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sponsored my 'husband' for a spouse visa but found out he's already married in the USA. His legal wife notified HO. I knew he was in a relationship but not that he was married. I married him in the Bahamas last year and quickly applied for settlement visa.

Could he be banned for deception?

Will he be charged with a crime? He lives and is currently in the USA.

Will I be charged with facilitation? It's been 4 months with no response from Home Office. Submitted documents have been returned.

We did have a relationship but he's legally married. I'm a British citizen.

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This is a very complicated case. I think you should get a qualified experienced immigration attorney to help you sort this out. My own advice would be that you are proactive and also contact the Home Office and explain the situation, but I would not do this without first consulting an attorney.

I'm not sure of the validity of the marriage in the Bahamas as they do require that either a Divorce Decree or a sworn affidavit stating non-married status before they will marry a couple. If he was already married, I can't imagine he was able to fulfill those requirements. If there was a law broken, that is where it happened. There is no crime of 'facilitation' for deception used in visa applications that I'm aware of. It is important to note that while you are the sponsor, he is the main applicant, and any repurcussions are his to endure. If he submitted a marriage document that was obtained fraudelently, then yes, there is a strong likelihood he will face a ban, probably a long one.

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  • Thanks. Facilitation, is a crime here in the UK. It's around knowingly helping someone circumvent immigration control.
    – Esther1985
    May 2, 2019 at 9:40
  • Given a sworn affidavit is easy. It's probably illegal, but not particularly difficult. You couldn't have any bigamy cases if someone already married didn't lie at some point.
    – gnasher729
    May 4, 2019 at 20:06

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