Separated right after conditional green card

[HelloToYou 3]

Hello everybody,

 

I wanted to ask for some advice from anyone who's been through the same thing as me as I prepare to send off my I-751 in the coming months.

 

I was married to my ex-wife between July 2018 and October 2019. When we separated, I had literally just had the interview for the green card about two weeks before in February 2019. She filed for divorce in April and it was final in October 2019.

 

I spoke to a lawyer who told me that cases like mine are "troublesome" and basically was saying that because the period between the green card interview and the separation was so short, I will have difficulties trying to make my case because there's no evidence of our marriage for the period after I got the card.

 

Before anyone asks, yes it was a marriage in good faith. Unfortunately, 9 months in, my wife (USC) told me that she didn't love me and wanted a divorce.

 

Just as a little background. We first got together while in university in 2016. We briefly lived together in England later that year and kept up a long-distance relationship (we would fly back and forth often) until we decided to get married while I was visiting her in the US in 2018. A month after we married, she got a job offer which she accepted which meant she had to leave the country for 6 weeks at a time and then return for 3 weeks (6 weeks on/3 weeks off). This put an enormous strain on our marriage and communication between us got pretty bad after that, mostly because (and I know this might sound trivial) the internet connection was so poor (she worked in a third-world country) that skyping became virtually impossible. Once she got the job, which was something of a dream job for her, she seemed to just reassess what she wanted in life over the next number of months and came to the conclusion that being married to me was something she didn't want. To be clear, I never wanted to get divorced, it was her decision. She was so rapid in breaking up with me and getting me to sign divorce papers the next month that I was taken by surprise, to put it mildly.

 

I believe I have a good body of evidence:

• Tax return for 2018 filed jointly
• Bank statements for a joint checking account for the months we were together (July 2018 – March 2019).
• Gas bills with our names on addressed to us.
• A sworn affidavit from our landlord (her father) that we resided in the same house during our marriage
• Sworn affidavits from her, myself, all of her immediate family, all of my immediately family, and a mutual friend who was there when we first got together.
• Pictures from our wedding and a photo album detailing a timeline of our relationship from 2016 right up until January 2019 (vacations, general times together etc).
• Phone bills from her mother with both our numbers listed on the bills while we were married (I know this one's weak but I figure anything that could help).
• Many letters (mostly romantic) exchanged between us during the course of our relationship.

 

Of course, because of the timing of the separation, I'm aware that it'll raise red flags and of course I would love the opportunity to plead my case in an interview, because I know full-well, along with her family, my family, and her, that the marriage was entered into in good faith. I must say though that my anxiety has skyrocketed because from immigration's point of view it's going to look extremely suspicious, which is as much what the lawyer said.

 

Does anybody have any experiences or advice that they can share with me to give me some perspective or guidance. Since our divorce, I've built something of a life for myself in this country and have a good job, and frankly I'd be devastated if I had to leave.

 

Thank you!

[mindthegap 2,599]

Divorce is not a reason for denial.

Should you receive a denial for lack of evidence, the onus in immigration court (when it finally gets there, probably after a few years) is for USCIS to demonstrate how it was not a good faith marriage, which is difficult.

You cannot provide evidence that does not exist, so all you can do is send what you have.
Marriage statistics back you up in that many do not work out for a whole host of reasons - there is no shame in that, nor should it be held against you. 

Finally, as you filing with a divorce waiver and are fully divorced, you can file at any time - it does not have to be in the 90 day window. You could have filed immediately upon the divorce being final, and you could file tomorrow if you so desire.
 

You are here, you can work, travel and have rights as a LPR throughout this whole upcoming process, so file it and then for the most part forget about it for a while..it is a slow process.

Take it from me, worrying about it will drive you insane.

Edited September 24, 2020 by mindthegap

[HelloToYou 3]

14 hours ago, mindthegap said:

Divorce is not a reason for denial.

Should you receive a denial for lack of evidence, the onus in immigration court (when it finally gets there, probably after a few years) is for USCIS to demonstrate how it was not a good faith marriage, which is difficult.

You cannot provide evidence that does not exist, so all you can do is send what you have.
Marriage statistics back you up in that many do not work out for a whole host of reasons - there is no shame in that, nor should it be held against you. 

Finally, as you filing with a divorce waiver and are fully divorced, you can file at any time - it does not have to be in the 90 day window. You could have filed immediately upon the divorce being final, and you could file tomorrow if you so desire.
 

You are here, you can work, travel and have rights as a LPR throughout this whole upcoming process, so file it and then for the most part forget about it for a while..it is a slow process.

Take it from me, worrying about it will drive you insane.

Thanks for the reassurance, I appreciate it. I suppose I was feeling confident before because we already proved it was in good faith at the initial interview for the conditional, but now I'm panicking somewhat because of our separation right after receiving it. I suppose there's nothing else for it than to just submit everything I can and tell them the truth. I'm just praying they'll be able to see that it was a legitimate marriage and not hold its shortness against me, especially after being granted the green card.

 

Do you have any insight into how the process went for you?

 

Thanks!

[Mollie09 1,543]

19 hours ago, HelloToYou said:

Hello everybody,

 

I wanted to ask for some advice from anyone who's been through the same thing as me as I prepare to send off my I-751 in the coming months.

 

I was married to my ex-wife between July 2018 and October 2019. When we separated, I had literally just had the interview for the green card about two weeks before in February 2019. She filed for divorce in April and it was final in October 2019.

 

I spoke to a lawyer who told me that cases like mine are "troublesome" and basically was saying that because the period between the green card interview and the separation was so short, I will have difficulties trying to make my case because there's no evidence of our marriage for the period after I got the card.

 

Before anyone asks, yes it was a marriage in good faith. Unfortunately, 9 months in, my wife (USC) told me that she didn't love me and wanted a divorce.

 

Just as a little background. We first got together while in university in 2016. We briefly lived together in England later that year and kept up a long-distance relationship (we would fly back and forth often) until we decided to get married while I was visiting her in the US in 2018. A month after we married, she got a job offer which she accepted which meant she had to leave the country for 6 weeks at a time and then return for 3 weeks (6 weeks on/3 weeks off). This put an enormous strain on our marriage and communication between us got pretty bad after that, mostly because (and I know this might sound trivial) the internet connection was so poor (she worked in a third-world country) that skyping became virtually impossible. Once she got the job, which was something of a dream job for her, she seemed to just reassess what she wanted in life over the next number of months and came to the conclusion that being married to me was something she didn't want. To be clear, I never wanted to get divorced, it was her decision. She was so rapid in breaking up with me and getting me to sign divorce papers the next month that I was taken by surprise, to put it mildly.

 

I believe I have a good body of evidence:

• Tax return for 2018 filed jointly
• Bank statements for a joint checking account for the months we were together (July 2018 – March 2019).
• Gas bills with our names on addressed to us.
• A sworn affidavit from our landlord (her father) that we resided in the same house during our marriage
• Sworn affidavits from her, myself, all of her immediate family, all of my immediately family, and a mutual friend who was there when we first got together.
• Pictures from our wedding and a photo album detailing a timeline of our relationship from 2016 right up until January 2019 (vacations, general times together etc).
• Phone bills from her mother with both our numbers listed on the bills while we were married (I know this one's weak but I figure anything that could help).
• Many letters (mostly romantic) exchanged between us during the course of our relationship.

 

Of course, because of the timing of the separation, I'm aware that it'll raise red flags and of course I would love the opportunity to plead my case in an interview, because I know full-well, along with her family, my family, and her, that the marriage was entered into in good faith. I must say though that my anxiety has skyrocketed because from immigration's point of view it's going to look extremely suspicious, which is as much what the lawyer said.

 

Does anybody have any experiences or advice that they can share with me to give me some perspective or guidance. Since our divorce, I've built something of a life for myself in this country and have a good job, and frankly I'd be devastated if I had to leave.

 

Thank you!

 

I've been in your shoes, and I remember the anxiety. You'll probably be fine, try not to worry.

I had a short marriage but, like you, a longer relationship before the marriage. I filed for divorce 10 months after the wedding, filed for ROC a year after that, and was approved without interview. I knew I was eligible as soon as the divorce was finalized and should have filed sooner as it took 14 months to get approved, but my head wasn't in the right place.

I had a lawyer help me with the filing. He sent everything, photos, wedding receipts, Facebook posts, on top of bills, rental agreements, 401(k) information, health insurance, etc. My advice is: send what you have. It doesn't look as suspicious as you think.

[HelloToYou 3]

31 minutes ago, Mollie09 said:

 

I've been in your shoes, and I remember the anxiety. You'll probably be fine, try not to worry.

I had a short marriage but, like you, a longer relationship before the marriage. I filed for divorce 10 months after the wedding, filed for ROC a year after that, and was approved without interview. I knew I was eligible as soon as the divorce was finalized and should have filed sooner as it took 14 months to get approved, but my head wasn't in the right place.

I had a lawyer help me with the filing. He sent everything, photos, wedding receipts, Facebook posts, on top of bills, rental agreements, 401(k) information, health insurance, etc. My advice is: send what you have. It doesn't look as suspicious as you think.

Thanks for the response, it's very encouraging!

 

I'm surprised to hear that you didn't even need an interview, from what I've read most waivers go to the interview stage. It sounds like you had some really strong evidence to back you up.

 

Do you mind me asking how long it was after you got your conditional card that you separated? Because your situation sounds very similar to mine.

 

I have plenty of evidence, I think. I even have my great-grandmother's engagement ring which I used to propose still in the closet, I was thinking of bringing that along should there be an interview as something extra.

[Mollie09 1,543]

5 minutes ago, HelloToYou said:

Thanks for the response, it's very encouraging!

 

I'm surprised to hear that you didn't even need an interview, from what I've read most waivers go to the interview stage. It sounds like you had some really strong evidence to back you up.

 

Do you mind me asking how long it was after you got your conditional card that you separated? Because your situation sounds very similar to mine.

 

I have plenty of evidence, I think. I even have my great-grandmother's engagement ring which I used to propose still in the closet, I was thinking of bringing that along should there be an interview as something extra.

I think the rules changed after my approval and now you have to have an interview, but I don't remember 100% and Covid has changed things.

I got the conditional card 4 months before we separated, and 5 months before I filed for divorce. So we went from marriage to GC in 5 months, and then 5 months to divorce filing.

[HelloToYou 3]

1 minute ago, Mollie09 said:

I think the rules changed after my approval and now you have to have an interview, but I don't remember 100% and Covid has changed things.

I got the conditional card 4 months before we separated, and 5 months before I filed for divorce. So we went from marriage to GC in 5 months, and then 5 months to divorce filing.

Ah I see, yeah that sounds a little different. I got married and had my conditional card interview almost 9 months later, then she dumped me two weeks later and filed for divorce the month after that. Gotta say I'm pretty terrified about what they'll think of it when I try to remove the conditions, but there's nothing else for it than to tell the truth and show them good faith.

[mindthegap 2,599]

5 hours ago, HelloToYou said:

Do you have any insight into how the process went for you?

 

Thanks!

Haha I’m not the best example..unless it’s of what happens when an ex decides to go full-psycho and try to get you deported and returned like an amazon package (see my timeline)

Edited September 24, 2020 by mindthegap

[HelloToYou 3]

1 minute ago, mindthegap said:

Haha I’m not the best example..unless it’s of what happens when an ex decides to go full-psycho and try to get you deported and returned like an amazon package (see my timeline)

Jesus, I saw your timeline but wow that sounds like an ordeal, I'm very sorry. My ex was a liar and a cheat but I don't think even she would try anything like that. Hope you're doing better now.

[HelloToYou 3]

Just wanted to update this thread in case anyone happens across here and wanted to find out what happened.

 

My case to remove conditions was approved without needing an interview, which was a very pleasant surprise and I was of course extremely happy!

 

My advice to anyone in a similar situation to me is first to relax. All the stress, "what-ifs" and the rest of it -- I know how you feel and it's a rather long process so take a breather and strap in.

 

My case took about one year to resolve from around Nov 2020 to the same time in 2021.

 

Remember that the people reviewing your application are professionals trained to spot fraud, so in my case -- worried as I was about my short marriage and lack of evidence -- they still appeared to recognize a legit marriage when they saw one.

 

That being said, leave no stone unturned and if possible give them no reason to question the legitimacy of your marriage. I gathered 12 affidavits (I believe -- it was a lot) and I did so because this is not something to half-a$$ and being meticulous is the order of the day. Submit everything you possibly can and if you're fortunate like me then they'll approve it off the bat.

 

Should it go to an interview, then don't worry, that's perfectly normal -- all you have to do is tell the truth and if you're good to go they will approval you.

 

Good luck and please PM me or reply to his if I can provide any more help!

Edited February 15, 2022 by HelloToYou

[mongolianspot 0]

Thanks for updating! Most don’t come back here and do that. Glad everything worked out for you!