Do I need to hire an attorney for a divorce waiver if I filed jointly

[MyAdventure 0]

I am thinking to switch to a divorce waiver as things haven't been working with my husband and I might go for divorce. Do I need to hire an attorney or I can just present the divorce papers on the interview when they call me?

 

Thanks

[Dashinka 24,481]

It is not required to have an attorney to submit an I751 with a divorce waiver.  You can submit the package requesting the waiver and submit the final divorce decree when you get the RFE for it.

[MyAdventure 0]

41 minutes ago, Dashinka said:

It is not required to have an attorney to submit an I751 with a divorce waiver.  You can submit the package requesting the waiver and submit the final divorce decree when you get the RFE for it.

and by package you mean I have to send what? Considering I filed jointly a while back?

[dwheels76 5,468]

48 minutes ago, MyAdventure said:

and by package you mean I have to send what? Considering I filed jointly a while back?

You filed so when you divorce and get final decree or before you call USCIS and tell them you are divorcing or divorced. They change to self filing (Divorce Waiver). There's nothing to send but the final divorce decree.

[MyAdventure 0]

2 minutes ago, dwheels76 said:

You filed so when you divorce and get final decree or before you call USCIS and tell them you are divorcing or divorced. They change to self filing (Divorce Waiver). There's nothing to send but the final divorce decree.

Attorney is asking for 10k for this 😮

[powerpuff 6,686]

~ Topic moved from CR1/IR1 forum to Removing Conditions on Residency ~

[Dashinka 24,481]

2 hours ago, MyAdventure said:

and by package you mean I have to send what? Considering I filed jointly a while back?

If you have an I751 already filed, you can take your final divorce decree to the interview and request a waiver at that point I believe.

 

Good Luck!

[MyNameIsEarl 13]

I don't think you need one. I was in the same boat, filed jointly and divorced before interview is scheduled. Hired attorney, paid a ton and he isn't helpful at all. He doesn't answer calls properly and he didn't speak anything valuable during interview and even very bad at reviewing docs for waiver(he sent every thing I sent and no questions). I have rfe now and he never called me, his paralegal sent me a copy of rfe..that's all.

 

I know someone who faced similar experience. So, this is what I suggest..if you have good documenattion and solid proofs to prove that your marriage is bonafide you don't need attorney. If your marriage is short and don't have solid evidence get one.

[MyAdventure 0]

18 minutes ago, MyNameIsEarl said:

I don't think you need one. I was in the same boat, filed jointly and divorced before interview is scheduled. Hired attorney, paid a ton and he isn't helpful at all. He doesn't answer calls properly and he didn't speak anything valuable during interview and even very bad at reviewing docs for waiver(he sent every thing I sent and no questions). I have rfe now and he never called me, his paralegal sent me a copy of rfe..that's all.

 

I know someone who faced similar experience. So, this is what I suggest..if you have good documenattion and solid proofs to prove that your marriage is bonafide you don't need attorney. If your marriage is short and don't have solid evidence get one.

So I already sent all documentation long ago. Do I need to send the documents again or just request a waiver over the phone or what? Attorney is asking for 10k? I don't even know how to start the divorce process

57 minutes ago, Dashinka said:

If you have an I751 already filed, you can take your final divorce decree to the interview and request a waiver at that point I believe.

 

Good Luck!

Thanks. Can I just mail the copy of the decree when I have it? 

[MyNameIsEarl 13]

1 hour ago, MyAdventure said:

So I already sent all documentation long ago. Do I need to send the documents again or just request a waiver over the phone or what? Attorney is asking for 10k? I don't even know how to start the divorce process

Thanks. Can I just mail the copy of the decree when I have it? 

My recommendation is in addition to the request and divorce papers, send the documents once again and add if you have any additional documentation from your last filing to divorce.

 

I sent the documentation from last filing to divorce as additional evidence in addition to letter requesting to approve waiver and divorce copy for my waiver filing, they issued me a rfe to send documentation from wedding day to divorce. So, am resending everything.

 

it seems like sometimes officers are busy and don't want to open documentation we sent earlier..so better to be safe!

[MyAdventure 0]

2 minutes ago, MyNameIsEarl said:

My recommendation is in addition to the request and divorce papers, send the documents once again and add if you have any additional documentation from your last filing to divorce.

 

I sent the documentation from last filing to divorce as additional evidence in addition to letter requesting to approve waiver and divorce copy for my waiver filing, they issued me a rfe to send documentation from wedding day to divorce. So, am resending everything.

 

it seems like sometimes officers are busy and don't want to open documentation we sent earlier..so better to be safe!

Oh okay. I do have copies of the documents I sent. But I haven't initiated the divorce process yet. It takes time. I will only inform when I have the document. But once I have that I can send them copies of documents from wedding to now. I am still covered under my spouse's health insurance and he is on my stuff etc. Did you have to hire a lawyer for divorce?

[MyAdventure 0]

2 minutes ago, MyAdventure said:

Oh okay. I do have copies of the documents I sent. But I haven't initiated the divorce process yet. It takes time. I will only inform when I have the document. But once I have that I can send them copies of documents from wedding to now. I am still covered under my spouse's health insurance and he is on my stuff etc. Did you have to hire a lawyer for divorce?

Did you take the attorney to the interview and how long it took to get the interview. Did switching from joint filing to waiver restart the process for you?

Edited February 3, 2022 by MyAdventure

[da95826 387]

5 hours ago, MyAdventure said:

I am thinking to switch to a divorce waiver as things haven't been working with my husband and I might go for divorce. Do I need to hire an attorney or I can just present the divorce papers on the interview when they call me?

You can request that your joint pending joint i751 case be converted to an i751 waiver case based on good faith marriage ending in divorce.

You don't need to refile, write a letter to the USCIS office at the address on your latest receipt notice. The letter should  request to convert your i751 joint petition to remove conditions on your residency case to a i751 waiver case based on divorce and send proof you have filed for divorce along with a copy of your receipt notice . 

 

You want to notify USCIS that you are getting a divorce soon after you have the divorce started. You don’t want USCIS to approve your i751 after your file for divorce that will cause problems down the road when you file for naturalization.

 

You can convert your i751 at the interview so if you are expecting an interview that will be okay to convert your case then, but best to notify USCIS of the change of status of your marriage early if by chance they approve the case unexpectedly after divoce is final or close to final.

[MyAdventure 0]

4 minutes ago, da95826 said:

You can request that your joint pending joint i751 case be converted to an i751 waiver case based on good faith marriage ending in divorce.

You don't need to refile, write a letter to the USCIS office at the address on your latest receipt notice. The letter should  request to convert your i751 joint petition to remove conditions on your residency case to a i751 waiver case based on divorce and send proof you have filed for divorce along with a copy of your receipt notice . 

 

You want to notify USCIS that you are getting a divorce soon after you have the divorce started. You don’t want USCIS to approve your i751 after your file for divorce that will cause problems down the road when you file for naturalization.

 

You can convert your i751 at the interview so if you are expecting an interview that will be okay to convert your case then, but best to notify USCIS of the change of status of your marriage early if by chance they approve the case unexpectedly after divoce is final or close to final.

I am Cr1 so I don't think that they will approve without an interview anyway but also, I haven't started the divorce process yet and not sure how to begin

5 minutes ago, da95826 said:

You can request that your joint pending joint i751 case be converted to an i751 waiver case based on good faith marriage ending in divorce.

You don't need to refile, write a letter to the USCIS office at the address on your latest receipt notice. The letter should  request to convert your i751 joint petition to remove conditions on your residency case to a i751 waiver case based on divorce and send proof you have filed for divorce along with a copy of your receipt notice . 

 

You want to notify USCIS that you are getting a divorce soon after you have the divorce started. You don’t want USCIS to approve your i751 after your file for divorce that will cause problems down the road when you file for naturalization.

 

You can convert your i751 at the interview so if you are expecting an interview that will be okay to convert your case then, but best to notify USCIS of the change of status of your marriage early if by chance they approve the case unexpectedly after divoce is final or close to final.

I don't want to fight for anything so I want a civil divorce. But attorneys are too expensive. 

[da95826 387]

5 minutes ago, MyAdventure said:

I am Cr1 so I don't think that they will approve without an interview anyway but also, I haven't started the divorce process yet and not sure how to begin

You are likely safe with the interview thing especially if USCIS has issued you notice that your case is ready to be scheduled for an interview but USCIS sometimes does things that are not expected and they may approve your case without an interview. (some people got their green card cases approved without an interview during the AOS process during COVID quite unexpectedly) 

 

If you get close to your devorce being finalized you may want to drop USCIS  a letter to request the conversion to a waiver.