Divorce / separation after getting Conditionnal GC

[adrien_s 0]

hello,

my name is Adrien, i come from France. I married an american women almost 2 years ago ( anniversary in Feb 9 th). I got my conditionnal Green card granted on August 09.Unfortunelty i am having some serious marriage/relationship problems now (wife's cheating). I have been searching on internet to look at every possible options :

1. getting No fault divorce or legal separation: i think would end up in termination of my conditionnal Green Card status. However I heard that i could still apply for a waiver of termination under "good faith". But i think in order to apply for that status you need to be able to prove your good faith marriage. I am young (25 years old) my wife is even younger (21), and we have no kids, no house ( we were living temporary at mother in law's house). I don t have much to prove , will it be enough for "good faith" marriage waiver?

2. Stay married but separated : i really deeply love my wife, and would like to stay in good terms, as i saw that getting a divorce can be long and put my Green card in danger, i would rather just get separated. But i would like to be able to protect myself from the debts she would eventually create after separation. Then again, i am young and looking for the cheapest way to protect my liabilty just about the debts that she would accumulate after break up.

( for example i heard about getting a post nuptial agreement, but cost estimated of the procedure around 5000$ which i can t afford)

3. Because i don t feel like staying in the US, i am going to apply for a Re-entry permit. That way i could come back to my country get some time to cool off, and eventually plan my comeback. My immigration lawyer that took care of my Green card application told me the estimate for the procedure is around 1600$ , does it sounds cheap or expensive? Will the homeland security will be very suspicious on my way back , if i left the country for 6-8 months for example, can they refuse me entry on the fact that i didn t see my wife for that periode of time and that my marriage could look sham, espescially if i plan to go to another state than where my wife lives?

Adrien

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

A divorce could terminate your conditional residency. The "condition" that your residency is based on is your marriage to a US citizen. USCIS is compelled to take action to terminate your residency if they discover the divorce, but they have to actually discover it.

Your conditional residency is valid for 2 years. In the 90 day period before it expires you are required to file a petition to remove the conditions so that you can get a 10 year green card. You are required to file this petition jointly with your wife. However, you can apply for a waiver of the joint filing requirement and file the petition by yourself under certain conditions. One of those conditions is that you married in good faith, but the marriage ended in divorce. There are two things you will need to prove in order for the petition to be approved. You must prove that you married in good faith, and you must prove that you are divorced.

You say you "don't have much to prove". What exactly DO you have? Useful evidence includes proof that you shared the same residence (both names on the bills, both names on leases or rental agreements, etc.), joint bank accounts, joint tax returns, joint medical insurance, life insurance showing spouse as beneficiary, pictures of both of you at important family events, sworn statements from friends who knew both of you, etc. The more you've got, the better your chances will be.

Proof of divorce means a copy of the divorce decree. You can still file the petition before the divorce is final, but you will receive an RFE for the divorce decree, and you will have a limited amount of time to produce it. If you fail to produce a divorce decree in time, then you will be placed in removal proceedings. At that time, you can ask the immigration judge to postpone the hearing until you've obtained your divorce.

You have about four months before that 90 day window begins, and you'll have to file the petition. I suggest you file for the divorce soon.

The cost for filing an I-131 for a reentry permit is $305. Your lawyer is charging a lot for simply filing a form.

[bubbletrouble 0]

I am in the same tough spot. Entered the 90 days for the deadline to apply for 10 year GC, wife is divorcing me, but I do not know how long it will take to finalize the divorce. Likely it will happen after the expiration of the conditional CG. I have a pretty strong case the marriage was entered in good faith, but what should I do? She refuses to sign with me and stay married till the final interview.

[rika60607 215]

Bubbletrouble,

you should file I-751 with a waiver and add a letter of explanation with your submission. Explain, that divorce was filed for, and you can not provide divorce decree yet.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

I am in the same tough spot. Entered the 90 days for the deadline to apply for 10 year GC, wife is divorcing me, but I do not know how long it will take to finalize the divorce. Likely it will happen after the expiration of the conditional CG. I have a pretty strong case the marriage was entered in good faith, but what should I do? She refuses to sign with me and stay married till the final interview.

Fill out the I-751 and submit it before your time runs out. By ticking box "d" in section 2 you are requesting the waiver based on good faith marriage that ended in divorce. When USCIS gets around to adjudicating your petition then they will send you an RFE requesting a copy of the divorce decree. If your divorce is final at that time, then send a copy of your divorce decree. Once USCIS receives your petition then your status will remain unchanged until they make a final decision.

[bubbletrouble 0]

Fill out the I-751 and submit it before your time runs out. By ticking box "d" in section 2 you are requesting the waiver based on good faith marriage that ended in divorce. When USCIS gets around to adjudicating your petition then they will send you an RFE requesting a copy of the divorce decree. If your divorce is final at that time, then send a copy of your divorce decree. Once USCIS receives your petition then your status will remain unchanged until they make a final decision.

problem is, I don't even know if my wife wants to do a trial separation, no fault divorce, etc..how much time does the USCIS allow you for submitting proof of divorce.

You said the status remains unchanged, does that mean I am considered a permanent resident? my job requires green card.

[TracyTN 237]

Once they issue the RFE asking for the divorce documents, you have 87 days to respond to that request.

By sending in the I 751, they will send you a NOA1 which is basically a letter that extends your permanent resident status for another year. Give that to your employer if they ask for proof of status.

[bubbletrouble 0]

Once they issue the RFE asking for the divorce documents, you have 87 days to respond to that request.

By sending in the I 751, they will send you a NOA1 which is basically a letter that extends your permanent resident status for another year. Give that to your employer if they ask for proof of status.

Thanks TracyTN,so let me get this straight. I can send the I751 waiver for to the USCIS and state in it that divorce is pending. They will send me the Notice which means that my status as permanent resident has been extended one year. In the meanwhile they will get working an at some point in time they will send me the Request for Evidence which I have 87 days to respond to with a divorce decree.

Do you have an estimate how long it would take for them to issue the RFE after I send in the waiver?

Thanks again!

[TracyTN 237]

Thanks TracyTN,so let me get this straight. I can send the I751 waiver for to the USCIS and state in it that divorce is pending. They will send me the Notice which means that my status as permanent resident has been extended one year. In the meanwhile they will get working an at some point in time they will send me the Request for Evidence which I have 87 days to respond to with a divorce decree.

Do you have an estimate how long it would take for them to issue the RFE after I send in the waiver?

Thanks again!

That is correct.

How long it will take you to get the RFE depends on the service center you'll be filing at and how quick they are around the time you submit it. But I'd guess it'd be at least 2 months or so.