Hello everybody,

I would like to ask if anybody knows about the process regarding the removal of conditions (I-751)

My friend's married to a USC and she came to the US via a K-1 visa. Their marriage isn't going well and he told her he won't help her in the petition to remove the conditions on her greencard. She already got her 2-year greencard and it will expire by January 2009. She's looking at her options and saw that she would have to file on her own. She was told by Catholic Charities that since they are not divorced (she doesn't have enough time to get a divorce decree since they must be separated for one year first and they only got recently separated), her only options to remove the conditions on her greencard is to file for a waiver based on hardship (he isn't physically abusing her). She could go back to where she came from but she won't have a job (it is difficult to find a good job there) and she is helping out in the medical expenses of her brother who has cancer, which is the reason why she wanted to stay as long as she can legally.

Here are her questions:

1. Can she ask for an extension from the USCIS to have the period to remove her conditions extended? She is planning to file for divorce as her ground to remove the conditions since she was told that hardship is a weak basis and her petition can be denied.

2. What's the average length of time for the USCIS to respond to her petition of I-751 based on hardship? (state is South Carolina)

3. Just in case her petition gets denied, can she appeal the denial? How does she appeal it and to what agency?

4. We heard about appearing before the immigration judge? How does she get a chance to present her case before the immigration judge?

5. Just in case all her options are denied, what exactly is the process for deporting her? Will her husband who brought her here to the USA be responsible for paying her airplane fare back?

Thanks for any input/help

Good luck to her.

Thanks so much Kathryn.

She was so depressed upon hearing the advice to her (that she should not waste her efforts and just go back to where she came from once her greencard expires on January 09) that we are looking so far ahead. We're worried that she may be put to jail or something.

On her behalf, thank you very much. (She is wary of signing up on forums.) I will be giving her a copy of this and I will definitely be back for updates on her situation.

Why does she have to wait a year seperated to divorce. Can't she go the Vegas or somewhere and get one quicker?

This is not really accurate. When speaking of removing conditions using the "hardship" grounds, the hardship referred to is that which an alien would face if removed from the country because the alien fails to meet the Joint requirement of applying to remove conditions 90 days prior to the expiry with the USC spouse, and NOT hardship the aliens faces in removing conditions alone!

No, perhaps not as strong as otherwise, however, it is certainly a path worth pursuing under the circumstances. Her hardship is accentuated by the fact of having to support her brother who is fighting cancer and that she cannot do so back in her home country - and she is facing hardship removing conditions because USCIS doesn't allow for the transition time between married and divorced that might happen when the I-751 falls due.

Kathryn,
Once again, I disagree and your recommendation is directing the alien to document a hardship which does not meet the INA's requirement. The thrust of any hardship claim would be extreme conditions an alien would face if the Service chose to remove her because she could not remove conditions alone and could not remove conditions with her USC sponsor. The crux is in the terminology
"hardship if removed".

For example, here....

From, www.nwirp.org/Documents/FillingAnI-751Waiver.pdf

MB08 - you may want to take a look at this post and share it with your friend. Perhaps this is something that your friend and her husband can consider as well:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=141136

Haole, as a matter of fact, she was told that it's easy enough to be divorced if she would only go there. Her problem with that is that she can't afford the plane far to go there right now, she's is starting out on her own recently, supporting herself with a low-paying job and wouldn't have the means to work there (no finances/car/work/etc).

Thanks everybody for all the input.

I might be wrong but...
Somehow I thought that "by hardship" CIS means "hardship to US citizen or GC holder" if the alien gets removed. In this case, if brother is US citizen and OP is supporting-it is hardship to US citizen brother if she is not able to support due to deportation/removal. But if brother is not US citizen or legal PR-CIS does not care (his native country should care about the situation). I know that some hardship cases get approved if parents/spouses/kids are citizens and alien is supporting them or they have poor health and might break down (with doctors testimony) if their beloved relative alien is removed.
One point, I am not sure about is OP is a conditional PR also and if the rules applies to her. What OP writes, removing her from US will bring hardship to HERSELF. If CIS accept this rule, most I-751 filer can claim hardship due to job, social contact, etc. (obviously, it is hard to get a good job in some 3rd world country with 25-50% unemployment rate)
I remember some chapters in adjudicators mannual about hardship evidence (a few categories-strong evidence/weak evidence, etc) and rules but not details. I just dont have time to re-read it.