Marriage Fraud... What to do...

[LoveMyTico 999]

So I hate that I am one of the victims of marriage fraud and I have to post this. After a 6 year relationship / 3.5 years of marriage and all the waiting I did for this man. All the fighting I did to make this visa process go smoothly... turns out I was scammed. I never thought it would happen to me but here I am.

He is currently living back in Costa Rica ( so he says) He has changed his number. Turns out the whole family was in on this scam. They disconnected their phone There was a little girlfriend in the picture even before we were married .. and she was waiting for him. HE sent all of his money back to Costa Rica. UGHHH long story. Of course I see red flags now.... when you have hide sight... wow'..

Anyway, I don't really care what happens to him HOWEVER, he can still enter the US on his conditional green card until January 17, 2017. I wouldn't care so much about that but my daughter has signed the Affidavit of Support because I got laid off 10 days before our interview in Costa Rica. She did it for me and I never would have involved her if I EVER thought this would happen.

I have spoken to the fraud dept at the embassy, the fraud dept at the USCIS , CBP and ICE. I have sent a formal complaint statement to the Fraud tips email given to me by ICE and I have an info pass appt coming up on July 14th. CBP told me it could be possible he gets stopped at customs, but not very likely. As long as he stays in Costa Rica, I'm good

I was wondering if anyone knows of any lawyers from Costa Rica, practicing law here and there, who are located here in the US. Preferably near Philadelphia. I spoke to a few attorneys who were listed on the American Embassy website in Costa Rica. I am not about to sign a power of attorney and send money to a crooked Costa Rican thief. I was ripped off once before by an attorney in Costa Rica. I Iearned a hard lesson there.

Any other suggestions would be appreciated

[Mollie09 1,543]

So I hate that I am one of the victims of marriage fraud and I have to post this. After a 6 year relationship / 3.5 years of marriage and all the waiting I did for this man. All the fighting I did to make this visa process go smoothly... turns out I was scammed. I never thought it would happen to me but here I am.

He is currently living back in Costa Rica ( so he says) He has changed his number. Turns out the whole family was in on this scam. They disconnected their phone There was a little girlfriend in the picture even before we were married .. and she was waiting for him. HE sent all of his money back to Costa Rica. UGHHH long story. Of course I see red flags now.... when you have hide sight... wow'..

Anyway, I don't really care what happens to him HOWEVER, he can still enter the US on his conditional green card until January 17, 2017. I wouldn't care so much about that but my daughter has signed the Affidavit of Support because I got laid off 10 days before our interview in Costa Rica. She did it for me and I never would have involved her if I EVER thought this would happen.

I have spoken to the fraud dept at the embassy, the fraud dept at the USCIS , CBP and ICE. I have sent a formal complaint statement to the Fraud tips email given to me by ICE and I have an info pass appt coming up on July 14th. CBP told me it could be possible he gets stopped at customs, but not very likely. As long as he stays in Costa Rica, I'm good

I was wondering if anyone knows of any lawyers from Costa Rica, practicing law here and there, who are located here in the US. Preferably near Philadelphia. I spoke to a few attorneys who were listed on the American Embassy website in Costa Rica. I am not about to sign a power of attorney and send money to a crooked Costa Rican thief. I was ripped off once before by an attorney in Costa Rica. I Iearned a hard lesson there.

Any other suggestions would be appreciated

Nothing you can do about the affidavit of support, it's still valid even if unlikely to be enforced.

[EM_Vandaveer 2,408]

What exactly would you want a lawyer to do? It's unclear from your post. If it's for divorce, you can divorce him from the US.

[LoveMyTico 999]

I want a divorce but I have to do it there. A friend of mine( from Costa Rica) divorced his wife in NYC. He is still married in Costa Rica. I looked it up myself.

The laws are very different there. I was told a divorce from the US isn't worth the paper its printed on. If he gets in trouble over there, they will see he is married to a USC. They could come after me. I already did way too much for him and his entire family. I won't take the fall for him anymore.

[LoveMyTico 999]

it was fraud.... trust me. After all the evidence I now have.... trust me. and all the red flags I should have called him on... I don't really want to be judged on what happened. I just want to know if anyone has suggestions for an attorney.

And yes, in life.... you win some and you lose some but in this case , this was pure deceit for the sole purpose to gain a greencard. I am not going to sit here and list every piece of evidence I have.

[LionessDeon 2,060]

You started the I-601 waiver thread I've been following for so long.

So sorry to hear of your situation. I hope you get everything resolved.

[Unlockable 7,315]

I wouldn't care so much about that but my daughter has signed the Affidavit of Support because I got laid off 10 days before our interview in Costa Rica. She did it for me and I never would have involved her if I EVER thought this would happen.

But this was ALWAYS a possibility to happen. Edited July 1, 2016 by NuestraUnion

[LoveMyTico 999]

But this was ALWAYS a possibility to happen.

no kidding...I'm not a complete dummy.

[Ban Hammer 13,472]

sorry to hear the bad news, but unfortunately it happens to the best of us.

[Deagle 508]

What are your evidence that the marriage was fraud? You can't tell the USCIS or whoever that "Trust me, it's a fraud". You need solid evidence and not just a story you tell them, whether it's true or not, you still need a solid evidence. I don't know how long you two lived together and how your life was, if you had joint financial responsibilities or not. But if you did, then he might be able to ROC on his own and stay in the US or come back if he's out as you said. You can't do much about the affidavit, your daughter is locked untill he gets his citizenship or live here for 10 years or get deported. Sorry this happened to you.

[EM_Vandaveer 2,408]

I want a divorce but I have to do it there. A friend of mine( from Costa Rica) divorced his wife in NYC. He is still married in Costa Rica. I looked it up myself.

The laws are very different there. I was told a divorce from the US isn't worth the paper its printed on. If he gets in trouble over there, they will see he is married to a USC. They could come after me. I already did way too much for him and his entire family. I won't take the fall for him anymore.

You may be right, but I mean divorced is divorced, right?

Of course Puerto Rican authorities would not know automatically if someone divorces elsewhere, but is there not a mechanism for registering foreign divorces?

[Anitafeliz 1,133]

You may be right, but I mean divorced is divorced, right?

Of course Puerto Rican authorities would not know automatically if someone divorces elsewhere, but is there not a mechanism for registering foreign divorces?

If she gets it apostile I belive it's valid in foreign countries Edited July 1, 2016 by Anitafeliz

[LoveMyTico 999]

Zero evidence. He would never combine money. He did alot of things behind the scenes that I just found out about. Bought property in costa Rica and recently transferred everything out of his name to avoid spliting anything with me. He told everyone in costa Rica that he has a work visa. The community he lives in all know he has been with the girlfriend since 2011.. I know that's a fact. The girlfriend told me. Recently. Other friends saw her Facebook with pics of them together. His family sent text messages with this info. His intension was to get the permanent greencard .divorce me and then bring the girlfriend here. Her sister is here. Nobody knew he was married. The gf sister saw him and I together...was told by my friend we are married..she says ...no, that's my sisters boyfriend. She's waiting for him in costa Rica. My friend said ...no, they have been married for 3 years. Of course now I think back to many things I should have seen. I found his old cell phone with the girlfriend phone number. From the day he entered to recently..he made a call everyday to her..and many texts. I had my friend call the number.. The girl let loose. There is so much more that I found out. Im not gonna get into it. I want to know if there are any attorneys who practice in the U.S. and costa Rica who can help me here.

[Sukie 1,464]

Oh dear friend...I am soooo sorry to hear this. I can hear your anger and despair in your words. Hang in there - you will get through it - not without some hard days, but you WILL get through it.

All the best in the end,

Sukie in NY

[Ebunoluwa 6,136]

"If you are not a citizen of the country and the female is a citizen of the country and you have had children together it is possible you will be asked to leave a deposit for care of the child before leaving the country. If however; you did not have children together it could be mutually agreed to separate if the marriage was over three years old. Again the rule applies that if it is not over three years you cannot go through with a divorce in Costa Rica. You can however raise divorce proceedings in your own Country or state if you are not the Costa Rica citizen however once it has been finalized you need to log a foreign resolution with the Costa Rican civil registry. "

http://www.costaricafamilylaw.com/divorceandseparation.htm