S M
Mar 12, 2026
NOIR issued after I-130 approval (divorce timing issue from India) – respond or refile?
Hi everyone,
I’m hoping to get some opinions from people who may have dealt with NOIR situations.
My U.S. citizen husband filed a Form I-130 for me and it was approved by USCIS. During my immigrant visa interview in India, the consulate issued a 221(g) and asked for proof of divorce from my first marriage.
Timeline:
• 2017 – I had a divorce deed from my first husband in India.
• After that, I married my current husband in India.
• During visa processing the consulate requested a court divorce decree.
• I obtained a court divorce decree in 2025.
• After this, USCIS issued a NOIR (Notice of Intent to Revoke) stating that I may not have been legally free to marry when my current marriage took place.
Now we are trying to decide between two options:
Option 1: Respond to the NOIR and argue that the earlier divorce deed should be considered valid, and that the later court decree simply formalized the divorce.
Option 2: Allow the petition to be revoked, remarry now that the court divorce decree is finalized, and file a new I-130 petition.
My questions:
- Has anyone responded successfully to a NOIR involving prior divorce validity?
- If we respond and it gets denied, does it negatively affect a future petition?
- Would starting a new petition be cleaner in the long run?
- Are there any risks to responding versus refiling?
Any insights from people who have gone through similar situations would really help. Thank you.
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more graceMar 13, 2026
it's better to refile ,
Kingsley BMar 17, 2026
@S M In option 1 you mention that the court decree formalized the divorce. This seems like “divorce deed” did not finalize the divorce. You were either completely divorced or not when you got remarried. If you were 100 percent divorced in 2017, then you should respond to the NOIR and advise and prove that the divorce deed proves that you were divorced. If your divorce was not actually finalized until you got the decree in 2025 then you were not fully divorced when you got married therefore you are not legally married and not eligible to apply for a green card.
If you reply to the NOIR, you need to make sure that what to write leaves no room for interpretation. Needs to be factual and prove your argument.
If you need to get married again now that you are fully divorced (if you were not divorced in 2017) you will need to reapply as it is a hole new application because the marrrige was not legal in the first application. If you reapply, it could be difficult because they could see your first one as fraudulent.
S GMay 12, 2026
Apology not an answer to your question, how did you obtain court divorce decree?
