9 FAM 40.1 N1.2 Cohabitation
(CT:VISA-1614; 01-07-2011)
In the absence of a marriage certificate, an official verification, or a legal brief verifying full marital rights, a common law marriage or cohabitation is
considered to be a “valid marriage” for purposes of administering the U.S. immigration law only if:
(1) It bestows all of the same legal rights and duties possessed by partners in a lawfully contracted marriage; and
(2) Local laws recognize such cohabitation as being fully equivalent in every respect to a traditional legal marriage, e.g.:
(a) The relationship can only be terminated by divorce;
(b) There is a potential right to alimony;
(c) There is a right to intestate distribution of an estate; and
(d) There is a right of custody, if there are children.
