Divorce...now what happens? confused/sad

[resalien 3]

Hello,

I am glad I found this place. Here is my story

- got married in Canada 08

-moved to US in 09.....Aug 09

-got my 10 year GC in 2011

-Filed for divorce in june 2012....finalized dec 12

We have one child. It was a bonafide marriage. I have been out of the country approximately 7 months. all this time. I live in the US.

I wanted to know when I can apply to become a citizen?

I have was a stay at home dad, I was unemployed. What happens when I file for citizenship and no IRS tax fining because I do not have an income. I went to a cpa to file taxes after divorce . I was told I don't need to file because I have no income.

2. I do not have healthcare? I know my wife filled the support papers to bring me to the U.S.

Is she responsible for supporting me until I find a job? What are her responsibilities and how do I enforce it if any?

[resalien 3]

anyone??

[Brian1967## 119]

See section that is pinned. At top of the discussion forum. As far as support well it depends on the state, you can try so Sue under I864 but you will need two years and about $10,000 for a federal attorney, your marriage was short and depending on what state you live in you may not get anything. Otherwise,yes you might be able to keep your card, next get a job to pay for the attorney DO NOT GET A PRO BONO one. In the end you get what you pay for. Sorry about what your going through....OP have you gone to marriage counseling,if not try that before you file

[resalien 3]

Thanks Brian, wow...this is so unfair. why can't you go to immigration and make to force them to pay. If we had $10,000. there wouldn't be a need for insurance from usc. I guess that's how the system works..i will check the faq.....thanks again

[Caryh 5,206]

You should have been asking for spousal support during the divorce if you were the stay at home father. This is very common to get temporary support even in a short term marriage for stay at home parents. The affidavit of support is a contract between the government and the sponsor that you won't get means tested benefits, not between the sponsor and you. Some have managed to use it to get support in divorce court. Trying to get support in federal court over it is difficult and expensive, and not guarantee that you'll win.

You can file to be a citizen when you've been a legal resident for five years. The three year spousal option is gone now that you're divorced.

[Brian1967## 119]

OP....are you in divorce proceedings or is the divorce over with or have you filed?

[Caryh 5,206]

OP....are you in divorce proceedings or is the divorce over with or have you filed?

Per the op "-Filed for divorce in june 2012....finalized dec 12"

Wonder where he was through the six months the divorce was going on?

[resalien 3]

Per the op "-Filed for divorce in june 2012....finalized dec 12"

Wonder where he was through the six months the divorce was going on?[/quote

I was living with my ex. The divorce is finalized. I guess i am screwd. What is the purpose of 864 if u have to fight to get it. Moved when it was fine alized..the six months away I was referring to is since i have been living in the U.S, I have been I have spent 6 months outside (visiting family). I wanted to know of it will prolong when I need to apply for citizenship. Next Aug it will be 5yrs.

[Peter_Pan 661]

The affidavit of support does not exist to offer the immigrant alimony.

If your wife has the child as a primary custodian, then man up. get a job, put your life together and remember to pay child support.

[aaron2020 11,651]

Hello,

I am glad I found this place. Here is my story

- got married in Canada 08

-moved to US in 09.....Aug 09

-got my 10 year GC in 2011

-Filed for divorce in june 2012....finalized dec 12

We have one child. It was a bonafide marriage. I have been out of the country approximately 7 months. all this time. I live in the US.

I wanted to know when I can apply to become a citizen?

I have was a stay at home dad, I was unemployed. What happens when I file for citizenship and no IRS tax fining because I do not have an income. I went to a cpa to file taxes after divorce . I was told I don't need to file because I have no income.

2. I do not have healthcare? I know my wife filled the support papers to bring me to the U.S.

Is she responsible for supporting me until I find a job? What are her responsibilities and how do I enforce it if any?

Your ex-wife is not responsible for supporting you. You are responsible for supporting yourself.

The I-864 is her contract to reimburse the US government if you improperly receive certain means tested benefits - benefits that you do not qualify for in the first five years of your green card. It is not a promise or contract to support you.

If you want an income and healthcare, then you need to get a job that provides healthcare.

[Jawaree 717]

Dude you expect the ex wife to support U..I understand U took care of the kid

while she worked....so U both contributed to the matrimonial home then, but R U

disabled? Y do U expect the lady to support U? and get on-line trying to now milk

her...do U pay child support....come on bro the divorce is final see your kid, stay

bonded with your kid, and pay child support...just be grateful she gave U your papers

quit hating & do the right thing and get a job.

[HeatDeath 430]

Because you are no longer married to the US citizen through whom you obtained your PR status, you can apply for naturalization starting 90 days prior to 5 years after the "Resident Since" date on your GC, assuming you meet all other requirements for naturalization. I don't believe the time you have spent out of the country delays your eligibility for naturalization unless one of your trips was over 6 months long. Check with USCIS's Guide to Naturalization eligibility flowchart to be sure.

When you go to file for naturalization, you send tax transcripts for any year you filed. If you did not file in a particular year because you were not required to, simply note that in your cover letter as a line item in the list of documents you are including.

As others have pointed out above, any health insurance you had through your wife's employer is in all likelihood no longer to available to you. The affidavit of support she signed requires her to reimburse to the government any monies you may receive from government programs defined as "means tested public benefits", the vast majority of which you are probably not eligible for anyways, having been a PR for less than 5 years. It does not, as far as I know, require her to "support" you in any meaningful way, and even if it did you would likely have to sue her to get that support unless she freely volunteered it.

Many states have support programs for the unemployed that do not qualify as "means tested public benefits" for the purposes of the I-864. These may include some level of basic preventative health care, depending on the state. You may wish to look into those offered by your state. The last resort for emergency health care in the US is always the local hospital emergency room - they are forbidden by law from refusing at least basic stabilization to anyone, regardless of their insurance or lack thereof. Keep that in mind if it becomes necessary.

[Caryh 5,206]

Per the op "-Filed for divorce in june 2012....finalized dec 12"

Wonder where he was through the six months the divorce was going on?[/quote

I was living with my ex. The divorce is finalized. I guess i am screwd. What is the purpose of 864 if u have to fight to get it. Moved when it was fine alized..the six months away I was referring to is since i have been living in the U.S, I have been I have spent 6 months outside (visiting family). I wanted to know of it will prolong when I need to apply for citizenship. Next Aug it will be 5yrs.

You are not a party to the I-864 contract. Did you sign the contract? So yes, you have to fight very hard to attempt to use that to get money from your ex. Read the I-864 once, its about paying back the government and says nothing about paying you. Its an instrument to protect the taxpayer, not you. But some have managed to use it to get support. Usually during the divorce process.

Your time for asking for support was during the filing of the divorce and the court case. And still you would have had to fight for that if your ex did not agree to give you support. You were dissolving your marriage, this was the time all issues related to the marriage are supposed to be resolved. Not some later date when you decide, hey I need/want more money. I'm not sure if you both signed the divorce papers, or if you went to court, but either way, that is when you're supposed to bring up issues like, I'm not able to support myself and deserve some type of support payments. Failure to do that when it was most relevant, does kind of leave you screwed. Or maybe you did bring it up, but the judge didn't agree with you. A good lawyer might have helped, or might not have. The marriage was of short duration, and there is sometimes a bias against men in the spousal support area of divorce, even in states that have gender neutral laws. It could be she felt it was fair letting you stay in the home while the divorce was preceding, and you should have very actively been searching for work at that time. Yes it sucks to be in your position, but you let it happen and you need to pull yourself out of it.

[Autumnal 25]

The I-864 is primarily a promise between your ex-wife, as your sponsor, and the US government, that she will pay back any fees or payments made to you during that period if you go on welfare, social assistance, claim unemployment, and the like. The financial responsibility she had for you ended at the divorce. She is not responsible for supporting you after you are divorced; the I-864 isn't automatic alimony. You will need to file a separate petition with the court in your state to amend the terms of your divorce if you require financial assistance, provided it's even possible. In the state I divorced, alimony is waived if it is not included in the initial decree.

You can apply for a citizen based on being a PR for 5 years, but not the three year marriage option. Prolonged stays outside the US can affect you, and it's important to look at the eligibility flowchart published by USCIS to determine if you are able to apply by a given date.

RE: income taxes - if you made no income, I'd still file taxes stating $0 so that you have a record available with the IRS. While you may not need to have them, it's nice to prove that you made no income at the time due to unemployment, single parenthood, whatever the case. Otherwise follow HeatDeath's instructions.

Your best bet at this point may be to try and find a job to demonstrate you can support yourself going forward. Your ex-wife is not a viable income source, from your posts, and it'll cost more than it's likely worth to extract any funds out of her.

[Brian1967## 119]

Hello once again the I864 CLEARLY state the immigrant spouse can sue in any court to enforce the I864. However trying to get a state court to enforce a federal form is VERY difficult at it's best. If the immigrant spouse try to use the form in state court and loses his/her claim it may not be over the can resue the USC in federal court under the "Rooker Feldman Doctrine" the I864 is a form the forms a contract between the government and the sponser with the immigrant spouse as a third party beneficiary.

Case Law (blain v Harrell out of the Federal circuit court in Hawaii (this deals with pre nup on a I864 and using the I864 for spousal support))

Kamali v Kamali (7th circuit court of apples out of Texas the USC's lost in federal court folks and the USC had to support his wife at 125% of the poverty line for the time set forward in the contract)

http://www.fiancevisaslawyer.com/blog/?p=44

the latest case I have read of was out of the state of Florida (Winters V Winters) the case was rejected by the federal judge stating this was divorce law and belonged on the state level.

Remember you have to sue and win and it court well it is anyone's game

I have done plenty of research in this area and I will warn any USC's that almost every case in the federal system the immigrant won based on two things (Cheating on your spouse and Domestic Violence)