Legal Question in Immigration Law in North Carolina

US residency based on marriage

I am European and married my wife (a US citizen) in the US in May 2003. Since then we have lived in Europe. Now we wish to settle in the US and apply for permanent residency for me. I am 60, retired, in receipt of a pension, and have no intention of working in the US.

In obtaining the necessary paperwork for the residency application, I discovered that although the divorce decree nisi for my previous marriage in Europe had been granted in January 2003, the decree absolute was not dated until July 2004. This came as a complete surprise as my lawyer had previously informed me that the decree absolute would be finalised six weeks after the decree nisi.

What can we do now to rectify the situation? Specifically, how should we handle my US residency application?

One further matter. My wife is entitled to a widow�s pension from the US government at age 60 (she is now 59) provided that she is unmarried on her 60th birthday. We therefore propose to divorce in time for this and re-marry once the pension is granted. A residency application for me would therefore have to be based on our re-marriage.


Asked on 3/12/07, 6:44 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Pierre Hourcade Law Offices of Pierre Hourcade

Re: US residency based on marriage

Dear Sir,

I took good note of your messsage. My firms handles on a regular basis such cases and one of our partner is a Paris based US immigration specialist who will be in a position to assist you further. Please feel free to contact me at your best convenience at [email protected] with your contact information (or at our Paris office 01 46 27 01 00) and we will revert to you.

Very truly yours,

Pierre Hourcade

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Answered on 3/12/07, 10:25 am


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