that is, notification that you are a defendant in a case.
3. Point two and here as well, all depend on the laws of the state in which she has legal residency. Until you know that, your question cannot be answered.
Frankly, the best course of action for you is to beat her to the divorce court and file youself on ,say, the grounds of abandonment--for that is apparently the cause.
Here, I am only offering an amateur's opinions and suggesting that you contact an attorney for professional services. Under Amerian law, I cannot practice law without a license and I do not have one. Therefore, I am not advising you as an attorney.
Lees_Sword
2006-07-13 23:20:54 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sorry to hear your story and I just answer from my experience marrying An American citizen.From reading to your question I can see the problem is coming.
First if you married in a church your marriage means nothing,and you have to marry at the city Hall and sign a marriage certificate and has a blood test.If you sign a paper then you have a marriage license.
Secondly,If she want a divorce from you in case you have a license you both have to sign a divorce paper.
Thirdly,the divorce take places depend on the State that you get your license and it takes time.
Fourthly,Something wrong with your relationship and you are far away from each other so thing went wrong.
I urge you to find out by contacting her and face her with your honest input and do not afraid of what is the outcome and if thing does not work right then you are free and be ready for someone who really loves you and Green card can obtain so many ways.Do not go crazy for no reason.Good luck and life goes on.
2006-07-08 16:44:30 · answer #3 · answered by ryladie99 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The reply from Highfighter69 is completely wrong!! You are not an American citizen at all not even close!! Just because you got married to an American does not mean you are an American citizen. People have to be careful about giving misinformation. I repeat! If you don`t know what the hell you are talking about don`t reply.
Anyway, the only way you could get a Green Card which is what you would be getting, not citizenship(that dosen`t happen until 5-10 years later) is if she fills out many forms from the US Immigration.
It is a two part process taking within 4-12 months. There are many forms such as a biographic sheet about you and her including pictures of your wedding, etc. to prove it it legit. You also have to fill out various forms for a background check, if you have ever been in jail etc. If you have been married before you must submit your divorce papers and birth certificates of any children (even if you have no plans to bring them with you! They require all this information) you have even before you met her which must be translated into english and notarized.
This is just the first part. You send all of this to Immigration plus you have to pay $350 for the processing fee. After 2 -6 months they may or may not approve your application. If they do, they will send you a huge envelope with more papers for you to fill out as well as many medical documents for an approved doctor to fill out. You must go to a certified approved hospital by US Immigration and you have to get a physical examination. They do a chest x-ray and HIV test as well as you must have all your shots and vaccinations. This costs $450 for the exam, and if you need shots you have to pay for them yourself.
After this, you must go to the police station in every country you have lived in since the age of 16 years old and they must send a police record to show you have not commited any crimes. She must submit an Affadavit of Support for you which means she has to have a job that makes enough money for the poverty line of the state that she lives in. She must submit her tax returns for the past 3 years. Then after this you can apply for an interview. After the interview you may or may not get the Green Card. As you can see it is a long process so if she is not commited to you now, she probably won`t do all of this for you.
It is a major headache!! I`m a college gradutate and I still can`t understand what the hell their asking for! No wonder there are so many illegal immigrants! Even when you are legit they make it so ******* hard, it makes you frustrated!!
I guess my advice for you would be to get a tourist visa and go visit her and find out what is going on. Why? Because she must face up to the fact that she is ******* you over and its not right. You have to talk to her in person. Marrying someone is not a joke to be taken lightly.
If you can`t get a tourist visa try to get a visa from your church and say you are a missionary with a church group.
You are married!! Immigration and marriage certificate are completely separate. She must get a lawyer which costs about $800 to write up the divorce papers. You have to sign them.
Divorce takes about 4 to 12 months. Sorry dude and good luck!!
2006-07-14 00:58:32 · answer #4 · answered by laracroft 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you were legally married then immigration has nothing to do with the validity of the union. However there may well be a time frame within which she needs to provide that marriage certificate to Immigration to process your visa. Being that she has changed her mind she can easily get a divorce by claiming that the marriage was not consummated or that you have abandoned her. As you are out of the country the abandonment excuse will probably be used. She can also claim that it was a marriage of convenience -just for you to get your visa/green card. You must have really done something to annoy her or make her change her mind.
2006-07-01 00:17:20 · answer #5 · answered by MAK 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
quick answer- certain. Marriage and Immigration are 2 separate concern concerns. inclusive of her youthful age, we can anticipate that she is legally waiting to marry. that's one concern. the distinct concern is her immigration status. in person-friendly words being married does no longer confer status- her significant diverse has to petition on her behalf. the attitude takes awhile, and CIS (the present INS) would enable her to proceed to be interior us of a of a pending her status. One concern which will impact the burocracy is- replaced into she an EWI or did she arrive legally? EWI is the CIS acronym for "Entered without Inspection," some element that's difficult to triumph over. If she arrived on a visa of a few kind and has overstayed, this can nicely be a diverse count number variety. yet first subject matters first- Are both human beings legally able to marriage? (He would already be married, some element that takes position on social gathering) And even as they marry, will he list a petition for her? Oh, BTW, even a legalized foreigner would nicely be deported in the adventure that they are convicted of against the law. So we can want this lady has no criminal prices pending. If achieveable, come for the era of a set like Catholic Charities who has journey with legalization. and don't be very much stunned if the merely right wager is an immigration felony specialist. those subject matters aren't any more a lot less extreme priced.
2016-10-14 00:47:46 · answer #6 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
What she tells immigration or doesn't doesn't change the fact that she is married. If she marries someone else she'd be a bigamist unless she got a divorce first.
She could get a divorce and technically there might be a way to do it with you out of the country, but she would have to give you notice (at which point you would have to be allowed to go there to argue) or else come where you are.
A contested divorce can take a while. It varies.
2006-07-01 03:13:48 · answer #7 · answered by DAR 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Thats bacause she wants you to immigrate into the US the correct way! You still need to file the appropriate paper work. Just because you married an American, that does NOT instantly make you an American citizen. She doesnt want you to be a criminal.
And maybe she likes it in Columbia.
Hope you didnt just marry her so that you could use her for citizenship! that would be VERY MEAN!
2006-07-12 05:44:38 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
This is a fascinating twist! The foreign guy gets used and dumped by the US girl - now that's empowerment!
1) If you have a valid marriage license, then you were in fact married; 2) She can initiate her divorce, or even request an annulment, depending on the circumstances. Your presence and signature are not necessarily required; 3) The time it takes depends on your specific circumstances.
Buena suerte la proxima vez!
2006-07-01 00:25:01 · answer #9 · answered by Curious1usa 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If you have a copy of the license, duly signed and recorded wherever you got married (you dont say), you are married. She CAN get an annullment, but as far as divorce goes, you would have to agree to it. Personally it sounds as though she has regrets and in America, regrets cost big money.
Contest the divorce and petition a US court to issue a hardship Visa because you need to be with your US wife. If she contests it, sue her for breach of promise.
If her family has any money, you should get a pretty sieable chunk of it to just go away.
2006-07-12 06:33:06 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋