krychy

Hi all! I've been trying to find answers for this for months, and I'd like to post here before consulting with an attorney.. I was married to a US citizen in 2018, divorced in 2020. I filed I-360 then and I finally have my 10 year green card/permanent residency! I've been wanting to go home since I haven't seen my family for so long.. I have one issue, though: my green card is under my married name, and my expired Philippine passport is under my maiden name. I never reported to the Philippine embassy that I got married. I have a couple of questions and concerns: If I go to the Philippine consulate (nearest one to me is LA), will I have any issues if I renew my passport? One of the requirements would be the green card, which uses my married name. I'd like to renew my passport still using my maiden name. Given that I'm able to renew my passport using my maiden name, when I go on a 2 week vacation in the Philippines and went back to the US with my passport using my maiden name and green card showing my married name (my married last name is hyphenated), will I be grant re-entry if I have a certified copy of the dissolution/divorce? I'm hoping to have some insights from people who have dealt with the same situation. Thank you all so much!

Congratulations!!

Mine took about 5 months if I'm remembering correctly!

Thank you! I was eligible for MediCal at the time based on my low income, so I signed up. It started with an intake and then I was recommended to a therapist in network. I was then recommended by my therapist to a psychiatrist after 3 sessions.

Hello all, I'm happy to report that my case has been approved yesterday, no interview. My timeline is below: 02/2018 - Ex husband proposed. 03/2018 - Moved in with my now ex-husband I've been with for 5 years (South Dakota). 11/2018 - Marriage. 12/2018 - I-130 & I-485 Application, notice received on same month. 09/2019 - Moved out due to abuse. Was bouncing around different places but settled for Los Angeles since I know people there and would be easier for me. Found a job that paid me $12.00/hour. Was able to get psychiatry and psychotherapy help from the local government. 10/2019 - Got notice that interview was scheduled in Nebraska. Found out through husband (now ex) who was threatening to go to the interview and ask them to deport me. 11/2019 - I decided that I needed to be brave so I went to interview alone, even if my husband appears or not. Husband did not appear, the officer who spoke to me was nice. He asked me what happened and I started to break down and actually advised me to file for I-360. I have never heard if I-360 before, so he explained it to me. He told me to submit it before 02/2020 and gave me an RFE requesting I-360. I immediately started schooling myself on what I-360 is and gathering everything I need to file it. That's also about the time I joined this VAWA thread, which I learned a lot from. 02/2020 - I missed the submission timeline as my vital records, police clearances, etc. from the Philippines did not arrive on time. 04/2020 - I received a letter about removal proceedings since I did not submit I-360 on time. I wrote back to my officer telling him that I'm at the mercy of the issuing departments back in the Philippines and I had no control. By this time I already had all the requirements I needed to file VAWA so I did, and I attached receipt notice. 05/2020 - Since I got really stressed out about the removal proceedings, I told myself that I would need an attorney to represent me if it were to happen again. I reached out to a couple, but every single one was quoting me for money I did not even have nor ever had in my life. I started to become really scared because I was barely surviving with $12.00/hour job that I would skip meals just to pay my share of rent. 07/2020 - I found out about Asian Americans Advancing Justice. I inquired but they did not have a capacity to take my case. They told me to continue researching VAWA attorneys. This whole month I had consultation appointments with different attorneys every other day. Some were giving me lower rates since it's VAWA, some does not. 08/2020 - Then an angel came to my life. I went to a consultation with an attorney. She specializes in family based petitions, but was a domestic violence attorney prior to that. I told her my story and the whole thing became very emotional. She offered to take my case pro-bono. A week later after her paralegal reviewed all the documents I sent to USICS (good thing I have a copt of everything), they submitted G-28 (notice of entry appearance as attorney). 09/2020 - Prima facie received. It was crickets for 2 years. My attorneys told me to be patient, and they showed me support. They told me to keep my mind off of it and focus on the other aspects of my life. So I did. I focused on healing myself from everything that just happened. From the abuse, the immigration stress. Those 2 years felt like a never ending marathon. I'm surprised that I even survived it and never gave up. I continued with my medication and of course psychotherapy. I gained back my confidence, and started to see my self worth. It was still financially hard at first but I excelled in my career as I gave most of my time and effort on that. It was my outlet. From a $12.00/hr retail job, I moved on to $20.00/hr junior designer job, then to $30.00/hr intermediate designer job, to now $50.00/hr senior designer job. I was able to move to a nicer place in a nicer area, I was able to purchase my own car. The independence felt great. I never knew that this was how my life would turn out to be. In between all of those, I found new friends, and I was just being unapologetically me. Life was worth living again. 04/2022 - I-360 Approved! 11/2022 - RFE for I-693. 12/2022 - Submitted RFE. 01/19/23 - New card being produced. 01/20/23 - I-485 CASE WAS APPROVED! I know that this was way too much detail but I'm hoping that it would give hope to everyone who's waiting for approval. That was 5 years of my life not knowing how everything will turn out. I'm glad I did not give up.