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As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing Fiancé(e) Visas. These are US Visas for the fiancé(e) of an American citizen looking to go to the United States in order to get married and thereafter adjust status to Lawful Permanent Residence in the USA. The reason for the video, as you see from the title, we are talking about legally free to marry. This is a requirement for eligibility for the K-1 Fiancé(e) Visa; you have got to be legally free to marry. What does that mean?

Well first of all, if the person that you are looking to bring in on a Fiancé Visa is currently married at the time you are trying to file for that Visa benefit, they are not going to be eligible for a Fiancé(e) Visa because they are not legally free to marry. What does it mean if somebody has been previously married and you want to know, are they legally free to marry for purposes of the Fiancé(e) Visa? Well they need to either be divorced, single or have had their prior marriage annulled, affirmatively and fully annulled. They have to be no longer considered wedded. Now there are certain jurisdictions, Louisiana I have dealt with is one of them where they have what is called "Separation of Bed and Board" in certain situations. That itself is not necessarily legally free to marry. Also evidence of divorce is another issue that comes up in the analysis of being legally free to marry, and one of these things involves what is called a Divorce Decree Nisi which some jurisdictions say okay, the Court has adjudicated that you are divorced, but the final Decree of Divorce will not be issued until X date. Some places have different statutory rules on this: 30 days later, 60 days later, 90 days later, whatever, and they issue what is called a Decree Nisi in the meantime. It's sort of like an "in the meantime decree". I have never dealt with that in my own personal jurisdiction back home, but that said, in Immigration contexts I have dealt with this a few times. A Decree Nisi is not enough; you have to have a finalized Divorce Decree in order to prove legality of freedom to marry. 

So the thing to take away from this video and to understand is the Divorce Decree is just one thing that can prove legality of freedom to marry; an annulment may do it. Single status, that's another thing. Here in Thailand, there are actually Affidavits of Single Status associated with proving one is single; that can be good affirmative proof. But understand, the person that you are looking to marry cannot be married to another when you file for the Fiancé(e) Visa because they have to be eligible at the time of filing for the Visa itself, and one of the elements of being eligible is being legally free to marry. So that's the thing to take away from this video.