urgent issue

S

sliderip

Registered Users (C)
i had my N400 interview recently , i am applying based on 5 year LPR status. I got my LPR in 1998.

Even though i am legally married and not officially divorced to my current wife , i got married in 1995. I had answered marriage question with having one wife , during the interview IO told me that i live my cousin and was i ever married to her. I told him i was married to her in a religious way in my native country and i am almost positive that marriage was never legally registered , and religiously divorced . I did not want to flat out say no since i am not sure what is the right answer here. I am not legally married to my cousin in USA, never was. She moved in with me because of financial reasons etc.

His contention was that it would be equal to lying etc, my point was its a technicality and that was the only reason it did not bring it up to begin with.
He wants me to provide marriage and divorce documents with my cousin.

My problem is that i may not have any legal document for marriage or divorce , the person who performed the religious marriage is no where to be found , it was 12 years ago.

What are my option or course of action? Would they deny my application , what are other consequences i should be aware of?
IO told me that i could withdraw my N400 application and sort it out, but i am not sure that does me any good? I mean i still have to provide some kind of evidence.

Any input would be appreciated.
 
curious. if you do not include yoru cousin on those marriage questions because you do not think it is real marriag eby alw, how come the IO know you live with your cousin?
 
He did not tell me that i was living my cousin. I have traveled with her frequently to go see family, he told me that i told some airport official that i was traveling with my wife and not a cousin , which i have no recollection of whatsoever. Rest of it i told IO myself. IO asked me if i ever said does it mean i am also married to her and why did not i mention it on my N400 , I explained to him the story and that i am not sure if i should have mentioned that to begin with.
I told IO that we live together but we are not legally married etc.

I could have flat out said that i was never married to her since it was just religious marriage in a foreign country but i was confused on the matter. I did not get any immigration benefit from her in any way.

If i wanted to marry her here there was no problem but i did not want to.
 
sliderip said:
I have traveled with her frequently to go see family, he told me that i told some airport official that i was traveling with my wife and not a cousin , which i have no recollection of whatsoever
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Wow, the government is really doing a good job of tracking and recording what people
say at the airport. I am surprosed this can show up in your A file.
 
sliderip said:
I could have flat out said that i was never married to her since it was just religious marriage in a foreign country but i was confused on the matter. I did not get any immigration benefit from her in any way.

.
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Was your cousin already living in US when she moved in with you?
How is it that you "religiously married her" if you had no intention of her being your wife?
Finally, how did you obtain your original GC?
 
yes, my legal wife is a natural born us citizen , we lived together from 92 to 99, i got my LPR based on marriage to her in 1998, after that we felt apart but never legally divorced . we prepared the divorce documents in 99 or so and i was under the impression that she would take care of it, but later i learned she never actually filed. i did not think much of it. we are still very close friends.
 
crux of the matter is when IO asked me if i ever was married to my cousin i did not lie about it and told him everything, also telling him that only reason i did not mention it on N400 is that i am not sure if that religious marriage can be called legal in any sense.
There lies in the same problem i am having , if there is no paper trail to produce marriage certificate how would i produce any divorce document?
 
Am I understanding this correctly ... you have a legal wife who you don't live with any more, but you live with your cousin? And you were in a religious marriage to your cousin before you married your legal wife?

You should still complete the divorce, in order to avoid potential legal nightmares. For example, if she is sued or owes money for some other reason, the creditors may be able to seize your assets if you're still legally married.
 
i got my original GC back in 98 , based on my marriage to an american citizen. i was never married to anyone in anyway at the time of when i got my permanent green card.

while visiting my native country i was pressured into marrying my first cousin , both of us did not want to marry each other but u get banished from family or worse if you dont comply :( at that time i had no choice but to comply
my cousin have been in USA before 98 too but we did not meet at that time , she was just visiting her brother here. she came back to USA and got married here to someone. She moved in with me because her marriage is not working etc and for financial reasons. She became citizen based on her marriage here in the states.
This matter is both confusing and troubling at the same time i guess :(
In a hindsight i could have just divorced legally and she could have done the same thing if we wanted to get married.
 
Jackolantern said:
Am I understanding this correctly ... you have a legal wife who you don't live with any more, but you live with your cousin? And you were in a religious marriage to your cousin before you married your legal wife?

You should still complete the divorce, in order to avoid potential legal nightmares. For example, if she is sued or owes money for some other reason, the creditors may be able to seize your assets if you're still legally married.
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religious marriage was after i married my legal wife, after my LPR and a quick religious divorce.
 
Were you originally married under Sharia or other religious law in a country that recognizes Sharia or other religious law?

Do you understand just how bad this looks?

USCIS is now thinking that you had an undisclosed marriage when you married a USC, got a greencard, almost immediately seperated from that USC spouse and then re-united with your real wife. You are in danger of being pursued as someone who obtained your immigrant status by means of fraud and misrepresentation (a sham marriage).

You should expect a knock on your door from Immigration investigators.

Got any children? If yes, who with?

INA 205

Revocation of approval of petitions

The Secretary of Homeland Security may, at any time, for what he
deems to be good and sufficient cause, revoke the approval of any
petition approved by him under section 204 of this title. Such
revocation shall be effective as of the date of approval of any such
petition.

****************************
Whereas, it is now too late to simply rescind LPR status under INA 246(a), nothing prevents the issuance of an NTA and placing you in removal proceedings under INA 240.

If a fraud were discovered after naturalization, INA 205 could still be used to revoke the petition (or not) and they could just move for judicial proceedings under INA 340(a) to revoke naturalization.
 
BigJoe5 said:
Were you originally married under Sharia or other religious law in a country that recognizes Sharia or other religious law?]

To clarify again, i was never married to anyone anywhere at the time i got my LPR status, except to my current legal wife. my sharia marriage lasted one month may be , it was forced and i never cared to register it. it ended the same way as it started. but that happened AFTER i became LPR

I dont have any children with anyone.

The reason we got separated , its personal but i will tell u just to make a point that it was never my intention to leave her, she had a kid which we both thought was ours but later turn out that i was not the real father and that caused us to separate .
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sliderip said:
He did not tell me that i was living my cousin. I have traveled with her frequently to go see family, he told me that i told some airport official that i was traveling with my wife and not a cousin , which i have no recollection of whatsoever.
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Probably what happened is that the two of you walked up together to the immigration counter at the POE, and the CBP officer assumed you were husband and wife, so he typed a note in the system like "entered with his wife".

Now the natz. interviewer saw that note, and assumed you told the POE officer she was your wife. And then you went on to reveal too much information and land yourself in this predicament.
 
Jackolantern said:
Probably what happened is that the two of you walked up together to the immigration counter at the POE, and the CBP officer assumed you were husband and wife, so he typed a note in the system like "entered with his wife".

Now the natz. interviewer saw that note, and assumed you told the POE officer she was your wife. And then you went on to reveal too much information and land yourself in this predicament.
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Exactly , you are prob right on your guess. But i have never gone to a POE counter with her, i am quite positive of that but , right now , thats besides the point. I mean should i have just said she is not wife and that would have been the end of it?
Its a catch 22, trouble if i explain it and still trouble if i dont explain it and later they say i lied when asked a direct question?



Statuary period of good moral character is 5 years , one the the requirement is i better not be practicing polygamy or ever practiced that? I am still not sure of the consequences of that?
If i provide them with some proof that it was shariah marriage and it ended the same way would that be sufficient for them to consider my N400 or they can still deny it or bar me for another 5 years etc?
IO gave me list of documents to provide, saying he needs more information from me etc.
 
sliderip said:
Exactly , you are prob right on your guess. But i have never gone to a POE counter with her, i am quite positive of that but , right now , thats besides the point. I mean should i have just said she is not wife and that would have been the end of it?
Its a catch 22, trouble if i explain it and still trouble if i dont explain it and later they say i lied when asked a direct question?



Statuary period of good moral character is 5 years , one the the requirement is i better not be practicing polygamy or ever practiced that? I am still not sure of the consequences of that?
If i provide them with some proof that it was shariah marriage and it ended the same way would that be sufficient for them to consider my N400 or they can still deny it or bar me for another 5 years etc?
IO gave me list of documents to provide, saying he needs more information from me etc.
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This might be the time to talk to a good immigration lawyer. He/she may be able to write a letter on your behalf to explain the whole issue (and provide as much information as necessary to clear up the misunderstanding but not disclose more than necessary). If you try to explain this yourself by submitting additional documents or information, you may just get yourself into more trouble with all the possible consequences that others have already described. The first rule of holes: If you are in one, stop digging...
 
Your case is going to be very difficult going forward. USCIS is looking at your case from this standpoint, you obtained your green card through marriage to a US citizen, of which you separated immediately upon you receiving your green card. In between your marriage to the US citizen, your family pressured you to marry your cousin, or you will be expelled from your family. You complied, married her via a ceremony, which made you a polygamist under US law. Whether your marriage was registered or not, you broke the law by agreeing to marry your cousin without a dissolution of your first marriage to the US citizen.

The POE officers made notation in their system, you are traveling with your wife. USCIS officers asked you about it, because you were inconsistent in your N400 paperwork. Moreover, you might have caused problem for your cousin, by your own admission, she married a US citizen, things didn't work out, she moved in with you, to save money. The truth is that she moved in with you, because you were both married in your native country. She is now a US citizen, which could also be under question should USCIS decide to bring their barrels on you. In my view, your case is likely going to be denied because of inconsistencies and possible polygamy practice you have going on.

Did you ever become intimate with your cousin? Did you consummate the marriage? You might need to answer those questions, because ICE Fraud Division might visit your home. Here is another issue, your cousin came to the US in 1998, you claim you never met her, but you married her in your native country in the same year. She came back married someone else, committing fraud and polygamist marriage, violation of US law. Her marriage failed, did it fail or she found a way to enter the US to be with you? Dude, this has a potential to get really ugly for you. What USCIS has requested won't be enough to placate the officer's concerns.
 
I don't think your sharia marriage was valid as you probably did not ask for the permission of your first wife.
Anyways, I think your case is complicated and will go to court.
 
Al Southner said:
. Here is another issue, your cousin came to the US in 1998, you claim you never met her, but you married her in your native country in the same year.
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No, she came , i believe in 1994 or so to visit her brother, she had multiple visit visa and then she came back in 1998 again to get away from her family.

I understand what USCIS can perceive , but what was stopping me from divorcing my wife in 1998 to marry my cousin if that was my intention? For that matter nothing stopped her or me to get married in any legal sense anytime . She was LPR back in 2001, she could have married me at that time if she wanted to.

My mistake is that i should have been more careful about that stupid sharia marriage , i just called today to check on that so i can prepare some official documents to show USCIS , so far they have no record of that marriage anywhere , and the only person who can say that it ever happened is no where to be found. So they will take my word for it if i say it was just a sharia marriage but they wont take my word if say it got annulled the say way?
 
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