Divorce while I751 was pending approved Issues with N-400? (merged threads)

[flowergirls 6]

I am currently on a permanent green card and looking to apply for citizenship. I believe I am legible. I received my first (conditional green card) on 03/13/2017. I had to wait for 5 years to apply for citizenship because I have divorced my ex-husband who sponsored me. 

 

However, I have a few concerns regarding my case. 

I applied for the removal of conditions I751 when I was still together with my husband. 3 months after applying, I had filed for divorce in May 2019. I had met with a lawyer to figure out what to do about my I751 pending application. He had instructed me to not let USCIS know unless they send a request for evidence or call me in an interview. I was approved for my permanent green card without the RFE or the interview. 

 

My divorce was finalized 10 months after receiving my permanent green card. I still have not let USCIS know that I am divorced. My concern is that when I apply to citizenship this might end up being problematic for me for failure to disclose the divorce, even though it was finalized after the green card was approved. 

 

Something else that is concerning is that my ex-husband is currently engaged to another immigrant. I'm afraid that since he sponsored two foreign girls USCIS might cause me issues when I go for my citizenship interview.

Edited January 20, 2022 by laloo0695
typo

[Boiler 45,486]

You certainly have cause for concern with the first issue not the second

 

I remember a similar case but worse in that the person had remarried 

 

Should you apply, well not without competent legal guidance

[aaron2020 11,651]

1 hour ago, laloo0695 said:

I am currently on a permanent green card and looking to apply for citizenship. I believe I am legible. I received my first (conditional green card) on 03/13/2017. I had to wait for 5 years to apply for citizenship because I have divorced my ex-husband who sponsored me. 

 

However, I have a few concerns regarding my case. 

I applied for the removal of conditions I751 when I was still together with my husband. 3 months after applying, I had filed for divorce in May 2019. I had met with a lawyer to figure out what to do about my I751 pending application. He had instructed me to not let USCIS know unless they send a request for evidence or call me in an interview. I was approved for my permanent green card without the RFE or the interview. 

 

My divorce was finalized 10 months after receiving my permanent green card. I still have not let USCIS know that I am divorced. My concern is that when I apply to citizenship this might end up being problematic for me for failure to disclose the divorce, even though it was finalized after the green card was approved. 

 

Something else that is concerning is that my ex-husband is currently engaged to another immigrant. I'm afraid that since he sponsored two foreign girls USCIS might cause me issues when I go for my citizenship interview.

Red flag.

 

Your lawyer instructed you to lie by omission.  You should not have followed this advice.  You should have informed USCIS that you filed for divorce and sought a divorce waiver.  BIG MISTAKE on your part.  

 

For the N-400, USCIS will look at your entire immigration journey.  Including you not notifying them that you filed for divorce during ROC.  Expect extra scrutiny for this. 

[flowergirls 6]

Hello, 

 

I applied jointly for the removal of conditions in January 2019. My ex husband at the time was emotionally abusive and cheated on me with prostitutes on craigslist ( I have screenshots and copies of the messages and pictures he was sending). We had a real marriage and a lot of strong financial evidence, however I could not stay with him anymore due to what I mentioned. I consulted a lawyer who told me to file for divorce but to not notify USCIS unless they send a request for evidence or call me in for an interview. One of the reasonings for this is that in California, the minimum time to get a divorce decree is 6 months. At the time I filed in May, the I751 application had been pending for 5 months. As soon as a I filed, I moved out and changed my address with USCIS. 

 

Fast forward to February 2020, I received my green card without an RFE or an interview. Of course I was relieved and happy. My divorce was finalized a year after receiving my green card. 

However, now comes the time where I am eligible to apply for N-400 after 5 years. I saw a lot of conflicting information online that states that I should have notified USCIS of my divorce process. 

I contacted a lawyer and went over my situation and they do not seem to think that me not notifying immigration would be a big issue because I was still legally married throughout the application process. I will get a second opinion, however I am not terrified this might be a big issue. I am not even sure that I want to apply for citizenship at this point... Has anyone been in a similar situation? 

[igoyougoduke 1,656]

yes you must have lived married for 3 years to qualify for 3 year rule. Your lawyer should be fired for giving the bad advice of hiding the divorce from USCIS. It can come back to bite at a later time should USCIS choose to bite 

[flowergirls 6]

What are my options, should I not apply for N-400 then?

[Dashinka 24,493]

21 minutes ago, flowergirls said:

What are my options, should I not apply for N-400 then?

When did you get your first GC?  Based on your filing the I751 in January 2019, I assume somewhere around April 2017.  If you are filing under the 5 year rule and you meet all, the residency requirements, it should not be an issue.  You will still have to disclose your current marital status when you file, but it should not be a big issue.

 

Good Luck!

Edited January 22, 2022 by Dashinka

[da95826 387]

3 hours ago, flowergirls said:

I contacted a lawyer and went over my situation and they do not seem to think that me not notifying immigration would be a big issue because I was still legally married throughout the application process. I will get a second opinion, however I am not terrified this might be a big issue.

When you go for naturalization USCIS will review the ROC since you got divorced right after you got your 10 year green card. It is good that you got the divorce finalized after your ROC approved, but USCIS will review the divorce decree to see when you separated from your spouse, see why you divorced and so on. As long as the reasons listed in the divorce are not fraud then you will likely be okay.  

 

Be prepared to defend your marriage with USCIS when you file your n400, keep your evidence of good faith marriage, be prepared to go over the timeline of your marriage and divorce with the IO. I would not bring it up when you go to your naturalization interview but you should be prepared to address whatever concerns the IO may bring up. 

 

There is a good chance it won't be an issue with USCIS. Just be prepared to defend your good faith marriage and show that you did not intend to deceive USCIS if it comes up at the n400 interview. A good faith marriage ending in divorce is still a valid reason for USCIS to remove the conditions on the LPR so getting the divoce would not  have prevented you from getting a 10 year green card; you just need to prove there was no fraud with your marriage case, if it comes up.

[flowergirls 6]

11 hours ago, da95826 said:

When you go for naturalization USCIS will review the ROC since you got divorced right after you got your 10 year green card. It is good that you got the divorce finalized after your ROC approved, but USCIS will review the divorce decree to see when you separated from your spouse, see why you divorced and so on. As long as the reasons listed in the divorce are not fraud then you will likely be okay.  

 

Be prepared to defend your marriage with USCIS when you file your n400, keep your evidence of good faith marriage, be prepared to go over the timeline of your marriage and divorce with the IO. I would not bring it up when you go to your naturalization interview but you should be prepared to address whatever concerns the IO may bring up. 

 

There is a good chance it won't be an issue with USCIS. Just be prepared to defend your good faith marriage and show that you did not intend to deceive USCIS if it comes up at the n400 interview. A good faith marriage ending in divorce is still a valid reason for USCIS to remove the conditions on the LPR so getting the divoce would not  have prevented you from getting a 10 year green card; you just need to prove there was no fraud with your marriage case, if it comes up.

Thank you, 

 

It has just been so stressful because I see conflicting information and I want to make sure I am not making a mistake. 

[Guido51 9]

someone told me that you cannot apply for n400 if your i751 is waiver(filed after divorced) is this true?

i have a pending i751 with waiver and i filed n400 11months ago with 5 year rule. (not 3)

 

any thoughts? 

[Elle Worth 21]

On 1/20/2022 at 1:47 PM, flowergirls said:

I am currently on a permanent green card and looking to apply for citizenship. I believe I am legible. I received my first (conditional green card) on 03/13/2017. I had to wait for 5 years to apply for citizenship because I have divorced my ex-husband who sponsored me. 

 

However, I have a few concerns regarding my case. 

I applied for the removal of conditions I751 when I was still together with my husband. 3 months after applying, I had filed for divorce in May 2019. I had met with a lawyer to figure out what to do about my I751 pending application. He had instructed me to not let USCIS know unless they send a request for evidence or call me in an interview. I was approved for my permanent green card without the RFE or the interview. 

 

My divorce was finalized 10 months after receiving my permanent green card. I still have not let USCIS know that I am divorced. My concern is that when I apply to citizenship this might end up being problematic for me for failure to disclose the divorce, even though it was finalized after the green card was approved. 

 

Something else that is concerning is that my ex-husband is currently engaged to another immigrant. I'm afraid that since he sponsored two foreign girls USCIS might cause me issues when I go for my citizenship interview.

Yes,  you are eligible to file. You will have to let them know that you are divorced when you apply for your citizenship. Just be honest with your paperwork when filing and during the interview . Best Wishes.

[flowergirls 6]

I applied jointly for the removal of conditions in January 2019. My ex-husband at the time was emotionally abusive and cheated on me with prostitutes on craigslist ( I have screenshots and copies of the messages and pictures he was sending). We had a real marriage and a lot of strong financial evidence, however, I could not stay with him anymore due to what I mentioned. I consulted a lawyer who told me to file for divorce but to not notify USCIS unless they send a request for evidence or call me in for an interview or once I get the final divorce decree. 

One of the reasons for this is that in California, the minimum time to get a divorce decree is 6 months. At the time I filed for divorce in May, the I751 application had been pending for 5 months. As soon as I filed, I moved out and changed my address with USCIS. I am terrified that this lawyer gave me bad advice. 

 

Fast forward to February 2020, I received my green card without an RFE or an interview.  My divorce was finalized a year after receiving my green card. So throughout the I751 I was still legally married. 

However, now comes the time when I am eligible to apply for N-400 after 5 years. I saw a lot of conflicting information that states that I should have notified USCIS of my divorce process and applied for the i751 waiver. I am terrified that this situation will make things difficult for me when I have the N-400 interview. I am mostly afraid of them revoking my green card. 

 

I consulted with another lawyer yesterday who told me I should be okay during the N-400 interview and just explain what happened. I also have 2 more consultations scheduled with 2 other additional lawyers. I am having a hard time trusting them at this point. I have been strongly considering not even applying for N-400 and just stay on a green card the whole time. 

 

Is there anyone that has been in the same situation or knows any information? Please I am terrified.

[Timona 4,207]

Just do the N400. I mean, you were technically still married. There's no option to file with "pending divorce." Additionally, your divorce started after you filed and ended after the GC. So unless you had the divorce decree before I-751 approval, I don't think there's anything wrong here.

 

Just make sure you use the N400 calculator to check if you're indeed eligible already for 5 year mark.

 

Lemme call @Crazy Cat to see if he has some wisdom 

[Marieke H 2,498]

As you were already told in your previous thread, you will be fine. You were still married when your I-751 was approved.

18 minutes ago, flowergirls said:

I saw a lot of conflicting information that states that I should have notified USCIS of my divorce process and applied for the i751 waiver.

You were not divorced yet, so there was nothing to notify them about.

 

If you are now eligible based on the 5-year rule, there is no issue. You officially divorced a year after your I-751 was approved.

[flowergirls 6]

51 minutes ago, Timona said:

Just do the N400. I mean, you were technically still married. There's no option to file with "pending divorce." Additionally, your divorce started after you filed and ended after the GC. So unless you had the divorce decree before I-751 approval, I don't think there's anything wrong here.

 

Just make sure you use the N400 calculator to check if you're indeed eligible already for 5 year mark.

 

Lemme call @Crazy Cat to see if he has some wisdom 

Thank you!