SECRET MARRIAGE CONTRACTS ARE RECORDED

By Michael J. Gurfinkel Esq. 

Dear Attorney Gurfinkel:

I was petitioned as “single” by my parent, and have already received my immigrant visa. I am all set to go to the United States, but my girlfriend and her family are pressuring me into a “secret” marriage in order to prove my love for her and ensure that I will come back for her.

Her family claims to have “connections”, and have assured me that the marriage contract will not be recorded. If I go ahead with this marriage, will there be any problems or will I jeopardize my U.S. immigration status?

Very truly yours,

TS


Dear TS:

If a person is being petitioned by a parent as “single”, the child must remain single up until the time he or she enters the U.S. (or adjust status). Even if he has an immigrant visa already in hand, he still must board the airplane as single, and land in the U.S. as single. If he gets married before entering the U.S. (or adjusting status in the U.S.), his petition may be considered automatically “void”.

By law, if a person goes through a marriage ceremony, he is considered “married”, regardless of all the myths, misconceptions, games, tricks, or excuses that they or those around them may offer as to why a secret marriage doesn’t count. Simply put, if you said “I do” to your boyfriend or girlfriend in front of a priest, mayor, judge, etc., then chances are excellent that you are legally married, even with such “assurances” that the marriage contract will not be recorded.

In fact, recently I had a consultation with a man who was very upset over his immigration problem. He had received his immigrant visa and was set to leave for the U.S., but his girlfriend’s family pressured him into getting married to her before he left, assuring him that the marriage contract would not be recorded. Relying on these assurances, he went ahead and had the “secret” marriage. After receiving his green card, he returned to the Philippines and married his girlfriend a second time (in order to cover up the first marriage), and then petitioned her. Unfortunately for him, the Embassy discovered the first marriage contract, and refused to issue the visa to his wife. They also advised him that the case was being sent back to USCIS so that the petition could be revoked.

The man was upset because he had been “assured” by his wife’s family that the marriage contract would not be recorded. Therefore, in his mind, because he had been assured that the marriage contract would not be recorded, he was somehow still “single”.

I explained to him that just because he received assurances that he would not be “caught” does not mean that he is “innocent”. But he persisted, believing that somehow because he had been assured that his marriage contract would not be recorded, this meant that he should still be considered single. I then said to him, “Suppose a person is told that if they rob a bank, they won’t get caught. Relying on this assurance, the person goes ahead and robs the bank. But they then get caught. Do you think that the person could go to court and raise, as a defense, that he is “innocent” because he was assured that he will not be caught? Of course not! He committed the crime and is therefore guilty.” Assurances of not getting caught, do not make a person innocent. In the same manner, assurances that a marriage contract will not be recorded do not make a person single. In most cases, such assurances are worthless, as the marriage contract was validly entered into and usually recorded.

That is why it is important that if a person is being petitioned as single by his parent, he must remain single. No tricks, games, or other excuses as to why a marriage should somehow not be considered valid. Simply put, if you get married, you’re married!

In the case of the man who consulted with me, what was suppose to had been a gesture of eternal love resulted in years, or possibly a lifetime, of separation. Had he simply followed the rules, his entire family would have been citizens by now!