marriage to an illegal alien

[musicmakersaxman]

a U.S. citizen/man married a lady from China who was petitioned here to the U.S. by another U.S. citizen/man on a K-1 Visa. This couple divorced soon after the marriage as that man was the one who filed as the divorce was granted (in the state of Arizona). The lady from China did not receive her Green Card but did get a Work Permit that expired in April of 2007. She did not return back to China after her divorce as she is still here now staying with different friends from time to time in California. She then married a man in California as she has a valid Washington driver's license and a Social Security Card that she obtained while being married to her 1st husband in Arizona.She did not tell her second husband before they got married that her Visa was expired. One week after she married the 2nd man in California - she left their home and is living in another city in California by herself as she is staying in a friends house temporarily as he is on vacation in Hawaii. A few days ago she and her second husband went to the Immigration Office and they told her that she is here illegally and must return to China immediately. She is not telling her 2nd husband where she is and is deciding what to do now. Meanwhile, the 2nd husband is married to her and they both have a copy of the marriage license, but he is home alone missing his newlywed wife that left the home without first telling him of her plans. 3 questions: what should the second husband do - file for an annullment asap for reasons of fraud or should he stay married to her? and what is she to do exactly besides return to China as directed by the Immigration Office? Has she put the second husband in jeopardy?

[SHELLYFCO]

If I were the 2nd husband, I would get an annulment if possible. The wife's track record would indicate that perhaps, she isn't as interested in being married to husband #1 or husband #2, rather, staying in the U.S. Her #2 could possibly petition for her, however, given that she divorced her #1 husband (sponsor), possibly before she had her LPR, and was her "illegally", then she is accruing illegal presence...someone with more experience will contribute their idea on this situation. This sounds similar to cases were K-1 fiance enters US to marry USC, decides not to, marries someone else. As she did not fulfill the terms of the k-1 visa, she is illegally present, even though she is now married to another USC.

[angela256z]

Well I believe he has two choices here.

1. If they are truly in love and want to stay together he can apply for her while she is here in the US and since she entered the US with a valid visa she may be able to adjust in the US.

BUT...
2. It sounds like she is just using these men for benefits of marrying a USC. His best bet is to get an annulment under fraud or a divorce under abandonment. Hope that helps!

[kitkat1]

If he doesn't believe the marriage was entered into faithfully and wants to annul it, that's his personal decision (as opposed to an immigration issue). She hasn't put the husband in any kind of jeopardy - all they did was marry.

If he wants to get her into legal status, he needs to file a spousal visa petition. It sounds like she was in illegal status because she never completed the AOS process from her first husband. What exactly did the "immigration officer" tell her? Did they go to an actual AOS interview or was it an infopass appointment? Has he consulted an attorney? It may be possible for her to adjust her status in the US since she entered legally and met the terms of her original visa - I would NOT trust the word of an IO without consulting with a lawyer (if he chooses to go the AOS route).