Second AOS scenario for my husband

[NikLR 13,232]

She gets a 2 year card, has to remove conditons, then gets a 10 year card if approved. Sounds like he should find out what happened. Partially because it would affect his I-864 poverty guideline.

[tigersjaw 0]

So to remove conditions is to be granted ten years? Is there a way to find this out without involving her? She is pretty unpleasant and uncooperative. God knows why he didn't tell her to get lost years ago.

It's incredibly frustrating to have this person have any impact on our life together when I am convinced she was taking him for a ride and basically just wanting to relocate to the states as she immediately did a u-turn and didn't want anything to do with him after her status was adjusted. GAH.

[Transborderwife 4,666]

Doubtful as he's still on the hook for her affidavit of support and she would have to be counted as a household member

[Boiler 46,284]

She certainly seems to be here so yes to the I 864

Only way she would have got a year extension is filing to remove conditions. Why would she not do so?

[tigersjaw 0]

Is it going to mean I can't adjust my status? Everyone seems really worked up over whether this girl has removed her conditions.

[Boiler 46,284]

Everyone? You seem to be the one.

[tigersjaw 0]

Thank you for that really helpful response.

[Transborderwife 4,666]

It means that there will likely be heavy scrutiny as it could look like a greencard trafficking system

[tigersjaw 0]

Thank you transborderwife.

[Elf 146]

Yes, removal of conditions means getting the full 10-year green card.

As you might already know, if you've been married for less than two years when you adjust status your green card will only be valid for two years. It's called "conditional permanent residency", because although you have all the rights and responsibilities of a permanent resident, your LPR status will automatically expire if you do not file for "removal of conditions" within the 90 days immediately before the expiry date on your green card (that's a slight oversimplification and there are exceptions, but never mind those right now). At that point, you and your USC spouse have to file a joint petition to prove that you have a bona fide marriage. When you file that petition (an I-751) your LPR status is automatically extended for a year, to allow time for the petition to be processed, and when the petition is approved you receive a green card valid for 10 years. The intent is to make it extremely difficult to obtain a permanent green card through a sham marriage, by making it necessary to prove that you have lived as a married couple for at least two years.

The important difference between the 10-year and the 2-year card is that you do not lose your LPR status when a 10-year card expires, Permanent green cards expire for much the same reasons that drivers licenses and passports do - it's a measure against counterfeiting and fraud. It ensures that all LPRs are gradually required to upgrade to the latest version of the green card, with whatever new security measures USCIS has been able to add to its design, and that USCIS gets to update your biometrics and photograph every 10 years, It would be cynical of me to point out that it also means that USCIS gets an extra $450 in fees...

Now, back to how all that applies to your situation.

Think about how an USCIS officer who knows nothing more about any of you than the information in the two AOS applications. Your husband married his first wife while she was "visiting" (so, presumably on a tourist visa or VWP), filed for her AOS and remained married to her and living together for 2.5 years. For the last 8 or 9 months of that, he was already in a relationship with you. A few months after his divorce, you entered the US on either a B2 or VWP, married him and he filed for your AOS. Can you see why an USCIS officer might think that one or both marriages were entered into purely to obtain immigration benefits? You said in your first post that he "did not want to force this girl to return to her home country... (so he) allowed her to stay married to him". I promise I'm not accusing either him or you of anything, and I'm not being at all judgmental, I'm simply trying to show you what an USCIS officer will probably have to consider based on your timelines and the facts you've told us.

This is likely to affect your AOS in two ways:

1) You will be scrutinized much more closely for evidence of a bona fide relationship. Expect to have to show a lot more evidence than most couples, and to be questioned at greater length and in more detail. At your interview, your husband will probably be questioned about his previous marriage, as well as his marriage to you. If the IO isn't sufficiently convinced that your relationship is genuine, you might even be called back for a Stokes interview, where they separate you, ask each of you the same long series of questions and expect a high but unspecified percentage of your answers to match.

This is the first reason why people were asking whether his first wife had filed for ROC. If he and she had jointly filed the I-751 he would have been claiming to be in a bona fide marriage with her during a period where he will now be claiming to have been in a serious relationship with you. It sounds like that didn't happen, since he insists that she hasn't had the conditions removed. That's a good thing. My guess is that she's filed for removal of conditions on her own, based on the marriage having been bona fide when they entered into it, but having since ended by divorce. That's one of the exceptions from the requirement to file jointly with the USC spouse that I mentioned earlier.

2) The I-864 Affidavit Of Support. When he filed the I-864 as part of his first wife's AOS application, he committed himself to being financially resposnible for ensuring that she does not become a public charge. That responsibility continues, despite the divorce, until any one of the following happens:

• She loses her LPR status and leaves the US permanently
• She becomes a US Citizen
• She dies
• She has 40 quarters of qualifying work

This is the other reason why people were asking about her immigration status. If her GC had expired and she had not filed for ROC and she had left the US, he would no longer be financially responsible for her and would not have to include her in his household size when calculating whether his income is at or above 125% of poverty level for your I-864. As it is, because she is still in the US but not yet a US citizen or qualified by 40 quarters of work, he has to include her. If that means that his income doesn't reach the required level, you'll need a joint sponsor.

This does not mean that you won't be able to adjust status. It just means that USCIS is going to look much more closely at your application than they would have done if your husband had never been married, or if his marriage had been to a USC and had ended several years ago.

[Boiler 46,284]

I would be extremely surprised if the OP was not able to adjust without this even being mentioned.

[Elf 146]

Given the timeline, I'd be surprised if he wasn't questioned about the previous marriage at the interview. Wife #2 will be submitting relationship evidence that overlaps by 8 or 9 months with the period during which he was living with Wife #1. I don't think it's going to be a huge problem, but I think it would be unwise to assume that USCIS will overlook it completely.

[Boiler 46,284]

6 months before an interview maybe more, I have my view you have yours, time will tell.

[pushbrk 13,181]

He lived with her until around March this year, they were married something like 2.5 years prior to their divorce and he and I married 5 months later. Our relationship started last July or so, however - while they were under the same roof. So evidence of our relationship like emails, photos, flight tickets etc, all goes back from us first meeting... We were friends for a while and it became romantic in time, prompting him to divorce her in order for us to be together. So there was a crossover of our relationship and his marriage/her living with him.

I am worried that in itself will cause problems.

Unsure of some other questions asked regarding her status so will ask him.

I wouldn't. Germany and the UK are not places we see a lot of immigration fraud coming from.

[tigersjaw 0]

All this information has been incredibly helpful. We are considering enlisting a lawyer as our situation is a little more complicated than would be ideal.