Why aren't the spacers/washers welded in place? That's sort of ridiculous.
It is possible that the fork was made like that. Metal warps when welded. I had problems with that on my first fork. I just lived with it. I put on spacer on, then the wheel, then pried the fork apart with a flat head and slid the last spacer in. It really sounds like it warped in the welding process. Good luck,