Marriage not registered in the US

[veggie]

Hi,

My wife is divorced from her previous marriage in a different country (not her birth country).
She was born in Country A, became citizen of USA by virtue of her parents, got married & divorced in country B stayed with her husband in his country untill the divorce (for about 2 years) and came back to USA.
They never registered her marriage in USA.
We got married 2 weeks and applying for my GC thru her.Should we mention her previous marriage
even though it was never registered ?
Thanks!

 

[TheRealCanadian]

Should we mention her previous marriage even though it was never registered?

Of course! Just because it was outside the US doesn't mean it didn't occur, and it's a material fact.

 

[veggie]

Thank You! for the reply. The reason I am confused is because a friends neighbour did the same thing. He was married in his country and then he came to NYC and married a US citizen without registering his previous marriage.
On the other hand some of my friends got married in home country and did not have to register in the USA. They are still considered married.
How can one make sure whether somebody is married or not unless they provide a marriage certificate ?
Thanks!

 

[TheRealCanadian]

On the other hand some of my friends got married in home country and did not have to register in the USA.

There is no need to register the marriage in the US. It does need to be disclosed, and proof of marriage and divorce provided if required.

 

[veggie]

First of all Thank You very much for the reply.
So if she does not register her previous marriage in the USA, will it affect our current marriage?
and Also the GC process ? There is no proof in USA that she was married.
The reason we are trying to avoid this is because it will be a nightmare to get those documents from
Pakistan where she was married and divorced.Also, we have declared at the county clerks office that she
was never married before.
we are already married now and if we call the county office and inform them about the change I am afraid
that they will invalidate our marriage and we have to submit all the papers and remarry.
I have very little time left for all this before I could submit for my GC papers. Is it ok if we do not disclose information?
Will they try to find out whether the couple were married in other countries by any means ?
Please share any information or suggestions.
Thank You Plenty Much.

 

[TheRealCanadian]

So if she does not register her previous marriage in the USA, will it affect our current marriage?

No, there's no obligation to register a marriage in the US for it to be valid here.

The reason we are trying to avoid this is because it will be a nightmare to get those documents from Pakistan where she was married and divorced.

That may be so, but it doesn't justify making a material misstatement to USCIS. That can and will cause all sorts of problems. Get the documents from Pakistan.

Also, we have declared at the county clerks office that she was never married before. we are already married now and if we call the county office and inform them about the change I am afraid
that they will invalidate our marriage and we have to submit all the papers and remarry. I have very little time left for all this before I could submit for my GC papers. Is it ok if we do not disclose information?

Uh oh.

Will they try to find out whether the couple were married in other countries by any means ?

They can and have in other situations. Honesty is the best policy.

 

[Jackolantern]

Marriages are public records in the US, and in many other countries. Hiding that old marriage would be a disaster if USCIS found out. USCIS is in touch with consulates around the world, and if marriages are public records in Pakistan it won't be difficult for them to contact the consulate there to find out if she was married before. Or somebody who doesn't like her could expose the previous marriage to USCIS or other authorities. Or even a relative could expose it without malice, e.g. in a visa interview when they ask about the relative's US citizen family members.

She needs to contact the local county clerk and correct the record to explain that although she was not married at the time of that paperwork she actually was married before. If it means having to remarry, then do that.

 

[veggie]

First of all Thanks to Jackolantern and TheRealCanadian for your response.
I agree with both of you but, is it necessary for someone to register a foreign marriage in USA.
When my wife married her ex she found out the family was only thinking about the green card. So, she has hardly spent 2 months time with her husband's family in a different country and also, she was 18 at the time of marriage. It was an arranged marriage. Now, she is totally unhappy about the fact she was once married.
But, how is it illegal for not registering a foreign divorce which was never been registeredin the USA even though she has all the legal documents of the other country. Why cannot she prefer to start all over again in the USA ?
Disclosing the information is not an issue as we have all the legal document. But, registering her as divorced in the database is a little uncomfortable.
I don't know even if I am making sense but Is there any option to prefer not to register some ceremony that was carried out in some foreign country ?

Thanks for your pateince. I really appreciate your time.

 

[Triple Citizen]

You are indeed not making sense. Let me try to get the point across.

Any marriage/divorce, if recognised legally in the foreign country where it takes place, is also considered a marriage/divorce in the US.

I don't know even if I am making sense but Is there any option to prefer not to register some ceremony that was carried out in some foreign country ?

 

[TheRealCanadian]

I agree with both of you but, is it necessary for someone to register a foreign marriage in USA.

I have told you repeatedly that it is not required.

But, how is it illegal for not registering a foreign divorce which was never been registeredin the USA even though she has all the legal documents of the other country.

It's not illegal.

Disclosing the information is not an issue as we have all the legal document. But, registering her as divorced in the database is a little uncomfortable.

Unfortunately for her, she is divorced and she must declare this.

I don't know even if I am making sense but Is there any option to prefer not to register some ceremony that was carried out in some foreign country ?

You are not registering the ceremony, merely disclosing that it took place. It is not required to register a marriage, but it is illegal to make a false statement about its existence.

 

[Jackolantern]

Disclosing the information is not an issue as we have all the legal document. But, registering her as divorced in the database is a little uncomfortable.

It will be even more uncomfortable if she doesn't disclose it and USCIS finds out. The authorities who registered the US marriage must be informed of the divorce, and it must be disclosed on her immigration paperwork.

 

[veggie]

Thank You Guys! We are going to amend the marriage certificate. Would anyone know if there is a penalty
since it was never recorded for the past 6 years. Every form or tax returns she has filled she has mentioned
single not divorced. Is that an issue now ? Ofcourse it was not intentional rather lack of proper information.

Thanks You For all the information shared.

 

[Jackolantern]

For Federal tax returns, they don't distinguish between single and divorced, so that's not an issue there.

For employment benefits, they also usually only ask for single or married without caring if the single person is divorced. And it's not their business anyway whether you're divorced, since they're not going to give divorced people different benefits than single people.

What other forms might she be concerned about?