Green card after divorce

[texlish]

I have been married for 5 years and have an unconditional green card, We are divorcing and I want to return to the uk, but we have a child born in the usa so right now I am being told I cannot leave with her.
* Would uscis revoke my green card because I cannot support myself? I have never worked in this country nor do I have a high school diploma or ged.
* How far does the sponsors financial obligation go?
does he have to support me or just reimburse government if I claim benefits?
* If he cannot support me can I go home? Will they consider our debt or just his income when determining poverty level?

 

[Jackolantern]

If he directly* sponsored you for the green card, you could sue him to support you according to the requirements of the Affidavit of Support. It would require him to provide enough support to bring you to 25% above the poverty line (they adjust for your own assets and income, so he only has to provide the difference). That support obligation continues until you become a US citizen, or accumulate 40 credits for Social Security (by working for 10 years**), or you leave the US and lose your permanent resident status.


*i.e. he filed a direct petition for you, it wasn't a situation where you were indirectly sponsored by his employer or the relative who sponsored him

**during the years you didn't work, you get some credit for years when you were married to him if he was working during that time.

 

[texlish]

If he directly* sponsored you for the green card, you could sue him to support you according to the requirements of the Affidavit of Support. It would require him to provide enough support to bring you to 25% above the poverty line (they adjust for your own assets and income, so he only has to provide the difference). That support obligation continues until you become a US citizen, or accumulate 40 credits for Social Security (by working for 10 years**), or you leave the US and lose your permanent resident status.


*i.e. he filed a direct petition for you, it wasn't a situation where you were indirectly sponsored by his employer or the relative who sponsored him

**during the years you didn't work, you get some credit for years when you were married to him if he was working during that time.

So does he have to give me money or just repay the government for any benefits i use? The point is , I dont want to stay in the usa but im stuck here until (and if) the courts say I can move with my child. How does that last bit work? the credit for years i didnt work? I havent worked in 5 years and he has been emplyed for four of those years

Also I have no idea about the poverty line (im in texas, and it would be me and my child) , all I know is i have nothing out here, no medical care for me or my child, and i cant apply for benefits because he would have to pay the government back what i claim.

 

[Jackolantern]

So does he have to give me money or just repay the government for any benefits i use?

Either one. You can apply for government benefits, and then the government can go after him to be reimbursed for some or all of what they gave you. Or you can sue him directly.

The point is , I dont want to stay in the usa but im stuck here until (and if) the courts say I can move with my child.

Unless he has been so abusive that the court will permanently terminate his parental rights, forget about being about being able to take the child outside the US unless he voluntarily gives that permission. It's very difficult even to get the court to agree to let the child move to another state in the US. You won't be allowed to take the child abroad even for a vacation, unless he agrees.

How does that last bit work? the credit for years i didnt work? I havent worked in 5 years and he has been emplyed for four of those years

I don't know the details of how that works ... it can get complicated and you'll have better luck asking that question on a Social Security forum. But my basic understanding is that you probably would be credited with some or all of 4 years because you were married to him during those 4 years. So you wouldn't have to work the full 10 years yourself to qualify for Social Security benefits.

Also I have no idea about the poverty line (im in texas, and it would be me and my child) , all I know is i have nothing out here, no medical care for me or my child, and i cant apply for benefits because he would have to pay the government back what i claim.

If you've held a green card for at least 5 years, you could qualify for benefits if you met the other necessary conditions. The government's ability to make him pay back the money doesn't prevent you from receiving the benefits.

For the poverty line numbers, see http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/11poverty.shtml . He is supposed to maintain you at 25% above the poverty line.

 

[TheRealCanadian]

Unless he has been so abusive that the court will permanently terminate his parental rights, forget about being about being able to take the child outside the US unless he voluntarily gives that permission. It's very difficult even to get the court to agree to let the child move to another state in the US. You won't be allowed to take the child abroad even for a vacation, unless he agrees.

She's a mother. Short of being an ax-murdering child-molesting rapist, I'd venture the courts are likely to give her the benefit of the doubt, especially since she is moving to a First World country.

 

[Jackolantern]

She's a mother. Short of being an ax-murdering child-molesting rapist, I'd venture the courts are likely to give her the benefit of the doubt, especially since she is moving to a First World country.

Nope. Mothers find it easier to get full custody, but such custody almost always comes with some amount of visitation rights for the father, and seldom comes with the right to take the child to live outside the state against the father's will. A noncitizen being allowed by the courts to take a US citizen child outside the US against the father's will is unheard of unless the father's parental rights have been permanently terminated. Being taken to a first world country doesn't change that.

 

[texlish]

Nope. Mothers find it easier to get full custody, but such custody almost always comes with some amount of visitation rights for the father, and seldom comes with the right to take the child to live outside the state against the father's will. A noncitizen being allowed by the courts to take a US citizen child outside the US against the father's will is unheard of unless the father's parental rights have been permanently terminated. Being taken to a first world country doesn't change that.

I would like you to be incorrect but you are closer to the right answer about all that, its an almost impossible case, Im just hoping that the courts will see some sense and look at what is best for my child, although I want her to have a relationship with her father I still want to be able to provide for her and give her a financially and emotionally sane mother, I have nothing in the usa, No job,friends,family, and no where to go if the courts dont give me the house. And he certainly cannot afford to run 2 households and I honestly dont want to make him bankrupt because of child support payments. It may be impossible but if I dont have hope then Il just give up and wont be the best parent I can be.

 

[TheRealCanadian]

Talk to a family law attorney to see what your options are.