Divorce before filing I-751, so confused, need your help!!

K

kikiwi

Registered Users (C)
hi I am new to this web and I want to say I am so happy to finally find such a good place to discuss the immigration issues, I appreicte everyone's effort here.

I held H1 before I married my husband and he is an US citizen, we live in chicago,at Aug 2005 I got the conditional GC issued to me and it will expire at Aug 2007. Unfortunately after about 2 years marrige life, we found we propably entered into wrong marrige, we found eath other are getting so different than what we initially know,and we kind of thinking divorce now. we both have decent jobs and entered into marrige based on good faith(even though I know I have to prove this to INS).

So right now my concern is how big the chance I will have to get condition removed if I file 751 ONLY by MYSELF after divorce. I tried to talk to a few lawyers in Chicago, but they gave me various or even opposite answers which really confused me.
the first question: if I get divorced, can I file 751 right after divorce or I still have to wait until 90 days before Aug2007???? one lawyer said I can file right after divorce , another lawyer said I still will be suject two years rule????????

the second question:if i get divorce, is my husband still suppoed to sign on 751? I think he will sign if I prefer him to sign if it is going to help INS make decision.(becuase he knows I didn't try to get GC by marrige). one lawyer told me as long as we divorce, my Husband is not supposed to sign 751 at all, another lawyer said even after we divorce, it is going to positively affect INS to make decision if my H is willing to sigh on 751, who is right?????

the thrid question: when I talk my situation to lawyers, some of them said this is common and not complecated case, they can help me, but one of lawyer said if I divoce before file 751, I for sure will be denied for condition remove unless I was abused or battered by my husband ( my husband didn't abuse me or batter me).basically she is saying I have no chance to successfully apply remoce condition after divorce unless there is only one exception which is I was abused by my husband. is she correct?????? does anyone hear the similar case and finally lady gets successul to remove condition onlyby hersefl??????? does INS normally will deny this case?????

I am totally confued about what I heard and feel so sad and frustrated about this :confused: , by the way , if you kow any good lawyer for this issue in chicago, please recommend to me.

Thanks , I again appreciate everyone's help and answer.
 
This is just my opinion, and I cannot back my answer 100%. I think if you are getting a divorce and if you would be divorced by the time you are elgible to remove the conditions, then I think the chances of having the conditions removed are very less in other words your case would likely be denied. As the last attorney told you, unless you are abused by your husband both emotionally and physically you do not have a strong case. So if you think that you had a genuine marriage and your husband cares for you then you should stick together atleast untill the conditional status is removed.

You can wait and see what others suggest because, some of them in this forum are absolutely very helpful and they are very knowledgeable about all this.

Good luck
 
thanks very much to your reply (goodguysrcv)

thanks for your comment, i know ideally I 'd better keep marrige going till the day I get condition removed, but now we all kind of want to walk out from this marrige, it is pain to keep this marrige for another 2 or more than 2 years.

but still appreciate your reply.
 
I think you'd better take the time and do some research here and elsewhere on this matter.
I've heard people here talking about how divorce doesn't effect the process once you can prove that the marriage was bonafide.
But as you've already posted, even lawyers have opposing opinions, so who am I to tell whether you're gonna be fine or not.
 
kikiwi said:
hi I am new to this web and I want to say I am so happy to finally find such a good place to discuss the immigration issues, I appreicte everyone's effort here.

I held H1 before I married my husband and he is an US citizen, we live in chicago,at Aug 2005 I got the conditional GC issued to me and it will expire at Aug 2007. Unfortunately after about 2 years marrige life, we found we propably entered into wrong marrige, we found eath other are getting so different than what we initially know,and we kind of thinking divorce now. we both have decent jobs and entered into marrige based on good faith(even though I know I have to prove this to INS).

So right now my concern is how big the chance I will have to get condition removed if I file 751 ONLY by MYSELF after divorce. I tried to talk to a few lawyers in Chicago, but they gave me various or even opposite answers which really confused me.
the first question: if I get divorced, can I file 751 right after divorce or I still have to wait until 90 days before Aug2007???? one lawyer said I can file right after divorce , another lawyer said I still will be suject two years rule????????

the second question:if i get divorce, is my husband still suppoed to sign on 751? I think he will sign if I prefer him to sign if it is going to help INS make decision.(becuase he knows I didn't try to get GC by marrige). one lawyer told me as long as we divorce, my Husband is not supposed to sign 751 at all, another lawyer said even after we divorce, it is going to positively affect INS to make decision if my H is willing to sigh on 751, who is right?????

the thrid question: when I talk my situation to lawyers, some of them said this is common and not complecated case, they can help me, but one of lawyer said if I divoce before file 751, I for sure will be denied for condition remove unless I was abused or battered by my husband ( my husband didn't abuse me or batter me).basically she is saying I have no chance to successfully apply remoce condition after divorce unless there is only one exception which is I was abused by my husband. is she correct?????? does anyone hear the similar case and finally lady gets successul to remove condition onlyby hersefl??????? does INS normally will deny this case?????

I am totally confued about what I heard and feel so sad and frustrated about this :confused: , by the way , if you kow any good lawyer for this issue in chicago, please recommend to me.

Thanks , I again appreciate everyone's help and answer.
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Hopefully, it is the same lawyer that is giving all the bad advice, because you need to ditch one.
First, if you are divorced prior to filing the I-751 you will have to file a waiver of the joint filing requirement. Your husband cannot sign that waiver, because the USCIS Adjudicating Officers are statutorily unable to adjudicate a jointly filed I-751 if the parties are already divorced.
Secondly, as soon as you have a divorce decree (divorce is final) you can file the waiver form I-751. You will need to provide a copy of the divorce decree with your petition.

And if you have sufficient evidence to prove the marriage is bona fide, and send it along with the petition, using the reason that you are filing a waiver due to a bone fide marriage that terminated in divorce. Waivers with properly documented evidence of a genuine marriage are often approved without even a follow up interview.

The suggestion that one has to prove that the alien was subjected to abuse or a battered spouse by one member above only comes into play if the parties divorce before adjustment of status.
 
Very much thanks, a little bit more question

bionomique said:
Hopefully, it is the same lawyer that is giving all the bad advice, because you need to ditch one.
First, if you are divorced prior to filing the I-751 you will have to file a waiver of the joint filing requirement. Your husband cannot sign that waiver, because the USCIS Adjudicating Officers are statutorily unable to adjudicate a jointly filed I-751 if the parties are already divorced.
Secondly, as soon as you have a divorce decree (divorce is final) you can file the waiver form I-751. You will need to provide a copy of the divorce decree with your petition.

And if you have sufficient evidence to prove the marriage is bona fide, and send it along with the petition, using the reason that you are filing a waiver due to a bone fide marriage that terminated in divorce. Waivers with properly documented evidence of a genuine marriage are often approved without even a follow up interview.

The suggestion that one has to prove that the alien was subjected to abuse or a battered spouse by one member above only comes into play if the parties divorce before adjustment of status.
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thanks for your(bionomique) replies, I very much appreciate.you know when I get bad infomation from that lawyer, it actually scares me a lot, all the bad info is from one lawyer, but she sounds so certain about it.

ok, i think I understand most part of your reply, one thing I am not sure is after divorce, are the filing 751(petition as you called?) and applying waiver of joing filing same step things?? I believe they are(but not sure yet), there is no separate form for me to apply waiver of joint filing, right? all the things can be done by 751 form, right? becuase if you look at the page of 751, it seems once you choose "d" , it means you apply to remove condition and in the mean time apply to waiver joint filing, am I correct?????? if they are two step things, then what is process time here? does it mean after I apply for waiver of joint filing, then I have towait until they approve the waiver, then after that I submit 751 to remove condition??????

another thing I really want to hear your opinion is what docs you think I need to prepare to prove our marrige is ture ( I know there is some of discription of this on 751 already).we don't have kids, what I have is house title, (mortgage is on his name),joint account (saving and checking)statement (all our both pay checks go into there),some joint bills, joint car title .... what else you think will be more helpful? (very much thanks for your comment)

the last thing (sorry about my wordyness :p ) is :is there possibility that afer I give INS all these docs, they still think evidence is not enough, then they SEPERATELY invite my husband (after divorce) for interview and try to ask him something. is this possilbe ? I don't really think my husband will say someting bad, but still kind of worry about this, or they will ask both of us for interview again????????????

finally, thanks again for your very valuable suggestion and advice , have a nice day, any suggestion from others is certainlywelcomed too.
 
kikiwi said:
are the filing 751(petition as you called?) and applying waiver of joing filing same step things??
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Yes.

becuase if you look at the page of 751, it seems once you choose "d" , it means you apply to remove condition and in the mean time apply to waiver joint filing, am I correct??????
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Not quite. Form I-751 is the waiver and, yes, you tick "d" and then complete the form as a "self petitioner".

does it mean after I apply for waiver of joint filing, then I have towait until they approve the waiver, then after that I submit 751 to remove condition??????
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No. Form I-751 is it.

what docs you think I need to prepare to prove our marrige is ture
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Auto insurance showing you as living in the marital home and second driver
Mortgage or lease with your name on it
Titles to autos with both names on them
Joint bank accounts
Joint credit card bills
Tax returns filed as married
Joint IRAs, 401Ks or annuities
Bills to the home address with alien's name on them
Driver's license with home (marital address) on it
Life insurance policies with each named beneficiary
Travel itinerary showing you both went together after marriage
Invitations to both of you after marriage for family events
Affidavits from friends to attest to the legitimacy of marriage...

the last thing (sorry about my wordyness :p ) is :is there possibility that afer I give INS all these docs, they still think evidence is not enough, then they SEPERATELY invite my husband (after divorce) for interview and try to ask him something. is this possilbe ?
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No. If you file a waiver form I-751, your ex-husband is not a co-petitioner and therefore he would have nothing to do with the file. The rare occasions when USCIS interview the US citizen spouse is usually if there is a fraud concern, or if the alien submitted a joint petition but is now divorced.
 
Kikiwi - I am in the exact same situation as you are and believe me I am getting the same opinions. Everything that Bionomique stated is legit, because I got exactly the same information from a highly credited immigration attorney. I am basically going thru divorce now and but still a slight possibility of saving it. I am just preparing all the docs as per my attorney and she said that she has had clients in similar situations and they had no problems. When does you conditional GC expire? I have until the end of the year to file my 751, but until then I will just have to work on getting all the docs together and thats all I can do. Lets just keep each other posted on the process. There are several topics on this matter in this forum and it seems as though everyone who had legitimate documenation and prepared correctly had no problems and did not even had to go to interview.
 
When exactly did you get married? Because you said that 'after 2 years of marriege it didn't work out' but why would you have to wait till 2007? When did you file all your immigration papers?
 
It will be difficult for you to get your perm GC card if you have filed for divorce before the 3 month period.

It would be best if you guys are still married else you cannot qualify for AOS unde sec 245i of the CFR. Thus the only remedy in a divorce case is to move the status to VAWA execption ( violance against Women ACT or something ), however this will be very difficult as your husband never abused you.

If you guys havent filed for divorce, then the best thing to do is to file for seperation but keep the joint acc and bills till your card is approved. In new york if you file for seperation you are legally still married and after one year you get an automatic divorce. But is different depending in which state you are in I guess IL so check with a lawyer.

Plz check with a lawyer and this is not a legal advise as I havent passed the NY BAR.

Best of Luck.
 
thanks for bps01, payala and JJBBKK

hi thanks for all of your guy's reply , I answer you by each as below:

to bps01: thanks very much for your suggestion, I actually thought about separation b4, but not sure how Illlinoise law works for this, let's assume if IL's law same as New York's as you mentioned, there is still problem forme, right? my conditional GC expire at AUG2007, if I start sepration from Jul 2007, and at the same time Jul 2007 submit JOINT 751, then as you said one year later at JUL 2008 I will be considred as Divorce, but very likely at JUL 2008 INS still don't make decision yet ( I know in chicago it is common for them to take more than one year to remove condition), so in this case I submit 751 jointly, but divoce b4 INS make decision, do you think this is going to make the whole thing more complicated??????????????? again, any of your advice is welcomed

to Payala: I excatly got married at MAy 2004, right after that I started all paperwork for GC , EAD.... I got my condictional GC at AUG 2005,this card will expire at AUG2007, hopefully this is clear.

To JJBBKK: thanks so much for your information, I hope I could find a good lawyer as the one you found too,:) but I agree with you, I believe the words from BIonomique is professional, can I know which city are you in? I am in chicago, I just want to touch basese with you if you'd like to, can I have your email adress? mine is :luckynose2006@yahoo.com

Again, thanks very much for all your replys.
 
Speaking hypothecitallyFor INS perpose, if you are seperated April 1 2006, and not divorced. Then to remove Cond GC you need to send all your paper work by May 1 2007. So that will not work. This cases can get very complicated if INS check you guys up and finds a seperation. I know of a case that came in our law firm where the husband and wife had a contract that the hubby will do XYZ and give XX amount or something and if they divorce no claims and they had submitted that to INS (why dont ask) INS is not approving their app and giving him a hard time. The INS has sent this guy a RFE that prove you did not marry for GC .

If possible you guys stay seperate and live seperate just file for divorce or seperation after May 2007. Else a problem may arise.

Best of Luck.
 
bps01 said:
Speaking hypothecitallyFor INS perpose, if you are seperated April 1 2006, and not divorced. Then to remove Cond GC you need to send all your paper work by May 1 2007. So that will not work. This cases can get very complicated if INS check you guys up and finds a seperation. I know of a case that came in our law firm where the husband and wife had a contract that the hubby will do XYZ and give XX amount or something and if they divorce no claims and they had submitted that to INS (why dont ask) INS is not approving their app and giving him a hard time. The INS has sent this guy a RFE that prove you did not marry for GC .

If possible you guys stay seperate and live seperate just file for divorce or seperation after May 2007. Else a problem may arise.

Best of Luck.
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bps01 - so im guessing that you have seen numerous cases at your law firm where people face problems if divorced before the GC expiration??? We are trying to work this out now but Im just preparing for worst case scenario, if we do decide to get divorce by end of this year and the expiration on my GC is 07/07. My attorney states that she has/had clients in this situation and they had no problems, didnt even got called for interview, i think im just thinking too much.
 
Hmmm.... I was just reading all the postings on this thread. Any one have any out come that they want to share? Because I don't see any updates from the whole situation.

Unfortunately I am in the same boat if my wife (the USC) is refusing to communicate with me about our marriage problem. She has been distancing away from me. To make things worst, I have moved away from my original filing state due to work, but my wife still haven't decide if she would follow. I just wonder why USCIS makes it so complicated for people like us.

We have not child because we found out that she cannot bare child after the marriage. Then more expenses problem....Since I just recently got my conditional green card, I still have over a year to see how our marriage plays out before the filing. SO ANYONE OUT THERE THAT HAVE SUCCESS STORY? OBVIOUSLY IF IT IS NOT SUCCESSFUL, THEY WILL NOT BE HERE TO UPDATE THE POSTINGS.

So any experience will be helpful
 
ssachung said:
Hmmm.... I was just reading all the postings on this thread. Any one have any out come that they want to share? Because I don't see any updates from the whole situation.

Unfortunately I am in the same boat if my wife (the USC) is refusing to communicate with me about our marriage problem. She has been distancing away from me. To make things worst, I have moved away from my original filing state due to work, but my wife still haven't decide if she would follow. I just wonder why USCIS makes it so complicated for people like us.

We have not child because we found out that she cannot bare child after the marriage. Then more expenses problem....Since I just recently got my conditional green card, I still have over a year to see how our marriage plays out before the filing. SO ANYONE OUT THERE THAT HAVE SUCCESS STORY? OBVIOUSLY IF IT IS NOT SUCCESSFUL, THEY WILL NOT BE HERE TO UPDATE THE POSTINGS.

So any experience will be helpful
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No "success" story on my end so far. hoping for one :) the processing dates for my center is Jan 07 and my date is April of 07, so i have a bit of waiting to do, my lawyer is very confident that the case is going to be ok, tho they all r :)
 
kikiwi said:
hi I am new to this web and I want to say I am so the thrid question: when I talk my situation to lawyers, some of them said this is common and not complecated case, they can help me, but one of lawyer said if I divoce before file 751, I for sure will be denied for condition remove unless I was abused or battered by my husband ( my husband didn't abuse me or batter me).basically she is saying I have no chance to successfully apply remoce condition after divorce unless there is only one exception which is I was abused by my husband. is she correct?????? does anyone hear the similar case and finally lady gets successul to remove condition onlyby hersefl??????? does INS normally will deny this case?????

Thanks , I again appreciate everyone's help and answer.
Click to expand...


The 3rd paragraph from the lawyer is absolutelly right.
my dvice would be try to work things with u're husband....... as much as u can.
 
Here is the time line. AOS based on marraige to USC 3/1/2002
Filed joint I-751 to lift conditions 10/6/2003.
Divorced from USC 7/14/2004
Approval of I-751 dated 9/14/2004 (2 months after divorce).
Applied for Naturalization N-400 10/18/06
Interviewed for Natz 4/17/2007
Received Notice to appear dt: 5/22/2007
Appeared before IJ: 6/26/2007 case sent for venue change
Sent second I-751 with good faith waiver 6/29/2007
Received Biometrics dated 9/10/2007
Checked case status on line states:
Application type : CRI89, PETITION TO REMOVE CONDITIONS OR PERMENENT RESIDENT STATUS RECEIVED

Current Status:
Approval notice sent.

On November 5, 2004, we mailed you a notice that we have approved this CRI89 petition to remove conditions of permanent resident status RECEIVED. Please follow any instructions on the notice. If you move before you receive the notice, call customer service.

Now the questions is, what does this mean. Is this a hoax. I am still going for biometrics. any one encountered the same situation. Is this real approval or they are just messing with me.
 
Smali,

I thought you have to wait till the process of I-781 to complete before you go ahead with the divorce. If it has been approved and now you are in the process of getting your citizenship, why need to reapply for I-751 again?

Thanks
 
i-751 approved 2 months after divorce

i filed i-751 and waited 6 months. than started divorce proceedings, which were completed in three months. i-751 was approved without interview 2 months after final judgment of divorce. the divorce was based on extreme mental cruelty by usc. now i have filed good faith waiver. do you think it will be alright. it apperas from web site it is approved but approval date is wrong
 
Well, well, well. I mailed my SECOND I-751 with good faith waiver to VSC by FEDEX next day on 6/29/07. They signed for it on 7/2/2007. My lawyers check have dates with receipt numbers EAC........... Dated 7/17/2007. Called NSC three times till 9/8/2007. No status on Reecipt numbers. No status online. BOOM, receive receipt notice dated 9/5/2007 on 9/10/07. Status extended one year blah blah. Biometric notice date 9/10/2007. Biometrics done 9/20/07. Checked status online. weired. approval notice sent on 11/5/2004?????? what???? Infopass, nothing new. just I-551 stamp. Already had 10 yr card in pocket from 2004. Did not take. Appeared for Removal proceedings hearing on 10/31/2007. We denied all charges in NTA. USCIS trial lawyer said she is not ready as she only got the file recently.Judge gave her 1 week. Today was the second hearing. See waht USCIS lawyer states to Judge. "Your honour, the service is moving for termination of proceedings, without prejudice". Boom: Case is Over. No second I-751 interview. No Approval notice received. I just keep my old buddy ten year card. Nothing new card or any thing.

What does this mean. The judge states,Mr. M, you do not have to come back here any more. Just keep in touch with your lawyer for any updates.

What does without prejudice mean. Please post the response. I am applying for naturalization this week, may be.
 
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