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Asked about 1 year ago - Raleigh, NC
FlagMy friend got married to his wife in maryland several years ago. But he found out when they were married, his wife was still married with her first husband in canada, and was not actually divorced until 1 years after they were married in canada. So at this point, his wife is divorced from his first husband in canada. He is wondering though if he and his wife are legally married or if they will need to get married again since they now living in North Carolina? However, he needs to give green card to his wife through sponsoreship since she is from canada, but he is not sure whether immigration or the state of north carolina will allowed giving his wife a greencard when she had married to her first husband not divoced and ended up marred to him but now divoced to the first husband.
I disagree. Each State has different laws on the validity of such marriages, where a subsequent divorce has taken place.
This will depend upon Canadian marriage laws perhaps in the province or provinces where the divorce and marriage took place. In Illinois, your marriage would have become valid on the date that she divorced her previous husband, but that is only if the divorce was final and legal, but the marriage in question took place in Illinois.
I strongly recommend you contact a Canadian divorce attorney for a legal opinion on this issue. North Carolina may have to honor the marriage, where it was valid in Canada. Perhaps, a North Carolina domestic relations/divorce attorney can confirm this, as well.
Interesting issue. Even if my colleague Mr. Dixler is correct, for US CIS, it might make more sense to marry again. That might be the more expedient thing to do as opposed to convincing US CIS that the marriage was valid even though at the time it was entered into the prior marriage had not yet been terminated.
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