O3 Visa Holder, emotionally abusive relationship

[neophi 5]

Hello,

My sister-in-law is in an emotionally abusive relationship. She and her daughter are O-3 Visa holders while the husband of course is O-1. I believe they filed for I-485 as they already received their EAD and are waiting for the—what I assume is—the AOS approval.

I read the information on this FAQ page but it only talks about K-1 visa holders.

In any case, sister-in-law wants to divorce (they were already separated once for a few months) and is not only worried about the child custody but also her residency.

Would a divorce affect the pending AOS decision at all?

Also, if the AOS is rejected (for any reason, related or unrelated to divorce) are they immediately out of status or is their I-94 what determines this?

Thanks.

[f f 725]

o visa is a non immigrant visas by what means are they adjusting status?

just something to think about no Ned to post an answer. have they been in the us long enough to think of this as their home and what rational would they give uscis for needing to still get residency if the marriage is not working.

[Boiler 45,760]

Her status is dependent on her being his spouse so as soon as she is divorced she is out of status.

Presumably her husband would no go ahead with her being included in the petition if divorce proceedings are underway.

The danger is that he and the children adjust, she does not and it is unlikely a US court would let her take the children.

Safe bet would be to head home with the children and divorce from there.

[Penguin_ie 5,995]

I think you need to get more info from your SIL before we can truly help because as mentioned, there is no "normal" way for an O1 or family to Adjust Status.

It could be she is getting a work permit so she can work as an O2 while with her husband on O1, in which case, this is not Adjustment of Status and thus there is no path to a greencard there, divorced or no.

[Boiler 45,760]

Quite common for O1 to move to GC, which route is another matter but presumable a work sponsor of some sort.

[f f 725]

what level of consent from both parents is needed for a child to gain permanent residence status?

currently the mother only concentrate to temporarily moving to the us since o visa is temporary and she is in the process of getting permanent residency. since if the husband removes her from being a derivative of him can't she remove her consent for the child to permanently move to the us?

do not stay in an abusive relationship protect your self and your children.

[IcezMan_IcezLady 582]

what level of consent from both parents is needed for a child to gain permanent residence status?

currently the mother only concentrate to temporarily moving to the us since o visa is temporary and she is in the process of getting permanent residency. since if the husband removes her from being a derivative of him can't she remove her consent for the child to permanently move to the us?

do not stay in an abusive relationship protect your self and your children.

I wonder what kind of parent would do that to her child.. The child can still get the LPR status and could help the mother later.

Even if that's not the case, why would a mother use her child as a pawn against her husband?

[f f 725]

which is worse

a parent who divorces their spouse so they don't get a green card and forces them to leave the country giving the other parent sole guardianship of the child

or the spouse who leaves the us with their child?

it is not a good situation either way but there are valid questions as to think about.

with this situation both parents agreed to bring their children to the us on non immigrant visas. then one spouse said I have the ability to stay here, the child will stay but my spouse will not. the spouse who is leaving the us never consented to letting their child remain in the us longer than the length of the visa.

in this type of divorce it is ugly and children sadly do become pawns.

[Ontarkie 14,321]

which is worse

a parent who divorces their spouse so they don't get a green card and forces them to leave the country giving the other parent sole guardianship of the child

or the spouse who leaves the us with their child?

it is not a good situation either way but there are valid questions as to think about.

with this situation both parents agreed to bring their children to the us on non immigrant visas. then one spouse said I have the ability to stay here, the child will stay but my spouse will not. the spouse who is leaving the us never consented to letting their child remain in the us longer than the length of the visa.

in this type of divorce it is ugly and children sadly do become pawns.

All of this, plus the parent who gets a GC will be able to visit the kids back in their home country. It's unlikely the other parent will be able to see the kids again and will be completely at the fathers mercy.