Getting divorced before 2yrs as a green card holder... please help

[stranded30 0]

Hi Visajourney,

I came to the US on a K-1 visa and married my American wife on January 2013. The green card process took a very long time and I got it on November 2013.

Unfortunately the marriage hasn't gone so well, but we are amicable. We were thinking of staying married until November 2015 (which is about 10 months from now) so I could get the conditions removed. I know I'm supposed to file for RoC 90 days before the expiry, which puts the application somewhere in August 2015.

However, last week my wife made it clear to me that she doesn't want to live with me any more. I thought "Fine, we'll just get divorced and do that 'bona fide marriage waiver' thing". But I just recently learned that to be able to get divorced in North Carolina (which is where we are. She might move to Virginia but the same rule applies) you have to live separately for one year. This has confused me greatly and I don't know what to do.

I have a couple of questions that might clarify the situation if you guys are able to answer them.

1. Is there no way of getting divorced without the 1 year separation?

2. Even if we separate as soon as possible (say Jan 2015), by the time I'm eligible for divorce (Jan 2016) my Green Card will have expired (it expires on Nov 2015). So I will actually be still married in Nov 2015, but can't file for removal of conditions since I'm separated right? But what do I do - my GC will expire?

3. Is there a way we can separate immediately but I can file for removal of conditions when the time comes? Or, if I live apart from my wife, will USCIS get suspicious? What if I had a legitimate reason (like getting a master's degree somewhere else)?

Thanks for any help you guys might provide.

[Pitaya 2,576]

~Moved from ROC Forum to Effects of Major Family Changes on Immigration Forum~

~Similar topics are often discussed at this forum~

[Hypnos 6,576]

1) This is set by your relevant state's law. If in NC it takes a year then it takes a year.

2) A month or so before your green card would expire you would file for RoC asking for a divorce waiver. You would then be RFE'd for a copy of the divorce decree signed by the judge. By then you would hopefully have such a document and would be able to respond to the RFE with the requested documents.

[stranded30 0]

Thanks for your response. My green card expires on Nov 2015.

If we separate now (meaning January) the earliest we can get divorced is Jan 2016.

So if I file for the divorce waiver in October, when would they RFE me for the divorce decree? If it's a fast process I wouldn't have it by then...

[Hypnos 6,576]

Yep, unfortunately you may be caught in a situation whereby you receive the RFE but do not have the divorce decree to send them yet. If you are unable to respond to the RFE in time then your I-751 will be denied and you will be placed in removal proceedings in immigration court. At your hearing you would explain to the judge that you were waiting on a copy of your divorce decree for the I-751. He or she would then issue a stay for a period of time, probably 3 - 6 months, at which point you should have your divorce decree and can present it to the judge. They would then let you "resurrect" your I-751 and it would proceed as normal.

[stranded30 0]

I understand. Is there no way of not going to the immigration court? Like putting a note in the I-751 that the divorce procedure has not been finalized?

In North Carolina apparently when you file for divorce and say "we've been living apart for one year" no one questions you and you don't need to submit proof.... I'd hate to lie, but if I have no other option I will.

How involved would USCIS be in the divorce process? I mean, if I lie to NC and divorce my wife, saying we've already been living apart for a year, then with the divorce decree submit a I-751 to USCIS... how much would they check it? Would they say something like "but your registered address with us is the same residence as your wife," etc?

I know that lying like this is despicable but I don't want to have to go to immigration court... If I separate from my wife in Feb 2015 I'll have the divorce decree in Feb 2016. But my GC expires in Nov 2015. And I have to apply way before then. So there's gonna be like 6 months between my I-751 application and the divorce decree....

Sorry for picking your brain like this

[stranded30 0]

Or how about this;

- In the next couple of months I and my wife separate.

- We don't tell USCIS about this and I file a regular I-751 in August (GC expires in November) saying "well I've had the GC for 2 years and we're still married!"

- Hopefully the conditions will be removed

- Then, in early 2016 we can actually get divorced since we've been living separately for a year.

Would the USCIS be suspicious of this? The fact that I got divorced a short time after removal of conditions?

Sorry guys... I really don't know what to do here...

[TBoneTX 43,020]

Don't lie about anything, and don't hide anything. Follow the path that Hypnos has recommended just above. Many have done the same, with desirable results.

[stranded30 0]

But there's no way I will have enough time... If I get separated in Feb 2015 I will be eligible to file for divorce in Feb 2016. Even in an uncontested divorce I won't have the divorce decree before April 2016.

My green card expires on November 2015...

[Boiler 43,397]

So your solution is fraud?

[raven52 233]

I live in South Carolina, so I know all about this separation thing for one year, BUT, even if you file, in NC, and you wait the one year, it may take months, before you can get a court date, and your final decree, "this is a much longer experience, than one year".,.,..,in the Bible Belt, ..,.,I been through it!

Just some timing probabilities to think about.

[stranded30 0]

I live in South Carolina, so I know all about this separation thing for one year, BUT, even if you file, in NC, and you wait the one year, it may take months, before you can get a court date, and your final decree, "this is a much longer experience, than one year".,.,..,in the Bible Belt, ..,.,I been through it!

Just some timing probabilities to think about.

that's what I was saying... even after the 1 year it's gonna take months for me to get the decree, during which time I'll probably have been deported...

[TBoneTX 43,020]

You're worrying about some straw dogs. Fraud is the dog that will rip your throat out.

[Hypnos 6,576]

No one here is going to tell you it's ok to lie either to USCIS or your state to facilitate your divorce.

Edited December 27, 2014 by Hypnos

[Cheezees 1,514]

Do not lie. Ever. Ever. Ever. The "normal" application would include forging your wife's signature since it is s joint application. Do not do that. You are not the first person from your state to remove conditions via a divorce waiver. The waiting time is not a factor. What you are trying to avoid is the regular process for some very strange reason.

File toward the end of the 90-day period to give yourself as much time as possible to obtain the divorce decree. Do not ever consider being untruthful for some imagined convenience. Please stop considering immigration fraud as a viable alternative.