filipina in U.S. on H-2B - married U.S. Citizen on 3/8/23 H-2B expires 3/31/23 ....

[defeedme 4]

Hi all, any help here would be appreciated. My wife's friend is going through this ugly situation..

 

She came here on H-2B ,(educated long term worker for toyota in philippines), fell in love with American , court marriage in Florida 3/8/23 just before the H-2B expired.

Approved i485 & i130 in Jan, got green card 1/3/24 expires 2026 

EAD combo card issued, good until 2028

Has valid Philippines & Florida Drivers licenses.

 

this is where it gets sketchy - they needed joint sponsor from San Francisco (filipina good friend). American is broke , ineligible to sponsor.

American bounced first i765 / i485 check, had to redo everything after case rejection. 2nd time around she used money-order and finally went thru..

They just had big fight, she moved out. He will probably file for divorce, but hasn't yet.. 

 

She is 44, has family in the U.S. - She is working for Mitsubishi now in Florida and they offered to sponsor if things don't work out.. Also her good friend in San Francisco is willing to sponsor..

 

Any feedback on what she should do is greatly appreciated.

 

[Lil bear 4,189]

1 minute ago, defeedme said:

Hi all, any help here would be appreciated. My wife's friend is going through this ugly situation..

 

She came here on H-2B ,(educated long term worker for toyota in philippines), fell in love with American , court marriage in Florida 3/8/23 just before the H-2B expired.

Approved i485 & i130 in Jan, got green card 1/3/24 expires 2026 

EAD combo card issued, good until 2028

Has valid Philippines & Florida Drivers licenses.

 

this is where it gets sketchy - they needed joint sponsor from San Francisco (filipina good friend). American is broke , ineligible to sponsor.

American bounced first i765 / i485 check, had to redo everything after case rejection. 2nd time around she used money-order and finally went thru..

They just had big fight, she moved out. He will probably file for divorce, but hasn't yet.. 

 

She is 44, has family in the U.S. - She is working for Mitsubishi now in Florida and they offered to sponsor if things don't work out.. Also her good friend in San Francisco is willing to sponsor..

 

Any feedback on what she should do is greatly appreciated.

 

Have the friend join here. Best to get info from the  person actually doing it and to be able to ask questions directly .  If she has the GC already then she is no longer adjusting status. The in hand GC means the EAD combo is now cancelled. She will need to apply for Removal of conditions in the 90 days prior to the expiry date on her GC   Encourage her to join us here 

[defeedme 4]

41 minutes ago, Lil bear said:

Have the friend join here. Best to get info from the  person actually doing it and to be able to ask questions directly .  If she has the GC already then she is no longer adjusting status. The in hand GC means the EAD combo is now cancelled. She will need to apply for Removal of conditions in the 90 days prior to the expiry date on her GC   Encourage her to join us here 

thanks for the info - yes she has the in hand GC so I guess that means she can work without the EAD? 

So I guess the answer is there's really not much she can do until either the American files for divorce or apply for removal 90 days before in 2026 ?  she just saw this and is going to try and sign up here..

[Lil bear 4,189]

8 minutes ago, defeedme said:

thanks for the info - yes she has the in hand GC so I guess that means she can work without the EAD? 

So I guess the answer is there's really not much she can do until either the American files for divorce or apply for removal 90 days before in 2026 ?  she just saw this and is going to try and sign up here..

Correct. 

[davidvs 337]

Does she want to stay with the guy? She can file for divorce, no need to wait around for him to do it.

[defeedme 4]

the fight just happened 2 days ago and she's living with us now, I let her know your comment.. she was worried how it's going to affect her status.. I guess time will tell.   https://www.peoples-law.org/how-will-divorce-or-separation-affect-my-immigration-status

Edited January 24 by defeedme

[OldUser 6,633]

9 minutes ago, defeedme said:

the fight just happened 2 days ago and she's living with us now, I let her know your comment.. she was worried how it's going to affect her status.. I guess time will tell.   https://www.peoples-law.org/how-will-divorce-or-separation-affect-my-immigration-status

She's an LPR now. At the time of naturalization she may get scrutinized a lot to see if the marriage was solely for getting a GC. Don't get me wrong, stuff happens. But when somebody moves out 20 days after receiving GC, that's a super big red flag. At the same time, it would be worse staying in a toxic relationship. She should probably divorce.

 

I don't understand the question about sponsorship. It's irrelevant now that she has GC. However, the original sponsor is still responsible for her until she naturalizes or works for 40 quarters paying social security.

Edited January 24 by OldUser

[Crazy Cat 41,836]

**Moved to Effects of Major Family Changes on Immigration Benefits***

[defeedme 4]

49 minutes ago, OldUser said:

She's an LPR now. At the time of naturalization she may get scrutinized a lot to see if the marriage was solely for getting a GC. Don't get me wrong, stuff happens. But when somebody moves out 20 days after receiving GC, that's a super big red flag. At the same time, it would be worse staying in a toxic relationship. She should probably divorce.

 

I don't understand the question about sponsorship. It's irrelevant now that she has GC. However, the original sponsor is still responsible for her until she naturalizes or works for 40 quarters paying social security.

 

why is it irrelevant? without the co/joint-sponsor she would have been rejected handily - the American she married is completely broke, no assets, no job, nothing. 

Edited January 24 by defeedme

[Crazy Cat 41,836]

8 minutes ago, defeedme said:

why is it irrelevant?

It is irrelevant to US immigration.  There is no requirement for a spouse to demonstrate wealth when applying for citizenship, nor is there a requirement to verify financial support..  As @OldUser said, the original I-864s are still in effect. 

Edited January 24 by Crazy Cat

[defeedme 4]

6 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

It is irrelevant to US immigration.  There is no requirement for a spouse to demonstrate wealth when applying for citizenship, nor is there a requirement to verify financial support..  

huh? well the u.s. government was very interested in my financial status when I did it for my wife.. In fact if I didn't meet basic income requirements we wouldn't even be chatting right now..  interesting - maybe (probably) because they got Married in the U.S.A. and she was already legally here, the financial thing doesn't come into play the same way with a K1..  although they did require the co/joint sponsor to show the income.. very confusing. But hey that's the U.S. immigration system lol

Edited January 24 by defeedme

[Crazy Cat 41,836]

5 minutes ago, defeedme said:

huh? well the u.s. government was very interested in my financial status when I did it for my wife.. In fact if I didn't meet basic income requirements we wouldn't even be chatting right now..  interesting - maybe (probably) because they got Married in the U.S.A. and she was here already, the financial thing doesn't come into play the same way with a K1..  although they did require the co/joint sponsor to show the income.. very confusing. But hey that's the U.S. immigration system lol

It comes into play.  But, She already has a Green card......Financial support has already been established.  It will not have to be re-established when she applies for citizenship.

Edited January 24 by Crazy Cat

[Crazy Cat 41,836]

4 minutes ago, defeedme said:

well the u.s. government was very interested in my financial status when I did it for my wife.

There are spouses who have ZERO income, yet they can still sponsor an immigrant if they can find a qualified joint sponsor. It happens EVERY day.