Divorce Solutions

Question #66

I came across your web page in an attempt to find some articles for my brother about divorce. Although I found sites that can help, they didn’t answer the critical parts of his case. He had been married for seven years now and had a beautiful daughter together. He said he felt forced to marry her by her relatives bcoz she got pregnant. He didn’t have any relatives back in the Philippines then since we all migrated here in the US. They separated after a year of marriage amicably since they both agreed they don’t get along. That was for two years until he went into a new relationship (2003). His wife decided to cohabit wt him again since she got low on her career as a dentist. But it also made things ugly with him and his wife, who started harassing his current partner. He decided to go here in the US as a tourist and subsequently applied for a working VISA, hoping to start a new life. He left his house and properties (fields, pharmacy, and apartments) for their use. He worked peacefully here without contact with them for 3 yrs with the same woman (partner) from the Philippines who migrated here 2 yrs after him, but then he learned that his wife and daughter supported by our parents is coming here as immigrants petitioned by the hospital as a nurse (she took nursing to get here). Now he wanted divorce since there is no divorce in the Philippines, and it’s hard to prove their marriage null and void. He is also included in the petition as an immigrant (family petition by the agency). Can he file a divorce even if he got married in the Philippines? Will that compromise his status here in the US?

Even though your brother got married in the Philippines, he can file for divorce in NY if he
Is a resident of NY for two years or if both parties are living in NY for a minimum of 1 year.
I do not see how his commencing divorce proceedings
against his wife will impact his visa application, but he should consult
his immigration attorney to be sure.
If he is living in the NYC metro area, please have him call me at 212-370-1660
to discuss mediating his divorce.
The divorce must be prepared by an experienced
matrimonial attorney and not left to self-help.
Leonard M. Weiner, Esq/Divorce Solutions