Citizenship Eligibility and Divorce Shortly after Receiving the Green Card

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Gosha79

New Member
Hi
I married a green card holder in Sep. 2002. In 2004 she became a US citizen after which we applied for my green card. I had my green card interview in Jan. 2007 and got the actual permanent green card in the mail in August 2007. However, the divorce was finalized in March or April of 2008. I am planning to apply for US Citizenship in about a year, I was wondering if the fact that the divorce was finalized 8 months after I received a green card will in any way effect my citizenship eligibility.
Thank you
 
Gosha79 said:
Hi
I married a green card holder in Sep. 2002. In 2004 she became a US citizen after which we applied for my green card. I had my green card interview in Jan. 2007 and got the actual permanent green card in the mail in August 2007. However, the divorce was finalized in March or April of 2008. I am planning to apply for US Citizenship in about a year, I was wondering if the fact that the divorce was finalized 8 months after I received a green card will in any way effect my citizenship eligibility.
Thank you
Click to expand...

You were married for almost 6 years, so you'll by fine - they are not going to accuse you of a fraudulent marriage. In all other respects, your divorce does not affect your eligibility for naturalization, since you are applying based on 5 years of being an LPR (and not based on 3 years of marriage to a U.S. citizen). The bottom line is that you should be OK.
 
Hi
Thank you for your response. Its just that one attorney told me that because the divorce was finalized 8 months after the grant of the green card, USCIS might scrutinize my divorce and based on the timeline, for example if the separation took place before the grant of the green card, I might have a problem.
Thanks
 
Gosha79 said:
Hi
Thank you for your response. Its just that one attorney told me that because the divorce was finalized 8 months after the grant of the green card, USCIS might scrutinize my divorce and based on the timeline, for example if the separation took place before the grant of the green card, I might have a problem.
Thanks
Click to expand...

Must not have been a very good lawyer or maybe he was trying to squeeze some extra money from you.
Even at the green card application stage a divorce while I-485 is pending does not preclude I-485 from being approved. The key question there is if the marriage had been originally entered into in good faith and was not a sham marriage intended only to obtain some immigration benefit. Marriages that do get scrutinized are those that had been short in duration - if the parties file for divorce quickly after the marriage, that raises (in USCIS' eyes) the possibility that it was a sham marriage. That is why people who had been married for less than 2 years at the time of GC approval first get conditional 2-year green cards.

As far as naturalization is concerned, your original marriage may only become an issue if the IO thinks that it was a fraudulent marriage intended only to extract an immigration benefit. With any marriage that lasted longer than 2 years there is a basic presumption that it was a bona fide valid marriage; yours lasted 6 years - there is no way that any IO would question its validity.
Like I said, you'll be fine on that score.
 
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