Please Help "Green Card Problem"

[mist man 0]

Hi everybody, I will breifly list my story hopeing that enyone here can help me

I entered the US with a k1 visa in june 2008 , got married and applied for the 2 year conditional , my wife was abusive and was undermedication, anyways i would prefer to not tell the whole description because i don't like to remmember those dark days anymore, she got arrested in sep 2009 after she scratched me and through stuff on me till i blee

I got my 2 years green card in july 2009,

we were separated since oct 2009 till now, My current green card will expire i think next july

We aren't divorced yet

An attorny is doing my case now, he charged me so far $4000 with nothing done yet , I just want to make sure this Attorney is doing it right, He said that he will apply under VAWA , and he asked me to do the medical exam , i told him i did the medical exam once, he said it is required because we are doing an "adjustment of status again"!! i asked him why would we do a VAWA claimimg adjustment of status while i already have a 2 years green card, i told him i think that we should do it VAWA claiming removing of conditions, He said he is doing it this way because we are separated and don't live together anymore,

One of my freinds told me that i should of done a Wavier remove conditions instead of all that,

After i spoke with my attorney he asked me to wait till monday so that he check something. we are about to Mail the application,

My questions now are 1- Should i do VAWA claiming adjustment of status, Or VAWA claiming removing conditions, Or waivier ?

2- can i apply for a waivier and VAWA together?

3- Should i agree to my wife to do no faulty divorce or should i do the divorce based on the domestic battery?\

Please help, i will really appreciate it !!!

[edp333 9]

You need to file for ROC with the divorce waiver. You will have a day in court and need to ask for the removal proceedings to be put on hold until the divorce is final.

You can remove conditions by yourself if your lawyer does not know how. And you need proof the relationship was entered into in good faith. You will not get an approval for the green card until you provide a divorce decree.

[Minya's wife 24]

Hi everybody, I will breifly list my story hopeing that enyone here can help me

I entered the US with a k1 visa in june 2008 , got married and applied for the 2 year conditional , my wife was abusive and was undermedication, anyways i would prefer to not tell the whole description because i don't like to remmember those dark days anymore, she got arrested in sep 2009 after she scratched me and through stuff on me till i blee

I got my 2 years green card in july 2009,

we were separated since oct 2009 till now, My current green card will expire i think next july

We aren't divorced yet

An attorny is doing my case now, he charged me so far $4000 with nothing done yet , I just want to make sure this Attorney is doing it right, He said that he will apply under VAWA , and he asked me to do the medical exam , i told him i did the medical exam once, he said it is required because we are doing an "adjustment of status again"!! i asked him why would we do a VAWA claimimg adjustment of status while i already have a 2 years green card, i told him i think that we should do it VAWA claiming removing of conditions, He said he is doing it this way because we are separated and don't live together anymore,

One of my freinds told me that i should of done a Wavier remove conditions instead of all that,

After i spoke with my attorney he asked me to wait till monday so that he check something. we are about to Mail the application,

My questions now are 1- Should i do VAWA claiming adjustment of status, Or VAWA claiming removing conditions, Or waivier ?

2- can i apply for a waivier and VAWA together?

3- Should i agree to my wife to do no faulty divorce or should i do the divorce based on the domestic battery?\

Please help, i will really appreciate it !!!

You are a conditional resident, and can apply to remove conditions on your own, once divorced, provided that you can prove w/ documents that you entered the marriage in good faith...it just didn't work out. Did you have joint account, lease or home ownership, file taxes jointly up to the point you were separated? If so, it may just be easier to obtain a divorce (the reasons for that divorce should be worked out with the help of a divorce attorney if you're not able to do so on your own) and file to remove conditions on your own based on that.

[Minya's wife 24]

You need to file for ROC with the divorce waiver. You will have a day in court and need to ask for the removal proceedings to be put on hold until the divorce is final.

You can remove conditions by yourself if your lawyer does not know how. And you need proof the relationship was entered into in good faith. You will not get an approval for the green card until you provide a divorce decree.

Why would the OP need to have removal proceedings put on hold? He does not state that he is in removal proceedings....he's only inquiring about Removal of Conditions.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,235]

1) The attorney you retained is a crook. I can state that, having never seen him, not knowing his name, based on 2 things:

a) his out-of-this-world, kick me in the face until I'm bleeding like a pig fee. For comparison, Visa Associates charges a $350 flat fee for the same service.

b) the VAWA nonsense.

Anybody who did his homework understands what needs to be done here, and I'll tell you what it is, free of charge.

If you don't live in harmony with your husband anymore, you need to file singularly, with a waiver. For your petition to be approved, you need to be divorced. So the first thing I tell you before going even to the bathroom is: get a divorce going before going to the bathroom.

Secondly, what you need to prove for the R.O.C. is that you entered, entered, yes entered the marriage in good faith. Nothing else. If you want to file based on VAWA, you need to do the same, but, in addition, in addition, you need to provide proof of the abuse. Now, why would you make this case more difficult as it has to be? You wouldn't, but your attorney does. Why? To milk you like a cow giving dollar bills, of course!

You need to get rid of the crook, and you need to get your divorce going, now. Immediately!

You file as soon as you are divorced. If you can't get divorced before your Green Card expires, file your I-751 one week to nine days before it expires. You'll get a 1-year extension and and RFE a bit later. That will buy you time, valuable time you need, although about ony 88 days. If you are not divorced by October, when the RFE time's up, ask again and I'll tell you what to do. Free of charge.

[edp333 9]

Why would the OP need to have removal proceedings put on hold? He does not state that he is in removal proceedings....he's only inquiring about Removal of Conditions.

A. The OP is not divorced yet. Getting a divorce is not always a quick process and can take years.

b. Applying for ROC only gives a 90 extension for the divorce decree RFE.

c. The lawyer is leading the OP done the wrong path.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

+1 for Bob's post.

I can't even begin to guess what your attorney is thinking. Of the options available to you, he has chosen the most difficult one to get approved. The way I see it, you have three options:

1. Petition to remove conditions based on divorce

2. Petition to remove conditions based on abuse

3. Petition to change the basis of your permanent resident status from marriage to abuse

All three of these options are going to require evidence you entered the marriage in good faith.

A petition to remove conditions based on divorce will also require a copy of the divorce decree. You will get several chances to submit this, if you can't submit it with the initial petition. If your case ultimately ends up in front of an immigration judge, you can ask for a stay of removal while you wait for the completion of your divorce. There are very few scenarios where you would actually end up being deported before you get the divorce decree.

A petition to remove conditions based on abuse requires proof of the abuse. Your odds of failing using this route are substantially higher than the divorce route because the immigration officer has discretion in evaluating the validity of your evidence. A divorce decree is straightforward. Evidence of abuse is not.

A petition to change the basis of your permanent resident status from marriage to abuse is a long shot. In addition to proof of good faith marriage and proof of abuse, you also need proof that removal from the United States would impose an extreme hardship on you. What evidence of hardship does your attorney intend to submit? USCIS is going to be reluctant to approve this because if you can prove you are eligible for permanent resident status on the basis of abuse then your CURRENT basis for permanent resident status must ALSO be valid. In addition, changing your basis for permanent residence would also nullify the affidavit of support your spouse submitted, which would leave the government without anyone to be financially responsible for you. I strongly suspect they'll deny this, and tell you to apply for removal of conditions based on either VAWA or divorce. If your attorney suspects this also then he's just milking you for cash.

A general word of advice to anyone hiring an attorney for any purpose...

Hiring an attorney is like taking a cab in a strange town. If you don't know your way around, and just jump in and say "Take me there", there's a strong chance they'll drive you all over town just to run up the meter. If you expect to succeed without being taken to the cleaners then you MUST be an active participant. Learn as much as you can about the relevant laws that apply to your case, ask your attorney pointed questions about specific aspects of the law in order to make sure he's considered every angle, and make sure he can provide strong justifications for any tactic he chooses. If you're unsure about the tactics they've chosen, and they can't answer your questions to your satisfaction, then consult with another lawyer, or two or three. If you just sit back and let your lawyer do the driving then you'll probably get screwed.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

A. The OP is not divorced yet. Getting a divorce is not always a quick process and can take years.

b. Applying for ROC only gives a 90 extension for the divorce decree RFE.

c. The lawyer is leading the OP done the wrong path.

Agree with points A and C. Point B is not completely accurate. The RFE isn't issued until an immigration officer begins to adjudicate the case, which could be several months after the I-751 is submitted. The cumulative additional time the applicant would have to obtain the divorce decree may as little as five or six months, but could also be a year or more.

[mist man 0]

Thanks for everyone replied to help me, it may sound stupid, but i don't even know what does it mean "ROC and OP" , I would like to mention that i have the proof of the domestic violence which is the " Police report" , and i have also all the proof that i entered the marriage in good faith, plus that i have marriage counselor receipts and all other stuff, but we aren't divorced yet , and not sure if i apply for divorce how long will it take, and i believe that is why the attorney choosed to do VAWA , now the attorney got all the application ready to send and i think i can't get my money back from him, the thing is he wants to apply VAWA claiming adjustment of status and he said that he said that the reason he is doing adjustment of status and not removing condition is because we are separated. is that true that i can't do VAWA claiming removing condition if we are separated?

[Inky 1,110]

ROC = removal of conditions

OP = original poster (you the person who asked the question)

Your lawyer is going about everything the wrong way, you should fire him before he sends anything in and get a new lawyer if you don't want to do the papers on your own.

[milimelo 4,413]

Thanks for everyone replied to help me, it may sound stupid, but i don't even know what does it mean "ROC and OP" , I would like to mention that i have the proof of the domestic violence which is the " Police report" , and i have also all the proof that i entered the marriage in good faith, plus that i have marriage counselor receipts and all other stuff, but we aren't divorced yet , and not sure if i apply for divorce how long will it take, and i believe that is why the attorney choosed to do VAWA , now the attorney got all the application ready to send and i think i can't get my money back from him, the thing is he wants to apply VAWA claiming adjustment of status and he said that he said that the reason he is doing adjustment of status and not removing condition is because we are separated. is that true that i can't do VAWA claiming removing condition if we are separated?

Fire your lawyer - see if you can get some of the $4000 back.

Google divorce plus your state. That should get you information on how to file for divorce, how long you have to be separated before you can file (if it's a condition for divorce). If you can't find your spouse, notice by publication should work.

ROC - removal of conditions - form I-751.

OP - original poster.

Moving this to Removing conditions forum as you're almost there.

Edited January 15, 2011 by milimelo

[Dodi 69]

You've already adjusted status. You don't need to adjust status again, you need to Remove Conditions (ROC=Removal of Conditions, OP = Original Poster or person who started the thread = YOU). You CAN remove conditions on your own, as has been stated here very specifically IF you are divorced first. You cannot remove conditions on your own if you are only separated. Since you haven't mentioned having children with your spouse, I will assume there are no children of the marriage. You can get divorced much more quickly if this is the case (usually). What state are you living in? This will determine the steps you need to take to file for divorce. In Oklahoma, for instance, you can be divorced in as few as 11 days if you have no minor children involved and neither party contests. As you've been separated for over a year it's probably not an issue, but that will also depend on your spouse. You can usually look on Craigslist and find a paralegal in your area who will prepare divorce papers for you for a flat fee (much cheaper than an attorney) and then you file them yourself at the court clerk. They can tell you how to proceed from there, but it'll save you a small fortune (since you already paid a small fortune to the pig who isn't helping you right now).

Hope this helps.

[JeroenAndMichelle 28]

4,000 USD for that #######?? I really chose the wrong profession...

After i spoke with my attorney he asked me to wait till monday so that he check something. we are about to Mail the application,

I'm betting he's going to read some guides here on VJ...

On a more serious note though: Please fire that crook.. it looks as if he does not know what he is talking about, and if anything goes wrong, you cannot even blame him or anything for it