Divorce & US citizenship application

G

Germain

Registered Users (C)
Hello,

I have a question about the impact of divorce on the time required to wait before becoming eligible for US citizenship.

I am a US citizen.

My wife is a Chinese citizen. She obtained her full green card nearly 2 years ago and has been living in the US since then.

So it seems to me that she will be eligible to become a US citizen in about a year (i.e., 3 years after obtaining her green card).

However, I have NOT been living in the US at all. Does it matter if the US citizen spouse has not been living in the US?

Also, we are considering divorce. If we get divorced before my wife becomes a US citizen, to what extent will that delay the time when she can become eligible for US citizenship?

Any help here would be greatly appreciated.
 
It would probably best for her to petition for the US citizenship based on the 5 yr requirement. That way you avoid that your marriage/separation/divorce would be a potential issue during the naturalization process.

Be aware, her entire immigration history will be reviewed once more, starting from ground zero. You may not want that a marriage/separation would become a major focus and under scrutiny of the USCIS.

If she'd file based on 5yr-residency she would be less likely to encounter marriage related questioning. And after all, two more years are probably not too long of a wait for a better start position.

Of course, nobody could tell you what is definitely better - she may also just sail through if she'd apply this year. It's her call ....


Alex.
 
Germain said:
If we get divorced before my wife becomes a US citizen, to what extent will that delay the time when she can become eligible for US citizenship?
Click to expand...

A divorce may be necessary for several reason ... for her naturalization a divorce may act as little 'red flag' - as well as separation. I recall a member of this forum who posted that she got into trouble during the interview because she actually was separated from her husband. After all she succeeded and her petition was approved .

Alex
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Alex,

Thanks a lot for taking the time to reply to my query.

I did a bit more research and it does seem that the 3-year residency for spouses also includes a requirement that we have been living together.

But I'm not 100% sure. Some websites say "...married to and living with..." and others just say "...married to...".

Anyway, since she and I have not been living together at all, it seems this living together issue might be a roadblock.

Basically, my goal here is to convince my wife that we can go ahead and get a divorce and it would make no difference either to her green card status or to her timeframe for getting US citizenship.

Strangely, I can't seem to find the text of the actual immigration law that addresses these matters.

Do you or anyone else know where to find the actual text of the law? This way, I can show my wife the text.

Many thanks again,

Germain
 
Hello,

Just to follow up with simple question.

In order to get citizenship based on marriage within 3 years after getting the green card, is it necessary for that person to have been LIVING WITH his/her spouse during those 3 years?

Or is it enough just to have been married?

My wife and I have been separated for several years, so this is relevant in my case.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.
 
I applied under the 3yrs + marriage rule and was asked for evidence of a bona fide relationship (although the interviewer did not look at it).

She's safer to wait until the 5years before she applies, then she will not need to rely on the marriage. If her Green Card has no conditions, then there is no problem with her living in the US until then.

I will ask, though... Did you live apart/separate BEFORE her unconditional green card was issued? That may be a problem for her because a green card for a marriage-based immigrant is dependant on the marriage and bon fide relationship. If you separated before the conditions were removed, or even before the first green card was issued, then this may be a problem.



Also, let me say... I've seen too many posts of people trying to use a person's immigration status as a weapon in a breakup or conflict, trying to get the person deported. I am impressed to see you going out of your way to ensure that her immigration status will be Ok when you divorce. Good for you! :)
 
Scruit,

Thanks for the response.

Oh no, I'm not interested in using immigration status as a weapon. Quite the contrary...enabling her to become a US citizen is the best thing for her and for our kid for the long term, regardless of the fact that the marriage failed.

Yes, we did live apart before the green card was issued. The green card was issued when I took her to the US. Before that, when we were both in China we lived separately for about a year or so. However, there is no way to prove that we were living separately before the green card was issued. So I think we could say whatever we want in that regard.

At the same time, passport stamps show that I returned to China within a week or two of when the green card was issued and that I have been in China since then. She did return to China for about 2 months last year (we did not see each other) but besides that she has been in the US all this time.

So with the exception of those 2 months last year, it is easily provable that we have been separated.

Any more help/info you could give on the idea of showing a bona fide relationship would be very much appreciated.

By the way, if we do "try" to get the citizenship under the 3-year rule and it is refused, will this negatively affect her green card status or negatively affect her ability to get the citizenship later under the 5-year rule? In other words, it is worth a shot?

Thanks again.

Germain
 
I have a follow-up question:

If my wife tries to get US citizenship based on the 3-year rule for spouses, but it is refused because we have been separated, will this negatively impact her green card status or her chance of getting citizenship later under the 5-year rule?

Any advice here would be appreciated!

Thanks.
 
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