Warning - Now law firms are soliciting clients to sue based on AOS

[green_parrot 1]

Since my fraudulent ex left me(while working an off-the-books job so no income on paper) I have been doing periodic Google searches on beneficiaries suing ex-spouses based on the i-864. He never naturalized(and I doubt he will) so in theory I need to be looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life. Since he walked away I don't know where he is. I have seen isolated cases here and there, but this morning stumbled upon this website set up by lawyers assisting divorced beneficiaries, many of whom as we know are scam artists: http://i-864.net/ I imagine with all the hungry lawyers out there and .gov refusing to take the sponsors' side this will just become more and more of a trend..... I am now making much more money than I was in the US and I know if my ex got wind of it and heard about these lawyers he would be chomping at the bit.

I am now an expat married to an Indian man, living in a third country. I hope I will never have to return to the US and deal with this system, as we see in this forum you can know someone for years but not really know them....

Love who you love, but keep your eyes open...

[Harmonia 211]

To play devil's advocate, the government doesn't want to support an immigrant that you promised to maintain. You signed a contract. No one forced you to sign it. I truly feel for you and all others who've been conned, but look at it from the government's side. Why should they support someone you agreed to be responsible for?

[UnaMexicana 153]

You need to relax and stop worrying over something that hasn't even happened. The beneficiary can't sue you for support based on a contract you made with the government. The U.S. government can probably go after you if the person you sponsored becomes a public charge. I haven't read about many cases here. That is completely unrelated to the fact that you now make much more money and a divorce might mean your spouse would walk away with a chunk of it.

Why haven't you divorced yet? You can divorce even if you don't know where the person is.

[Boiler 45,912]

You need to relax and stop worrying over something that hasn't even happened. The beneficiary can't sue you for support based on a contract you made with the government. The U.S. government can probably go after you if the person you sponsored becomes a public charge. I haven't read about many cases here. That is completely unrelated to the fact that you now make much more money and a divorce might mean your spouse would walk away with a chunk of it.

Why haven't you divorced yet? You can divorce even if you don't know where the person is.

As the OP said she had remarried I assume a divorce did occur, or are you suggesting she is a Bigamist?

[Caryh 5,206]

You need to relax and stop worrying over something that hasn't even happened. The beneficiary can't sue you for support based on a contract you made with the government. The U.S. government can probably go after you if the person you sponsored becomes a public charge. I haven't read about many cases here. That is completely unrelated to the fact that you now make much more money and a divorce might mean your spouse would walk away with a chunk of it.

Why haven't you divorced yet? You can divorce even if you don't know where the person is.

Yes, they can sue you. There is case precedent in many jurisdictions of support being awarded based on the I-864. In some cases these were brought in federal court, and separate from the divorce, which is handled in county court. In others, the award was made in the divorce court based on the county court's reading the I-864. Now that the case law has been made in some jurisdictions, ambulance chasing lawyers are jumping on it as they see the opportunity to make money for themselves.

[Zedayn 485]

You need to relax and stop worrying over something that hasn't even happened. The beneficiary can't sue you for support based on a contract you made with the government. The U.S. government can probably go after you if the person you sponsored becomes a public charge. I haven't read about many cases here. That is completely unrelated to the fact that you now make much more money and a divorce might mean your spouse would walk away with a chunk of it.

Why haven't you divorced yet? You can divorce even if you don't know where the person is.

This is completely incorrect, your beneficiary CAN sue you for the support.

Take a look at the I-864 form, page 8 (https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/form/i-864.pdf):

What If I Do Not Fulfill My Obligations?

If you do not provide sufficient support to the person who becomes a lawful permanent resident based on a Form I-864 that you signed, that person may sue you for this support.

[Unlockable 7,315]

Zedayn is absolutely right, the LPR CAN sue the person who signed the Affidavit and/or joint sponsors.

[Boiler 45,912]

It can theoretically be done, not easy and very unusual.

But possible.

[green_parrot 1]

I have divorced and remarried, luckily at the time of the divorce he didn't try to get anything, hope he stays in the dark about the AOS and moves on, preferably back to his home country.

[Villanelle 4,122]

Thank you for posting this. It will be interesting to see if the number of cases asking for support increases.

[OnMyWayID 1,489]

There was a thread on this a couple of years ago.. There were four cases total we were able to find where the judge decided that alimony was to be 125% of poverty level and based on the i-864... That made no sense to me as I read it that if the person you signed benefits for need government services that you would be responsible for reimbursing the government... Sometimes people can be very creative in reading what they want into any document.

[Villanelle 4,122]

Alimony and the 864 is a different topic. We are talking about cases like this "http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/417935-getting-sued-using-i864/page-3"where its not during divorce proceedings but in a law suit.

[akihon 129]

You are no longer responsible for the beneficiary when:

1. The beneficiary remarries.

2. The beneficiary dies.

3. The beneficiary leaves the US permanently.

[Boiler 45,912]

You are no longer responsible for the beneficiary when:

1. The beneficiary remarries.

2. The beneficiary dies.

3. The beneficiary leaves the US permanently.

Not sure what that is for, not the I 864.

[Caryh 5,206]

Not sure what that is for, not the I 864.

Yep, you'd need to remove the remarries part and add a couple of other qualifiers.