US wife wants an annulment wrt CR1 visa

[DublinD2 0]

Hi,

I am looking for some info or advice on what my options are for filing a waiver for I-751. And if anyone has been in a similar situation.

I have a CR1 visa(1 year left) and my wife wants an annulment( been married 20 months).

She is unhappy in our marriage.

We are still in love but the economy has forced us to live apart in order to find a stable job to support us(high standard of living).

I want to continue and work on our marriage and move back to be with her. When I can find work there.

Here's alittle history:

We married in good faith in the US in Jan 2008, moved to my home country.

My wife was not happy living outside the US and we decided to move back as I lost my job in Ireland(Engineering).

I applied for the CR1 at the embassy, and we moved back to the US around August of that year after I got the CR1 green card.

We set up in the SW, rented a lease to own, bought all new stuff...car, house hold stuff and furniture...etc.

I was offered a job and we decided to take it because the economy was in free-fall and job interviews were slim to none. The job involved a huge amount of travel(very unstable) which was not good for the relationship as we had not yet settled in and while I was away she had no social outlet.

The company I worked for went under in Feb 2009, despite looking for work in Phoenix and starting my on consulting company it was not enough to maintain our standard of living, so we started burning through credit.

I was offered a job in the NW, at the time my wife and I agreed that we would take the opportunity pay off debts and move again for a sound job that would allow us to settle, even though she disliked the area.

I moved in June 2009, with my wife to follow shortly after when she was ready. I cleared all our debts in the first 2 months($33k).

It has been 4 months now, and she does not want move to the NW because she hates OR.

She has been avoiding me coming down to see her since I moved, claiming she needed space and time to get stable.

I have supported her through all this and even rented out a separate house close to her job to make it easier for her to prepare to move.

She has moved on in her career and found opportunities not present where I work, and now after 4 months of support she wants an annulment, but wants me to continue to support her financially until she gets back to the same career ladder position as she left to move to Ireland(<12months).

My choices and preferences are as follows:

1) Repair the relationship and move down and be happy again. File joint I-751?

2) If we can't work it out, file a wavier I-751 based on annulment/divorce?

For the reasons behind the annulment(she wants it not me) would this qualify?

I assume I would have to show evidence of good faith..etc.

It is not a "given" that the waiver would be granted if I provide everything?

ie ISO has all the power and can choose whether to grant the 10y GC or send me packing

The annulment/divorce would have to be final before I file the I-751 waiver?

3) Have my company get me another green card? Then I am tied to them for 4 years.

Can I have my green card transfered to a company? Change of status?

Thanks in advance for any help.

[Anh map 2,098]

For the 751 it's pretty straight forward: Once your divorce is final you can file for removal of conditions on your own. If that occurs prior to the opening of the filing window (90 days prior to the expiration of the GC) you can go ahead and file, no need to wait. If the divorce is not final then you must wait until the 90 days prior to expiration to submit the I-751. As you have stated, it's up to you to show that you entered into the marriage in good faith.

The divorce/annulment would no effect on your spouse's obligation under the I-864.

As far as your financial arrangements with the spouse, those don't have any bearing on the immigration question. It's probably prudent to consult a divorce attorney for proper advice.

I believe that you can't pursue the employer based GC while you currently hold a valid GC. And that isn't an easy thing to obtain. Better to focus on the Removal of Conditions.

Best of luck to you.

[DublinD2 0]

For the 751 it's pretty straight forward: Once your divorce is final you can file for removal of conditions on your own.

Thanks for the info.

Is there a difference in the eyes of immigration for an annulment vs a divorce?

She already has one divorce and wants an annulment rather than a divorce. I don't see any realistic way to get an annulment. And to deliberately create a story for an annulment vs divorce would be against the deceleration we sign for the I-130 petition anyway....landing us in trouble!!

My understanding of an annulment is that it reflects that the marriage never happened, thus my status on a CR1 could be immediately cancelled? I read this some where else.

[ELW 5]

I agree with Anh map - concentrate on Removing Conditions, either with your wife or after divorce, not a visa with your company. I would think you could not get an annulment - have you looked online for differences and requirements for an annulment and divorce? Consult with an attorney if you are unsure.

Sorry about the troubles in your marriage, hope you can work things out.

[lailaa 0]

Check the link below to see What is the legal difference between annulment and divorce..

http://www.legalzoom.com/legal-articles/le...nt-divorce.html

Once you go for annulment you declare that marriage never tecnically existed and was never VALID!

( common grounds for annulment Bigamy, Fraud, underage marriage, mental illness etcs) so I dont think you can remove condition on residency based on unexisted marriage claim of annulment, on the other hand if you divorce you can still apply to remove condition by yourself.

do not cut the branch you sit on

pls consult an immigration attorney before you go for annulment..

[Dakine 26]

Since you aren't living together it would be difficult to joint file and prove you have a ongoing bonafide marriage. Best to divorce and go from there.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

The way I understand your story, you should have no problems filing the I-751 successfully on your own. Your primary goal right now should be to collect evidence of your bona fide marriage, even more than--and I'm not saying this lightly--attempting to salvage the marriage to your "standard of living" oriented wife.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

I agree with everyone else. You need to get a divorce and file separately.

I am concerned at you saying she is "avoiding me coming down to see her since I moved, claiming she needed space and time to get stable". This doesn't sound good to me at all. It is not your job to support her after divorce/annulment. It seems like YOU have been doing all the work in this relationship, and even though she said she wants to no longer be married (annulment vs divorce sounds to me like she doesn't want to tell her next guy that she has 2 divorces) and has told you that she isn't happy anymore... you say you're still in love. I get the feeling something strange is going on and I would pay her a "surprise" visit...

I'm sorry you're going through this but it sounds like she's looking out for Number 1, and you should be too.

As for you supporting her because she moved to Ireland. It's likely that she moved there because it sounded glamorous and when it didn't work out how she wanted, you both moved to the US. That's not YOUR fault that she gave up her career. She has no right to punish you for that... just as I wouldn't punish my FH for "dragging me to the US" because I came here willingly.

Good luck with everything. I hope it works out and you find a way to be happy.

p.s. $33K in two months?? You have an awesome job!!

Edited October 5, 2009 by Vanessa&Tony

[candelari 0]

I came accross this information when I was doing checklist for I-751. It is from uscis for eligibility;

"You entered into a marriage in good faith, but the marriage was ended through divorce or annulment "

here is the link....... for people who "assume" it won't be valid for I-751 please do more search before giving this poor guy a heart attack.....

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/men...000082ca60aRCRD

(I don't know how to make a short link:) copy-paste should work....

cheers

[w8inglongtime 29]

Whatever you do DO NOT annull the marriage. There are different interpretations for the 2. There is a difference between divorce and annulment. People annull marriages when they think they've made a mistake usually backed by alcohol in vegas

If you annull the marriage it will be treated as a mistake and that it almost didn't exist. A divorce however is the end of a legal marriage. Case in point. Britney Spears married her high school friend in vegas and got it annulled because they were drank and didn't mean it. That marriage was scratched. She was then married to kevin Federline and got a divorce. The second one is recognozed. That's why she's paying spousal support to Federline and nothing to the first guy.

You don't want to throw the word annullment when dealing with USCIS. Your green card was based on the marriage so why should they extend it if you tell them the marriage didn't get off the ground in the first place?

[BRB 6]

So you want to get an annulment because your wife does not want to be divorced twice? I think that once you have been married for a considerable amount of time it is very difficult to get one. This is not the Philippines. Each state has different rules on annulment. I think after everything you have gone through you should file for divorce if that is what you want. If you wife does not want to be divorced tell her to spend some effort trying to make the marriage work.

[whitepearl 0]

Did your wife file for an annulment or divorce?any update?

[Yurika & Jim 77]

Did your wife file for an annulment or divorce?any update?

OP's last log-in date was Mar 03. I don't think you'll get answer from him here...