Separation while waiting on second GC and citizenship

[panda317 0]

Hi everyone, I have a question in case any of you have been in a similar or same situation. My husband and I have been married for almost 4 years so I got my two year conditional GC and last year I applied for my second GC and I'm still waiting on that. This past August 2020 I applied for citizenship since I was eligible for it but now we have decided we no longer want to be together. We are obviously still waiting on both, my second GC and my citizenship as well and we are not sure if there are any other options for me to still get at least my second GC if we split. We will be talking to a lawyer next week, just wanted to see if anyone has an advice. 

We have also always had a joint bank account, that we also used as a proof of our marriage for USCIS, but currently started having problems with having it joint so I though about opening my own separate account. Would that be something USCIS could find out and deny my application purely because of that? We would probably still keep the joint account with my name on it until my paperwork gets figured out, but I would just have a separate account on the side so I can have my money away from him. 

Thanks for all your help and opinions/advice!

[Letspaintcookies 2,310]

You can easily switch to a divorce waiver for your removal of conditions. That's not a problem at all but you have to have the divorce decree in order for USCIS to approve you. So if the two of you are serious about it then start the process of divorce soon. You won't be eligible for citizenship after 3 years anymore if you get divorced and have to wait till you hit the 5 years mark.

[Letspaintcookies 2,310]

Do not fake a happy marriage to get the unconditional greencard. That would be something that could come back and bite you. Be open and honest about it and just go through the process with a divorce waiver.

Edited October 18, 2020 by Letspaintcookies

[panda317 0]

1 minute ago, Letspaintcookies said:

You can easily switch to a divorce waiver for your removal of conditions. That's not a problem at all but you have to have the divorce decree in order for USCIS to approve you. So if the two of you are serious about it then start the process of divorce soon. You won't be eligible for citizenship after 3 years anymore if you get divorced and have to wait till you hit the 5 years mark.

I have read about that option, but  wasn't sure if that would still apply since I already applied for my 10 year GC a year ago and I'm still in the process of getting it approved. And yeah, I totally agree that faking anything isn't the way to go. I just wasn't sure what the best way to go about it was. We will talk to a lawyer also to see what he recommends and if he can help me out with the process. 

[Letspaintcookies 2,310]

Just now, panda317 said:

I have read about that option, but  wasn't sure if that would still apply since I already applied for my 10 year GC a year ago and I'm still in the process of getting it approved. And yeah, I totally agree that faking anything isn't the way to go. I just wasn't sure what the best way to go about it was. We will talk to a lawyer also to see what he recommends and if he can help me out with the process. 

It's absolutely an option. You don't have to withdraw your application and start all over again. You can write a letter requesting a divorce waiver or even do it at the interview. The only 'problem' would be that they'll send you a RFE asking for the divorce degree and you only have a certain timeframe to respond. I don't know how long it will take to get that where you live so you'll probably have to time it right.

[panda317 0]

2 minutes ago, Letspaintcookies said:

It's absolutely an option. You don't have to withdraw your application and start all over again. You can write a letter requesting a divorce waiver or even do it at the interview. The only 'problem' would be that they'll send you a RFE asking for the divorce degree and you only have a certain timeframe to respond. I don't know how long it will take to get that where you live so you'll probably have to time it right.

Thanks! Like I said, just wasn't sure about this option. We will definitely look into it more then since it sounds like that would be the easiest option now.