Forced-Marriage Annulment Evidence Record

PROBLEM: A marriage entered without consent is legally defective from the start — every U.S. state requires voluntary consent for a legally binding marriage, and victims can pursue annulment, seek criminal prosecution of the person who coerced them, obtain civil protection orders, and access immigration relief. But annulment needs evidence: proof that consent was absent, that threats or coercion were used, and when. Without a preserved record, the victim must rebuild the case from memory, often years later, against the people who forced the marriage.

SOLUTION: A forced-marriage annulment evidence record: every piece of evidence preserved with date and source — the absence of consent, the threats or coercion used, messages and witness names, medical or police records — held confidentially and available to the victim's lawyer for annulment, a protection order, or a criminal referral, so the case for voiding a forced marriage is built from the day the pressure started, not from memory after it ended.

EVIDENCE BASIS: DOCUMENTED — every U.S. state requires voluntary consent for a legally binding marriage; victims can pursue annulment, criminal prosecution, civil protection orders and immigration relief (USCIS public page; secondary legal summaries). Sources: USCIS "About Forced Marriage"; legalclarity.org forced-marriage laws summary.