Will voiding my Brazilian marriage and remarrying in the US affect citizenship eligibility?
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Will voiding my Brazilian marriage and remarrying in the US affect citizenship eligibility?
I am a US citizen married to a Brazilian citizen for almost 5 years. In April 2012 we applied for his CR-1 visa and he has had permanent residency for over 3 years. He is now been eligible to apply for US citizenship. Our marriage was performed and is registered in Brazil. Due to turmoil politics, economy, etc., we want to cut all ties with Brazil. We want to have a legal, registered US marriage and afterwards have our Brazilian marriage null and void. Is that possible without it having any type of negative affect on his permanent resident status and citizenship eligibility?
Asked on July 15, 2016 under Immigration Law, California
Answers:
SB Member California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
This is a bit strange and silly. You are married and that's a fact, regardless of what country you were married in if the marriage was legal and valid at the time it was entered into. FOreign marriages are granted full faith and credit in the US so there is no need to get remarried. In fact you really cannot be remarried if you are already married. So, cutting ties with a country means more like surrendering any citizenships, etc. No matter what happens with a country, marriages entered into previously are still considered marriages, both there and in the US. I would say you do not need to do anything extra. Now, if you want to re new your vows in the US, you can do that, but it's more for symbolic reasons.
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