Hi all
I have sat back and read this forum for months and finally I decided to join. First let me say that after the experience that I had this past month with an IO; please hire a lawyer when you go to an interview if you are filing under the good faith waiver, because the IO's will take advantage of you, simply because you do not know the law.
Now for my story, I was married to a US citizen for over 2 years, 2007, I became a C.P.R. in 2008 after being married for almost 11 months. Then we had some financial problem which destroyed our marriage. We got a simplified divorce in march 2009, then in November 2009 I filed the I-751, I did the finger print and the whole nine years.
For evidence I submitted the following:
Joint account
Affidavits from her parent
many photos with me her and her family
letters she wrote to me while we were married
Joint lease
Car insurance
The divorce decree
And a bunch of other stuff
Oh and joint taxes
Well my interview was schedule about two weeks ago 7:30 am (which I found to be strange so early in the morning)
When I got there the first thing the IO ask me was “are you alone?”
I answered “yes”
Then he said "where is your wife"
My answer "I am divorced"
He then said how could you be divorced I didn’t see a divorce decree in your packet.
I said to him "look it’s there",
he said "No it’s not"
Luckily I had the original with me so I handed it to him.
He then said, well why it is not here, I told him to please look in the file. When he opened the file in front of me low and behold the decree was right there looking at him.
He then said to me. "I see that you attended ______ university" I then said "yes that’s where me and my ex-wife met and I submitted an official copy of her transcripts showing that we attended the university at the same time" I then told him that I had my BS and MS from that university.
The next 30 seconds was a scene from a horror flix
IO said "I cannot approve this case; I am going to have to deny your greencard"
I was a little upset but being the professional that I am I tried my best to remain as calm as possible.
All I said was "Ok sir"
He then walked me out of his cubicle and said that I would receive a notice from them in the mail.
As soon as I got in my car I called my friend who was an Immigration lawyer in another state. He told me that a lot of people get denied when they file the I 751 using the waiver and that I need to hire the best lawyer in town.
I proceeded to do just what he said
The lawyer basically told me that once they send me the letter she will take it to court and have the immigration judge decide. She then said that it will be up to their prosecutor to prove that I entered the marriage to evade immigration.
Guys the IO's have no power, all the power lies with the immigration judge. If you have all the evidence and a good lawyer you don’t have anything to worry about. It is up to them to go through hell and back to prove that you got married to stay. Always remember the truth shall set you free.
As for me I just have to wait for my court date. I am a little anxious but not scared. and none of you should be scared either. Hold your heads up high.
But they'll probably give you the option to place an inquiry. I-751's can sometimes take more than a year to process in general..for USCIS it's a low priority application because you already have a permanent resident status..But most of the time it doesn't take that long.