Question about Green Card renewal

[BroadDaylight88 2]

Hello, I am asking for a friend. I have a friend from California and she wants to fly to one of her family members in Maryland. She messaged me sharing that she is getting divorced the reason is her hubby doesn't want her to work, doesn't want her to make financial decisions, she won't let her do anything and she feels trapped. She told him that she wanted to contribute but the guy gets mad all the time, a year later she asked him for divorce because she feels trapped which I guess is referred to as economic abuse? She asked me if there's anyway I know that can allow her to renew her greencard when it expires even if she isn't married to her hubby anymore? 

[Coco8 1,042]

For how long have they been married? How long has she had the green card? Is she talking about ROC?

[BroadDaylight88 2]

Just now, Coco8 said:

For how long have they been married? How long has she had the green card? Is she talking about ROC?

 

Yes, she is asking about the renewal they've been married for a year and a half already.

[Coco8 1,042]

She can ROC with a divorce waiver.

 

She will still need a lot of evidence for a bona fide marriage (examples: joint bank accounts, family phone plan, living in the same house, etc. etc.) She should gather all the evidence before talking about divorce because it might be harder to get it if the separate.

 

ROC is started 90 days before the expiration of the GC. It might not be far away since they have been married for a year and a half. She should also find out how long it takes to do a divorce, because it might take a while and she could get into trouble if she doesn't ROC in time. 

 

Anyway, the guy seems like an ### but she is not being physically abused (at least from what you said). She should study the timings for ROC with divorce waiver, versus staying married a bit longer and doing ROC and divorcing later. If she gets separated she will need to work because without access to any money, she won't be able to live. I don't know what happens if her green card expires.

 

Personally, I am very risk averse, so if she can file ROC in 2 to 3 months, I would do ROC and when I get my 10 year GC, I'd get a job and leave him once I have a job and a place to move. She could also try to enroll in classes; maybe he doesn't want her to work but she could try enrolling in a class? That would help her get a job once they divorce.

 

 

Edited July 7, 2017 by Coco8

[BroadDaylight88 2]

11 minutes ago, Coco8 said:

She can ROC with a divorce waiver.

 

She will still need a lot of evidence for a bona fide marriage (examples: joint bank accounts, family phone plan, living in the same house, etc. etc.) She should gather all the evidence before talking about divorce because it might be harder to get it if the separate.

 

ROC is started 90 days before the expiration of the GC. It might not be far away since they have been married for a year and a half. She should also find out how long it takes to do a divorce, because it might take a while and she could get into trouble if she doesn't ROC in time. 

 

Anyway, the guy seems like an ### but she is not being physically abused (at least from what you said). She should study the timings for ROC with divorce waiver, versus staying married a bit longer and doing ROC and divorcing later. If she gets separated she will need to work because without access to any money, she won't be able to live. I don't know what happens if her green card expires.

 

Personally, I am very risk averse, so if she can file ROC in 2 to 3 months, I would do ROC and when I get my 10 year GC, I'd get a job and leave him once I have a job and a place to move. She could also try to enroll in classes; maybe he doesn't want her to work but she could try enrolling in a class? That would help her get a job once they divorce.

 

 

This is very informative, thank you Coco. I have relayed this message! She's an awesome woman, she hasn't really told me every detail but from what she has shared, that's the deal breaker for her that she wasn't allowed to do anything else and she wasn't allowed to work. 

[Coco8 1,042]

11 minutes ago, BroadDaylight88 said:

This is very informative, thank you Coco. I have relayed this message! She's an awesome woman, she hasn't really told me every detail but from what she has shared, that's the deal breaker for her that she wasn't allowed to do anything else and she wasn't allowed to work. 

 

Ok. Either way, she should start gathering evidence for ROC. There are lists of things she will need to send. The guy seems very controlling so she should keep photocopies of important documents in a safe place. Once she puts everything together could even keep a copy of everything in your house or mail it to her family in Maryland.

 

 

Edited July 7, 2017 by Coco8

[JFH 12,190]

14 minutes ago, BroadDaylight88 said:

This is very informative, thank you Coco. I have relayed this message! She's an awesome woman, she hasn't really told me every detail but from what she has shared, that's the deal breaker for her that she wasn't allowed to do anything else and she wasn't allowed to work. 

It's too late now but these are the sort of things that should be discussed at length before entering into a marriage - how each party feels about finances, joint account vs separate accounts, should both parties work outside the home, should the wife stay home, and so on. Doesn't sound like there's any abuse here - just a difference of opinion that should have been resolved beforehand. Yes, even in the USA there are still some men that feel a woman's place is in the home. 

[BroadDaylight88 2]

1 minute ago, JFH said:

It's too late now but these are the sort of things that should be discussed at length before entering into a marriage - how each party feels about finances, joint account vs separate accounts, should both parties work outside the home, should the wife stay home, and so on. Doesn't sound like there's any abuse here - just a difference of opinion that should have been resolved beforehand. Yes, even in the USA there are still some men that feel a woman's place is in the home. 

That makes sense. So from what you've said, is there a chance for her to get ROC? 

[JFH 12,190]

2 minutes ago, BroadDaylight88 said:

That makes sense. So from what you've said, is there a chance for her to get ROC? 

You can ROC with a divorce waiver, regardless of the circumstances of divorce with the exception of the alien spouse being grossly at fault - adultery, for example.  Note that divorce waivers do not require claims of abuse or wrongdoing on the part of the USC. I see a lot of people here that feel they need to "justify" divorce intentions with claims of wrong-doing on the part of their spouse and tend to dress up differences in opinion and culture as "abuse". Fifty per cent of marriages end in divorce. Are we saying that 50 per cent of people abuse their spouses? No, of course not! Most marriages end because the people just aren't right for each other and want different things in life. Sounds like your friend is in one of those marriages. The husband wants a wife who'll stay at home and cook his dinner and she wants to go to work and make her own money. Neither is wrong. There's no need to look for something that's not there. All she needs to do is prove that she entered into the marriage with good intentions of building a life with this man and not just to get a green card. Her main issue is timing. She can't file a divorce waiver until the divorce is final. If they've been married 18 months already then the clock is ticking for her to remove conditions (assuming she filed for AOS in a timely manner after the wedding). 

 

Have they tried marriage counseling? 

 

She can still ROC with a no-fault divorce. 

[BroadDaylight88 2]

8 minutes ago, JFH said:

You can ROC with a divorce waiver, regardless of the circumstances of divorce with the exception of the alien spouse being grossly at fault - adultery, for example.  Note that divorce waivers do not require claims of abuse or wrongdoing on the part of the USC. I see a lot of people here that feel they need to "justify" divorce intentions with claims of wrong-doing on the part of their spouse and tend to dress up differences in opinion and culture as "abuse". Fifty per cent of marriages end in divorce. Are we saying that 50 per cent of people abuse their spouses? No, of course not! Most marriages end because the people just aren't right for each other and want different things in life. Sounds like your friend is in one of those marriages. The husband wants a wife who'll stay at home and cook his dinner and she wants to go to work and make her own money. Neither is wrong. There's no need to look for something that's not there. All she needs to do is prove that she entered into the marriage with good intentions of building a life with this man and not just to get a green card. Her main issue is timing. She can't file a divorce waiver until the divorce is final. If they've been married 18 months already then the clock is ticking for her to remove conditions (assuming she filed for AOS in a timely manner after the wedding). 

 

Have they tried marriage counseling? 

 

She can still ROC with a no-fault divorce. 

They did church counseling and it didn't work. They also have communication issues like he is too passive aggressive and she's frustrated. He does let her do volunteer work but that's about it! 

 

You are very correct in everything you said, I agree. I think they aren't just a good match! Thank you so much for your help

[Ebunoluwa 6,136]

It is not called renewal of the green card, it is removing condition (ROC) of a conditional 2 year green card.

Renewal of a green card would be a renewal of a 10 year green card if no naturalization has happened.
Here is a guide to ROC which contains a list of evidence of a co mingled and financially co mingled married life.
The more she has the better, if she has nothing she should contact an attorney to help her with it.