I recently had a couple of consultations where a US citizen was attempting to sponsor a second spouse for a Green Card. This is where the US citizen petitioned for a Green Card for their first spouse and then the marriage ended in divorce and then the US citizen spouse met somebody else and got married then applied for the second spouse’s Green Card. I would attribute this to the high level of divorces that occurred during the pandemic period. But let’s take a look at what it means when the US Citizen spouse divorces spouse number one and secured a Green Card for them but the marriage eventually ended in divorce. Now, the US citizen has since remarried and has a second spouse who they are thinking about sponsoring for a Green Card. I decided to create this article to discuss this issue and to provide my opinions on what might occur or what special considerations you might need to make in this circumstance. Now, I've seen this play out in various ways numerous times.

Does Timegap between Sponsorships Matter?

How much time has passed between the sponsorship of spouse number one and spouse number two is one of the factors I consider when I have a consultation like this. It might be a little more difficult to get that case granted if you got married, received the other person's immigration benefit, got divorced very shortly, and then married someone else immediately. Not to imply that the case cannot be approved, but rather to say that it will likely face further examination. In cases like this where we believe both cases are real, we take on a more aggressive approach to case preparation by showing USCIS that both the previous marriage and this marriage is legal. This may make the the client uncomfortable but the last thing you would want to face is a Stokes Interview just because the second case was lazily filed.

Is Getting Sponsorships Simple?

The state department and USCIS don't like to hand out lawful permanent resident status like candy, which will make it much harder if you're switching spouses frequently. Now, if you wait a little while, give yourself a break, and if you don't jump into another marriage straight away, that will help your case. What happened to that first marriage is another factor we look at in these instances.

If the foreign national spouse ends up leaving to go back to their country after renouncing their Green Card, this does help the second spouse’s immigration case. If your first spouse is gone, it will be simpler to sponsor a second spouse. Immigration will want to know what is going on and why you are sponsoring someone else because you have already granted residency to one person, and now you want to bring someone else here. This is especially true if your first spouse has already obtained citizenship or a 10-year green card.

Legalities of Sponsorship

Of course, you are legally allowed to bring someone here as a US Citizen, but the authorities don't really appreciate it. What were the conditions of the initial divorce—this is another issue I frequently consider in these scenarios. Was there a scenario in which we could essentially blame the first spouse who received the green card? If so all of the reasons that you can attribute to the first spouse should be presented in the second case. This is to make our present client, the citizen of the United States, appear to be the voice of reason, in other words, they wanted the marriage to work out but it didn’t happen and it wasn’t their fault. Explain their decision to leave their first marriage and sponsor a second spouse to be entirely comprehensible and rational. I believe it's helpful to consider those issues at least and perhaps add a little background information regarding the first marriage.

Wrapping Up

When I'm sitting across from someone who says they want to sponsor spouse number two or, to be honest, spouse number three, these factors and legalities are the types of things I consider. However, subsequent marriages will often be a little more challenging. There is probably nothing in the manual that prohibits this, but I believe that USCIS and the state department view such second marriages somewhat more harshly on an emotional and analytical level. It’s just common sense isn’t it?

All these aspects imply that you must present more supporting documentation in the second case and must present a compelling argument. You need to justify your sponsorship of spouse number two.

Should you or your loved one have any questions or need representation, please do not hesitate to call us, email us at info@khunkhunlaw.com or review other options to get in touch with us for an immigration consultation. We have represented many clients with successful results even with the most difficult set of facts.