Fraud in annulment of marriage

Just the other day, the New York Supreme Court Third Appellate Division, which is equivalent to the Court of Appeals of the Philippines, issued a decision which I thought as interesting and worthy to be shared in today’s column. The case involves a married couple --a Filipina and a US citizen. Their story goes like this:

John and Marsha met online in February 2018 and became engaged around June of the same year after John’s first visit to the Philippines. Thereafter, John petitioned Marsha as his fiancée and in April 2019, she joined him in the US where they got married in June 2019. There turned out to be a quick disintegration of the union as Marsha moved out of the house less than two weeks after the wedding. About a month later, John filed a petition for annulment arguing that Marsha defrauded him when she married him as her sole purpose was to become a US citizen. Marsha denied the allegation and countered that John was a violent husband and that she left him for her own safety. The lower court granted John’s annulment. Marsha then appealed the decision to the Third Appellate Division.

In a unanimous 5-0 ruling, the justices of the Appellate Division reversed the lower court’s decision. It said that to obtain an annulment, the petitioner spouse must prove that the other spouse knowingly made a material false representation with the intent to induce the other person into marriage. It did not give credence to John’s argument that Marsha induced him to marry her because she wants to obtain an immigration benefit. It did not find sufficient proof that there really was fraud committed by Marsha when she married John. Mere incompatibility of the parties and general discontent are not valid grounds for annulment. The higher court added that annulment has a higher legal standard than that of divorce.

It is important to note that in the meantime Marsha has filed a VAWA (Violence Against Women Act) petition in a separate proceeding at USCIS.

What makes this case interesting to me is that marriages, though entered into with the best intentions of the parties, can sometimes be unpredictably chaotic. In this case, it lasted for only two weeks and that John nor Marsha never could have anticipated that. Another more important thing that sticks out in this case is the means by which the dissolution of the marriage was sought. Why annulment and not divorce? Divorce would have been the easier and more practical way. I am suspecting that John purposely pursued the annulment proceeding on the grounds of fraud as a way to sabotage Marsha’s VAWA petition and subsequent immigration status. As you see, for a VAWA petition to be approved, it must be based on a valid, legitimate, bona fide and good-faith marriage. Should John’s annulment petition based on fraud against Marsha is upheld, Marsha’s VAWA petition will be denied. This lessens Marsha’s options to maintain status and legalized stay in the US. A divorce does not have any impact on a VAWA petition. The petition could still be granted even with a divorce while an annulment based on fraud jeopardizes it. Worse, Marsha could be charged for a federal crime of marriage fraud which carries stiff penalties, imprisonment and, of course, deportation.

Let this case be a lesson for our kababayans who come here to the US as spouses and fiancées of American citizens. Be very careful whom you choose to marry. Take time to know the person and do not be blinded by the promise of the American dream. Also, know your rights when you’re here and do not give up. Make sure you understand any legal document, action, or proceeding you’re entering into as those have direct and indirect consequences on your immigration status as well.