waiver

[dudu2black 0]

I came in through a K-1 visa. I have been through hell with my spouse since i came to the U.S. I have been abused,threatened,deceived, and battered by her. The trust for her has been broken.We have two kids and they all i have in the world.My spouse have been very abusive, belittled me ,threatens me all the time, battered me that i had to get a retraining order against her. She has taken undue advantage of me because she feels she is all my hope of living and working in the United States and having a peace of mind.I want a divorce badly but can not afford to a lawyer yet.I do not have any family or very close friends in the States.I worry about the faith of my kids. I still living pain fully and regrettably with this woman.I want to divorce her because i cannot continue to be miserable any more but i do not want to jeopardize getting my condition on the green card removed even though my spouse has promised she wont sign or go to the interview with me because she senses i will eventually leave her knowing all she has done.I have stayed long in this marriage more because of my young kids who needs me but i am unhappy staying and be treated unfairly.

My question now is, since she promised she wont sign the 1-175 form with me can i just go ahead and file for a waiver even though am not divorced yet?

[FaithfulandTrue 6]

I came in through a K-1 visa. I have been through hell with my spouse since i came to the U.S. I have been abused,threatened,deceived, and battered by her. The trust for her has been broken.We have two kids and they all i have in the world.My spouse have been very abusive, belittled me ,threatens me all the time, battered me that i had to get a retraining order against her. She has taken undue advantage of me because she feels she is all my hope of living and working in the United States and having a peace of mind.I want a divorce badly but can not afford to a lawyer yet.I do not have any family or very close friends in the States.I worry about the faith of my kids. I still living pain fully and regrettably with this woman.I want to divorce her because i cannot continue to be miserable any more but i do not want to jeopardize getting my condition on the green card removed even though my spouse has promised she wont sign or go to the interview with me because she senses i will eventually leave her knowing all she has done.I have stayed long in this marriage more because of my young kids who needs me but i am unhappy staying and be treated unfairly.

My question now is, since she promised she wont sign the 1-175 form with me can i just go ahead and file for a waiver even though am not divorced yet?

what waiver.. what's a 1-175.. please elaborate...when did you get married.. where is your timeline

[Zee Bee 61]

I think they are talking about the I-751, to remove conditions.

Maybe someone can move this to the right forum

[Andy 2]

If you are at the stage where you are a conditional permanent resident, and now need to file an I-751 to remove conditional status, then you can file the I-751 on your own, without requiring your wife to sign. In Part 2 (basis for petition) on the form, instead of checking 'a' and filing together, you would check 'd' (if divorced or the marriage otherwise terminated) or whichever of 'e' or 'g' is most applicable. These options are, in effect, your application for waiver of the joint filing requirement on the basis of having been subject to cruelty or violence or if claiming that removal from the country would create great hardship.

It would be wise in this situation to discuss the finer details of your case with a good immigration attorney, because much can depend on the small details, and the choice of which of the waiver types ('e' or 'g') you pick. For example, claiming cruelty and violence would usually require some evidential support of specific incidents or common knowledge of conditions in your home to which others could testify and provide evidence to support. It would also be a slightly higher bar to meet since it is typically women who suffer this rather than men, and while the USCIS should not discriminate, individual attitudes amongst officers and their perception of the potential for abuse of men by women may still play a part. On the other hand, if one or two of your children are US citizens, then you may be in a stronger position to argue hardship if you were forced to leave. A good immigration lawyer will be able to advise which is the stronger option to follow, and what evidential support you should look to put together in support of your I-751.

You do not need to be divorced to self-petition, neither do you need to wait until the 3 month window immediately prior to the end of your 2 conditional status period. You will however need evidence to support your waiver.

Edited June 17, 2008 by Andy

[cherr1980 1]

You need a GOOD family law lawyer and a GOOD immigration lawyer. TWO different, so will be two different expenses.

Right now I can tell you, that depending on your state...is better to start with the Family Law lawyer since you will need to fix that first to move over the other one.

Since you have kids, things can get messy and will required time. If you have limited access to money and you can proof that, you can try to get legal aid to help you in both fronts.

[Andy 2]

Right now I can tell you, that depending on your state...is better to start with the Family Law lawyer since you will need to fix that first to move over the other one.

One has to be very careful here, because if there is plenty of time, getting the family law issues sorted (or significantly under way) is obviously a good thing to do from a practical perspective, but if the 2 year conditional status is nearly expired, it's crucial that the I-751 is filed in time since status lapses automatically on the expiry of the 2 year green card unless an I-751 has been filed. And it can be very difficult, time consuming and expensive to recover that status if it has been lost this way.

It's also important that the immigration and family law attorneys work together, because the way the divorce case is handled and the materials it generates can have an effect on evaluation of the I-751 in self-petitioning cases. It could be hard to claim abuse in an I-751 if there is nothing but sweetness and light reflected in the family law case!

The USCIS is aware that there are sometimes issues in marriage cases meaning the spouses are uncooperative, so it's not unusual to find a self-petitioned I-751 where there are outstanding family law matters left to resolve.

Edited June 17, 2008 by Andy

[guzzyron 0]

You need a GOOD family law lawyer and a GOOD immigration lawyer. TWO different, so will be two different expenses.

Right now I can tell you, that depending on your state...is better to start with the Family Law lawyer since you will need to fix that first to move over the other one.

Since you have kids, things can get messy and will required time. If you have limited access to money and you can proof that, you can try to get legal aid to help you in both fronts.

I think it is unnecessary to get both a family law and an immigration attorney. Doing things that way is usually frought with all kinds of problems - expensive, lack of coordination, one interfering with or delaying the actions of the other - just to name a few. There are very MANY immigration lawyers who also specialize in family and divorce law. IMHO, it will be better and more cost-effective to procure the services of one of those.

[dudu2black 0]

I came in through a K-1 visa. I have been through hell with my spouse since i came to the U.S. I have been abused,threatened,deceived, and battered by her. The trust for her has been broken.We have two kids and they all i have in the world.My spouse have been very abusive, belittled me ,threatens me all the time, battered me that i had to get a retraining order against her. She has taken undue advantage of me because she feels she is all my hope of living and working in the United States and having a peace of mind.I want a divorce badly but can not afford to a lawyer yet.I do not have any family or very close friends in the States.I worry about the faith of my kids. I still living pain fully and regrettably with this woman.I want to divorce her because i cannot continue to be miserable any more but i do not want to jeopardize getting my condition on the green card removed even though my spouse has promised she wont sign or go to the interview with me because she senses i will eventually leave her knowing all she has done.I have stayed long in this marriage more because of my young kids who needs me but i am unhappy staying and be treated unfairly.

My question now is, since she promised she wont sign the 1-175 form with me can i just go ahead and file for a waiver even though am not divorced yet?

[dudu2black 0]

I came in through a K-1 visa. I have been through hell with my spouse since i came to the U.S. I have been abused,threatened,deceived, and battered by her. The trust for her has been broken.We have two kids and they all i have in the world.My spouse have been very abusive, belittled me ,threatens me all the time, battered me that i had to get a retraining order against her. She has taken undue advantage of me because she feels she is all my hope of living and working in the United States and having a peace of mind.I want a divorce badly but can not afford to a lawyer yet.I do not have any family or very close friends in the States.I worry about the faith of my kids. I still living pain fully and regrettably with this woman.I want to divorce her because i cannot continue to be miserable any more but i do not want to jeopardize getting my condition on the green card removed even though my spouse has promised she wont sign or go to the interview with me because she senses i will eventually leave her knowing all she has done.I have stayed long in this marriage more because of my young kids who needs me but i am unhappy staying and be treated unfairly.

My question now is, since she promised she wont sign the 1-175 form with me can i just go ahead and file for a waiver even though am not divorced yet?

[russian_armenian 4]

If it is time to file I-751, send a package and letter about separation. Waiver is granted only when divorce comes through. However, you have a retraining order. Looks like you might file under WAVA-domestic violence abuse. In any case, you have 2 kids together-enough proof that marrage was bona fide. Just make copies of all docs. Check WAVA forum here-I am not sure if you need a divorce if file under domestic violence. If you cannot hire a lawyer, go to first free consultations. They will tell you what doc the lawyer would needed...And you would do the package by yourself; I-751 is an easy package.

I came in through a K-1 visa. I have been through hell with my spouse since i came to the U.S. I have been abused,threatened,deceived, and battered by her. The trust for her has been broken.We have two kids and they all i have in the world.My spouse have been very abusive, belittled me ,threatens me all the time, battered me that i had to get a retraining order against her. She has taken undue advantage of me because she feels she is all my hope of living and working in the United States and having a peace of mind.I want a divorce badly but can not afford to a lawyer yet.I do not have any family or very close friends in the States.I worry about the faith of my kids. I still living pain fully and regrettably with this woman.I want to divorce her because i cannot continue to be miserable any more but i do not want to jeopardize getting my condition on the green card removed even though my spouse has promised she wont sign or go to the interview with me because she senses i will eventually leave her knowing all she has done.I have stayed long in this marriage more because of my young kids who needs me but i am unhappy staying and be treated unfairly.

My question now is, since she promised she wont sign the 1-175 form with me can i just go ahead and file for a waiver even though am not divorced yet?

[dudu2black 0]

Make no mistake about depending on who you meet abuses and violence are being carried out by men and women. The condition on the green card gives some the petitioner's spouse a lot of guts and power to misbehave and take an undue advantage of their alien spouse. I have been told by my spouse that the laws in U.S favors women more that men.Whatever the woman says goes whether a woman is telling the truth or a lie.

How do i get a good lawyer with an affordable fee to file my waiver?

[diadromous mermaid 36]

If you are at the stage where you are a conditional permanent resident, and now need to file an I-751 to remove conditional status, then you can file the I-751 on your own, without requiring your wife to sign. In Part 2 (basis for petition) on the form, instead of checking 'a' and filing together, you would check 'd' (if divorced or the marriage otherwise terminated) or whichever of 'e' or 'g' is most applicable. These options are, in effect, your application for waiver of the joint filing requirement on the basis of having been subject to cruelty or violence or if claiming that removal from the country would create great hardship.

Actually, I believe an I-751 with "d" marked requires a divorce decree.

[dudu2black 0]

Make no mistake about depending on who you meet abuses and violence are being carried out by men and women. The condition on the green card gives some the petitioner's spouse a lot of guts and power to misbehave and take an undue advantage of their alien spouse. I have been told by my spouse that the laws in U.S favors women more that men.Whatever the woman says goes whether a woman is telling the truth or a lie.

How do i get a good lawyer with an affordable fee to file my waiver?

[Andy 2]

Actually, I believe an I-751 with "d" marked requires a divorce decree.

Indeed, which is why I said "...instead of checking 'a' and filing together, you would check 'd' (if divorced or the marriage otherwise terminated)...." It might have been better if I had phrased that as if divorced or the marriage annulled which would be in line with the phrasing on the form itself.

[Andy 2]

Make no mistake about depending on who you meet abuses and violence are being carried out by men and women. The condition on the green card gives some the petitioner's spouse a lot of guts and power to misbehave and take an undue advantage of their alien spouse. I have been told by my spouse that the laws in U.S favors women more that men.Whatever the woman says goes whether a woman is telling the truth or a lie.

It is certainly the case that there are women abusers just as there are men. Sadly though, society as a whole tends to take less seriously tales of abuse of men by women, and USCIS are no exception to that. Evidence is the key, and the more solid the evidence of abuse in support of your self-petition the better.

How do i get a good lawyer with an affordable fee to file my waiver?

There's no easy answer to that because all lawyers are different. You don't, however, need to limit your selection of immigration attorneys to those in your locality since immigration law is federal, thus doesn't vary around the country. Your family law attorney does need to be local however, since each State has it's own rules about separations, divorce and child custody.

There is a good rough guide to finding a suitable attorney at http://www.visalaw.com/02mar5/12mar502.html In itself this is the site of a highly respected immigration law firm, but the guidance is valid even so.