Should I divorce my ex-wife again after already married to my wife in US for 2 years

[Sonyside]

I am so devastated. I was married in Africa. Got a divorce and married my current wife in the United States 2 years ago. I applied for AOS. I just found out that my divorce to my first wife in Africa couldn’t be verified. I employed a lawyer to help me verify in Africa (I should have done this before my first AOS application). Now, I submitted a divorce decree for my first AOS application which was given to me by my ex-wife (the officers had no issue about my submitted divorce decree), it was denied for other reasons not related to the divorce.
I plan on submitting another AOS application. I am concerned, they may verify my previous decree this time around. I am not sure what to do next

1. Should I file another AOS application with the previous decree since it wasn’t questioned?.

2. (a) should I get a new divorce here in the United States. Remarry my wife again who is a citizen. And then file another AOS?.
(b) if I do 2a what are my chances?

3. Is there anyone having similar issue? What did you do to resolve it?.

Please, I will really appreciate your feedback or advise. Feel free to private message me if you are not comfortable sharing publicly. I really need your help guys.

[JaydenDad]

Option 2(a) is the worst one. That option will be taken/assumed as if you only got married to your USC wife for GC benefits. Your best option is to get a 'notorized' decree of divorce from your country in Africa(be ready to grease some palms). Once you get that, you will be ok. Goodluck

[Sonyside]

Option 2(a) is the worst one. That option will be taken/assumed as if you only got married to your USC wife for GC benefits. Your best option is to get a 'notorized' decree of divorce from your country in Africa(be ready to grease some palms). Once you get that, you will be ok. Goodluck

Thank you so much for your advise. My marriage is a bonafide marriage. Not sure how to go about the notorized decree. I will send you a private message.

[pphuff]

I had a similar situation: On our first AOS (with my non-USC second wife), I (the USC) could not verify/prove my divorce from my first wife of 35 years ago so the USCIS denied (via NOID) our AOS application. As such, we officially withdrew the first AOS application so we (me and my non-USC second wife) could legally re-apply. After the application withdrawal, I went through the divorce process again against the first wife of 35 years ago. After I obtained that official judgement via the state courts, my AOS second and current wife officially remarried due to a conflict between state law and Fed law. Our state law says that once the "impediment" to a legal second marriage is removed the second marriage is automatically legal that day. Fed law only states that all "impediments" to a second marriage have to be removed but it does not state that after the impediments are removed the second marriage is automatically valid. Therefore, to satisfy the Fed law, my second wife and I were remarried, then we re-applied for AOS. I now have one divorce judgement (first wife) but two marriage licenses (second wife) haha. Still awaiting the second interview...

[Sonyside]

I had a similar situation: On our first AOS (with my non-USC second wife), I (the USC) could not verify/prove my divorce from my first wife of 35 years ago so the USCIS denied (via NOID) our AOS application. As such, we officially withdrew the first AOS application so we (me and my non-USC second wife) could legally re-apply. After the application withdrawal, I went through the divorce process again against the first wife of 35 years ago. After I obtained that official judgement via the state courts, my AOS second and current wife officially remarried due to a conflict between state law and Fed law. Our state law says that once the "impediment" to a legal second marriage is removed the second marriage is automatically legal that day. Fed law only states that all "impediments" to a second marriage have to be removed but it does not state that after the impediments are removed the second marriage is automatically valid. Therefore, to satisfy the Fed law, my second wife and I were remarried, then we re-applied for AOS. I now have one divorce judgement (first wife) but two marriage licenses (second wife) haha. Still awaiting the second interview...

Wow.. thank you so much for sharing. We have so much in common. At least, now i know i am not alone in this. I think i will have to do the same thing you did. I am only afraid of the drilling and explanation during the interview concerning this issue.

[pphuff]

If you're honest with the IO you'll have nothing to worry about. On our second AOS filing, I also attached a sworn statement explaining the overlap of divorce and marriages. I will also take a copy of it to our interview. Just keep the explanation short and to the point.

[pphuff]

You might want to investigate something called "Divorce by Publication". Each state has its own rules/guidelines but you should consult with an attorney.