Citizenship after Divorce?

[David R 2]

Good afternoon,

I came to the US on a K1 fiance visa in 2013. Since then I got married to my USC wife and recently removed the conditions on my immigration status and received my unconditional permanent green card. This happened in early November.

Unfortunately my wife and I have decided to get a divorce, nothing signed yet but we have made the decision to separate.

My question is will this change of circumstance have any impact at all on my immigration status? As I mentioned I have already received my permanent resident status and have my permanent green card so I think I should be ok but I wanted to see if this would likely effect me in any way at all?

I understand I will need to wait 5 years instead of 3 years to apply for citizenship but other than that is there anything else I should know or be aware of or am I ok as I have already received my card/status?

Thank you in advance for your help.

David

[Starkilla09 366]

No there's nothing else to worry about, as you're not seeking to remove coditions. Just as you know you'll have to naturalize now under the 5 year rule. The only other thing is your prior marriage might be pryed upon during your naturalization interview with a few questions by some officers. It's not a deal breaker though, just to cross the t's and dot the i's to make sure it was entered in good faith initially. Most however don't go there anyway as 5 year rule isn't marriage dependent.

[David R 2]

Thanks so much for the response. So when it comes to the citizenship process I will have another interview? (man, I thought they were all done) and in that interview they may ask about the marriage etc...

Is there some type of information and documentation I should be gathering at this point for that interview to prove the marriage was entered into under good faith? We have photos, joint accounts/leases etc.. for when we were together but obviously will no longer have that kind of info now that we are separated so I am not sure what I could get?

Thanks again for the help.

David

[aleful 1,905]

hi

everyone applying with the N400 has an interview, that's where the test comes into play

they might or might not ask you questions about your marriage, you will need to study 100 questions dealing with American civics and history, and read the replies on the N400 as you will go over It with the officer

and also you will need to write the answer to the question that the officer gives you, which will be easy for you coming from an English speaking country

Edited January 17, 2016 by aleful

[David R 2]

ok thanks, is there any documentation or anything I should be gathered now in case they ask questions about the marriage?

That will be hard considering we are separated.

Thanks again.

David

[aleful 1,905]

hi

not really, since your application is not based on your marriage, but by being a GC holder for 5 or more years

take your taxes, copy of your divorce decree just in case the officer requests it, and if asked answer truthfully about your marriage and divorce

[David R 2]

ok, thanks, I am not sure what I could try to collect if I had to anyway.

[David R 2]

Does anyone know if I will I need to let USCIS know that we have gotten a divorce when it happens and let them know of my change of address or is that not needed considering I already have my green card and do not have a pending application with them?

Thanks in advance.

[Starkilla09 366]

Does anyone know if I will I need to let USCIS know that we have gotten a divorce when it happens and let them know of my change of address or is that not needed considering I already have my green card and do not have a pending application with them?

Thanks in advance.

You don't have to let USCIS know when you have your divorce as your immigration status isn't tied to it anymore. They'll have the information when you apply for naturalization when you're eligible to do so until then. As for your change of address, you can change it online.

[David R 2]

Ok so should I tell them about my address now or leave it until I have an application pending? I don't have anything with them now so I'm not sure why they would need to know?

[Okalian 41]

David,

like others mentioned, nothing to worry about (you can review my posts regarding my case). Since you are not a US citizen, you are required to report change of address within 10 days of moving (refer to this link), even if you have no pending cases.. It's an online application so it should be a breeze.

[David R 2]

ok, I changed my address online with USCIS but I am unsure if I am obligated to inform USCIS that we are getting a divorce.

Is the divorce something I should be informing them? Or will they somehow know already? or is it kind of for lack of a better phrase "none of their business" as I already have my unconditional status?

I just want to make sure I am doing everything "by the book" and if I am required to tell them about the divorce I want to be proactive and do that instead of them finding out through the county office or something and me getting into trouble for it.

Thanks so much everyone for all your help.

David

[Starkilla09 366]

ok, I changed my address online with USCIS but I am unsure if I am obligated to inform USCIS that we are getting a divorce.

Is the divorce something I should be informing them? Or will they somehow know already? or is it kind of for lack of a better phrase "none of their business" as I already have my unconditional status?

I just want to make sure I am doing everything "by the book" and if I am required to tell them about the divorce I want to be proactive and do that instead of them finding out through the county office or something and me getting into trouble for it.

Thanks so much everyone for all your help.

David

David,

USCIS is not marriage police and NOT required to know whether you're married currently or not and there's nothing in the books that say you should as I mentioned earlier. UNLESS your immigration status is tied to it or you're seeking an immigration benefit from them which in this case you're not. During N400 filing you WILL notify them by then since you're seeking an immigration benefit and they have the right to know, as part of your biographic information for the benefit you'll be seeking by then. Stop worrying about this, and you won't be in any form of trouble by not telling them now.

Edited January 28, 2016 by Starkilla09

[David R 2]

ok, got it, thanks very much for your help. My mind is now at ease.

[David R 2]

Hi Everyone,

I am not sure if you guys will be able to help me but I actually have a tax question regarding separation after marriage.

As you know my wife and I filed for divorce in Feb this year, we actually separated on Dec 30th of 2015. That is the "separation date" on the papers we filed with the courts.

I went to do my 2015 taxes yesterday with HR block and explained the situation to the tax professional. She said I needed to file as single as we separated within the 2015 year.

So I filed as single for 2015 even though we literally only spent one day separated for the entire year.

I am interested to see if anyone has any experience or knowledge on this topic that may be able to provide an insight for me.

To me it seems strange that I would file as single for the whole tax year while we were only apart for one day of it.

Also, I am nervous that USCIS may see that we filed as single for the whole 2015 tax year and it may raise concerns as we only removed conditions of my GC in OCT of 2015.

Anyone know if this will be an issue at all.

Thanks again for all your time.

David