She needs to obtain a valid divorce from her husband, first of all. Only when she is divorced she will be free to remarry.

Since she is in CA, she can file for divorce in CA court if she meets other requirements. She needs to talk to a divorce lawyer.

Is her husband a US citizen? Have they filed for her green card? How long have they been separated? etc.

Note: The above response is provided for legal information purposes only and should not be considered a legal advice; it doesn’t create an attorney-client relationship. If you would like to request a follow-up confidential advice on your specific situation and regarding U.S.A. immigration-related issues, we can offer a paid consultation by telephone or email to clients from all States and globally. Please visit our website http://www.law-visa-usa.com/contact_us.html for more details.

She will need to obtain a divorce in order to re-marry. Will need to know more information about how she entered the U.S., whether her husband as a U.S.Citizen filed anything with the USCIS for her, whether anyone else filed any paperwork for her.

For a paid consultation, please telephone 415-387-1364.

The first marriage must be proven to have not been just for immigration purposes. Then, depending on whether the interview has already taken place and she was honest with all at that time, then she could likely get divorced, marry you and either keep permanent residence through the first spouse or secure permanent residence through you if you're a U.S. citizen. A lot of what happens here depends a bit more on timing issues which are not entirely clear.

Please feel free to contact me offline at alice@yardum-hunter.com or 818 609 1953 to set up a consultation which may be fee based or not depending on circumstances. I provide free consultations for students.

Sincerely,

Alice Yardum-Hunter, Attorney at Law

Certified Specialist, Immigration & Nationality Law, State Bar of CA, Bd. of Legal Specialization