What to do after beneficiary divorces and remarrys a different applicant

[john_and_marlene 162]

Both parties were aware and this was not a scam of the USC.

The scam was on the USCIS and they both comitted fraud.

She doesn't qualify to file I-360 because she is not eligible base on the marriage fraud.

Edited March 3, 2006 by john_and_marlene

[scy 0]

Both parties were aware and this was not a scam of the USC.

The scam was on the USCIS and they both comitted fraud.

She doesn't qualify to file I-360 because she is not eligible base on the marriage fraud.

I agree. In my opinion, your girlfriend should leave the country and try for a K-1/K-3/CR-1 visa. I'm sorry that she married an abuser. But prior to her marriage she intended to commit immigration fraud. If she leaves the country now, her punishment will separation from you for 1-3 years. But nothing says you can't move to Armenia and live with her while she awaits a visa.

To try to continue adjustment under VAWA will perpetuate this fraud and might earn her a permanent ban. She might never obtain legal status should you try to continue adjustment.

Good luck to you.

[hcj 0]

I'm still not clear why there is any overstay and why she cannot go back to her home country and start with a new petition.

Did she get an order to leave from USCIS? Did she sign anything saying she was going to leave by X date? From what date are you calculating the overstay.

IMO you should get a clear idea of that from the attorney(s). IMHO starting with a new petition would be the cleanest and surest way of settling her here permanently.

[doves_love 0]

I'm still not clear why there is any overstay and why she cannot go back to her home country and start with a new petition.

Did she get an order to leave from USCIS? Did she sign anything saying she was going to leave by X date? From what date are you calculating the overstay.

IMO you should get a clear idea of that from the attorney(s). IMHO starting with a new petition would be the cleanest and surest way of settling her here permanently.

Here's the formula I've been using ...

I-94: valid from March 10, 2005 - June 9, 2005

Day 1 = June 10, 2005 - START COUNTING

.

.

.

Day 80 = August 29, 2005 -- STOP COUNTING

August 29 is the date within the "Received Date" field of the I-797C, Notice of Action form requesting ... "Applicant to Appear for Initial Interview" regarding a case type of Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status.

The interview date was scheduled for December 9, 2005 at the Seattle Field Office.

We know that there is a back log and examiner resources are taxed so the actual date may be later, but to be conservative and assume denial of application by the examiner on that date and thus ... we resume counting ...

Day 81= December 10, 2005

.

.

.

Day 180 = March 20, 2006

To safe guard against travel delays, we backed up a few days to day 178. This puts us conveniently at March 17th -- St. Patrick's Day.

There has been no actual notification of a determination of an overstay. Her application and status are in TBD limbo ... we've been assuming worst case scenarios.

Looking online at the USCIS website doing a search on her application number yields:

"Application Type: I485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or to Adjust Status

Current Status:

On December 16, 2005, your I485 Application to Register Permanent Residence or to Adjust Status was received here for processing. It is taking between 120 and 180 days for us to process this kind of case. We will mail you a decision as soon as processing is complete."

It's understandable that many of the replys to my post are somewhat hostile and I agree, what she did was wrong, but no different than THOUSANDS of others who have done the same thing. I am not excusing it, but I can forgive her.

One doesn't question the rare gift of love when it comes into your life, you accept it and honor it and move on.

I love her, she loves me and we'd like to make the best of this bad situation and not have it unduly effect any hope we have for a future of our own.

[hcj 0]

Look, it doesn't matter what anyone here thinks of your relationship or whether what she did was right or wrong. We're a bunch of strangers to you and you'll never see us.

If you decide to go with the third attorney's advice, please investigate how he plans on getting around the "K-1s can only AOS based on marriage to their original petitioner" thing. It will suck if it turns out she can't adjust based on marriage to you after all, and has to leave and start with a new petition AFTER her 180 days are up.

If there's one piece of advice I could give you, it's this: don't just blindly trust someone else even if that person is a professional. They make mistakes sometimes and it's you who will suffer the consequences. Don't just grasp at the answer you want to hear. Check it out for yourself, ask questions. If I were you I would ask a lot of questions about how to pull off what attorney #3 said. To my knowledge pulling that off would be quite rare and not without a fight. Sending her back now -- before her 180 days are up -- might be an easier solution in the long run. You have the rest of your lives to spend together. Don't let a reluctance to part now impair your judgment.

[ChristinaM 0]

I believe that to file for the AOS based on the VAWA would be a good option for her, if it weren't for the fact that she entered with intent to marry for the purpose of getting a green card. You said it yourself! No matter which way you slice it, that's immigration fraud.

A K1 is not for people who wish to marry, divorce after the AOS interview and live happily ever after with their nice, shiny new green card. It's for people who wish to marry and remain married. I know that life doesn't work like that, but the intention of marrying for the green card is dishonourable.

Because of that, I would recommend that she returns home and you start processing all over again. The alternative is that she marries you now and you file for a K3 instead of a K1, and I don't know if Armenia allows for DCF (or under what circumstances).

[Wubzywub 0]

Married to 2nd Cousin? Is that genetically legal in the USA to marry in the US? Sounds incestious? did she put down on the original I-129f and the G325 that the petitioner was her 2nd cousin? Can you please give me her name so I can report her to the proper immigration authorities??

[meauxna 15]

, and I don't know if Armenia allows for DCF (or under what circumstances).

Great minds must think alike... I looked it up earlier

No.

Strictly for long-term residents. Looks like a recent change, too.

[hcj 0]

Married to 2nd Cousin? Is that genetically legal in the USA to marry in the US? Sounds incestious? did she put down on the original I-129f and the G325 that the petitioner was her 2nd cousin? Can you please give me her name so I can report her to the proper immigration authorities??

Marriage is governed by state law. All 50 states allow second cousins to marry. Sixteen states allow first cousins to marry. An additional handful allow first cousins to marry with some conditions.

[ChristinaM 0]

I'm learning; I am, I am!! That wouldn't preclude a K3 though, so maybe that would be a better way to go - perhaps safer than a K1 in this case?

And RDan19, I had a quick flick through the state laws and you seem to be ok until you get to relationships from 1st cousin in. Second cousin is further away than you think, in terms of bloodlines and the marriage was very likely legal.

As far as the intent on entry, I don't like it either.

[sjoefl01 1]

You probably ought to step back and take a long look at this situation.

She married her second cousin to get a green card and probably conned him into thinking there was some sort of relationship. If this was a pure fraud there would be no real marriage. Just a business arrangement.

If she did her cousin in then she will surely do you in also. I know this sounds a little cold and I don't know all of the details but I am guessing that if you continue this relationship you will discover that you have made a very grave mistake.

[dmartmar 1]

I believe that to file for the AOS based on the VAWA would be a good option for her, if it weren't for the fact that she entered with intent to marry for the purpose of getting a green card. You said it yourself! No matter which way you slice it, that's immigration fraud.

The 'CIS will right away assume immigrant intent through a fraudulent marriage as soon as your GF alleges domestic violence against her husband, regardless of her claim's validity at the moment.

Remember, there are two ways a non-USC can obtain a GC:

1. by establishing and proving the marriage truly being bona fide, either at the interview or after divorce.

2. by claiming domestic violence against the USC, separated or not, which is almost always used as a last resort.

But instead, she has chosen to stay and marry another USC (you), obviously trying to adjust her status again as soon as she divorces the first.

Then there's the issue of her husband being a 2nd cousin. 2nd cousins are people you either know very well, or you don't at all. If she knew beforehand that he had addiction problems, why still go ahead and marry him, to then use those same things as excuses to justify leaving him? On the other hand, if she didn't know anything about her husband, why even marry someone you don't really know anything about?

I smell a 2nd fraudulent marriage in the works.

If there's one piece of advice I could give you, it's this: don't just blindly trust someone else even if that person is a professional.

If I was the OP, I wouldn't trust the non-USC whatsoever, not after what she told him she had done in order to get a green card.

If she did her cousin in then she will surely do you in also. I know this sounds a little cold and I don't know all of the details but I am guessing that if you continue this relationship you will discover that you have made a very grave mistake.

Totally agree. If she did this to one of her own family members; what makes you think she wouldn't do it to you, a stranger she just met right after separating?

Edited March 4, 2006 by dmartmar

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

It was a prearranged sham marriage and the sham husband devoloped a substance abuse problem? Why care? Just leave. It was never real to begin with.

I hope the judge is lenient on you two.

[Autumnal 25]

I am very sorry to hear that her arranged relationship turned out poorly, but please let me add my voice to the others here. Please strongly consider the situation at hand and the timeline you are progressing on, then try to look at it from the standpoint of USCIS.

She entered into a sham marriage with the intention of getting her green card to stay in the USCIS. She married her second cousin with, by your own declaration, no intentions whatsoever of a long-term marriage. That, by definition, counts as a form of fraud. Even with domestic abuse and violence, the immigration officers must look at the original intent: she wasn't coming here to enter into a marriage of good faith for love/friendship/and all those other reasons people form this bond. She wanted residency.

The AOS via VAWA would apply if she came in good faith, but the original motive is what clouds the issue and puts her in a very sticky situation. She can't use the system to defend her when she was bending it to her own advantages, I fear. Clmarsh summed it up best, I think:

...if it weren't for the fact that she entered with intent to marry for the purpose of getting a green card. You said it yourself! No matter which way you slice it, that's immigration fraud. A K1 [is for] for people who wish to marry and remain married. I know that life doesn't work like that, but the intention of marrying for the green card is dishonourable. Because of that, I would recommend that she returns home and you start processing all over again. The alternative is that she marries you now and you file for a K3 instead of a K1.

I'm with her on this advice as well. If this new relationship is in good faith, then wipe the slate clean and start off on the right track. It's not the ideal but it will demonstrate that faith to USCIS far better than the convoluted sidesteps that will probably be necessary to wipe away the prior K1 visa, the subsequent fall out from the relationship, and choices made thereafter. It will also allow your own relationship with her to develop.

It sounds like you're going to need to talk to a very good immigration attorney versed in K1/K3. I would chat with a few more in your area to get a consensus, but 'bending the system' doesn't seem like the right approach to me.

[ohiobuck 0]

No offense but I totally agree with sjoefl01 words of wisdom. Step back and look at this situation. You would not be the first person lied to, to use them for the immigration process and had no clue. My husband and I know a lot of different fraud marriages to US Citizens who has no clue. But these fools over look the obvious or the sometimes not so easy to see fraud when a con-artist is working. Also make sure you never dismiss when someone has lied before you shouldn't ignore the signs most likely they will lie again to get what they want.

Sjoefl01, I respect your willingness to say the painful truth here and I wanted to support and thank you. Hope this guy figures out the truth and doesn't regret his decision down the road.

You probably ought to step back and take a long look at this situation.

She married her second cousin to get a green card and probably conned him into thinking there was some sort of relationship. If this was a pure fraud there would be no real marriage. Just a business arrangement.

If she did her cousin in then she will surely do you in also. I know this sounds a little cold and I don't know all of the details but I am guessing that if you continue this relationship you will discover that you have made a very grave mistake.