Wife is in Jail w/ misdemeanor

[mystery 0]

I thought if you divorced her she would not get perminant residency and have to go back anyways. That was my understanding not concrete.

You are right. Divorcing before her conditions are removed is basis for her to be deportable because her Conditional status would then be taken away.

But there are ways around that. One being the restraining order that she "tried" to get on me. She could say that she entered into the marriage in good faith and that she was supposedley a "battered wife" while we were married. And then I would still have to be responsible for her financially during that whole time, which is exactly what I don't want.

Edited November 20, 2007 by mystery

[rebeccajo 14]

Mystery -

I hope you understand what 'deportation' means.

It means somebody in authority has to actually come and look for her. Collect her, cuff her, transport her to holding and eventually put her on a plane.

There can be years between illegal presence and deportation.

It's been a while since I've read a member here so gleeful about their spouses actual stay behind bars. Your marriage must have been truly awful and/or your wife must have done something to truly scare you or physically hurt you.

Or your pride.

[diadromous mermaid 36]

You are right. Divorcing before her conditions are removed is basis for her to be deportable because her Conditional status would then be taken away.

But there are ways around that. One being the restraining order that she "tried" to get on me. She could say that she entered into the marriage in good faith and that she was supposedley a "battered wife" while we were married. And then I would still have to be responsible for her financially during that whole time, which is exactly what I don't want.

This is absolutely incorrect, Mystery. Please don't confound issues! An alien can successfully preserve permanent residency if he or she divorces prior to the "conditions" being removed from residency. All that is required to preserve residency is evidence that the alien entered the marriage with bonafide intent. There are no restrictions placed upon an alien to remain married until the conditions are removed.

[diadromous mermaid 36]

Granted, a person who inflicts physical and emotional harm on another is someone to be steered clear of, but that doesn't mean the person committed immigration fraud. Why would you have the right to subject her to deportation, if the "crime" she has committed doesn't necessarily mean that she would be suject to deportation?

Divorce her. Maintain a TPO, or any protection order against her by all means. Byeond that, let USCIS decide what her fate should be.

You're wrong. Domestic Violence is subject for deportation. Its a Misdemeanor Battery. Especially when its someone with a Conditional Permanent Residency.

But the Misdemeanor in itself its not proof of Immigration Fraud.

Deportable offenses are a complex area of the INA, however, if the offense is not classified as a felony, and if it does not involve moral turpitude, chances are the alien would not be found deportable.

[desert_fox 32]

She may never be convicted of anything. In cases of DV, the courts will offer you an opportunity to attend classes regarding DV in lieu of a conviction on your record. If she successfully completes, then the court will drop the charges.

This is in the jurisdictions where I have lived.

[dawnnhatem 0]

This is so sad. If she is dangerous and you really fear for your safety, then I guess behind bars is the only place for her....but between this and your other post I'm really seeing that you are more mad at her than scared of her...I don't know either one of you but she is alone in a strange country, now stuck in a strange jail and a system that she probably doesn't understand...I just can't imagine how scary that is and its soooo wrong if you are putting her through this and letting it continue just to win your argument or say f-u louder. I mean, you won. You got to document being the victim first. Ok, she'll have a hell of a time staying legal. She knows that if she tries to hold you to support you've prepared to fight that. By now she's been briefed on what happens to her if she touches you again. If you are really afraid of her hurting you, don't do anything, but if you are just making sure you"win", you gotta make this stop. Get her out. Divorce her if you are going to. Move on. Let her worry about her status. Maybe the 864 will come back at you, maybe it won't but you signed it. With your head on straight you said you loved her and you signed it. Might have been a mistake, but you knew what you were signing. You have to move on. I'm sure this isn't going to be a popular position to take, but I'm feeling bad for her (well, both of you, actually) Obvioulsly, you are both hurting, so start making the hurting stop. I hope you guys can find a way to stop hurting each other. Neither one of you really wins til you do.

[archie07 0]

Same here, If the case isn't dismissed I think anger management classes will be required. Then there is the issue of where she will live. Without friends or family she may want to return to columbia. This sure is a mess. Sad these things have to happen.

[simple_male 1]

Not necessarily. It is upto USCIS whether grant her the permanent green card or deport her.

I thought if you divorced her she would not get perminant residency and have to go back anyways. That was my understanding not concrete.

Thanx for the info guys. I went to USCIS.gov and made an apt for this Wed. Pretty quick!

Any other info you guys can give I would apreciate it. Thanx again

i can think of a few, mostly financial:

- do you have a joint checking account or joint credit cards? any credit cards in her name? if so, you need to get the cards cancelled and the account changed so you don't get a big surprise.

- what are the laws in your state regarding her living there? with this incident can you get a restraining order on her so she does not reside there and so you don't have to jump through hoops to get her evicted? if so, also consider changing the locks.

- does she drive? does she have a car? do you have insurance on the vehicle? if so, up the insurance just in case.

I already cancelled her Credit Cards (Debit Card). We do have a joint account which I will be going to the bank to getting her off it.

She automatically gets a restraining order for what happened. So she cannot contact me or get close to me whatsoever

And no, she does not drive nor have a car. All she has is a cousin that she barely knows here, and I have a feeling that she doesn't even want to get involved. So she literally would have no where to go. Thats why I I'm so adamant for her just going back to Colombia and stay with her family there.

Its a pretty complicated situation.

Thanx for responding

[HannahP 119]

She may never be convicted of anything. In cases of DV, the courts will offer you an opportunity to attend classes regarding DV in lieu of a conviction on your record. If she successfully completes, then the court will drop the charges.

This is in the jurisdictions where I have lived.

Diversion still shows up on your record; it's not a complete acquittal, or so it was explained to me by my DUI lawyer.

[Caladan 19]

I posted a while ago about problems I've had with my wife.

Here is a new problem ( and a good one):

My wife had been continuously violent since I married her. On Thurs I called the cops and they arrested her and are charging her with "Battery" which is a misdemeanor. I will be filing for divorce.

My question is what happens to her Conditional Residency Status which expires on June 2009??

To make this topic short. I want her a$ to be deported back to Colombia. And I have read that because of a misdemeanor a person in her status will have her Conditional Residency removed meaning she would have to leave the US.

Anybody have any knowledge about a situation like this?? I want to call USCIS and let them know but I can never get a live person on the phone.

Any suggestions will be apreciated.

Damn! What a mess. Sorry to hear about this happening so soon after your marriage. This is why I think the 90 days should actually be 1 year. That would be much more time to really get to know your future spouse, if you're one of those couples marrying so soon after meeting. Or have spent very little time together. This seems to be happening alot lately. Good luck to you. And hopefully, she will be getting what she deserves. Back to S. America for her!!

Or, you know, get to know the person before petitioning. If people have up to a year (much longer than any tourist visa) for a getting-to-know-you visa, you'll see a huge increase in fraud.

[Caladan 19]

Granted, a person who inflicts physical and emotional harm on another is someone to be steered clear of, but that doesn't mean the person committed immigration fraud. Why would you have the right to subject her to deportation, if the "crime" she has committed doesn't necessarily mean that she would be suject to deportation?

Divorce her. Maintain a TPO, or any protection order against her by all means. Byeond that, let USCIS decide what her fate should be.

You're wrong. Domestic Violence is subject for deportation. Its a Misdemeanor Battery. Especially when its someone with a Conditional Permanent Residency.

But the Misdemeanor in itself its not proof of Immigration Fraud.

Deportable offenses are a complex area of the INA, however, if the offense is not classified as a felony, and if it does not involve moral turpitude, chances are the alien would not be found deportable.

There is a case that says that misdemeanor battery can be grounds for deportation, but you're right that it's an exceedingly complex area of immigration law. Thing is, many jurisdictions have an automatic policy of charging anyone involved in a domestic dispute with domestic violence upon the phone call to the cops (I think the logic is to create a paper trail), so just the charge isn't proof of much of anything.

[mystery 0]

Mystery -

I hope you understand what 'deportation' means.

It means somebody in authority has to actually come and look for her. Collect her, cuff her, transport her to holding and eventually put her on a plane.

There can be years between illegal presence and deportation.

It's been a while since I've read a member here so gleeful about their spouses actual stay behind bars. Your marriage must have been truly awful and/or your wife must have done something to truly scare you or physically hurt you.

Or your pride.

I perfectly understand what "deportation" means.

Do you know what "bodily harm" means?? Do you know what it means to have someone abuse you physically?? What it means to have bite marks and bruises on your body because the woman your brought to the US, the one you spent thousands of dollars on to marry is causing this to you???

I am not gleeful about her being behind bars at all. I'm actually very very sad that things turned out like this. And the only reason she is behind bars is because of her actions and attitudes towards me. Not my fault. NO ONE HAS A RIGHT TO INFLICT BODILY HARM ON ANYBODY. Much less your spouse, whom you claim to love.

Pride here has nothing to do with it.....

[mystery 0]

This is absolutely incorrect, Mystery. Please don't confound issues! An alien can successfully preserve permanent residency if he or she divorces prior to the "conditions" being removed from residency. All that is required to preserve residency is evidence that the alien entered the marriage with bonafide intent. There are no restrictions placed upon an alien to remain married until the conditions are removed.

I would like to know where you got this information because I have understood it differently. I'm not saying your totally wrong here, because I know that there are ways to still stay in the US even after a divorce happens....But Marriage itself is the criteria to remove conditions. After divorce then the alien would have to go far out to explain the reason for the divorce, etc..etc....

[mystery 0]

She may never be convicted of anything. In cases of DV, the courts will offer you an opportunity to attend classes regarding DV in lieu of a conviction on your record. If she successfully completes, then the court will drop the charges.

This is in the jurisdictions where I have lived.

This is very true. But here in Florida they need permission from the victim to be able to get this help. Here it is called "Pretrial Diversion"(or maybe "PreTrial Intervention).

I have the option of telling the State Attorney that I would not like this to be offered and to proceed with the charges.

I know it sounds very cruel but her violence towards me was NOT a one or two time thing. It happened over a 9 month period. An average of 3 times a month or maybe even more. I NEVER even thought of having the law get involved and that is why I NEVER called the police. I tried to understand her and help her. And she got worse with time.

We seperated for about 30 days and in those 30 days she put a "Restraining Order" against me!!!! Lied all the way through to get back at me. Luckily it got thrown out.

We then got back together and tried to work things out and then "bam" she did it again and I had to call the police. Maybe this will help those that are judging me , to understand how I feel and why I'm doing what I'm doing.

Edited November 20, 2007 by mystery

[mystery 0]

This is so sad. If she is dangerous and you really fear for your safety, then I guess behind bars is the only place for her....but between this and your other post I'm really seeing that you are more mad at her than scared of her...I don't know either one of you but she is alone in a strange country, now stuck in a strange jail and a system that she probably doesn't understand...I just can't imagine how scary that is and its soooo wrong if you are putting her through this and letting it continue just to win your argument or say f-u louder. I mean, you won. You got to document being the victim first. Ok, she'll have a hell of a time staying legal. She knows that if she tries to hold you to support you've prepared to fight that. By now she's been briefed on what happens to her if she touches you again. If you are really afraid of her hurting you, don't do anything, but if you are just making sure you"win", you gotta make this stop. Get her out. Divorce her if you are going to. Move on. Let her worry about her status. Maybe the 864 will come back at you, maybe it won't but you signed it. With your head on straight you said you loved her and you signed it. Might have been a mistake, but you knew what you were signing. You have to move on. I'm sure this isn't going to be a popular position to take, but I'm feeling bad for her (well, both of you, actually) Obvioulsly, you are both hurting, so start making the hurting stop. I hope you guys can find a way to stop hurting each other. Neither one of you really wins til you do.

Thank you for your comment.

I am both mad and somewhat scared. But not scared for my life. More like scared of the legal consequences I will have with her. I'm being honest here.

Here is how I feel. I did EVERYTHING for my wife. Dated her for 2 years, visited her every 2 - 3 months, spent thousands on phone calls, brought her here, married her and have done absolutley everything for her. Paid for English classes, bought furniture. etc....etc....etc.....

Now our marriage is practically finished because of her violent behavior and now I'm going to have to MAINTAIN HER and PAY FOR EVERYTHING else she decides to do here in the US, just because I signed an Affidavit of Support!!!????

In other words not only did I bring her here with my money and effort, but I"m going to have to maintain her economically after marriage (that she ruined) while she lives here comfortably as if NOTHING happened all with my hard earned money???? I"m sorry but NO.

Put yourself in my shoes and lets see how any of you would feel.

Edited November 20, 2007 by mystery