do i need an attorney?

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viviancampbell

Registered Users (C)
Hi guys!

I've been an observer for this forum and receive a lot of helpful information about naturalization. It's a great forum.

Now I have a question that i hope to get your attention and advices. I got my GC thru marriage to a USC in March 2000 by then we've married for over two years so i got this 10-years perm GC without condition. Then we went to through some hard time and my ex-husband moved out in May and i was served the divorce paper in June, i tried all my best to save our marriage but unfortunately it was finalized in October 2000. Then i got married to my husband who was international student from my country in May 2001, at that time he already got his H1 sponsored by his employer and eventually got his GC thru his company, so he was benefitted by marrying me to speed up his immigration route.

Now after being a PR for 11 years, i'm thinking to apply for citizenship, since my ex-husband and i divorced seven months after i received my GC and we were in marriage for a little over 3 years, from your experience and knowledge will this fact cause any problem for my N400 application ? do you think i need an attorney to be present with me for the interview? Please share your opinion and interview experience with me. Thank you in advance for your replies :)
 
i would like to add some more details about my I485 interview, we were not approved at the interview, instead we were asked to provide alot of docs to prove the marriage is real, ex Tax Return, joint insurance, joint purchase receipt, affidavit from friends etc. then we received the approval letter in mail in a month.
 
You were married for over 2 years and received your permanent GC so you should be fine. Just bring divorce decree to interview. No need for an attorney as you can file yourself. They can question validity of first marriage since divorce was so soon after obtaining GC, so be prepared to provide evidence that your first marriage was indeed bona fide.
 
As long as you dont have criminal record you are fine...You are not filing based on marriage but on a five year rule..therefore your divorce decree or anything to do with previous marriage is irrelevant..however, you do need current marriage papers just for there record...No one said that after getting your green card thru marriage you cannot divorce immidiately after....
 
Thank you very much for your response. You're a great asset to this forum.

I saw another thread that the OP's N400 application was pending as INS is conducting some investigation about his previous marriage thru which he got his GC and the marriage was ended in 9 months after receiving the GC. Do you know if this type of investigation is a normal procedure?
 
No criminal records, no arrests. No traffic tickets for 10 years, but got three in one month in last September due to the bad economy. Our local authority decides to write more ticket to increase their budget. but all three tickets are under $500, not DUI related, no arrests either.
 
BobSmyth, thank you for your reply. I may have problem with providing the proof of previous marriage, as it's been over 10 years and i moved and got married again. I wanted to forget what has happened as i felt dumped by my ex-, so i destroyed almost everything from that marriage and cut the connections with him and his friends. i may still have several photos with him and some wedding pictures, do you think it's good enough? also we have provided extra docs after the I485 interview, will the IO ask for the same kind of proof if there are some copies with my I485 application?
 
playmaker said:
.You are not filing based on marriage but on a five year rule..therefore your divorce decree or anything to do with previous marriage is irrelevant..however, you do need current marriage papers just for there record...
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USCIS can still question validity of a previous marriage at interview when the divorce happened so soon after obtaining GC, even if naturalization is 5 year based. The applicant's entire history is relevant, regardless of what route (5 vs 3 year) the applicant applies for.
 
viviancampbell said:
BobSmyth, thank you for your reply. I may have problem with providing the proof of previous marriage, as it's been over 10 years and i moved and got married again. I wanted to forget what has happened as i felt dumped by my ex-, so i destroyed almost everything from that marriage and cut the connections with him and his friends. i may still have several photos with him and some wedding pictures, do you think it's good enough? also we have provided extra docs after the I485 interview, will the IO ask for the same kind of proof if there are some copies with my I485 application?
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You can obtain divorce decree from the court where it was filed. Since it's been so long since you divorced your first husband, it's unlikely that USCIS would dwell into it. No need to worry that they drill you like they did at I-485. At a minimum, bring divorce decree to interview. If they ask you for anything else they will let you know at interview.
 
Bobsmyth said:
USCIS can still question validity of a previous marriage at interview when the divorce happened so soon after obtaining GC, even if naturalization is 5 year based. The applicant's entire history is relevant, regardless of what route (5 vs 3 year) the applicant applies for.
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The applicant's entire history is relevant and thats a fact. However, when applying based on 5 year rule, applicant's marriage at the time of obtaining GC is irrelevant and that did not come from me but that came from INS. If you read carefully on the instructions on how to fill form N-400, it does say what documents to present when applying based on 3 year rule and 5 year rule. In addition, it would be awkward for the IO to question the legitimate of the applicants marriage at the time of obtaining his GC because by receiving his GC, that proves that his marriage was legimate unless the IO does not trust the previous IO. If there was any doubt about his/her marriage at the time of obtaining his/her greencard, then immigration would not have waited till the applicant applies for citizenship to question the legitimate of his/her marriage....I am not a lawyer by any means but i dont think i need to be one to understand the instructions on what documents to present. I divorced one month after i got my green card and the IO cared less about that marriage, IO only asked me latest divorce papers.....
 
I appreciate your timely responses BobSmyth and Playmaker, your input are very valuable to me, and it makes me feel much relieved after reading your posts.

Do anyone mind sharing their interview experience in Atlanta DO? I read very few stories for the interviews in this DO. most postings are for the other DOs, i feel like most IO are very nice, polite and professional. It seems INS changes a lot since my last experience with them for my I485 interview.
 
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