N400 document question

[OCharleys]

I was divorced and remarried over 20 years ago before I came to the US. Now I am ready to apply for citizenship. The N400 application checklist indicates that I need to submit a divorce decree/certificate. The problem is, when I came to the US, I only brought the (re)marriage certificate with me. The marriage certificate does not indicate that I was divorced before. It will be extremely difficult for me to get a copy of the divorce certificate from my home country divorce court.

Can I just send in my current marriage certificate along with some explanation about the situation? Any advise will be greatly appreciated.

[BigJoe5]

The answer depends on...

how you immigrated. Was it through a marriage to either a citizen or greencard holder. If the issue came up when you immigrated, USCIS probably has the document in your file already, just refer them to it.

If it's not in there already and it is an issue, see an immigration attorney. It may be unwise to alert USCIS if there was any withheld info early on, even if it is really not an issue, if it was withheld, it could be more trouble than it's worth to file an N-400.

If you can't recall what you submitted in the past, you can file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. INS Form G-639. The people who process those requests know NOTHING about immigration law so wouldn't understand what any irregularity might mean, if they had any clue, and wouldn't care if they did, because it's not their job to worry about such things.

Look before you leap.

Good Luck,