RFE for i-751 Filed January 2018 with Battered Spouse Waiver

[iPhone5s 2]

Hello,

 

My immigration lawyer assisted with i-751 filing in January 2018.  This was an early filing as my 2-year green card expired in September 2018.  Lawyer explained the battered spouse waiver permits early filing.  Submitted a 9-page personal statement on the emotional, psychological, and financial control and cruelty I experienced from the now ex-husband.  Together with letter from counselor at a domestic violence service provider, psychiatrist diagnosis of PTSD and Major Depressive Disorder, 4 separate police reports, and 6 affidavits from friends supporting the marriage and the subsequent abuse.  

 

19 months later, I received RFE from USCIS stating: 1) my personal statement was credible; 2) insufficient evidence of battered spouse; 3) I need to submit further evidence such as medical reports, photographs of injuries sustained from U.S. Citizen Spouse, and personal statement as well as affidavits from others supporting that I suffered as a battered spouse; 4) no mention of bona fide proof of marriage.  

 

The problem is the abuse never became physical.  Had I stayed longer, it very well could have become physical.  That is besides the point. 

It has been challenging to manage my emotions since the receipt of this RFE because A: I am reminded of the abuse that I have started to slowly heal from; and B: my immigration lawyer has been on vacation for the past 2.5 weeks.  The deadline to submit additional evidence is in 7 weeks. 

 

Questions:

1. Has anyone been in a similar situation?  Could you please share your experience in terms of what further evidence can be submitted? 

2. The marriage has ended in February 2018 with a divorce.  I understand should the current i-751 ultimately be denied, I can re-apply with a divorce waiver.  Should I re-apply now or proceed with the current filing? 

3. Should the current filing ends up in removal proceedings, will I have the opportunity to request in front of an immigration judge to consider my case for a divorce waiver? 

4. Since there was no mention of additional evidence requests in the RFE, does that mean USCIS has determined that I submitted sufficient evidence that the marriage was in good faith?  My ex-husband did not allow for my name be added to his accounts, instead he asked me to write him checks each month when I got paid.  Also, we purchased a co-op apartment together (in both our names), and filed taxes together for 2 years. 

 

Much appreciated. 

[designguy 1,179]

51 minutes ago, iPhone5s said:

19 months later, I received RFE from USCIS stating: 1) my personal statement was credible; 2) insufficient evidence of battered spouse; 3) I need to submit further evidence such as medical reports, photographs of injuries sustained from U.S. Citizen Spouse, and personal statement as well as affidavits from others supporting that I suffered as a battered spouse; 4) no mention of bona fide proof of marriage.  

 

The problem is the abuse never became physical.  Had I stayed longer, it very well could have become physical.  That is besides the point. 

It has been challenging to manage my emotions since the receipt of this RFE because A: I am reminded of the abuse that I have started to slowly heal from; and B: my immigration lawyer has been on vacation for the past 2.5 weeks.  The deadline to submit additional evidence is in 7 weeks. 

 

Questions:

1. Has anyone been in a similar situation?  Could you please share your experience in terms of what further evidence can be submitted? 

2. The marriage has ended in February 2018 with a divorce.  I understand should the current i-751 ultimately be denied, I can re-apply with a divorce waiver.  Should I re-apply now or proceed with the current filing? 

3. Should the current filing ends up in removal proceedings, will I have the opportunity to request in front of an immigration judge to consider my case for a divorce waiver? 

4. Since there was no mention of additional evidence requests in the RFE, does that mean USCIS has determined that I submitted sufficient evidence that the marriage was in good faith?  My ex-husband did not allow for my name be added to his accounts, instead he asked me to write him checks each month when I got paid.  Also, we purchased a co-op apartment together (in both our names), and filed taxes together for 2 years. 

Very sorry to hear about your situation. You seem to have conflicting statements (above bold). It seems from your RFE that USCIS is requesting more evidence. Have you been able to compile any more documentation?

[iPhone5s 2]

2 minutes ago, designguy said:

Very sorry to hear about your situation. You seem to have conflicting statements (above bold). It seems from your RFE that USCIS is requesting more evidence. Have you been able to compile any more documentation?

Thank you.  

 

4. Since there was no mention of additional evidence requests in the RFE, does that mean USCIS has determined that I submitted sufficient evidence that the marriage was in good faith?  My ex-husband did not allow for my name be added to his accounts, instead he asked me to write him checks each month when I got paid.  Also, we purchased a co-op apartment together (in both our names), and filed taxes together for 2 years. 

 

In the above, I meant the RFE did not ask for additional evidence as proof that I entered into the marriage in good faith.  Since they did not ask, does that mean they do not request additional evidence for good faith marriage, and therefore they determined the marriage was in good faith?   

 

To clarify, USCIS did ask for specific evidence on physical injuries, which I do not have because I was never injured by my ex-husband physically.  It was all emotional, physiological, and financial. They also asked in the RFE for affidavits from counselors, police officers, friends, and a personal statement explaining my relationship with the U.S. citizen spouse, all of which have already been submitted 19 months ago with the initial filing of i-751.  

 

I have not been able to compile additional evidence because I do not have any evidence on physical injuries (cannot prove something that never happened and I do not want to even if that means I may be in removal proceedings).  I also feel very reluctant re-living the abusive experience if I need to re-write my personal statement, which coincidentally USCIS called "detailed, compelling, and credible", while "It is insufficient to establish battery or extreme cruelty". 

 

Since there is a divorce now, should I respond to the RFE by giving them the divorce decree?  Or should I re-file i-751 with a divorce waiver?  I am assuming having gone through an apartment purchase, extensive renovations with my ex-husband, and filed taxes for 2 years, are sufficient to prove good faith marriage.  

 

I am stuck emotionally to want to fight this battery/extreme cruelty RFE.  I regret having allowed myself be abused in the marriage, and regret that I now have to "prove"  that I was indeed abused.  

 

 

 

[designguy 1,179]

11 minutes ago, iPhone5s said:

Thank you.  

 

4. Since there was no mention of additional evidence requests in the RFE, does that mean USCIS has determined that I submitted sufficient evidence that the marriage was in good faith?  My ex-husband did not allow for my name be added to his accounts, instead he asked me to write him checks each month when I got paid.  Also, we purchased a co-op apartment together (in both our names), and filed taxes together for 2 years. 

 

In the above, I meant the RFE did not ask for additional evidence as proof that I entered into the marriage in good faith.  Since they did not ask, does that mean they do not request additional evidence for good faith marriage, and therefore they determined the marriage was in good faith?   

 

To clarify, USCIS did ask for specific evidence on physical injuries, which I do not have because I was never injured by my ex-husband physically.  It was all emotional, physiological, and financial. They also asked in the RFE for affidavits from counselors, police officers, friends, and a personal statement explaining my relationship with the U.S. citizen spouse, all of which have already been submitted 19 months ago with the initial filing of i-751.  

 

I have not been able to compile additional evidence because I do not have any evidence on physical injuries (cannot prove something that never happened and I do not want to even if that means I may be in removal proceedings).  I also feel very reluctant re-living the abusive experience if I need to re-write my personal statement, which coincidentally USCIS called "detailed, compelling, and credible", while "It is insufficient to establish battery or extreme cruelty". 

 

Since there is a divorce now, should I respond to the RFE by giving them the divorce decree?  Or should I re-file i-751 with a divorce waiver?  I am assuming having gone through an apartment purchase, extensive renovations with my ex-husband, and filed taxes for 2 years, are sufficient to prove good faith marriage.  

 

I am stuck emotionally to want to fight this battery/extreme cruelty RFE.  I regret having allowed myself be abused in the marriage, and regret that I now have to "prove"  that I was indeed abused.  

 

 

 

As you already have retained counsel it would probably be best to reach back out to your lawyer and see how they advise you to proceed. And definitely wait (if you can) for the lawyer before responding to the RFE yourself. Hopefully they won't be on vacation too much longer!

[little immigrant 801]

I was in a similar situation as you. Emotional and financial but not physical. I had maybe one picture of bruises because he threw me down but I'm sure it wasn't enough. If it had to come down to it I would have switched to a divorce waiver but I never qualified for VAWA. 

[Villanelle 4,122]

Please be cautious about the advice you may get on VJ. Not everyone is versed in abuse waivers but they may still comment.

 

You are also welcome to join the VAWA thread even though you are not applying for a GC through VAWA. Abuse waiver ROC falls under VAWA. The VAWA threads do have some information about the abuse waiver. 

 

Anyway did you get the multi page RFE asking for proof of abuse? I'm surprised an attny helped you and you still got an RFE. Does your attny have experience in this?  

 

Basically USCIS has it's own definition of abuse. Not every situation meets their criteria for being considered abuse. So some people do suffer abuse but it just doesn't meet their bar. An experienced attny should be able to tell you if you can qualify. That's why it's surprising that you used one who seems to think you qualify but then got an RFE saying you don't.

 

Your choices are to respond with additional evidence- and no the abuse does not have to be physical. This will only be successful if the abuse suffered meets their definition. Or you can request they switch you to the divorce waiver. They don't have to but they usually allow you to switch. If they don't you will have to refile. 

 

In order to determine if the abuse qualifies you would have to provide more details here on the abuse you are claiming qualifies you. Or you can message sandranj and ask her if she has time to review your statement and give you her opinion. She is a probono vawa attny and will tell you her honest opinion.  

 

Either way you need to respond to the RFE by the deadline.

[Villanelle 4,122]

Also re-reading it seems you sent a psychiatrist report with dx and not a psych evaluation. That may be the medical professional documentation you are missing.

[iPhone5s 2]

24 minutes ago, little immigrant said:

I was in a similar situation as you. Emotional and financial but not physical. I had maybe one picture of bruises because he threw me down but I'm sure it wasn't enough. If it had to come down to it I would have switched to a divorce waiver but I never qualified for VAWA. 

Thank you for sharing.  I am so sorry you had to experience abuse.  

[iPhone5s 2]

2 minutes ago, Villanelle said:

Also re-reading it seems you sent a psychiatrist report with dx and not a psych evaluation. That may be the medical professional documentation you are missing.

Thank you Villanelle.  I did submit a psycho social report that is 4-page in length, recommended by my lawyer.  USCIS read it carefully and asked for further evidence on the recommended bi-weekly counseling at the end of the report.  The problem is I was going through a contested divorce 19 months ago and could not afford the counseling, even though I knew I really needed it.  I did start counseling finally in January 2019, and my now psychologist says he can definitely write a report to support my case.   

 

Also submitted with my initial filing was a temporary order of protection, with a return date back to family court for final determination.  USCIS also asked for further evidence on that court hearing.  The problem is my ex-husband's divorce lawyer got the family court case combined with the divorce court, and the first thing the divorce court judge did was to vacate the temporary order of protection.  This was not helpful at all then, and not helpful for the RFE now.  

 

I will message sandranj as you suggested.  Thank you very much.  

[JeanneAdil 6,505]

sorry to hear 

but could not afford counseling?

your lawyer needs to enforce the support order and get you the help you need/  financial responsibilty does not end till you either work 40 hours or become a citizen

If immigration does not approve the naturalization process,   at least go for the counseling you need and let the lawyer do his work/ he should know about support orders 

seems like US citizens fill one out but never see it enforced 

[implife 318]

After reading this, it seems like you should've taken one of two options:

1) demonstrate that your marriage was established in good faith, and that you are now, unfortunately, divorced (divorce waiver) 

2) demonstrate abuse

You seem to have done a combination of both.

 

You will probably not be able to demonstrate option (2). I would find a lawyer who could help you pursue option (1).  Your current attorney doesn't sound good to me.

 

Edited September 9, 2019 by implife

[implife 318]

19 hours ago, iPhone5s said:

The problem is my ex-husband's divorce lawyer got the family court case combined with the divorce court, and the first thing the divorce court judge did was to vacate the temporary order of protection.  This was not helpful at all then, and not helpful for the RFE now.  

How do you know it wouldn't be helpful?

[geowrian 22,337]

9 minutes ago, implife said:

After reading this, it seems like you should've taken one of two options:

1) demonstrate that your marriage was established in good faith, and that you are now, unfortunately, divorced (divorce waiver) 

2) demonstrate abuse

You seem to have done a combination of both.

Even if there is abuse, one must still show a bona fide marriage. The abuse option means the case is handled by IOs who are better suited to abuse cases and the limitations of evidence obtainable due to that.

But abuse alone is not cause for ROC to be approved.

Edited September 9, 2019 by geowrian

[implife 318]

5 minutes ago, geowrian said:

Even if there is abuse, one must still show a bona fide marriage. The abuse option means the case is handled by IOs who are better suited to abuse cases and the limitations of evidence obtainable due to that.

But abuse alone is not cause for ROC to be approved.

I'm sorry, but you seem to have missed my point. That's fine. My point is simple: iPhone5s is not likely to be able to demonstrate abuse. (Hence the RFE!)

Edited September 9, 2019 by implife

[geowrian 22,337]

2 minutes ago, implife said:

I'm sorry, but you seem to have missed my point. That's fine. My point is simple: iPhone5s is not likely to be able to demonstrate abuse. (Hence the RFE!)

I was just correcting the point (" you should've taken one of two options:") when #1 is required in both cases.