Annulment and Waiver of Conditions on Green Card‏

[kruprulez12 0]

Hi guys i would appreciate your suggestions.

I got married with a US citizen in Jan 2007 and came to the US on Oct 2008 on CR1 , we started living together in the US for a few months and had our own differences and decided to get seprated( and she also has some health issues earlier and now which were never discussed with me )

I wanna get divorced but my father in law is insisting for an annulment and he is saying that he ll hire a lawyer and do it AND IS SAYING THAT HE LL GIVE A REASON SAYING THAT MARRIAGE HAPPENED IN GOOD WILL BUT DUE TO DIFFERENCES DIDINT WORK OUT, so MY QUESTION IS WHAT ARE THE CHANCES WHEN I APPLY FOR WAIVING OF MY CONDITIONS BY MYSELF IF INCASE MY MARRIAGE IS ANNULED , I MEAN I HEARD U GET DEPORTED IF YOU GET AN ANNULMENT . IS IT TRUE ?

I DONT HAVE ANY CREDIT CARD STATEMNETS OR ANYTHING TO PROVE ANYTHING JUST A NOTARIZED COPY OF A LETTER SAYING THAT THE MARRAIGE WAS IN GOOD WILL AND WE ARE GETTING SEPERATED SIGNED BY HER FATHER AND HER ( HAVE IT FOR RELIGIOUS PURPOSE), PICS , EMAILS AND TELEPHONE BILLS AND A NOATRIZED COPY OF A LETTER SAYING THAT WE WERE STAYING AT MY BROTHERS HOUSE

I WAS WORKING FINE BACK HOME AND NOW SINCE I WAS HERE I WAS BUSY IN EXAMS AND GETTING INTO RESIDENCY AS WE HAVE TO IF U WANNA PRACTICE MEDICINE HERE AND ALL I DID THIS FOR HER , PLZ ADVICE

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Hi guys i would appreciate your suggestions.

I got married with a US citizen in Jan 2007 and came to the US on Oct 2008 on CR1 , we started living together in the US for a few months and had our own differences and decided to get seprated( and she also has some health issues earlier and now which were never discussed with me )

I wanna get divorced but my father in law is insisting for an annulment and he is saying that he ll hire a lawyer and do it AND IS SAYING THAT HE LL GIVE A REASON SAYING THAT MARRIAGE HAPPENED IN GOOD WILL BUT DUE TO DIFFERENCES DIDINT WORK OUT, so MY QUESTION IS WHAT ARE THE CHANCES WHEN I APPLY FOR WAIVING OF MY CONDITIONS BY MYSELF IF INCASE MY MARRIAGE IS ANNULED , I MEAN I HEARD U GET DEPORTED IF YOU GET AN ANNULMENT . IS IT TRUE ?

I DONT HAVE ANY CREDIT CARD STATEMNETS OR ANYTHING TO PROVE ANYTHING JUST A NOTARIZED COPY OF A LETTER SAYING THAT THE MARRAIGE WAS IN GOOD WILL AND WE ARE GETTING SEPERATED SIGNED BY HER FATHER AND HER ( HAVE IT FOR RELIGIOUS PURPOSE), PICS , EMAILS AND TELEPHONE BILLS AND A NOATRIZED COPY OF A LETTER SAYING THAT WE WERE STAYING AT MY BROTHERS HOUSE

I WAS WORKING FINE BACK HOME AND NOW SINCE I WAS HERE I WAS BUSY IN EXAMS AND GETTING INTO RESIDENCY AS WE HAVE TO IF U WANNA PRACTICE MEDICINE HERE AND ALL I DID THIS FOR HER , PLZ ADVICE

Annulment is no different from divorce when it comes to self-petitioning to remove conditions.

Whether you get an annulment or a divorce, if USCIS discovers your marriage has been terminated then they are required to take steps to revoke your legal residency. For this reason, you are strongly advised to file the I-751 and self-petition to have the conditions removed on the basis of the "good faith" waiver as soon as the divorce or annulment is final. Once the marriage is terminated you will not be required to wait until the 90 period before your conditional green card expires to file the I-751.

The notarized letter is helpful evidence. The emails and telephone bills are not. Married people living together do not generally send each other emails or call each other on the telephone. You're not trying to prove a long distance relationship for a visa - you're trying to prove that you actually lived as a married couple. The less time you've lived together, the more difficult this may be to prove.

Your pursuit of a medical career is irrelevant to your case, since you're not here on a work visa.

Good luck!

[rika60607 215]

Jim,

I thought that it is intentions of marriage that are considered to determine whether it was bona fide marriage or not.

Then length of the marriage/cohabitation is irrelevant, yes? Of course, a marriage of a week would raise a lot of eyebrows, but... law is the law?

[3600rs 24]

Jim,

I thought that it is intentions of marriage that are considered to determine whether it was bona fide marriage or not.

Then length of the marriage/cohabitation is irrelevant, yes? Of course, a marriage of a week would raise a lot of eyebrows, but... law is the law?

I think its more about the bonafide intention at the end of the day. There have been very short marriages approved, and a long marriage denied. Its the quality of evidence that matters. Unless there is a strong act of fraud I don't see the OP deported. It maybe tough to remove conditions but not enough for deportation.

[kruprulez12 0]

Thank you for your replies

so if an annulment is filed is it okay ? ll it be a problem when i apply for waiving my conditions ?

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Please check with a lawyer about an annulment vs a divorce. An annulment basically states that the marriage didn't happen - and there needs to be grounds to prove that the marriage was not valid - ie, fraud, the person who performed the service wasn't qualified, a participant not old enough to legally marry, a partner is not capable of providing a sexual relationship, a partner has a mental illness affecting the ability to make such a decision - etc. and it may be difficult to prove that the marriage contract is void or voidable. The easiest one to try and pursue is 'fraud' - that the marriage was not entered into as a valid contract. Annulment may have serious implications on an immigration application based upon a marriage as it takes away the basis for the immigration and could lead to removal of your green card and deportation. A divorce is definitely 'safe' immigration wise, and yes, you would need to file to remove the conditions on your residency when your divorce is finalized. Very seriously, don't take their word for it - seek advice from a qualified lawyer familiar with immigration law. That father is only interested in pursuing what is in his daughter's best interests - not in yours.

Edited October 22, 2009 by Kathryn41

[JERIII 8]

Annulment is no different from divorce when it comes to self-petitioning to remove conditions.

Kathyrn41 has expressed my concern - that annulment is a statement that the marriage should never have taken place, or that the marriage was never valid.

JimVaPhuong - why are you sure that annulment is not different from divorce?

[rika60607 215]

Probably because I751 allows for a waiver based on divorce, death of the petitioner or annulment.

Annulment is no different from divorce when it comes to self-petitioning to remove conditions.

Kathyrn41 has expressed my concern - that annulment is a statement that the marriage should never have taken place, or that the marriage was never valid.

JimVaPhuong - why are you sure that annulment is not different from divorce?

[Kathryn41 3,205]

While the I-751 does state that you can waiver the joint filing condition if you entered the marriage in good faith and you are divorced or the marriage is annulled, the reasons for getting an annulment may cause problems that will end up in the green card being denied, ie fraud. There are only certain situations that allow for a marriage to be annulled and it doesn't sound from the minimal information that the OP supplied, that any of them apply, unless the father is willing to admit that there is a physical or mental problem with his daughter that means she is not competent to enter a valid marriage. The easiest and most common reason for an annulment in immigration cases is fraud. That is why I suggest speaking with a competent immigration lawyer who has the OPs interests at heart. There are potential landmines with an annulment that don't exist with a divorce.

Edited October 23, 2009 by Kathryn41

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Annulment is no different from divorce when it comes to self-petitioning to remove conditions.

Kathyrn41 has expressed my concern - that annulment is a statement that the marriage should never have taken place, or that the marriage was never valid.

JimVaPhuong - why are you sure that annulment is not different from divorce?

Kathryn is correct - the grounds for annulment certainly could affect the "good faith" claim required for the waiver. I was presuming that the OP's father-in-law was recommending an annulment for religious reasons (since he mentioned it in his post), and presumed the grounds would either be that the marriage was not consummated, or the "health issues" of his wife that he mentioned in his post. Neither of these would affect his "good faith" in entering the marriage.

rika is also correct - I was stating that, for the purposes of the I-751, there is no difference between divorce and annulment.

[kruprulez12 0]

the girls father wants to file an annulment saying that the marriage was in good faith and the marriage was not consumated due to differnces between us ...can he do that ?

[JERIII 8]

the girls father wants to file an annulment saying that the marriage was in good faith and the marriage was not consumated due to differnces between us ...can he do that ?

I think you need a lawyer, not VJ.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

I haven't heard of any reason in this thread that would even warrant an annulment. The Prince of Wales--and that guy has connections--wasn't even able to pull that off, so forgive me for stating my opininon that this is not going to happen if the OP doesn't cooperate.

If her husband wants to end the marriage, divorce might most likely his only option.

Interesting subject anyway, just visualizing that some LPR finds out his or her spouse is a bigamist, for example, something that would indeed warrant an annulment.

[JERIII 8]

Interesting subject anyway, just visualizing that some LPR finds out his or her spouse is a bigamist, for example, something that would indeed warrant an annulment.

Actually, it wouldn't. At least not if the LPR is the "second" marriage". A marriage to someone who is already married is invalid, and cannot be annulled, as it never legally existed, even if all the papers do exist.

The requirements for annulment vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but I agree with Just Bob: it is hard to see how an annulment can happen without the OP's help.

I think the father is trying to scare the OP.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

A marriage to someone who is already married is invalid, and cannot be annulled, as it never legally existed, even if all the papers do exist.

So human reasoning would dictate, but in order to document that the marriage certificate on file is invalid (if one would intend to marry again, for example), the court formally has to declare the marriage annulled. Otherwise anybody who's married could claim they are not "really" married because of . . . something.