Want to withdraw application I751

M

mayakukla

Registered Users (C)
Any help would be appreciated in this matter. I am a USC and my wife recently got approved for her conditional GC. Two months after being approved, she is now interested in a divorce and refuses to attend counseling, etc.

I am angry and depressed. I am debating with myself whether I may take action to prevent her from getting the conditinal conditions removed. I do not think it is fair for her to get her status without putting more of an effort into our relationship.

I am asking, at this point, what recourse do I have if I choose to harm her status when removing conditions using the I-751 form???

I have read the instructions, if I go ahead (I am still not sure, but want to know what my options are), should I:

1. Divorce immediately?
2. Not divorce, or stall the divorce by contesting it and then refuse to file jointly?
3.Can I somehow notify USCIS of this situation before her green card comes due for renewal in May 2011?

The details of our relationship are below for reference:

-We are both in our mid 20s
-She came here by overstaying travel visa
-She was previously married before me, filed for immigration, and then divorced before getting having her interview for a green card
-We have lived together for the last 3 years and she should have some proof of that
-We married in June of 2008, filed for green card in Feb of 2009, had out interview in May 2009 where we were approved.
-I was always good to her, and there is no incident of abuse, or anything like this.

Thanks
 
This exact question comes up here every few days. The short answer is "get over it." You don't have to help her remove the conditions, you don't have to attend the interview--feel free to skip it--but she can go ahead and do it without you. As long as the marriage was not a fraud at the time you married her, she doesn't have to stay married to you to remove the conditions. If you do get the idea to report it as a fraud, you not only better be telling the truth and have solid proof, but you will be casting suspicion on yourself, and she'll probably succeed in getting the conditions removed anyway since you are obviously motivated by vengeance.

So get a good divorce lawyer if either of you have much in the way of assets, and try to evaluate your options dispassionately.
 
Hi Mayakukla,

Firstly, sorry about your situation. I know it must be difficult and you must be feeling a lot of bad things. From what I understand, if you divorce, your wife's conditional permanent residence status and that of any of her children is technically terminated. Of course there is lag time for the government to become aware of the divorce. She would be able to apply for the I-751 by herself (not jointly with you) to waive the joint filing anytime after she got conditional PR, but I imagine she would fail because of the short duration you were married and that you were good to her. She would have to show the marriage was entered into in good faith and not to evade immigration laws. She could do this by showing proof of children you had together or property you both owned jointly, but I suspect she can show neither. You and your wife can only file the I-751 jointly within 90 days of her 2nd year anniversary of obtaining conditional PR. I don't believe you can file the I-759 for her since you are the USC, not the resident alien (see the instructions for filing I-759 here: http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-751instr.pdf) . If she moves away from you, she will have to change her address and notify USCIS of an address change. It will show that you are no longer at the same address which is not going to help her legal residence status.

Anyway, if I were you and the divorce has to proceed, I would try to let it go the best I could and move on without spending too much energy on it because it will only make your life miserable. If she tried to marry you just to get PR, then she will find herself in trouble eventually, and its probably best you weren't involved. I hope I was able to help and once again I'm sorry for your situation. Good luck and stay strong!

S
 
Sofiaan said:
Hi Mayakukla,

Firstly, sorry about your situation. I know it must be difficult and you must be feeling a lot of bad things. From what I understand, if you divorce, your wife's conditional permanent residence status and that of any of her children is technically terminated. Of course there is lag time for the government to become aware of the divorce. She would be able to apply for the I-751 by herself (not jointly with you) to waive the joint filing anytime after she got conditional PR, but I imagine she would fail because of the short duration you were married and that you were good to her. She would have to show the marriage was entered into in good faith and not to evade immigration laws. She could do this by showing proof of children you had together or property you both owned jointly, but I suspect she can show neither. You and your wife can only file the I-751 jointly within 90 days of her 2nd year anniversary of obtaining conditional PR. I don't believe you can file the I-759 for her since you are the USC, not the resident alien (see the instructions for filing I-759 here: http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-751instr.pdf) . If she moves away from you, she will have to change her address and notify USCIS of an address change. It will show that you are no longer at the same address which is not going to help her legal residence status.

Anyway, if I were you and the divorce has to proceed, I would try to let it go the best I could and move on without spending too much energy on it because it will only make your life miserable. If she tried to marry you just to get PR, then she will find herself in trouble eventually, and its probably best you weren't involved. I hope I was able to help and once again I'm sorry for your situation. Good luck and stay strong!

S
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thanks for the compassionate answer. I would have been happy to go to counseling and try to work it out. There is no cheating or anything crazy like that. just personality issues. I have done so much for her, I have put her through college while we were together, paid for all living expenses while going further into debt with my med school loans. etc but hey that's a different topic. Our separation is not yet definite, I will actually find out her decision in a couple days, but I am hoping for the best, expecting the worst.

I think I will just get divorced as quickly as possible and leave it at that. I have too much love for her to purposely try to hurt her.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Sofiaan said:
From what I understand, if you divorce, your wife's conditional permanent residence status and that of any of her children is technically terminated. Of course there is lag time for the government to become aware of the divorce. She would be able to apply for the I-751 by herself (not jointly with you) to waive the joint filing anytime after she got conditional PR, but I imagine she would fail because of the short duration you were married and that you were good to her. She would have to show the marriage was entered into in good faith and not to evade immigration laws.
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This is actually incorrect, after she has already obtained a green card, conditional or not, her status is not affected by divorce, which in any event is a state court proceeding not involving the federal government in any way. See the thread linked by JohnnyCash for details.

Either the marriage was bona fide when they were married or it wasn't. Whether he was good to her or not is irrelevant. The duration of the marriage is not irrelevant, but it is highly inconclusive. If she has evidence (including credible testimony) of a courtship and intimate relationship, that should do to remove conditions.
 
Sofiaan said:
Hi Mayakukla,

Firstly, sorry about your situation. I know it must be difficult and you must be feeling a lot of bad things. From what I understand, if you divorce, your wife's conditional permanent residence status and that of any of her children is technically terminated. Of course there is lag time for the government to become aware of the divorce. She would be able to apply for the I-751 by herself (not jointly with you) to waive the joint filing anytime after she got conditional PR, but I imagine she would fail because of the short duration you were married and that you were good to her. She would have to show the marriage was entered into in good faith and not to evade immigration laws. She could do this by showing proof of children you had together or property you both owned jointly, but I suspect she can show neither. You and your wife can only file the I-751 jointly within 90 days of her 2nd year anniversary of obtaining conditional PR. I don't believe you can file the I-759 for her since you are the USC, not the resident alien (see the instructions for filing I-759 here: http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-751instr.pdf) . If she moves away from you, she will have to change her address and notify USCIS of an address change. It will show that you are no longer at the same address which is not going to help her legal residence status.

Anyway, if I were you and the divorce has to proceed, I would try to let it go the best I could and move on without spending too much energy on it because it will only make your life miserable. If she tried to marry you just to get PR, then she will find herself in trouble eventually, and its probably best you weren't involved. I hope I was able to help and once again I'm sorry for your situation. Good luck and stay strong!

S
Click to expand...

Wrong! CGC is NOT terminated.
 
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