K1 visa get divorce while waiting for conditional green card

[Becauseiloveyou 1]

If you look at the back log of AOS petitions at the CSC, you'll understand why she's worried about how long it takes. There are people from October and November of 2011 still waiting. My wife just got her's and we filed in November of 2011, but it took an inquiry of our congress woman and senator to get something to happen. CSC has been falling behind by about 3000 petitions per month since October of 2011 and have a back log of 23,000. The backlog was 4000 last September. They are processing petitions at less than 1500 per month. At the rate they are going, that 15 months to get a green card is probably optimistic for those that file today.

OP you need to finish getting the green card to be able to stay in the USA. A divorce before that means you cannot stay and must leave. Forget about the over stay worries. You stopped accumulating over stay days when the I-485 was accepted. Unless you waited more than 6 months after the I-94 expired, you do not have an over stay to worry about. You don't have a timeline filled in, so I can't see you dates. If he's willing to support you here, ask him to support you with the marriage still intact. As to wanting you to be with him, I'd want my wife with me to if I had to go work abroad. But I'd also want her to be able to return to the USA, so I wouldn't do anything that would make us have to go through the immigration process again, unless I never intended to return the USA.

Thanks Caryh! As you said:"You stopped accumulating over stay days when the I-485 was accepted. Unless you waited more than 6 months after the I-94 expired".I'm NOT sure that I undertand what you mean.Can you please explain it to me clearly? My I-94 was expired on Feb 10. It's been six months for waiting after I-94 was expired.

[Caryh 5,206]

I went to California website and checked for processing time and It said : 15 months. Yes my case has been in California since March. I still have the same address I dont move anywhere. I called the customer service and they said: My case is still pending

They only have the employment based AOS available on the USCIS site. But that number might be pretty valid given the current back log of cases. I see today its up to 16.8 months. Yikes!

[Becauseiloveyou 1]

They only have the employment based AOS available on the USCIS site. But that number might be pretty valid given the current back log of cases. I see today its up to 16.8 months. Yikes!

what? 16.8 months. That's crazy!

[Becauseiloveyou 1]

They only have the employment based AOS available on the USCIS site. But that number might be pretty valid given the current back log of cases. I see today its up to 16.8 months. Yikes!

sorry I forgot. My case has been in California sine Feb 10

[Becauseiloveyou 1]

They only have the employment based AOS available on the USCIS site. But that number might be pretty valid given the current back log of cases. I see today its up to 16.8 months. Yikes!

yes its up to 16.8 now. It drives me crazy

[Caryh 5,206]

Thanks Caryh! As you said:"You stopped accumulating over stay days when the I-485 was accepted. Unless you waited more than 6 months after the I-94 expired".I'm NOT sure that I undertand what you mean.Can you please explain it to me clearly? My I-94 was expired on Feb 10. It's been six months for waiting after I-94 was expired.

When you entered on a K-1 Visa, when you enter the USA on a Visa you're given an I-94 with an expiration date. You need to leave on or before the I-94 expires. This is true of all visas. And days beyond are out of status days where you are no longer legal to be in the USA. This applies to the K-1 visa if you get married or not. To stop the accumulation of out of status days, you must file to adjust your status, the I-485 for a green card. If you apply after the expiration date on the I-94 you have accumulated some out of status days. But as soon as the application to adjust status is accepted, you're in a pending decision status. You're again legal to be in the USA. You can wait as long as you wish to apply for the green card after getting married on a K-1 visa, this is because over stays are forgiven to spouses of USA citizens. If you were ever picked up before applying to adjust status, you could be held and a judge would order you to adjust status right away.

Here's where the problem comes in. If you have 6 months of over stay days you're banned for 3 years. A year or more of over stay days and you're banned for 10 years. Now these are forgiven if you're still married. But if you divorce before applying to adjust status and waited too long you get banned from entry in the USA. If you divorce before getting the green card, you should tell USCIS and you have to leave the USA. We have one poster who says if you divorce, didn't get the green card, all your pending status days suddenly turn into out of status days. I do not believe this the way the law is written, but this is something you may want a lot more input on or even legal advice. If your application is frivolous, such as applying after you divorce then yes they would be changed to out of status days and a possible ban would be put in place. But you were married and living with your husband when you applied. If he comes back and divorces you, you've lost you path to adjust status and must leave, or I believe every day between the divorce and the final denial is out of status. If they find out he's moved out of the country they may also deny your green card even if you're married. If they call you for an interview, he needs to go to or you can expect a denial.

You cannot stay in the USA if you came in on a K-1 and don't marry or stay married before you get your green card. That unless you have proof you were an abused spouse. Then VAWA may apply. Once you have your conditional green card, if you divorce you must apply to remove conditions on your own right after the divorce. Be prepared to prove it was a valid marriage and you did everything possible to save it.

[pushbrk 13,063]

I went to California website and checked for processing time and It said : 15 months. Yes my case has been in California since March. I still have the same address I dont move anywhere. I called the customer service and they said: My case is still pending

OK. Same answer. Don't leave the USA without either advance parole or the green card. If you do leave with advance parole, make sure somebody at your current address can continue to receive your mail and that the post office will deliver it. Do not end your marriage before you have a green card. Otherwise, you'll have a very hard time entering the USA again anytime soon.

[Caryh 5,206]

yes its up to 16.8 now. It drives me crazy

My wife applied on Nov 22, 2011. She just got her approval. CSC has been falling behind close to 3000 applications per month and processing less than 1500, probably averaging closer to 1200 per month. This trend started in September of last year. When we were transfered everyone said we were lucky because we'd get it faster. But no one knew yet the huge back log that was being built up and people that stayed local got green cards much faster than us. Its so much worse now that I'm trying to convince a couple I know to get married and file a CR-1. At this rate, in a couple months it will be 2 years to get a green card. I feel so bad for everyone currently coming in on a K-1. Its a complete mess they're coming into.

[pushbrk 13,063]

My wife applied on Nov 22, 2011. She just got her approval. CSC has been falling behind close to 3000 applications per month and processing less than 1500, probably averaging closer to 1200 per month. This trend started in September of last year. When we were transfered everyone said we were lucky because we'd get it faster. But no one knew yet the huge back log that was being built up and people that stayed local got green cards much faster than us. Its so much worse now that I'm trying to convince a couple I know to get married and file a CR-1. At this rate, in a couple months it will be 2 years to get a green card. I feel so bad for everyone currently coming in on a K-1. Its a complete mess they're coming into.

I've been getting the impression, the local offices are doing a lot more RFE's and interviews for removal of conditions than they did before. Perhaps this is why so many AOS cases are going to CSC.

[Caryh 5,206]

I've been getting the impression, the local offices are doing a lot more RFE's and interviews for removal of conditions than they did before. Perhaps this is why so many AOS cases are going to CSC.

I can't speak for other locals, but the ST Paul office was running 7 months when we applied in November of 2011. Its now down to 4 months. If you look at the cases processed by CSC, the number of cases processed has been declining since 2010. The number of cases coming in started growing fast in September of 2011. Maybe they wanted to get all the locals back to 4 months, and sent a lot more to California to. End result is California is using less resources to process while getting more cases in for close to a year. Pray for an interview everyone! And hopefully not one California decides you need. I would think pretty soon California is going to greatly slow down other types of cases and pick up the pace on I-485's for a while. I don't think you could even look up I-485's at the CSC until recently. Now that its more public, maybe pressure will come on the management of that center?

[Becauseiloveyou 1]

When you entered on a K-1 Visa, when you enter the USA on a Visa you're given an I-94 with an expiration date. You need to leave on or before the I-94 expires. This is true of all visas. And days beyond are out of status days where you are no longer legal to be in the USA. This applies to the K-1 visa if you get married or not. To stop the accumulation of out of status days, you must file to adjust your status, the I-485 for a green card. If you apply after the expiration date on the I-94 you have accumulated some out of status days. But as soon as the application to adjust status is accepted, you're in a pending decision status. You're again legal to be in the USA. You can wait as long as you wish to apply for the green card after getting married on a K-1 visa, this is because over stays are forgiven to spouses of USA citizens. If you were ever picked up before applying to adjust status, you could be held and a judge would order you to adjust status right away.

Here's where the problem comes in. If you have 6 months of over stay days you're banned for 3 years. A year or more of over stay days and you're banned for 10 years. Now these are forgiven if you're still married. But if you divorce before applying to adjust status and waited too long you get banned from entry in the USA. If you divorce before getting the green card, you should tell USCIS and you have to leave the USA. We have one poster who says if you divorce, didn't get the green card, all your pending status days suddenly turn into out of status days. I do not believe this the way the law is written, but this is something you may want a lot more input on or even legal advice. If your application is frivolous, such as applying after you divorce then yes they would be changed to out of status days and a possible ban would be put in place. But you were married and living with your husband when you applied. If he comes back and divorces you, you've lost you path to adjust status and must leave, or I believe every day between the divorce and the final denial is out of status. If they find out he's moved out of the country they may also deny your green card even if you're married. If they call you for an interview, he needs to go to or you can expect a denial.

You cannot stay in the USA if you came in on a K-1 and don't marry or stay married before you get your green card. That unless you have proof you were an abused spouse. Then VAWA may apply. Once you have your conditional green card, if you divorce you must apply to remove conditions on your own right after the divorce. Be prepared to prove it was a valid marriage and you did everything possible to save it.

.

Ok thanks Caryh! I understand now. I still have one question: if the processing time takes too long(16.8 months now and maybe up to longer than this) and my husband can not wait for that long and I have to leave anyway. My question is: can I send USCIS a letter attach my husband's contract signed with his oversea company to tell them the reason why I have to move to the other country and ask them just stop processing now and "put my case in Hold" untill I move back to US and we will continue processing? Honestly my husband gave me this idea, I don't like it but I still need to ask for advices. Thanks

[Becauseiloveyou 1]

OK. Same answer. Don't leave the USA without either advance parole or the green card. If you do leave with advance parole, make sure somebody at your current address can continue to receive your mail and that the post office will deliver it. Do not end your marriage before you have a green card. Otherwise, you'll have a very hard time entering the USA again anytime soon.

Thanks Pushrk! I know it gonna be very hard time but sometimes I can not control because my husband has the power in his hand. So my question is: What if I have to leave with Advance parole and come back US every 3 or 6 months and have my friend checked mail box everyday for me. Does it work?

[Becauseiloveyou 1]

My wife applied on Nov 22, 2011. She just got her approval. CSC has been falling behind close to 3000 applications per month and processing less than 1500, probably averaging closer to 1200 per month. This trend started in September of last year. When we were transfered everyone said we were lucky because we'd get it faster. But no one knew yet the huge back log that was being built up and people that stayed local got green cards much faster than us. Its so much worse now that I'm trying to convince a couple I know to get married and file a CR-1. At this rate, in a couple months it will be 2 years to get a green card. I feel so bad for everyone currently coming in on a K-1. Its a complete mess they're coming into.

Yes that's true. I have a friend, she came to US by K1, she applied for adjustment of status (I485) 2 weeks before me. Her case stayed in local, she is requested for intervew and got her green card 2 months after she applied. That's awesome! A lot of people thought that I'm lucky because my case was sent to CSC but I'm not. If I can give any one advice I will tell them Don't come over US by K1 visa because it takes too long for the processing time and one thing is very important that if something happen to their marriage, you have no choice and all the power is in you spouse's hand. My situation is an example.

[pushbrk 13,063]

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Ok thanks Caryh! I understand now. I still have one question: if the processing time takes too long(16.8 months now and maybe up to longer than this) and my husband can not wait for that long and I have to leave anyway. My question is: can I send USCIS a letter attach my husband's contract signed with his oversea company to tell them the reason why I have to move to the other country and ask them just stop processing now and "put my case in Hold" untill I move back to US and we will continue processing? Honestly my husband gave me this idea, I don't like it but I still need to ask for advices. Thanks

No, no, no. What part of, "If you leave without Advance Parole or a Green Card you WILL NOT get back in." do you not understand. You CANNOT put your case on HOLD and even if you did, you could NOT move back without going through a very difficult and time consuming process.

Your husband is putting you in an extremely difficult situation. All his ideas pretty much kill your chances at a green card. Some will say, "Why is the green card so important, if your marriage is over?" To them, I say, this woman left all her former life behind, telling her family and friends what a wonderful life she would have in a new country with a loving new American husband. If she must return home, it will be in shame. This is a VERY BIG DEAL in all of Asia. Take it to the bank.

If you leave the USA without a green card, chances are you are NEVER coming back.

[Caryh 5,206]

No, no, no. What part of, "If you leave without Advance Parole or a Green Card you WILL NOT get back in." do you not understand. You CANNOT put your case on HOLD and even if you did, you could NOT move back without going through a very difficult and time consuming process.

Your husband is putting you in an extremely difficult situation. All his ideas pretty much kill your chances at a green card. Some will say, "Why is the green card so important, if your marriage is over?" To them, I say, this woman left all her former life behind, telling her family and friends what a wonderful life she would have in a new country with a loving new American husband. If she must return home, it will be in shame. This is a VERY BIG DEAL in all of Asia. Take it to the bank.

If you leave the USA without a green card, chances are you are NEVER coming back.

I agree.

You can't put your case on hold, but you should let them know why you are abandoning the application if you leave the country. To get back in the USA, you're going to need to apply for a CR-1 visa and start over. At least with the CR-1 you get the green card on entering the USA. Also even using the AP or green card, you must maintain a residence in the USA. You can leave the country to visit other places, but establishing residency in another country means you've abandoned the green card. Using the green card or AP to visit the USA every few months will get it yanked by the border patrol agents eventually. The green card means you're a licensed permanent resident. You must live like a resident and live in the USA to keep a green card. If you live here long enough, you can become a citizen, then you can live where ever you want and return when you want. But the green card holder doesn't get that option.

I'm not sure what you situation really is with your husband. It could be he's decided he prefers living in Asia and not the USA. If I decided I wanted to live in Asia, I'd want my wife with me to. If we were going to live on different continents I'd consider the marriage basically over. To me a husband and wife live together, not apart. Are you running into a problem where you husband does want to keep the marriage but can't see it working if you stay in the USA while he lives in Singapore? Yes he has all the power in this situation. He can divorce you which kills the green card. He can pull the affidavit of support which kills the green card. But if you're not going to live in the USA, your green card will be revoked at some point. If you don't live with your husband your marriage sounds like its over and again no green card. Sounds to me like you need to convince him to return at least until you can get citizenship, or just join him to save your marriage. He could also let you get the green card, then divorce you, but you'd have to immediately ROC and prove the marriage was real and not just to get a green card. Sounds like he left the country so fast, that might be hard to do. What's important to you, the marriage or the green card?