we were married in another country and he's from there but i never reported it to the us embassy... am i single or do i have to file for a divorce here in the us?
2006-08-31 10:53:58 · 22 answers · asked by Jerica S 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Embassies & Consulates
In the country you married according to their law obviously you ar formally married. However in the US they would not consider you married because:
1. You are a citizen of the US and your travel pass will have to be changed if you go back there unless you divorce from him.
3. Your question is confusing: you are not officially married form the US point of view until at least you report it to the US embassy where you live, and you have not. So officially you are an American women and you do not need a Visa to go to your country. Hence you would not necessarily have filed with the embassy on any occasion that you got married locally!
3. Seek serious advice from people who know the law well in the country you live in. You would have to divorce just like you married, under the governing law of your husbands country.
4. As said before you would not need a Visa to go to the states hence you can still go back. But an unresolved divorce issue could haunt you somehow. But again not divorcing officially I believe is not a crime, or? This way your husband if he is ill inclined could cause some trouble. So be careful and ask people who know what they are talking about.
2006-08-31 11:47:40 · answer #1 · answered by KCD 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Marriage takes many forms in many different countries: you can't look to local US laws - as almost all previous answers do - for the legitimacy of a foreign marriage. And there is no need to report a foreign marriage to any US embassy in order to somehow "legitimize" it.
If your marriage is considered valid in the country where it took place, then you are married in the eyes of the world. The US government also considers you married. So do all the states in the US.
2006-08-31 17:09:20 · answer #2 · answered by dognhorsemom 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Of course you're married! Marriage is a ceremonial celebration of the union of two people. The technical details of that ceremonial celebration is not the essential thing. The important thing is that you both wanted to marry, and you went through a ceremony that you thought would get you married. Therefore, you are married!
If, on the other hand, you believe marriage is a legal contract between two people, that must be performed by a person with a legal license to perform marriages, and that leads to certain social- and tax- benefits, then the situation gets a little more difficult. My guess would be that you are still married, though.
2006-08-31 11:01:22 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Unless your marrige was polygamous or you were under age or the marriage is incestuous, if it was valid where it was solemnized it is valid in the United States.
There is such a thing as a "limping marriage" valid in one country but not another, but these are comparatively rare these days.
Marriages need not be registered with the American embassy; indeed they rarely are: it's only to provide some readily accessible record of them in countries where instability, war, or absence of accessible records makes that useful. Only countries which maintain family records -- Japan and Switzerland come to mind -- require consular registration of marriages, but even that is not definitive of whether or not the marriage is binding.
You do need a divorce or an annulment, apparently.
(By incestuous I refer to marriage of cousins, etc. These marriages are recognized by many US states but not by all. Such a marriage can be valid in one but not another; or might be married in one only if you first lived in another state that allows them and the marriage took place in such a place.)
2006-08-31 21:50:45 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Depends On the Country, In Some Countries You Just Have To Say Hi & They've Got The Mossbergs In Your Backs.
2006-08-31 10:56:59 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
If it was never filed with the court, you are not legally married, so forget about a divorce here in the US. The license must be recorded.
2006-09-01 04:49:33 · answer #6 · answered by skyeblue 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
1) Was there a religious ceremony? Funny how the spiritual component is ignorred.
2) You should contact a lawyer. You probably have to put one of those ads in the paper that says "I will not be responsible for any debts not incurred by myself ... blah, blah." You need to protect the assets you acquire in this country from this possible spouse.
.
2006-08-31 11:01:41 · answer #7 · answered by robabard 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
yea if u don't have the marriage documents that shows that u guys are married then it is going to be hard to say anything .. its better to ask a lawyer for advice what action should be taken to resolve thiz .. but if u guys lived together more 7 years then u guys are good to go because after living together for 7years in United States u r consider HAsband and Wife....... i hope i helped some way ....
2006-08-31 11:06:49 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Unless there was a legal impediment to the marriage (like a prior undissolved marriage or that the marriage was not performed by someone legally able to do so) you are married.
2006-08-31 10:58:03 · answer #9 · answered by smgray99 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Get yourself an attorney. If there was no witnesses, you may be able to get out of it. Since someone did officiate, you are married. Some cultures still do not have records. As long as there was a witness, it can be challenged.
2006-08-31 16:48:11 · answer #10 · answered by buddhaboy 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋