Filing I-751 while waiting for divorce decree

[YellingSeal 0]

42 minutes ago, Dashinka said:

Does he really have any options?  Not getting into the relationship aspect at this point as it is not really any of our business, but if he is still legally married and not in process of a divorce, he cannot file under a divorce waiver, and he needs to file in the next 60 days.

Thank you for your response. There is a common theme online that filing jointly while separated but not divorced is not great. This seems a little weird to me especially when compared to filing a divorce waiver after getting divorced. The spouse participation seems to be a big indicator of how hard filing jointly while separated will be and in my case I will get good cooperation. Currently in the process of getting help from a lawyer. Getting divorced to help prove a bona fide marriage seems just wrong to me.

[Boiler 45,434]

4 minutes ago, YellingSeal said:

Thank you for your response. There is a common theme online that filing jointly while separated but not divorced is not great. This seems a little weird to me especially when compared to filing a divorce waiver after getting divorced. The spouse participation seems to be a big indicator of how hard filing jointly while separated will be and in my case I will get good cooperation. Currently in the process of getting help from a lawyer. Getting divorced to help prove a bona fide marriage seems just wrong to me.

 

Cooperation? She will confirm you are no longer living together?

[YellingSeal 0]

5 minutes ago, Boiler said:

 

Cooperation? She will confirm you are no longer living together?

Well, she will go to the interview, answer the question honestly like I will and our story will match because we don't have anything to hide and the marriage was real. I know it's still up to the immigrant officer to decide. But basically I think in some situation, people are not divorced but the sponsor is not wiling to sign the joint petition for example and that becomes a big problem. That is not the case, she will also be willing to write a letter explaining why the relationship failed. 

Edited December 7, 2023 by YellingSeal

[Boiler 45,434]

The issue I see is that you intend applying for removal of conditions on the basis of a good faith marriage and you both will be turning up to confirm that it does not exist and did not exist when you filed.

 

What do you expect the officer to do?

 

More interesting is that many interviews are waived, now my view is that as long as you do not intend to naturalise who cares. I am unclear of the pick up on the AR 11 when deciding to waive or not an interview, and I have no idea what the situation will be in a few years.

[YellingSeal 0]

12 minutes ago, Boiler said:

The issue I see is that you intend applying for removal of conditions on the basis of a good faith marriage and you both will be turning up to confirm that it does not exist and did not exist when you filed.

 

What do you expect the officer to do?

 

More interesting is that many interviews are waived, now my view is that as long as you do not intend to naturalise who cares. I am unclear of the pick up on the AR 11 when deciding to waive or not an interview, and I have no idea what the situation will be in a few years.

I think I understand what you mean. I think people can be in a good faith marriage when not living together. Basically the paperwork does not need to be done ASAP. The marriage was entered in good faith but does not become "not in good faith" the minute you separate but stay married. There are multiple reasons for people to not file the paperwork immediately, laziness, mental burden, potential asset/custody fight, unwillingness of one party, etc...Applying to something as "married" after a separation but still married would be "not in good faith". I think that is what you are implying I would be doing here. I don't know if you are right, it's all just semantic really. If we were to apply for mortgage today and say that we are married while we are in fact separated and living in different addresses I would agree that some kind of "fraud" is happening. But applying for a joint I-751 while separated but still married is the only thing I can do. Now would they still see it as "fraud" because when I filed the I-751 we were separated? Maybe. Seems harsh though. If that is the case then I guess the route would be to get divorced before applying (to avoid needing to amend). 

[Boiler 45,434]

Probably the most common scenario seen here for a couple to be separated is where one spouse is deployed.

 

The other ones I see are where they are studying in different parts of the Country, where one has to work away from home. In such cases you need to keep records of how they continue to communicate, spend time with each other etc etc.

 

Now the impression you have given is that none of this apply, admittedly you have been vague about the actual situation.

[mindthegap 2,589]

27 minutes ago, YellingSeal said:

Now would they still see it as "fraud" because when I filed the I-751 we were separated? Maybe. Seems harsh though. If that is the case then I guess the route would be to get divorced before applying (to avoid needing to amend). 

 

Except on the form, there is no 'separated' box, nor a 'living apart but thinking about it' box.

There is the joint filing box, or solo filing box because of divorce/annulment box, plus of course the deceased, extreme crueltly, and hardship options. Like I said, it's a binary choice at this point in time for the initial filing - you are legally married, and you are filing jointly because none of the other situations are applicable to you. 

So, what you are doing now is correct. It is a mess entirely of USCIS' own making.

 

If you were to tick the divorce waiver box, you would receive, shortly after filing, an RFE for your divorce paperwork.  If you couldn't provide that - and how would you be able to, when you are still married - you would receive a denial, which would neccesitate either a refile, or a long wait then a trip to immigration court (at which point, an I-751 would still  need to be filed and approved). 

 

What happens later - should you get an interview, or you get divorced in the several years before that may happen - is an entirely separate discussion for a later date, and yes, being divorced before approval and not notifying USCIS could potentially throw up issues. 

 

 

[powerpuff 6,670]

2 hours ago, YellingSeal said:

Only proof that exist is picture together, a joint lease, testimony of less than 10 people (if they want to do it), chat logs.

Whether or not you end up having a joint petition or a divorce waiver, USCIS will want to see evidence of bonafide marriage and the evidence you provided is not convincing, at least from USCIS perspective. Is that really all you have? What about joint bank accounts, joint credit cards, joint tax returns..? 

[Rocio0010 5,579]

1 hour ago, YellingSeal said:

There are multiple reasons for people to not file the paperwork immediately, laziness, mental burden, potential asset/custody fight, unwillingness of one party, etc...

Surprisingly none of your reasons not to file is "we are trying to work on the relationship"

[OldUser 6,589]

2 hours ago, YellingSeal said:

I think people can be in a good faith marriage when not living together. 

Let's get the terminology straight....

 

A bonafide marriage and a marriage entered in good faith might seem similar, but they have distinct meanings, especially in legal contexts:

 

Bonafide Marriage: This term is often used to describe a marriage that is genuine and not entered into for the purpose of deceiving others. In immigration law, for instance, a bonafide marriage is one where the primary intention of the marriage is to establish a life together as spouses, and not merely to gain immigration benefits.

 

Marriage Entered in Good Faith: This phrase is generally used to mean that at the time of entering into the marriage, both parties intended to establish a genuine marital relationship. It's a testament to the intentions of the parties at the time of the marriage. Even if the marriage later falls apart, as long as it was entered into with genuine intentions, it can still be considered as entered in good faith.In many legal contexts, particularly in immigration, the distinction is crucial. A marriage that is bonafide and entered in good faith is typically seen as legitimate, while one that is not could lead to legal complications, especially if one party is seeking benefits based on the marital relationship.

[OldUser 6,589]

@YellingSeal from the posts you published so far, it's not clear whether you're guys working on repairing the marriage. Staying married but living separately for the sole purpose of getting I-751 is a bad strategy, essentially boarderline of immigration fraud.

 

What would really help you case:

 

1. Decide whether you're working on marriage and moving back together OR divorcing.

2. If divorcing, and on good terms, it's way better if your spouse writes a detailed statement about your relationship, how it developed and then ended. The US citizen should say the marriage was entered in good faith and they don't object you receiving GC. Often, these statements are crafted by lawyer based on the story and facts, then signed by US citizen.

 

Bringing US citizen to interview when you guys don't even live together is a bad bad idea. You'll get separated and it would be easy to accuse both of you of commiting fraud. You see, even couples living together may find some questions difficult. If you don't live together and don't even know each other that well (only married for short time), your answers won't match.

 

[Boiler 45,434]

She does not object to conditions being removed.

[powerpuff 6,670]

*** Hijack post removed. Please start your own thread to ask your questions ***

[powerpuff 6,670]

Another hijack post and multiple replies removed. Please stop hijacking other people’s threads with questions of your own - it’s extremely inconsiderate and is considered spamming which will lead to admin action against your account if you keep doing that.

 

VJ Moderation 

Edited December 8, 2023 by powerpuff

[TeddyFazBear 69]

On 12/7/2023 at 11:47 AM, OldUser said:

Bringing US citizen to interview when you guys don't even live together is a bad bad idea. You'll get separated and it would be easy to accuse both of you of commiting fraud. You see, even couples living together may find some questions difficult. If you don't live together and don't even know each other that well (only married for short time), your answers won't match.

 

I agree. Unlikely any good will come from taking your spouse with you. Now I’m not an attorney but I would bet you if you jump on Hackings show he is going to say “decide if you are getting back together or get that divorce going! and file/convert to a solo case”

 

edit - Just saw your evidence list as well. You really need a lot of help on this case. I would bet you will get an RFE for insufficient evidence, and if you can’t provide anything my understanding is they will deny your case. A good attorney can help you get all kinds of evidence you may not have even thought of. It may not be cheap but you absolutely need a lot of help to get this approved 

Edited December 8, 2023 by TeddyFazBear