Considering divorce CR1

[Erthwhile 0]

I and my wife have been married for almost two years, but we came to the US only one month ago. We are young, and I was accepted at university. Since she has a job elsewhere, we don't live together. Since we came here recently, we don't have a joint bank account/property, nor we did in my home country. We have though a joint bank account there.

We have grown apart in the recent months, and we have decided to get a divorce to move on. I am a CR1 though. If we divorce, what will happen to me? Will I still be able to remove conditions after 2 years? When should I file for the waiver? Also, she is willing to help me in any way she said. How could she help me in that? Our marriage was true, just didn't work out...

thanks!

[Bobby+Umit 161]

If you get divorced right now, you could file for removal of conditions as soon as the ink is dry on the divorce papers.

As long as you can prove that the marriage was bona-fide and not for immigration purposes, you should be able to ROC yourself.

Follow the guides above for guidance on ROC - you would need the same info as if you were still married.

[Erthwhile 0]

If you get divorced right now, you could file for removal of conditions as soon as the ink is dry on the divorce papers.

As long as you can prove that the marriage was bona-fide and not for immigration purposes, you should be able to ROC yourself.

Follow the guides above for guidance on ROC - you would need the same info as if you were still married.

Your is a good point and I appreciate the answer.

Could what we had BEFORE coming to the US used to prove our bone fide? Like travels, the fact we lived together, letters from relatives, my wife's statement saying so, etc. As we just moved and as we are young and with not many assets (and many student-loans liabilities, lol), wedon't have joint properties nor joint-accounts. How can we circumvent that?

Also, if my ROC is denied, will I still able to stay in the US for the remaining of my GC validity? I ask because I am enrolled full-time at Grad School!

Thanks!

[Erthwhile 0]

Your is a good point and I appreciate the answer.

Could what we had BEFORE coming to the US used to prove our bone fide? Like travels, the fact we lived together, letters from relatives, my wife's statement saying so, etc. As we just moved and as we are young and with not many assets (and many student-loans liabilities, lol), wedon't have joint properties nor joint-accounts. How can we circumvent that?

Also, if my ROC is denied, will I still able to stay in the US for the remaining of my GC validity? I ask because I am enrolled full-time at Grad School!

Thanks!

Any help? Would a notarized letter from my wife suffice? Will our past relationship be a proof? I also paid for a big part of her education, will that play a part?

thanks!

Edited September 7, 2010 by Rob C

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Any help? Would a notarized letter from my wife suffice? Will our past relationship be a proof? I also paid for a big part of her education, will that play a part?

thanks!

What you have to demonstrate is that you entered the marriage in good faith, and not primarily to obtain an immigration benefit. So, yes - evidence going to back to when you were first married and even before should be kept and submitted.

Shared expenses look a lot better to an immigration officer than expenses paid exclusively by one spouse on behalf of the other. If only one spouse was working then they like to see evidence that the income was being shared, and that expenses for both spouses were being paid from the shared income. You paying for a large portion of her education could be viewed as you paying her to help you immigrate.

A notarized affidavit from your wife would be good evidence.

You don't have to file for removal of conditions until you are within 90 days of your conditional green card expiration. However, if you divorce in the meantime and USCIS discovers the divorce then they are compelled to take action to terminate your conditional residency. The "condition" that your conditional residency is dependent on is remaining married to the petitioner. If the marriage ends, then conditional residency is supposed to end, as well.

Ok, many people get divorced and don't bother to file for removal of conditions until their conditional green card is about to expire, and they don't have any problems. This is because, in the majority of cases, USCIS never finds out about the divorce. In light of this, I'm not going to lecture you and tell you that you absolutely must file to remove conditions immediately after the divorce. It's sufficient that you know that USCIS will send you a notice of intent to begin removal proceedings if they discover the divorce, and it's not that difficult for them to discover it. For example, as a green card holder you are required to notify USCIS if your address changes. As an I-864 sponsor, your wife is required to notify USCIS if her address changes. If one or both of you file a change of address, as required, then that could be enough to raise their suspicions.

If your ROC application is denied then your conditional residence will expire immediately. You have a limited amount of time to file a motion to reopen, file an administrative appeal, or leave the US before they begin removal proceedings. You can continue to appeal after removal proceedings have begun.

[Erthwhile 0]

What you have to demonstrate is that you entered the marriage in good faith, and not primarily to obtain an immigration benefit. So, yes - evidence going to back to when you were first married and even before should be kept and submitted.

Shared expenses look a lot better to an immigration officer than expenses paid exclusively by one spouse on behalf of the other. If only one spouse was working then they like to see evidence that the income was being shared, and that expenses for both spouses were being paid from the shared income. You paying for a large portion of her education could be viewed as you paying her to help you immigrate.

A notarized affidavit from your wife would be good evidence.

You don't have to file for removal of conditions until you are within 90 days of your conditional green card expiration. However, if you divorce in the meantime and USCIS discovers the divorce then they are compelled to take action to terminate your conditional residency. The "condition" that your conditional residency is dependent on is remaining married to the petitioner. If the marriage ends, then conditional residency is supposed to end, as well.

Ok, many people get divorced and don't bother to file for removal of conditions until their conditional green card is about to expire, and they don't have any problems. This is because, in the majority of cases, USCIS never finds out about the divorce. In light of this, I'm not going to lecture you and tell you that you absolutely must file to remove conditions immediately after the divorce. It's sufficient that you know that USCIS will send you a notice of intent to begin removal proceedings if they discover the divorce, and it's not that difficult for them to discover it. For example, as a green card holder you are required to notify USCIS if your address changes. As an I-864 sponsor, your wife is required to notify USCIS if her address changes. If one or both of you file a change of address, as required, then that could be enough to raise their suspicions.

If your ROC application is denied then your conditional residence will expire immediately. You have a limited amount of time to file a motion to reopen, file an administrative appeal, or leave the US before they begin removal proceedings. You can continue to appeal after removal proceedings have begun.

Thanks for your reply...

Unfortunately, while living in Italy my wife wasn't working since she was unemployed and it was hard for her work since she didn't speak the language, so she took a MA the second year we lived there. Funny thing is, we entered the country/got the GC after 1y10m of marriage... we didn't even botherto wait two years to get me a permanent GC because we came here loving each other and sure this would never had ended. Unfortunately though, life is funny...

Hence, an affidavit from her, a lot of past pictures together showing trips abroad etc., some letters from her family and a joint bank account in Italy is all we have. Any other hint?

Thanks!

[Deputy Purple 1,294]

we didn't even botherto wait two years to get me a permanent GC

Just to clarify, there is no such thing as a permanent Greencard. What you have now is a CONDITIONAL Greencard and the condition is your marriage to your USC Wife.

After Removal of Conditions you will receive a Greencard (note the absence of CONDITIONAL) which doesn't rest on the condition of marriage to a USC. This Greencard will need to be renewed every 10 years unless you naturalize.

Even the old Greencards without expiration dates could hardly be considered "Permanent" as they all are revocable.

Edited September 7, 2010 by Bob 4 Anna

[Erthwhile 0]

Just to clarify, there is no such thing as a permanent Greencard. What you have now is a CONDITIONAL Greencard and the condition is your marriage to your USC Wife.

After Removal of Conditions you will receive a Greencard (note the absence of CONDITIONAL) which doesn't rest on the condition of marriage to a USC. This Greencard will need to be renewed every 10 years unless you naturalize.

Even the old Greencards without expiration dates could hardly be considered "Permanent" as they all are revocable.

Thanks for the reply! I know that difference... I just hope I will not have any problem in adjusting of status!

[Erthwhile 0]

What you have to demonstrate is that you entered the marriage in good faith, and not primarily to obtain an immigration benefit. So, yes - evidence going to back to when you were first married and even before should be kept and submitted.

Shared expenses look a lot better to an immigration officer than expenses paid exclusively by one spouse on behalf of the other. If only one spouse was working then they like to see evidence that the income was being shared, and that expenses for both spouses were being paid from the shared income. You paying for a large portion of her education could be viewed as you paying her to help you immigrate.

A notarized affidavit from your wife would be good evidence.

You don't have to file for removal of conditions until you are within 90 days of your conditional green card expiration. However, if you divorce in the meantime and USCIS discovers the divorce then they are compelled to take action to terminate your conditional residency. The "condition" that your conditional residency is dependent on is remaining married to the petitioner. If the marriage ends, then conditional residency is supposed to end, as well.

Ok, many people get divorced and don't bother to file for removal of conditions until their conditional green card is about to expire, and they don't have any problems. This is because, in the majority of cases, USCIS never finds out about the divorce. In light of this, I'm not going to lecture you and tell you that you absolutely must file to remove conditions immediately after the divorce. It's sufficient that you know that USCIS will send you a notice of intent to begin removal proceedings if they discover the divorce, and it's not that difficult for them to discover it. For example, as a green card holder you are required to notify USCIS if your address changes. As an I-864 sponsor, your wife is required to notify USCIS if her address changes. If one or both of you file a change of address, as required, then that could be enough to raise their suspicions.

If your ROC application is denied then your conditional residence will expire immediately. You have a limited amount of time to file a motion to reopen, file an administrative appeal, or leave the US before they begin removal proceedings. You can continue to appeal after removal proceedings have begun.

Would a legal separation allow me to stay and postpone the filing of my I-751? This may be a good temporary arrangement... Also, I am enrolled at Cornell where Iam paying lots of money... If I were deported, I surely would incur in extreme financial hardships... How could I handle that?

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Would a legal separation allow me to stay and postpone the filing of my I-751? This may be a good temporary arrangement... Also, I am enrolled at Cornell where Iam paying lots of money... If I were deported, I surely would incur in extreme financial hardships... How could I handle that?

No. Your green card expires on the date written on it. If you don't file an I-751 in the 90 day window before it expires then you will be out of status.

Here's how it works.

The law requires you to file an I-751 in the 90 day window before your conditional green card expires. The petition is supposed to be filed jointly with your wife. There are certain conditions where you can ask for a waiver of the joint filing requirement, and self-petition for removal of conditions. These exceptions are:

1. Your US citizen spouse died.

2. Your marriage was annulled or ended in divorce.

3. You've been abused by your US citizen spouse.

4. Being deported will cause you extreme hardship.

Obviously, #1 and #3 don't apply. #2 requires your marriage to have been terminated. We'll get to this in a moment.

#4 - USCIS realizes that deportation is a hardship on any immigrant. The level of hardship you must demonstrate must go far beyond what any typical immigrant would suffer. The circumstances that will cause your hardship must not have existed when you became a permanent resident. Here are some examples that would qualify for an extreme hardship waiver:

1. You have acquired a life threatening medical condition that can only be treated in the United States.

2. War has broken out, or a natural disaster has occurred in your home country, or some other situation that would place you in serious risk if you were forced to return.

Here are some examples that would NOT qualify for an extreme hardship waiver:

1. You have a great job in the US which you'll lose.

2. You've invested a substantial amount of money in the US, which you'll lose.

Losing your tuition would definitely NOT qualify as an extreme hardship.

Ok, back to the divorce waiver. Your self-petition I-751 cannot be approved until your marriage is terminated. They won't give you an extension to get the divorce, nor will they extend the validity of your green card or postpone initiating removal proceedings because you're separated. Remember - the "condition" on your conditional residence is that you remain married to your US citizen spouse. If you're still married, they expect you to file jointly. If you're not married, they expect you to ask for the waiver IF you can demonstrate you entered the marriage in good faith.

You need to file the I-751 on time. They will accept a late filing, but only if you can demonstrate that the reason for filing late was beyond your control. Waiting for your divorce to be finalized is not a valid reason to file late.

So, you have a quandary. You need to file on time, but you may not be able to complete the divorce in time to self-petition. It used to be that USCIS would reject an I-751 when a divorce waiver was requested but no divorce decree was provided with the petition. That has changed. USCIS will now accept the petition. When an immigration officer gets around to adjudicating the filed petition (which could be months later) then they'll issue an RFE for the divorce decree. You have a window of just under three months to respond. If you produce the divorce decree then they'll continue processing the petition. If you don't, then the petition will be denied and they'll begin removal proceedings.

If they end up putting you in removal proceedings then you'll get a master hearing in front of an immigration judge at some point. At the hearing, you can ask the judge to stay the proceedings until your divorce is final. The judge will usually grant this request. When you return with the divorce decree, the judge will send your case back to USCIS for adjudication. If you show up for the master hearing and you haven't even filed the divorce yet then the judge will probably deport you.

Get started on your divorce. File your I-751 on time.

[Erthwhile 0]

No. Your green card expires on the date written on it. If you don't file an I-751 in the 90 day window before it expires then you will be out of status.

Here's how it works.

The law requires you to file an I-751 in the 90 day window before your conditional green card expires. The petition is supposed to be filed jointly with your wife. There are certain conditions where you can ask for a waiver of the joint filing requirement, and self-petition for removal of conditions. These exceptions are:

1. Your US citizen spouse died.

2. Your marriage was annulled or ended in divorce.

3. You've been abused by your US citizen spouse.

4. Being deported will cause you extreme hardship.

Obviously, #1 and #3 don't apply. #2 requires your marriage to have been terminated. We'll get to this in a moment.

#4 - USCIS realizes that deportation is a hardship on any immigrant. The level of hardship you must demonstrate must go far beyond what any typical immigrant would suffer. The circumstances that will cause your hardship must not have existed when you became a permanent resident. Here are some examples that would qualify for an extreme hardship waiver:

1. You have acquired a life threatening medical condition that can only be treated in the United States.

2. War has broken out, or a natural disaster has occurred in your home country, or some other situation that would place you in serious risk if you were forced to return.

Here are some examples that would NOT qualify for an extreme hardship waiver:

1. You have a great job in the US which you'll lose.

2. You've invested a substantial amount of money in the US, which you'll lose.

Losing your tuition would definitely NOT qualify as an extreme hardship.

Ok, back to the divorce waiver. Your self-petition I-751 cannot be approved until your marriage is terminated. They won't give you an extension to get the divorce, nor will they extend the validity of your green card or postpone initiating removal proceedings because you're separated. Remember - the "condition" on your conditional residence is that you remain married to your US citizen spouse. If you're still married, they expect you to file jointly. If you're not married, they expect you to ask for the waiver IF you can demonstrate you entered the marriage in good faith.

You need to file the I-751 on time. They will accept a late filing, but only if you can demonstrate that the reason for filing late was beyond your control. Waiting for your divorce to be finalized is not a valid reason to file late.

So, you have a quandary. You need to file on time, but you may not be able to complete the divorce in time to self-petition. It used to be that USCIS would reject an I-751 when a divorce waiver was requested but no divorce decree was provided with the petition. That has changed. USCIS will now accept the petition. When an immigration officer gets around to adjudicating the filed petition (which could be months later) then they'll issue an RFE for the divorce decree. You have a window of just under three months to respond. If you produce the divorce decree then they'll continue processing the petition. If you don't, then the petition will be denied and they'll begin removal proceedings.

If they end up putting you in removal proceedings then you'll get a master hearing in front of an immigration judge at some point. At the hearing, you can ask the judge to stay the proceedings until your divorce is final. The judge will usually grant this request. When you return with the divorce decree, the judge will send your case back to USCIS for adjudication. If you show up for the master hearing and you haven't even filed the divorce yet then the judge will probably deport you.

Get started on your divorce. File your I-751 on time.

Thanks guys for your help... Two more questions:

1. How long does a divorce require to be finalized?

2. While I file for my I-751 waiver, will I still be allowed to work/travel abroad etc until my GC expires and my case is decided, correct?

Thanks!

[daboyz 36]

Thanks guys for your help... Two more questions:

1. How long does a divorce require to be finalized?

Depends on the state.

2. While I file for my I-751 waiver, will I still be allowed to work/travel abroad etc until my GC expires and my case is decided, correct?

Yes, you can still travel.

Thanks!

[Okalian 41]

2. While I file for my I-751 waiver, will I still be allowed to work/travel abroad etc until my GC expires and my case is decided, correct?

You're still a permanent resident, regardless of having a pending I-751. As long as your status is a permanent resident, you can do anything a "normal" permanent resident can do I travelled while my I-751 was pending (and an expired plastic card) without any problems.