Legal Question in Family Law in Virginia
divorce in virginia
My sister married a man from Vietnam a little over 3 years ago. They've been going through the process of getting him his citizenship and everything has been approved, they're just waiting for his green card to actually come. She has recently found out that he already had a family over there and no one told her. She has no proof though except people telling her this (reliable people, like other family memebers of his). He has admitted to it also, but there are no documents or anything like that. She cares about him and doesn't want him deported or anything but she realizes that she can no longer be married to him. Is this grounds for an annulment or would she have to get a divorice? Also, would this get him in any trouble? In addition, since they have been married for over 3 years is it too late for an annulment? If she has to get a divorice instead, and she chooses to marry again in the future, what kind of legal trouble could she get into if, when filling out the marriage paperwork, she said that she was never married before? This is an embarrassing situation and if she can ever find another man (without a family!) to marry she does not want him to know that she went through this.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: divorce in virginia
Yes, it would appear that in the situation you've described, it's too late for your sister to file for an annulment. See Va. Code Sec. 20-89.1(c)
which prohibits an annulment if the parties have been married at least two years prior to filing for the annulment.
Your sister's remaining remedy would appear to be divorce which could be based (at least in part) on an alleged violation of Va. Code Sec. 20-38.1(marriage wherein at least one of the parties has failed to properly dissolve a prior marriage). Such a marriage under Virginia law would either be void or voidable and a ground for divorce in situations where an annulment is not available.
If the Vietnamese gentleman's green card application was based on your sister's sponsorship as his spouse,(I-130), USCIS would have to be notified of this deveopment and the "chips would likely have to fall where they may", so to speak, regarding the ultimate fate of the gentleman's application for lawful permanent residency in the United States.
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