Married, divorced and petitioning for new spouse advice please

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Bitty88

Registered Users (C)
Hello
I came to America with f1 status and met a guy both of us from Africa but different countries in which we got married. He was a USC while I was f1 status so when we got married I became a LPR. 2 years while I was removing conditions he went to his hometown in Africa and met his high school sweetheart and they started having an affair. When he came back to America our phone bills and everything was running up since he was keeping in touch with this woman247. He never told me this but waited for me to remove conditions and told me he's very sorry he used to love me but he has rekindled with his high school sweet heart and she is pregnant. He divorced me and went ahead to file for this lady to come n join him here with his baby leaving me in extreme shame. I had to move from the state find a new place n move on with my life. After 2 years I met a guy in my home country whom we have fallen in love and I will want o petition for him. I am due to file for citizenship now but I will want to petition for my new spouse to come here before I apply for my citizenship. So when I become a citizen Incan just upgrade my status. Now my question is immigration law says a period of 5 years should have elapsed since getting your GC if you got it through your previous spouse.. Before you can file for a new spouse. Unless you can provide evidence you did not enter the previous marriage only for the purpose of a GC. My question now is can I file for my new husband? (We just got married oversees) after 2 n half years. Tho it's not 5 years since I gained permanent residence from my old spouse (5 years in FEB 2014) I want to know if I can provide evidence like old spouse writing a letter and notarizing why and how we got divorced and also since he has filed for his new family and they are here with Him, they will have a record of that. Will that work out for me, suffix or I should just stick it in and wait till february to apply?
All responses are welcome and thanks in advance.
 
Bitty88 said:
Hello
I came to America with f1 status and met a guy both of us from Africa but different countries in which we got married. He was a USC while I was f1 status so when we got married I became a LPR. 2 years while I was removing conditions he went to his hometown in Africa and met his high school sweetheart and they started having an affair. When he came back to America our phone bills and everything was running up since he was keeping in touch with this woman247. He never told me this but waited for me to remove conditions and told me he's very sorry he used to love me but he has rekindled with his high school sweet heart and she is pregnant. He divorced me and went ahead to file for this lady to come n join him here with his baby leaving me in extreme shame. I had to move from the state find a new place n move on with my life. After 2 years I met a guy in my home country whom we have fallen in love and I will want o petition for him. I am due to file for citizenship now but I will want to petition for my new spouse to come here before I apply for my citizenship. So when I become a citizen Incan just upgrade my status. Now my question is immigration law says a period of 5 years should have elapsed since getting your GC if you got it through your previous spouse.. Before you can file for a new spouse. Unless you can provide evidence you did not enter the previous marriage only for the purpose of a GC. My question now is can I file for my new husband? (We just got married oversees) after 2 n half years. Tho it's not 5 years since I gained permanent residence from my old spouse (5 years in FEB 2014) I want to know if I can provide evidence like old spouse writing a letter and notarizing why and how we got divorced and also since he has filed for his new family and they are here with Him, they will have a record of that. Will that work out for me, suffix or I should just stick it in and wait till february to apply?
All responses are welcome and thanks in advance.
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Please understand that this is a forum. Your questions can be best answered by a lawyer. As a layman and at face value, I can only say what I think is the best thing to do.

1. Even if you apply for his LPR, it will not be a priority since you are not a US citizen yourself.
2. First become a US citizen. In the interview and your application you only need to defend 1 marriage. The one that has ended. If you petition your new husband for GC before naturalization, then you will need to defend 1 more thing during the interview.
3. Why so much headache? I recommend to become a US citizen first.
4. The tricky part is that whether or not your second marriage is legally recognized in your home country. If you do have a marriage certificate, then you will be forced to disclose your second marriage in the N 400 application.
5. Having said all of that, it is best to seek a lawyer.
6. Always be truthful for naturalization and in life in general ;)
 
chaichai said:
Please understand that this is a forum. Your questions can be best answered by a lawyer. As a layman and at face value, I can only say what I think is the best thing to do.

1. Even if you apply for his LPR, it will not be a priority since you are not a US citizen yourself.
2. First become a US citizen. In the interview and your application you only need to defend 1 marriage. The one that has ended. If you petition your new husband for GC before naturalization, then you will need to defend 1 more thing during the interview.
3. Why so much headache? I recommend to become a US citizen first.
4. The tricky part is that whether or not your second marriage is legally recognized in your home country. If you do have a marriage certificate, then you will be forced to disclose your second marriage in the N 400 application.
5. Having said all of that, it is best to seek a lawyer.
6. Always be truthful for naturalization and in life in general ;)
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Hello
First of all thank you!
But I do not understand when you say in the interview and your application you will only need to defend one marriage.
Are you talking about naturalization application and interview? I didn't think I will have to defend any marriage since I am filing due to the 5 year rule. My 5 years of being a LPR falls on February 9th 2014. That is why I a, confused as to file my citizenship and petition for him.. Or file for him while I wait for my citizenship to be processed and update my status. Also yes I am disclosing I have a spouse on my n 400. ( didn't think its forced, since I am) We just got married 6 weeks ago.. But have been together for 2 years. On the other hand my ex and I got married June 2008 and divorced June 2011. I got my GC feb 2009
Also I know it will not be a priority but was just thinking that would save me some time, filing as spouse of LPR and upgrading petition to USC.
 
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When your foreign spouse is abroad, and you are an LPR who is close to citizenship, it doesn't make sense to file I-130 before you become a citizen. I-130s filed by LPRs without an accompanying I-485 will typically sit idle for a year or more before they process it. Then when you become a US citizen, you have to go through some hassle to upgrade it to reflect your citizenship status. So if you're close to citizenship and your spouse is outside the US, both of which are the case with you, you don't save time by filing the I-130 before you become a citizen.

Because of how you obtained your green card, you already can't file for your spouse before you complete 5 years as an LPR. But you can apply for citizenship 90 days before the 5-year anniversary, which means you can apply next week. That means you'll probably become a citizen by April or May. At that time they definitely would not have touched the I-130 if you filed it before you become a citizen.

Beware of having to defend your first marriage during the naturalization process. Marrying somebody from your home country raises suspicion because of your situation; they may suspect that you already had a relationship with your 2nd spouse when you married the first.
 
Thank you very much Jackolantern

I have very similar situation as Bitty, and I hope that both of you do not mind me asking one question that would concern us both. What kind of an interview should we expect during the naturalization process?
Should we expect similar interview as the first one - for the GC?
 
Jackolantern said:
When your foreign spouse is abroad, and you are an LPR who is close to citizenship, it doesn't make sense to file I-130 before you become a citizen. I-130s filed by LPRs without an accompanying I-485 will typically sit idle for a year or more before they process it. Then when you become a US citizen, you have to go through some hassle to upgrade it to reflect your citizenship status. So if you're close to citizenship and your spouse is outside the US, both of which are the case with you, you don't save time by filing the I-130 before you become a citizen.

Because of how you obtained your green card, you already can't file for your spouse before you complete 5 years as an LPR. But you can apply for citizenship 90 days before the 5-year anniversary, which means you can apply next week. That means you'll probably become a citizen by April or May. At that time they definitely would not have touched the I-130 if you filed it before you become a citizen.

Beware of having to defend your first marriage during the naturalization process. Marrying somebody from your home country raises suspicion because of your situation; they may suspect that you already had a relationship with your 2nd spouse when you married the first.
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Thanks Jacko!
Thoroughly explained. Will it be wise for my ex spouse to write and notarize a letter to take to my naturalization interview just in case? Also I want to travel and obviously will be wise for me to finish my citizenship before I do. What I want to know is that, I live in Pittsburgh, pa and the processing here is super fast. I have had friends got their citizenship in about 3 months, others 2. Yes I know every case is different. But since I am eligible next week and my 5 year of becoming LPR isn't till Feb 2014, when I apply now will my interview be held and scheduled after I reach my 5 years? In other words should I expect my interview after feb 2014? I ask this because I want to travel and also I have heard stories about interview being scheduled after the 5 year time limit has reached. Also please note most my fiends applied with the 3 year rule so I wouldn't know. Also if you can give us a response to majmun's concern will be very grateful.
Thanks once again
 
Bitty88 said:
Will it be wise for my ex spouse to write and notarize a letter to take to my naturalization interview just in case?
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I don't know. In many chain-marriage situations, the US citizen spouse is a participant in the scam. He himself created a somewhat suspicious situation by filing for another immigrant spouse so soon after sponsoring you.

Just gather as much evidence you can of your life together back then and hope for the best. Be prepared to explain that you didn't know your current spouse before your first marriage. Point out how many total years total you have been living outside your original country, including the years you spent in F1 status before getting your green card.

Things would have been easier if you delayed the marriage until after you got citizenship. That way you wouldn't have to list the marriage on your naturalization application, and upon becoming a citizen you'd be able to bring him to the US using the fiance visa which is much quicker than I-130 and consular processing. I know it's too late for you to pursue that route, but maybe somebody else reading this who isn't married yet can benefit.

Your interview may happen before your 5-year GC anniversary, but you cannot take the oath until you complete the full 5 years. They almost always will give at least 3 weeks notice for the interview, so you can try to plan around that.
 
Thanks Jacko!
For the information. I have lots of proof of us etc..
I am getting ready to file my N-400 tomorrow I have just one more question before I do..
I just remembered when I applied to remove conditions on my green card- I-751 that was in 2010
My ex husbands taxes were all filed as single. We submitted those tax returns together with other things as evidence and proof of our ongoing marriage. And to my surprise I was still approved for my 10 year GC.
We were not divorced or anything just that taxes were not filed right. I don't know if they overlooked it but I got my 10 year GC with no interview.
Should I worry about this affecting my naturalization?
Also how many tax years do I need to include in my application N-400?
Filing 5 year rule..

Many thanks
 
Hi Bitty, hi Jacko,

One more question regarding this matter:

When would be the best time to start/mail the paperwork for my spouse? After the interview (in case verything goes by the plan) or after I take an oath?


4 weeks after apllication fingerprints done, waiting for an interview.
 
majmun said:
When would be the best time to start/mail the paperwork for my spouse? After the interview (in case verything goes by the plan) or after I take an oath?
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If your spouse is outside the US, file the I-130 after the oath, given that you have already applied for citizenship. If you file it before the oath, it will go into the slower F2A category, and then you'll have to spend the time and hassle to get it upgraded after the oath.
 
Hi Bitty, hi Jacko, here I am hijacking Bitty's post again...
I have a question regarding unconditional 10yr green card?

I heard that if someone applies for a green card and he/she is married to US citizen for more than 2 years, he/she receives 10 year/unconditional green card. If this is correct I have a few questions regarding this:

1. Does that US citizen in this case need to have citizenship for those 2 years while they were married?
2. Does the application need to be mailed/received 2 years after they were married?
3. Does the approval of permanent residency/interview need to be 2 year or more after their marriage?

4. Also, my spouse is thinking about travelling outside the US before the GC is granted; how safe it is to travel with I-131 approved? Is the admission to US guaranteed with that document or is it like a (B/J/F etc) visa?

Thank you in advance,

Bitty I hope your case is going as planned, best of luck.

Majmun
 
A1: Yes
A2: The marriage has to be 2 years old when the AOS is approved
A3: See above
A4: "Paroled" back means that the AOS applicant never left the US, in theory. So, yes, it is safe to travel with an AP document, provided it is still valid on return and the AOS applicant never had 6 months or more of overstay.

majmun said:
1. Does that US citizen in this case need to have citizenship for those 2 years while they were married?
2. Does the application need to be mailed/received 2 years after they were married?
3. Does the approval of permanent residency/interview need to be 2 year or more after their marriage?
4. Also, my spouse is thinking about travelling outside the US before the GC is granted; how safe it is to travel with I-131 approved? Is the admission to US guaranteed with that document or is it like a (B/J/F etc) visa?
Click to expand...
 
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