Filing I-751 jointly while we are living separately

[SweetySweety 0]

Hello.

I got CR-1 visa and came to the US on May,2010. Now I have Green Card and SSN card.

However, my husband and I are already living separately, he lives in East coast and I live in West coast.

He suddenly told me he loves me but we cannot live together and didn't let me stay with him.

Of course we married in good faith, but we might have to get divorced in the future if he won't change his mind.

Even if we have to get divorced, I'd like to keep my Green Card and stay in the US.

I read an article that says:

If the parties are still married, even though they may be living apart and contemplating divorce, they can still file a joint petition. The key is whether they are cooperating with each other. (http://www.ilw.com/articles/2005,0621-wheeler.shtm)

So, I am going to ask him to support me and keep the marriage legally and file the form I-751 jointly later

because I think it will be harder if I get divorced and apply for a waiver of the joint filing requirement alone.

(He is actually very helpful to me now, so I think he will say that's going be ok.)

I am wondering if there's anyone who did it in the same/similar way,

and what should/can I do for now to prepare for submitting the evidence of relationship even my husband and I are not living together.

Btw, I have about 1 and a half yr until to remove the condition.

Thank you very much.

[Tom_Jim 40]

My lawyer advised me that the best way to do it is to divorce, then file. Of course, dependent on the situation you're in, your local state divorce laws may compel you to live apart from room and "bed" for a certain time before you can proceed with divorce. It is however, helpful that your soon-to-be ex-husband is cooperative.

One of the "red flags" that the AFM (adjudicator's field manual) lists is if the couple removes conditions jointly but are living apart. So, probably seek the opinion of someone professional just in case. Good luck.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

Aside from the fact that it would be difficult to prove that you live together if you in fact live thousands of miles apart, it would be fraud to file the I-751 jointly with your husband. Not worth the risk!

If you can prove that you entered the marriage in good faith, you will be able to remove the conditions alone. In order to complete this process, you need to be divorced. If that's what you want, you might as well start with the process now. As soon as your divorce is final, you can, and must, file the I-751.

[SweetySweety 0]

Thank you very much for the comments.

It sounds like I should get divorced if I live really separately.

However, I wonder how hard it is to file I-751 myself after I got divorced.

If it is easier, I have to reconsider, but

I have a friend who knows a person who were denied the condition removal when she filed herself

and had to go back to her home country so I think it could happen to me and I'm scared.

What would you recommend to do if I do that and get approved?

To get a really high pay job, to buy my own house, or to ...?

[milimelo 4,541]

I got CR-1 visa and came to the US on May,2010. Now I have Green Card and SSN card.

You have a GC for a month and are already contemplating how to remove conditions and stay? Why not trying to actually live with your husband - living apart pretty much immediately upon arrival in the Us, then filing joint ROC will raise some questions with USCIS. Why won't he let you stay with him and what's the reason you two are on two different coasts?

[Kathryn41 3,205]

duplicate thread removed

[BlueBonnet 84]

Im sorry, and I understand that this is a site for help with forms and support, but I dont get it.

Why would anyone in there right mind, spend so much time, money, effort, heart ache into this process ... get to the USA, give up everything they have ever known, -- job, family, friends, home --- be with their partner, split up within a couple months ... and actualy WANT to stay in the US ???

If after years of my relationship with my fiance, and another year in this process, and I got to him ... if it didnt work out .. I would be heading right back to Canada.

Maybe this isnt the place for this kind of post, but it really doesnt look like " love " to me, and I just see this kind of posting so so much, I had to say something.

[Justine+David 218]

...yeah. You've been here for less than two months and don't live together? Something sounds funny about that...

[Old Dominion 26]

Have you EVER lived together?

[inloveVEN 46]

wow i dont know how this things can happen.

cr1 path is a long-time-and-money-consuming story that is harder if it finish in this way.

is better if you get divorce to ask for a removal because you hardly will be able to probe something with all those evidences against you in terms of bona fide.

Anyway, this is not time to think about removal. I think you should try to arrange thinks with your husband. I am afraid that you won't be able to support enough that your married was in bona fide because of the time. but of course this is only my opinion, so you better work hard to find enough evidence taking in account that you both live in different places with only two month. you should have give a very strong reason to support thst you both are or were a couple

[rika60607 215]

How long have you been married?

Did you ever live together?

These questions are relevant to whether you will likely succeed of fail with removal of conditions.

[sachinky 465]

I'm going to have to agree with the previous posters. Sorry. Just don't buy it. Of course, being the upper forums and all we'll be shortly chastised for passing 'judgemental comments'. But again, I can't help it. I see this far, far too often and I'm not buying it.

You got to the U.S. in May. It is now June. You have your GC. You're living separately already and from your OP, I see no indication that you've even lived a single day together. You're also already thinking about divorce, 'Removal of Conditions' and how to stay in the U.S. Wouldn't it be easier to move back to Japan where you have friends and family to support you in this very difficult time of your marriage ending? Doesn't sound like 'love,' 'bona-fide' or 'good-faith' to me. And honestly, I can't see USCIS buying it either.

There. I'm done.

Your best bet is to file for divorce and then file on your own as Bob has outlined above. What kind of proof would you even provide with your I-751?

And no, ROC is not granted on whether the applicant has a large house or a high-paying job.

Edited June 27, 2010 by sachinky

[SweetySweety 0]

Oh, I am so sorry, I didn't know I had to write how long we have been together,

how much we still love each other, the reasons why I got separated from my husband,

how hard I tried to fix being separated and everything.

However I still won't write about them yet because it's just my problem and

I'm not asking someone in here to fix that.

I posted the questions because in case everything I am trying now won't be working out.

Does anybody understand what I'm really questioning?

Please do not waste your time to post the comments or answers I'm not asking.

Thank you very much.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

I got CR-1 visa and came to the US on May,2010. Now I have Green Card and SSN card. However, my husband and I are already living separately, he lives in East coast and I live in West coast. He suddenly told me he loves me but we cannot live together and didn't let me stay with him. Of course we married in good faith, but we might have to get divorced in the future if he won't change his mind.

Even if we have to get divorced, I'd like to keep my Green Card and stay in the US. I read an article that says: If the parties are still married, even though they may be living apart and contemplating divorce, they can still file a joint petition. The key is whether they are cooperating with each other. (http://www.ilw.com/articles/2005,0621-wheeler.shtm)

So, I am going to ask him to support me and keep the marriage legally and file the form I-751 jointly later because I think it will be harder if I get divorced and apply for a waiver of the joint filing requirement alone. (He is actually very helpful to me now, so I think he will say that's going be ok.)

I am wondering if there's anyone who did it in the same/similar way, and what should/can I do for now to prepare for submitting the evidence of relationship even my husband and I are not living together.

Btw, I have about 1 and a half yr until to remove the condition.

Filing the I-751 jointly when not living together, is MORE risky than filing based on a bonafide marriage because you should be living together and not living so far away for the ENTIRE relationship (some differences can be students but that's a necessity in those cases). There's a few things you would need for the ROC process, such as co-mingling. One of the big ones is living together obviously, getting bills to the same addresses, among other things. Aside from that, you would be filing fraudulently (it's fraud because you're only staying together for immigration benefits). You are also hoping that he remains wanting to have something to with you 1 1/2 years from now. He could change his mind between now and then and then you're stuck running around trying to get divorced in time.

Your next issue is filing for divorce so quickly after arriving. It reads like this ISN'T a good faith marriage which it appears from your post it may have been before you arrived but ... it's just touchy ground. If you were to file based on divorce, you haven't been here long enough (I think) to qualify for the "good faith marriage" waiver... I could be wrong but it doesn't look good. You would need evidence of co-mingling and of you TRYING to make the relationship work (such as prior bills, prior joint accounts, etc). Doesn't sound like you would have much of that evidence of living together since you arrived.

Ultimately the decision is up to you. I wouldn't risk hoping he would "stick by me" unless I thought there was a chance you can reconcile down the road.

Edited June 27, 2010 by Vanessa&Tony

[rika60607 215]

Okay, the answer to your question is this (since you only want to hear the answers to your specific questions and nothing further) -

you are highly unlikely to find here (or anywhere) someone who successfully removed conditions in your situation.

What can you do? Read the list of suggested evidences from I-751 instructions. See what you will be able to provide.

I am wondering if there's anyone who did it in the same/similar way,

and what should/can I do for now to prepare for submitting the evidence of relationship even my husband and I are not living together.