my wife threatening me with immigration / deportation

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Hello All,

I just wanted to update everyone and let you know what's going on with my "case" I have moved out of the house November 1st. I hired an attorney and filed divorce, my wife (ex wife to be) filed a response as following :

section 6 of form FL-120

respondent requests:

d. nullity of voidable marriage based on

(4) Fraud (fam code, 2210(d))

section 9

she checked the following.

respondent requests:

f. spousal support payable to (respondent)

g. terminate the coutrt's jurisdiction (ability) to award spousal support to petitioner

h. Property to be determined

Do you guys see where this is going? My attorney said she has the rights to claim whatever but she needs to prove this, I have not meet with attorney yet to file financial forms.

what you think of this? and what most important question i should ask the attorney once we meet next week? from immigration side 10 years green card.

Thank you,

Your lawyer is correct that she has to prove any claims she makes. However, I have to assume that her attorney is aware of this, and wouldn't have recommended she seek an annulment based on section 2210(d) of the family code unless they believed they had sufficient evidence to back up that claim. Presumably, the basis for her fraud claim is that you supposedly entered the marriage primarily for the purpose of obtaining a green card. You have some basis for countering this claim because USCIS has evaluated the bona fides of your marriage when they adjusted your status and again when you removed conditions. This makes me wonder what evidence she has that USCIS never got to see. Some divorce lawyers in California do throw everything they can at the wall hoping something will stick, but they don't usually file completely spurious claims without any basis whatever. Judges don't like attorneys who do this, and tend to be biased against them throughout the remainder of the proceedings. You might want to give some thought about what sort of evidence she might possibly have.

In any case, I think your attorney should fight vigorously against the annulment counter claim. If the annulment is granted on that basis then it could come back to bite you in your future dealings with USCIS.

She may get a temporary order for support, but it's doubtful she would get a long term order. California usually doesn't award spousal support in marriages of less than five years. Between five and ten years of marriage they'll usually order support for a period equal to half the length of the marriage. For marriages of longer than ten years they might award alimony, which means you'd pay for life or until she remarries. Unfortunately, if they do order support for any length of time it will probably hit you hard financially. They look at the marital standard of living, and then make an award so that both parties can attempt to maintain that standard of living with the available income. Since she has no income that means you would be writing large checks every month. Hopefully, the judge won't make that award.

As for marriage fraud, how long were you married? If it was fraud whey didn't she file for divorce before?

In California a spouse has four years from the time they discover the fraud to file for an annulment based on that fraud. It doesn't matter how long they were married before the spouse claims they discovered the fraud.

[Leatherneck 693]

Your lawyer is correct that she has to prove any claims she makes. However, I have to assume that her attorney is aware of this, and wouldn't have recommended she seek an annulment based on section 2210(d) of the family code unless they believed they had sufficient evidence to back up that claim. Presumably, the basis for her fraud claim is that you supposedly entered the marriage primarily for the purpose of obtaining a green card. You have some basis for countering this claim because USCIS has evaluated the bona fides of your marriage when they adjusted your status and again when you removed conditions. This makes me wonder what evidence she has that USCIS never got to see. Some divorce lawyers in California do throw everything they can at the wall hoping something will stick, but they don't usually file completely spurious claims without any basis whatever. Judges don't like attorneys who do this, and tend to be biased against them throughout the remainder of the proceedings. You might want to give some thought about what sort of evidence she might possibly have.

In any case, I think your attorney should fight vigorously against the annulment counter claim. If the annulment is granted on that basis then it could come back to bite you in your future dealings with USCIS.

She may get a temporary order for support, but it's doubtful she would get a long term order. California usually doesn't award spousal support in marriages of less than five years. Between five and ten years of marriage they'll usually order support for a period equal to half the length of the marriage. For marriages of longer than ten years they might award alimony, which means you'd pay for life or until she remarries. Unfortunately, if they do order support for any length of time it will probably hit you hard financially. They look at the marital standard of living, and then make an award so that both parties can attempt to maintain that standard of living with the available income. Since she has no income that means you would be writing large checks every month. Hopefully, the judge won't make that award.

In California a spouse has four years from the time they discover the fraud to file for an annulment based on that fraud. It doesn't matter how long they were married before the spouse claims they discovered the fraud.

That was the norm years back, notwithstanding age or health. Family Code section 4320 [CA] and several appellate cases emphasize that even in marriages of greater than 10 years the supported spouse has a duty to become self-supporting within a reasonable period of time.

(Fam. Code, 4320, subd. {l} In re Marriage of Shaughnessy, supra, 139 Cal.App.4th at p. 1238.) As our colleague, Associate Justice Earl Johnson has explained, As recognized by our Supreme Court the public policy of this state has progressed from one which entitled some women to lifelong alimony as a condition of the marital contract of support to one that entitles either spouse to post dissolution support for only so long as is necessary to become self-supporting.

The courts recognized the potential for one ex-spouse to abuse the California Family Code's built-in presumption that when a husband and wife are married for 10 years or longer, that is a marriage of "long duration." Which entitles one spouse to receive permanent spousal support. The courts then adopted several rules intended to prevent the supported spouse from reliance on a lifetime of support from their ex-spouse. The "Gavron Warning" was the advisement most often used.

The warning compels the supported spouse to make reasonable efforts to become self-supporting, within a reasonable time. If, the supporting spouse feels the supported spouse has failed to make such reasonable efforts, the supporting spouse can request to modify his/her support obligation. Fam. Code, 4320, subd. {l} and the Garvon warning were the checks against permanent spousal support as compared to support with a date of termination.

However, the 4th district court of appeals, in an unpublished opinion has added a new hurdle to efforts to reduce permanent spousal via the Garvon warning.

Edited February 19, 2012 by Leatherneck

[Sandra G. 5,057]

Get a restraining order against her, it will be for you protection, because this kind the woman in a matter of weeks she will make up claims of violence against you believe me.Avoid to be with her alone.Some of the things that the restrained person can be ordered to stop are contacting, calling, or sending any messages (including e-mail), stalking and threatening.

[lostinwind1 0]

I really believe she does not have an attorney and her understanding of the case is very basic. i know she does not have much money to spend on lawyer and she trust a legal office with couple of paralegals. when I got her response it was not mailed from an attorneys address but her own address.

Her evidence is that i am not an American and I was brought to here because of her (I heard this from her almost everyday I was with her) This is a mental abuse and I have started seeing therapist because of the amount of stress I am living in thinking about the whole thing. I have been good to her and she feels used because I left her, I did not just dropped and disappeared on her, I talked to her about divorce couple months before I left the house. Now since she is claiming fraud and in the same time asking for support I will be asking my attorney if we can annul the marriage based on her response.

I will update you once i talk to my attorney, i have been very busy and putting this aside, i have a court date next month.

Edited March 2, 2012 by lostinwind1