He is 28 years old and is Islamically divorced but by the law of the land........

I know of a Brother in a difficult situation. He is 28 years old and is Islamically divorced but by the law of the land that he is living in (he lives in North America ) he is not divorced because his divorce has not yet been finalized by a judge. According to that law he is not allowed to marry until he receives his divorce papers and it would be illegal for the Imaams to marry them despite it being permissible according to Shari’ah Law. The Brother has the intention of marrying a religious Muslim Convert that he is very compatible with at all levels (spiritually, intellectually, physically, etc.) and he finally found someone that he is happy with. They have known each other for three months and I think if they were to marry it would be a very successful and fruitful marriage and it would greatly improve their spiritual life and religion. However his x-wife is making things extremely difficult by demanding large sums of money and other unreasonable demands therefore complicating and prolonging the process of divorce and it could take months to years until he receives his divorce papers. The Brother is working a full-time job that does not pay much therefore he is not capable of satisfying his x-wife’s demands. The Brother and the Convert that he wants to marry are fearful of falling into sin and they are afraid that they will commit zina out of a dire need for one and another if they do not marry anytime soon. The problem is that his family, x-wife, the Imams and Muslims of his community are unfairly judgmental and ignorant of their natural spiritual and sexual needs therefore they refuse to marry them. They do not have support from anyone and no one wants to get involved. The Brother’s family and x-wife are opposed to him in wanting to marry this Convert because she is not of the same race and culture and she had illicit sexual relations with a few people including the Brother’s own biological brother before she converted to Islam. The family argues that if he were to marry the Convert he would bring shame to his family, x-wife and son because of the Convert’s past sexual relations with his brother before she converted to Islam. The Muslim community has cowered away from their situation and they do not want to get involved. Besides the above the Imaams argue that they do not want to lose their marriage licenses if they were to marry them since the brother is not divorced according to the law of the land therefore making it illegal for the Imams to marry them. (I wonder what they would do if a male Muslim wanted to marry 2, 3 or 4 wives? Are they going to refuse him this Islamic right because the Kuffaar have made polygamous marriages Haraam)? I think this is just an excuse from the Imaams because they are incompetent and are not capable of dealing with situations like this one. This female Convert has sincerely repented from her past sins and she greatly regrets for having had illicit sexual relations. She has changed tremendously and is now very pious and zealous about Islam. She wears a hijab, prays and frequents the masjid. She is currently studying Islam and has the intention of becoming an ‘Alima (scholar). The Brother’s family is not religious and ignorant of Islam while he is concerned about his own religion and has always wanted to marry a zealous religious Convert that will help him spiritually develop. They really love each other and they have the sincere intentions in wanting to come together in marriage, study the Deen together and protect themselves from falling into sin. They have absolutely no issues with each other and both have the exact same goals in life. I do not see anything wrong if they were to marry each other since they are so compatible and it’s only the sentimental feelings of ignorant people around them that are preventing them from engaging in something that Allaah, SubHaanahu wa Ta’aalah, has made Halaal. What would be the best course of action for the Brother and Sister involved to take? In the above situation is it Haraam for the Brother to marry this Convert? If it is permissible for them to marry each other, would it be Islamically possible for them to marry themselves (without witnesses or anyone just by themselves) and if so how would they do it?