My wife needs an annulment but its tricky

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eyesopening

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Hello.

My wife and I have enrolled in RCIA and are ready to enter the church ASAP, but we have a problem. Many years ago she was involved in a marriage for immigration fraud. The marriage was, of course, never consummated. She needs to get the marriage annulled so that the two of us have the proper status for entry into the church. I have discussed the issue with my parish but as we have just begun the process we don’t know much yet.

Here is the story. My wife’s ex-boyfriend talked her into marrying an illegal for immigration fraud. (The ex boyfriend has agreed to write a witness letter for us.) The two of them flew to China together and she had a civil marriage with the illegal. She received money and never saw him again. Many years later when she was ready to marry me, she spoke to a lawyer who handled all the divorce work which ended up being a procedure which required no contact from the other party. She was really naive and expected her ex to handle everything. She never learned the guys name who she married. She has no idea how to contact him or how to acquire marriage certificate and other official documents.

All we have is one witness and of course my wife’s testimony. I am going to contact a lawyer who can possibly get the divorce records that my wife arranged back before she married me.

Any advice/suggestions? And do you think my wife has a valid case for annulment?

Thanks.
 
Sounds to me like this would be easy to annul. She had no intention for a real marriage and she never consummated it.
 
Everything that I have read seems to imply that I need a lot of records and witnesses for an annulment. Is this not the case? Thanks for your reply!
 
eyesopening said:
Everything that I have read seems to imply that I need a lot of records and witnesses for an annulment. Is this not the case? Thanks for your reply!
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You should speak with your priest. You will have to present evidence for your case to the marriage tribunal. As long as you have evidence that she had no intention for a real marriage and she never consummated it, it should be an easy process. 🙂

The best thing to do is speak with your priest.
 
Yes - speak to your priest…He will help you get in touch with the right people.

Peace
James
 
You are only responsible to do your best to present your side. The other side is to be given a chance to respond. But if they can’t be found, or they don’t respond it’s ok. That happens alot.
 
The marriage tribunal has to investigate all past marriages. To not do so would be disrespectful of marriage. However, they do not expect the impossible and do not require the cooperation of the ex-spouse. Talk to your pastor and get the process started.
 
Just so you’re aware, a marriage dissolution, which is not an annulment, is also a possibility because the marriage was not consummated. Speak to your pastor for further advice.
 
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