To Prove bona fide Marriage in my Case

[diadromous mermaid 36]

In general, the clause used in divroce may be "Irretrievable breakdown of the marriage" , which may not say lot of things. Does it effect I-751 decision making, if you are a pertitioner or the respondent in the divorce arragement ?

You are getting confused. I am not talking about the divorce decree. I sent that with the package. I am saying that I received an RFE, which asks me to write a statement surrounding the conditions under which I got divorced and what I did to save the marriage.

Thats different from what is on the decree. But we are now talking a little off-topic here as this might not apply to you. I was merely asking you to document the conditions surrounding your divorce, "if" you are asked to provide a statement as well.

Usually, before a decree is available, the petitioner and respondent in a divorce case submit some sort of "affidavit" or pleading to the court. Those would all indicate the grounds for divorce. Wild, wasn't your divorce handled through the court?

[wildestkabs 0]

Usually, before a decree is available, the petitioner and respondent in a divorce case submit some sort of "affidavit" or pleading to the court. Those would all indicate the grounds for divorce. Wild, wasn't your divorce handled through the court?

The affidavit was presented. The divorce was handled by an agency.

Once again, what I am talking about is a statement that you have to *write on your own*, which would be different from simply using the court affidavit. I guess you could use that as a substitute but I am not sure that is what CIS is looking for.

Edited August 23, 2007 by wildestkabs

[wildestkabs 0]

but I imagine, save for a claim of abuse or adultery, that USCIS does look upon a divorce that was initiated by an alien in quite a different way than they would if the petitioner had been the USC.

How so? In what way? Could you explain?

[diadromous mermaid 36]

but I imagine, save for a claim of abuse or adultery, that USCIS does look upon a divorce that was initiated by an alien in quite a different way than they would if the petitioner had been the USC.

How so? In what way? Could you explain?

Well, it involves a clause in the INA that was once the bases of law which has been subsequently revised. I think it was change by 1990 IMFA reform, and I suppose the revision might have been prompted by many states moving to "no fault" divorce grounds.

Years ago, if an alien wished to file a waiver of the joint filing of an I-751, he or she could as long as he or she could satisfy the requirement that legacy INS had at the time. That requirement was two-pronged. The alien had to prove "good faith" and "good cause". Good faith being very much the same as we see today ~ bona fide marriage that just didn't work out. Good cause being that the alien was the one that sought the divorce. This was a requirement and in order to be eligible to file the waiver, the alien had to be the petitioner in the divorce action. There was a phenomena that occurred as a result of this twin conjunctive requirement, referred to as the "race to the courthouse". You can imagine in a marriage "going down the tubes" the alien knew that if he or she was beaten to filing for a divorce, he or she automatically lost the right to continue the immigration process. This is no longer an issue since the 1990 reform removing the "good cause" element of the process.

While mere speculation on my part, while the body of law has changed as far as eligibility is concerned, that doesn't mean to say that perception, an element that is human, isn't still somewhat in play.

[wildestkabs 0]

Well, it involves a clause in the INA that was once the bases of law which has been subsequently revised. I think it was change by 1990 IMFA reform, and I suppose the revision might have been prompted by many states moving to "no fault" divorce grounds.

Years ago, if an alien wished to file a waiver of the joint filing of an I-751, he or she could as long as he or she could satisfy the requirement that legacy INS had at the time. That requirement was two-pronged. The alien had to prove "good faith" and "good cause". Good faith being very much the same as we see today ~ bona fide marriage that just didn't work out. Good cause being that the alien was the one that sought the divorce. This was a requirement and in order to be eligible to file the waiver, the alien had to be the petitioner in the divorce action. There was a phenomena that occurred as a result of this twin conjunctive requirement, referred to as the "race to the courthouse". You can imagine in a marriage "going down the tubes" the alien knew that if he or she was beaten to filing for a divorce, he or she automatically lost the right to continue the immigration process. This is no longer an issue since the 1990 reform removing the "good cause" element of the process.

While mere speculation on my part, while the body of law has changed as far as eligibility is concerned, that doesn't mean to say that perception, an element that is human, isn't still somewhat in play.

Diaddie, I guess I am still a little confused. In layman's terms, is the alien filing for divorce these days considered a good thing or a bad thing and if so, how?

[Killer_Clown_2009 0]

Is there any chance of simply seperating and not getting a divorce at this time? I can imagine that their would be certain reasons for divorcing, but I do know a number of people who are still married, but have not lived with their spouse or been part of their marriage for years.

[Killer_Clown_2009 0]

Well, it involves a clause in the INA that was once the bases of law which has been subsequently revised. I think it was change by 1990 IMFA reform, and I suppose the revision might have been prompted by many states moving to "no fault" divorce grounds.

Years ago, if an alien wished to file a waiver of the joint filing of an I-751, he or she could as long as he or she could satisfy the requirement that legacy INS had at the time. That requirement was two-pronged. The alien had to prove "good faith" and "good cause". Good faith being very much the same as we see today ~ bona fide marriage that just didn't work out. Good cause being that the alien was the one that sought the divorce. This was a requirement and in order to be eligible to file the waiver, the alien had to be the petitioner in the divorce action. There was a phenomena that occurred as a result of this twin conjunctive requirement, referred to as the "race to the courthouse". You can imagine in a marriage "going down the tubes" the alien knew that if he or she was beaten to filing for a divorce, he or she automatically lost the right to continue the immigration process. This is no longer an issue since the 1990 reform removing the "good cause" element of the process.

While mere speculation on my part, while the body of law has changed as far as eligibility is concerned, that doesn't mean to say that perception, an element that is human, isn't still somewhat in play.

Diaddie, I guess I am still a little confused. In layman's terms, is the alien filing for divorce these days considered a good thing or a bad thing and if so, how?

It depends on the day of the week and if it is raining out or sunny.

[diadromous mermaid 36]

Well, it involves a clause in the INA that was once the bases of law which has been subsequently revised. I think it was change by 1990 IMFA reform, and I suppose the revision might have been prompted by many states moving to "no fault" divorce grounds.

Years ago, if an alien wished to file a waiver of the joint filing of an I-751, he or she could as long as he or she could satisfy the requirement that legacy INS had at the time. That requirement was two-pronged. The alien had to prove "good faith" and "good cause". Good faith being very much the same as we see today ~ bona fide marriage that just didn't work out. Good cause being that the alien was the one that sought the divorce. This was a requirement and in order to be eligible to file the waiver, the alien had to be the petitioner in the divorce action. There was a phenomena that occurred as a result of this twin conjunctive requirement, referred to as the "race to the courthouse". You can imagine in a marriage "going down the tubes" the alien knew that if he or she was beaten to filing for a divorce, he or she automatically lost the right to continue the immigration process. This is no longer an issue since the 1990 reform removing the "good cause" element of the process.

While mere speculation on my part, while the body of law has changed as far as eligibility is concerned, that doesn't mean to say that perception, an element that is human, isn't still somewhat in play.

Diaddie, I guess I am still a little confused. In layman's terms, is the alien filing for divorce these days considered a good thing or a bad thing and if so, how?

In layman's terms, it used to be that the alien MUST be the petitioner in the divorce lawsuit. In other words, the alien would be the one to determine that the marriage could not continue. Of course in those days, the petitioner had to share with the court why it was just to terminate the marriage in order to have "grounds' that met the courts' requirements for ending the union. Nowadays, where no fault grounds have been adopted in many states, showing reasons why the marriage terminated is more difficult. I'm still inclined to think that the Service still views a breakup in terms of was it a "situation intolerable" for the alien.

Edited August 27, 2007 by diadromous mermaid

[wildestkabs 0]

I'm still inclined to think that the Service still views a breakup in terms of was it a "situation intolerable" for the alien.

Yeah, that could explain those RFEs, in which the Service asks the alien to explain the cause of, and conditions surrounding the divorce, even after attaching good pieces of evidence.