I-864 sponsor made me homeless, what next?

[sanjochris]

Hi,
Here's my problem: my US citizen sponsor wife of 8 years locked me out of the marital home without notice after being verbally and psychologically abusive to me. She closed the joint bank account, canceled my health insurance and took out a restraining order and a petition for divorce, neither of which has she been able to serve on me. She has made me homeless and without funds, she has kept everything on the property and left me with only the vehicle I was in at the time, and whatever I had in it.

I am a UK citizen and have had a green card for 7 years. My wife signed an I-864, otherwise I wouldn't be here. And I live in California, which is a community property state, and the only kind of divorce that can be filed is a no-fault "irreconcilable differences" one.

The house is the separate property of my wife, as is the enormous mortgage that accompanies it; I have no interest in this aspect of the overall community property. However, aside from the property she has kept, my wife earns in excess of $6000 a month in take-home salary plus a further $1800 from other sources.

I had one free consult with a lawyer who told me that spousal support, if it were sought, could be more than $2000 a month. And in any case, my wife is responsible as my sponsor, for that 125% of poverty that she agreed to in the Affidavit Of Support.

But she has made me homeless and penniless, a smart move on her part. I have no funds whatsoever to even hire a lawyer. All the agencies in this and the surrounding cities which used to provide pro-bono legal aid, either no longer do so because they can no longer to afford to assist individuals, or they don't do family law. Private lawyers who I have emailed don't even bother to reply.

Don't forget, I have not been served with anything and only know about the divorce and the restraining order (which is a fabrication with intent to make her position appear perilous even though there is no history whatever of a need to do so) because I saw them listed in court records. So I can if I wish, go ahead and file for divorce against her myself and have her served at her home or work addresses. I have neither types of address, which is why nobody has served me. And I understand that if the divorce were straightforward and uncontested, I could just go read a NOLO book and do the whole thing myself, getting the court fees waived due to my zero income.

But I am constantly reading that this is not a case that can be handled in this way and that a lawyer is essential in order to secure fair spousal support, with an Order to Show Cause to get the money coming in quickly that has been expertly prepared. And I can find nobody who has been able to sue a sponsor spouse for that 125% successfully without a lawyer.

Am I sunk? It's bad enough being made homeless and broke without even a day's warning, and then finding you have an unexpectedly hostile and uncommunicative spouse who has lawyered up before you even realized anything was happening. There is zero prospect of me finding a tenth of the $3500 - $5000 that lawyers ask for, up front. I do not have friends here who aren't friends of my wife. I have begged and borrowed a little from distant friends to get this far, but I can ask no more.

You may imagine that after a month and a half of homelessness, things are getting more desperate by the day. Anyone have a clue what I can do?

Thanks

 

[Concerned4us]

You have been in the US for 7 years and do not have a job? What were you waiting for? You can work legally so get out there and do something and quit whining.

Yours is a short term marriage so you should not expect long term alimony. You may get the maintenance of the affidavit of support for a few years but not likely long term.

CA courts have DIY resources for divorce. Why would any attorney want to work for free. You could try to find an attorney who would ask for his fees from the community resources.

If you are so desperate, you would have a job by now!

 

[Jackolantern]

There are divorce attorneys who will work on a contingency basis; they'll collect a portion of the support money awarded to you (if you get anything) and you don't have to pay them up front (except maybe a small retainer). Her illegal actions of locking you out of the marital home and emptying the joint bank account could also be used against her to get the court to make her pay your attorney fees on top of the support money.

Note that if you have become a US citizen, or have accumulated 40 quarters of Social Security credits, the I-864 is terminated. If it is still active and she is held to the I-864 terms, that would mean paying you approx. $13500 per year, adjusted downward for your own income and assets. So don't pin your hopes on the I-864. She is making about $100K and you earning nothing, so you should easily be able to get more than $13K through regular divorce law, without involving the I-864.

Also note that the I-864 is a rare tactic to make one ex-spouse pay the other. The normal function of the I-864 is to enable the government to recover money from the sponsor, not the immigrant to recover money directly from the sponsor. So it will likely be viewed very strangely by the court if you can't quote a similar precedent within your state, and without that in-state precedent you may fail with that approach until it reaches a higher level appeal.

 

[sanjochris]

Thank you, Jackolantern. I wish it were different but I have not found, nor even heard rumor of, a divorce lawyer who will work on contingency and I've been looking for the better part of six weeks. I may have to do this myself without the help of a lawyer at all, I'm afraid.

It is not illegal for her to lock me out, according to the police, who I called at the time. She showed them that the house was titled to her, they told me she had every right to do as she pleased with it and they warned me that they would arrest me if I attempted to get in. Likewise according to the bank, closing out the joint bank account is also not illegal. Perhaps that's not how it ought to be, but that's how it is.

Being disabled, long before I came to the USA, and not having worked for 25 years, and being considered a "senior" now although I am not quite at retirement age yet, there is no realistic possibility of me just jumping into work, in the middle of a recession, and in a part of the country where youth is prized. The federal government operates a department of rehabilitation, but they are able only to offer unpaid retraining at best.

Thank you for the comments on the usefulness of the I-864 as a tactic to gain support; it has been hard for me to figure out what the best approach ought to be and you've been most helpful in clarifying that.

 

[Jackolantern]

Thank you, Jackolantern. I wish it were different but I have not found, nor even heard rumor of, a divorce lawyer who will work on contingency and I've been looking for the better part of six weeks. I may have to do this myself without the help of a lawyer at all, I'm afraid.

It is not illegal for her to lock me out, according to the police, who I called at the time. She showed them that the house was titled to her, they told me she had every right to do as she pleased with it and they warned me that they would arrest me if I attempted to get in. Likewise according to the bank, closing out the joint bank account is also not illegal. Perhaps that's not how it ought to be, but that's how it is.

That's not necessarily how it is. Banks and police are not experts on marital and divorce law. Locking you out of the house, and/or clearing out the joint account without giving you a reasonable portion of the money may be illegal under state laws governing marriage. And even if it's not outright illegal, her doing those things could possibly be used to demonstrate her bad-faith actions on handling the marital assets, making it easier to convince the court to award you a bigger amount.

You need to keep looking for a lawyer who will work on contingency or pro bono. Don't just email or call them, and don't tell them when you're setting up the appointment that you need contingency or pro bono. Write up a letter explaining your situation, including what she did and your disability and your wife's income level, then show up in their office and hand over the letter and talk to them. When you make it more personal and direct like that, you'll more likely find some help.