Getting ready for divorce and leaving the US - need advice.

[mirrortraveler 1]

Hello guys, 

 

I'm really hoping this is the right part of the forum for this post, but I'm not sure. 

 

To make a long story short, I've been living in the US on a green card following marriage since 2015, and I filed the I-751 for Removal of Conditions in August of 2017. Approval (as expected) for a permanent green card is still pending and I'm currently on my second extension letter, according to which official, conditional residence has been granted until summer of next year. 

 

However, some things have changed. And I have decided to leave the US for good and go back to Germany permanently. The decision is made, and since my husband is just as adamant about staying as I am about leaving, we are planning on getting a divorce. We don't have any assets or children and we're in full agreement, so the Simple Dissolution of Marriage offered by the Clerk of Courts in our county in the state of Florida, seems adequate. My flight back to Germany leaves on the 8th of December, so we have to file the paperwork for the divorce rather quickly to say the least because it can take some time to get a court date. 

 

I am extremely nervous about this and full of questions. We are currently pretty much broke, too, so I'm trying to get some input from you guys before contacting an immigration attorney. 

 

First off, are we even doing it right? We both have to be present here in court for the divorce to take effect, right? There is no way to process this from overseas? I'm asking because I'm also nervous about what USCIS will do. If I get divorced now, but still have a few weeks to go before my flight, does that mean that I'm in the country illegally in the meantime? Does getting divorced now violate the conditions of my conditional green card holder status? Will my State ID still be valid? I really don't want to end up being arrested and detained here when I'm getting ready to leave, anyway. 

 

My other question is about filing the I-407, Record of Abandonment of Lawful Permanent Resident Status. I would like to do this, since, to the best of my knowledge, it will prevent a five to ten year penalty for leaving my permanent resident status behind, so I can visit the US in the future if I need to. Can I send it from Germany, or would it be better to send it from here while I'm still in the country? 

 

Thanks a lot in advance! 

 

 

 

 

  

 

[Boiler 45,564]

Well I know in my State you do not need to be in Court, best to ask your Lawyer how it works where you are.

 

I would file the I 407 when you get home. You do not have to be married to retain your GC.

[WaterLeaf 200]

You can file your own divorce papers and work with it through with your soon to be ex-husband.

 

I do not have the material on hand but hopefully doing some great research on finding good papers that provide an example of doing your own divorce papers is cheaper than going to a lawyer or a 3rd party to get it done. I had a book that does have this but I can't find it as it included other various things like updating the Living Will, etc. for the smooth process.

 

If I find it I'll let you know. It may take some time.

[mirrortraveler 1]

We're not planning on getting a lawyer. We don't need one. I just want to make sure we'll be safe to go through with the divorce without me having to worry about anything bad from USCIS. My husband printed out the simple divorce paperwork the other day and one of the questions asks if I want to go back to my maiden name. I do, obviously, but that would mean my name no longer matches with the name on my immigration documents, my State ID, etc. and I don't want that to get me into trouble for the last couple of weeks/days of me being here. I don't think it will affect my travel since my passport is still in my maiden name, but what about all the other stuff? 

[Boiler 45,564]

Your name change does not impact your immigration status.

[mirrortraveler 1]

Okay. Thank you, @Boiler! So, I'm guessing if we file the divorce papers on Wednesday of this week, and since it's a simple divorce form without anything additional, we can expect to get a court date fairly quickly. Once we have officially divorced, do I need to tell USCIS anything at all?

 

I mean, if I was staying, I would have to send an I-751 waiver since our jointly filed I-751 is still pending, right? But since I'm leaving on December 8th, it's pretty much just the I-407 that tells them that I'm willfully abandoning my green card? 

 

Thanks again. I just need to be sure. Don't want to leave anything up to chance. 

[Boiler 45,564]

Hmmm, nothing I can think of.

[ghxste 1]

How is your divorce looking?

We (unfortunately) filed for an uncontested divorce, no kids or any assets with me signing every agreement and settlement and whatever else needed.

We got a date for an ''Initial conference'' , but I had planned to go back to my home country before then, and Im scared that something can go wrong if I don't go... But since I am the respondent and not the plaintiff in this case, maybe its okay. I do know I don't have to go to the final hearing. Anyone got any advice?