What should I do?

[nastyamyr 0]

I have not easy question what should I do. I got married almost 4 years ago and from the day I got my temporary green card it have been over 2 years. My husband and I entered marriage in a good faith and thats how it was for couple of years while he was on military duty. But after he quit the military job he got changed. He started to do drugs, party and so on. Iv been closing my eyes on that. Than he lost another job and start doing shady "jobs" which he always been telling me "his business cause he is bringing the money". His jobs never was in one place so he have been traveling a lot. One day he called me very late at night cause he was in hospital after car accident and how I figured later he cheated on me. I wanted to get a divorce right away but he was just keep telling me that it was a mistake and even after a while he started joking (i consider that more as a threatening me) that he will help get me deported if I will do it. So I didnt do it. We applied on removal conditions of my green card together (I 751). its been 6 months and I got the rfe that I need to send more evidence and I dont know what to do anymore. After car accident he lost his job and decided to go for a little time work with his brother in another city. So basically we dont even live like before. We are not separate but not together to (but we have lease agreement on both names and rental insurance too). Our account is overdrawn by now because of him (its not the first time and I opened long time ago my own cause he just keep spending money).

I want to divorce him cause I just think its not working as a right marriage even if I love him no matter what.

I dont know what to do in this case anymore cause Im afraid to ask him for a divorce and we already applied jointly together for I 751. Some people would say just send some more evidence and wait. But I think it can get just worse.

I was thinking to hire an attorney but my husband will just get mad.

Can you please tell me what should I do to protect myself cause Im just afraid now of him from 1 side and of messing up my immigration process and getting deported from other side.

[waiting_for_aos 11]

Hello Nastya,

It sounds like you have shared assets such as shared bank account, house lease etc. Did you send it to USCIS? What other evidence did you submit?

[nastyamyr 0]

I submitted:

- copy of passport

- green card copy

- income tax return 2012, 2013

- debit cards and bank statements in both names

- lease agreement

- electric statement

- miscellaneous correspondence

- paychex statement

- marrige certificate

- photos and affidavits (3 differen ppl: landlord, married couple friends, emloyer - manager)

[waiting_for_aos 11]

Just remember one thing though. Your US citizen husband CAN NOT deport you. They don't have that power. Even if he divorced you, you could still have filed for ROC and gotten a permanent green-card. I am sorry but he sounds like a horrible man if he bullied you to stay in marriage by threatening to deport you. However, there are immigration laws to protect immigrants from abusive US citizens.

I got divorced before filing for ROC too. If you need any help, please let me know.

[waiting_for_aos 11]

I submitted:

- copy of passport

- green card copy

- income tax return 2012, 2013

- debit cards and bank statements in both names

- lease agreement

- electric statement

- miscellaneous correspondence

- paychex statement

- marrige certificate

- photos and affidavits (3 differen ppl: landlord, married couple friends, emloyer - manager)

Do you have any other financial documents? For example, joint phone bill, internet bill etc? What about joint medical insurance? Did he have you on his medical or life insurance policy? Also, you said you sent income tax return for 2012 and 2013. But what about 2011? The more documents you send, the better.

[Cheezees 1,514]

Send and resend all you can. Like "waiting" said, he cannot deport you and even being divorced is not a reason for the denial of the 10-yr green card. He sounds pretty rotten to you.

Oh, do not send the copy of the passport and marriage certificate. They are not part of the ROC process. Good luck!

[nastyamyr 0]

Do you have any other financial documents? For example, joint phone bill, internet bill etc? What about joint medical insurance? Did he have you on his medical or life insurance policy? Also, you said you sent income tax return for 2012 and 2013. But what about 2011? The more documents you send, the better.

1. The places I always worked never offered insurance and after he quit military he didt work for a while. I was able to add him this year on my insurance (new job) cause he has lost the job again and I added him as a beneficiary to some medical plans as well.

2. From the day we got married I actually thought we gonna be back together to our home country (he was born in my country and move with parents when he was 4, and we speak together our language) so I didnt do anything as work or preparing the paperwork. Thats why nothing was to send as a taxes. I didnt even know about it by then.

3. I have now bank statement from another account that I closed cause he overdrawn it on 1800$ with the reason of closing. New account we need to bring alive cause all we do is just cashing checks and using them right away. No savings plan for now.

4. We have a will (which is a joke to me cause we dont have anything).

5. And if we will by a car this month Im gonna be added to title.

6. It is some time to do taxes for 2014.

7. We have a lot of ppl see are at work, our building so we can do more affidavits.

but again my main concern is that I think it is not working as a good couple anymore. Im just afraid. Cause I dont have nobody but him in this country. But he for sure can find friends or relatives that can say whatever. Citizens word against mine.

and I in situation of the process where I can loose just everything even little that I have sorry me for being may be too dramatic

[waiting_for_aos 11]

I am sorry about your situation. So the real problem is that you don't want to stay married to him any longer. First of all, stop fearing your husband. There is no reason to worry. You can explain the same thing to USCIS that you explained to us. They know it very well how abusive some US citizens can be. You have two options at this point stay married and get your permanent green-card or file for divorce. If you file for divorce at this point, you WILL have to convert your ROC from joint filing to divorce waiver. But there is no reason to believe that your green-card will be denied. I suggest document everything and collect as much evidence as possible! Let me know if you have any question.

[TBoneTX 45,328]

We have a will (which is a joke to me cause we dont have anything).

Wills are arguably the strongest evidence of a bona fide relationship.

*** Thread moved from ROC forum to the Effects of Major Changes forum, where similar situations are often discussed. ***

[tuckin14 58]

First, the basic rule is, when you got married did you have a good faith intention to establish a bona fide marital relationship? What happens after the wedding is only relevant insofar as it bears on the answer to that question. USCIS is not actually even interested in the reasons for a possible divorce, except insofar as it lets them evaluate your state of mind at the time of marriage.

You have two options for ROC. One is to continue as a joint petition. In this case, you just go along as you are now. If you are called for an interview, your husband must attend - period - if he does not, you will automatically be denied.

If your husband chooses to withdraw the joint petition, or you simply choose to file on your own, you can file with a divorce waiver, but you must be divorced. USCIS has an extremely liberal definition of "divorced." If either of you has filed for divorce, or if you have a legal separation, you can file with the divorce waiver. However you must have some legal process underway. Merely living apart, or saying that you are planning to get divorced, is not adequate.

Your husband cannot get you deported, although he can make it more difficult for you to get Removal of Conditions - that is, he can withdraw the joint petition, or he can not appear for an interview.