View Full Version : How to officialize divorce decree from France in the US.
gnoner
Jun 23, 2011, 02:19 PM
I was married to a French citizen in the US (California). We moved to France and got divorced (offical French divorce with legal papers). Then I got married to another French man in France (with legal marriage certificate etc). We are thinking of moving to the US and I would like to file for his green card. But I'm afraid that the state of CA will not recognize my divorce as I haven't taken any official steps to declare it to the state. Is my divorce in France recognized in CA and if not, what do I have to do to declare it?
Thanks
JudyKayTee
Jun 23, 2011, 02:26 PM
It's recognized in California. You will need to present your officlal papers when you apply.
gnoner
Jun 23, 2011, 03:11 PM
Thank you for your response. Then I guess I would only need official translations of the divorce and the new marriage papers.
Fr_Chuck
Jun 23, 2011, 06:48 PM
Yes, legal divorce if you meet the requirements there are legal in the US, you don't do anything to make it "legal"
And I doubt they even ask for them, if and a few places ask for copy of divorce papers if divorced very recently, but normally you will not even have to have them.
California is special in that each county has different rules,
In some areas you will need a copy of the divorce if you were ever divorced, in others you only need divorce paper work if you were divorced in the past 90 days
Also many courts require an appointment to apply for license. You need to call ahead to the court you are going to apply at
AK lawyer
Jun 23, 2011, 07:36 PM
...
California is special in that each county has different rules,
In some areas you will need a copy of the divorce if you were ever divorced, in others you only need divorce paper work if you were divorced in the past 90 days
Also many courts require an appointment to apply for license. You need to call ahead to the court you are going to apply at
The OP's husband is considering applying for a green card (United States Permanent Resident Card (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permanent_residence_(United_States))), USCIS Form I-551, not a "license". Last I checked, you don't apply for one of those at the state courthouse anyway. You apply with the feds (USCIS).