2yr conditional green card

[yorkie pudd 0]

Oh what a mess, i got my 2yr conditional green card just before christmas last year, have only been married 8 months when my husband walked out and left me, and has now filed for a no fault divorce.

I love him very much but he refuses to make the marriage work, unfortunately at this point i had to return to the Uk as a family member was ill i am still in the Uk now but want to return to the states in the next 3-5 months.I have been here 3 weeks now.

My question is will i be refused entry on arrival in the states even though i still have my Green Card, and quite possibly my divorce could be through by then.

Any help would be greatly appreciated

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Oh what a mess, i got my 2yr conditional green card just before christmas last year, have only been married 8 months when my husband walked out and left me, and has now filed for a no fault divorce.

I love him very much but he refuses to make the marriage work, unfortunately at this point i had to return to the Uk as a family member was ill i am still in the Uk now but want to return to the states in the next 3-5 months.I have been here 3 weeks now.

My question is will i be refused entry on arrival in the states even though i still have my Green Card, and quite possibly my divorce could be through by then.

Any help would be greatly appreciated

You should be able to re-enter with your green card.

Some basic facts - your green card is "conditional", which means there are conditions attached to your legal permanent residence. The primary "condition" for keeping your LPR status is that you remain married to your US citizen spouse. The general rule is that divorce terminates your claim to status. This doesn't mean your green card magically becomes invalid the day you are divorced. USCIS has to go through removal proceedings in order to cancel your green card, which takes months. However, it does mean that USCIS is compelled to take action if they learn about the divorce. This action would initially be limited to sending you a letter that they intend to begin removal proceedings.

Normally, you are required to file an I-751 petition to remove the conditions on your green card within 90 days before the card expires. Usually, you and your husband both have to sign this petition and cooperate if there's an interview. The law does allow you to file this petition on your own when the marriage ended in divorce, provided you can prove you entered the marriage in good faith. This generally means providing proof that you lived as a normal married couple until the marriage broke down. You can get more details on this when you're ready to file.

Most people wait until the 90 day window before self-petitioning to remove conditions based on divorce. As I said, USCIS is compelled to take action if they learn of the divorce, but they usually don't hear about the divorce until you tell them about it when you self-petition. In the event that they do find out about the divorce, and send you a letter that they intend to start removal proceedings, then you'll have to file your I-751 right away. Once you are divorced, you are no longer required to wait for the 90 day window to file - you can file anytime. The final divorce decree will be required.

USCIS will consider all aspects of your relationship in determining whether they believe you entered the marriage in good faith. When a divorce is filed soon after the conditional green card is approved, the case will probably get more scrutiny.

I am curious how your divorce is being completed so quickly without your cooperation. Even in states that don't require the consent of both parties for a no fault divorce, they still require that the respondent be give ample time to respond. Without a response, many states would require the petitioner to wait 1 year for the abandonment clause to kick in. I've never heard of a state that will grant a unilateral divorce in less than 6 months. Did you husband serve you with papers before you returned to the UK?

[yorkie pudd 0]

Thank you for your reply

I was living in the state of Alaska, and my husband served me with the papers for the Dissolution of marriage while i was still there.

Unfortunately i was not really in the right frame of mind and i sadly signed them, my emotions where basically all over the place and i was pretty much in total shock.

The Divorce according to Alaskan law can be final in anywhere from 30-90 days.