divorce and citizenship. need help asap!

K

kaye80

New Member
I was married on Sept. 2002. My husband was an illegal alien at that time but when I became a US citizen on 2004, I immediately petitioned him. He received his green card April of 2006. But our marriage didn't last long, we stopped living together on Jan. of 2007 (we don't have kids). I wanted to file a divorce (a very simplified one) but he won't agree or sign to it. I asked our previous lawyer before about his status and I was told that it is alright to file for a divorce since we were married years before I filed for his petition. And it shouldn't affect his status since he got his green card and he will be able to file for citizenship in 5 years instead of 3. Now, my (ex)husband told me that he has talked to another lawyer and that person told him that if he agreed to do the divorce then he might not be able to file for citizenship or his green card might be revoked since he has his green card for less than 2 years.
Now, I am getting stressed through all of this because I wanted to get over with the divorce. I don't know what to do now because I do not want to wait for another year and still be "attached" to this person. I have so many plans for my life and this keeps holding me back. I want to file for a default divorce but he said he will contest to it. I don't want his green card/status to be in jeopardy so I want to know what's the best thing for me to do.

will deeply appreciate your response.
:(
 
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Make-up your mind first.
Do you want a divorce? or do you want him to have his GC and later his citizenship?
What is important to you? Your needs or his needs?
Once you answer this, you will find your answer.
Goodluck.
 
Thank you for your time. I do want a divorce badly. And he already has his permanent green card which is valid for 10 years I believe. He said he won't sign the divorce because he is scared of losing the green card or the chance of applying for citizenship. But like what I said to him, he can file for citizenship after 5 years instead of 3 if we get divorced but he won't believe me because of what his lawyer mentioned to him. I told him I'll file for default divorce but he said he will contest to it. It's really making me so stressed here. Do you think I might need a lawyer in this situation? It's just that I don't have enough money to do this. I'm even filing the divorce on my own expense.
 
Divorce is a complicated process. It's best to hire a good family lawyer. Unfortunately, it's one of the costs.

Even if it's contested, the divorce itself can not be contested. The only thing a party can contest is asset division, custody of children (which doesn't apply here), alimony, etc.

An 'uncontested divorce' is one where there is no disagreement over asset division, etc. If it's contested and the parties can not come to an agreement over the issues, the only option is to litigate it in court and a judge would decide how to seperate marital property. Even then, you will be forced into mediation first to try and divide things on your own.

This website is a start:

www.divorcenet.com
 
Now that you are separated, what happens to him doesn't matter. Your ex-husband's immigration issue is his own problem. It's up to him to take care of it whatever happens in the future. You should move on and do what's best for yourself. He is being extremely selfish for dragging you into what should only be his concern (his future citizenship petition). No one else is responsible for his immigration status but him only. You should have nothing to do with it.

If you live in no-fault divorce state, it doesn't matter if he contests or not. You can receive the divorce despite the objection of your husband. Especially without a child involved, it would not be difficult. Just study the divorce regulation in your state and file for divorce.
 
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Thank you for all your responses. I live in Florida and thought I could file the divorce on my own because we don't have any property to divide to begin with and don't even have any kids. I have been so nice to him to take over whatever debt we have when we were married and also cover the divorce filing fees. He said he is willing to sign it after he talked to his parents (?!?!?!) He has been avoiding all my calls or emails and was only able to talk to him when I manage to get his work phone number.
I'm just trying to be nice to him by making sure that his status will be alright after the divorce. At least, that's my "parting" gift to him. But if this situation will have to make me decide to get a lawyer, then I'll do it. This might give me more peace of mind.
Thank you again and everybody is still welcome to post any opinions or ideas for they will be very helpful to me.
 
Your ex-husband sounds like a bit of selfish jerk. Based on your story, he is only concerned about himself.

Fortunately for you, Florida is a no-fault divorce state. Thus, if you file for divorce, your ex-husband cannot avoid it. The only thing he can contest is the division of the property, but not the divorce itself Here is a link to how to divorce in Florida:
http://www.divorcenet.com/states/florida/florida_divorce
 
Since he's already got his unconditional GC, I really don't see him having an issue with GC revocation, or eventually applying for natz. Just divorce him and get it over with... he'll be ok.
 
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