Hi, I know there is plenty of information on these boards, and I have read a LOT of posts on this subject.

I am a UK citizen, my wife and I got me over to the US back in July 04. We got Married September 04, got my green card Feb/March 05. We have been have problems where we have both decided that the marriage cannot work - Its like we turned into friends than a married couple, we still love each other lots and its very hard, but know its for the best. My wife is filling for the divorce and I signed the papers last week, all in agreement.

We both entered this marriage with best intentions, and we are both very hurt by the fact it hasnt worked out. Now from reading other posts, a lot of you will be like

"well why do you want to stay... go back to the UK... you have nothing here"

But thats where you are wrong, for one, I have my best friend, my wife (Ex wife to be) and I have lots of other friends, not to mention a job I love and all my assets etc. In the UK , I have my parents, but everything else I gave up when I moved over here. I have no where to live over there, no job over there, and the people I knew back in the UK, have spread out elsewhere.

So I am looking to stay here. Come December (90 days before GC expires) I have to apply for removal of Conditions
no I read this :

7.11) ..My marriage fell apart and we are divorced. Can I still get the conditional status lifted?
A..The I-751 is normally filed by a married couple, but if you have divorced, or your US Citizen spouse has died, you may file the petition on your own. The I-751 form itself contains provisions for a waiver of the requirement to file jointly with the US Citizen spouse. You may file the I-751 immediately upon divorce or the death of your spouse, and you will be required to provide evidence that you married in good faith, rather than to just get a green card by marrying a US Citizen. You will be required to submit a copy of the divorce decree or death certificate.
The I-751 also makes provisions for a waiver for filing jointly with your spouse, if you are still married, but "battered or subject to extreme mental cruelty". If you are in this unfortunate situation, you need the help of an experienced immigration attorney.

It says I can file immediately upon divorce.... now is it best to do this, or wait till December, also, is there anything my wife (ex wife to be) can do, as she is wanting her best friend (me) to stay.

I know there are a lot of skeptical people on here, and I feel the same about immigrants in the UK, but my case is sincere, it just didnt work out. ?

Any other advise would be greatfully received.

ps. for those that just want to try make out what I am doing to be wrong, please find another post to abuse.
I am open to criticism but lets try to keep it nice, helpful and useful.

Thanks

There's little point in waiting until December, because you can't accrue any more bona fides of the marriage now that has terminated and that's what is required to successfully remove the conditoins attached to the PR at this time. If your wife is willing to assist, then I'd imagine that she could work with you to permit you to assemble enough evidence from the date of your conditional green card issue, until the date you were no longer married.

Thanks, this is what I was thinking, but an aquaintance I know, said that it was better to wait till they were expecting your form etc...

If I file by myself, do they usually request an interview ? An Interview would be better so I could explain things easier we have loads of bank statements, car payments, photos, loads of stuff together but sometimes that doesnt really push the point as I could in person

Some waivers for joint filing of I751 are approved without an interview, relative to how compelling the evidence is on its face. I'd think you'd feel a lot more relieved to submit this waiver ASAP. Why put it off?

why put it off, well I dunno, fear of being denied I guess.

I dont see why it would get denied, I really dont, marriage was real, I have a job, house, pay my taxes etc,
but should it get denied what happens then ?

thanks for your input DM

Why worry about something unnecessarily? And if you are concerened, why not find out sooner, so you can do something about it? If denied, you would be placed in removal but could appeal before the IJ. It would appear to me that is you have an amicable relationship with your ex-wife, collectively, you should be able to come up with enough evidence of the genuine nature of your marriage (affidavits from close freinds, her family can be enclosed with the I751)

FWIW, I agree with DM, particularly this most recent post.

What your STBex can do as your friend who wants you to stay is help you assemble sufficient proof of a bonafide marriage.

k thanks peeps

Once we get the decree through, I'll send all the stuff off.
I relaly appreciate your replies. Thanks

Marty,

If you're truly concerned you'd ante up a few dollars for a consultation with an immigration attorney to discuss the specifics of your particular situation.

Yodrak

Just bumping this up because I have a friend who is in a similar position.

Surely someone out there must have been through this? We can't find any posts by people who have actually filed for AOS after a divorce. Maybe they just don't post after because they don't need to, or maybe it is very difficult to prove bona fide marriage grounds for waiving the joint filing for AOS, and therefore there are no posts from people who have been successful?

There are many immigrants that remove conditions from their green cards after divorce by way of a waiver. BTW, your post could be confusing to others, when using the term AOS to mean removing conditions. I sense you mean adjustment through securing a 10-yr card, but the abbreviation 'AOS' is typically used for the process associated with initial acquisition of permanent residency.

yes sorry, I became a resident through a different route and maybe I am confused.

She married her husband in the US on a fiance visa, then adjusted her status after they married and got her 2 yr conditional residency. Now her marriage is a shambles. She should file to change her adjustment from conditional two year residency to 10 year residency after two years from when they married, which will be in Oct 2007.

She is trying to decide what to do, she is miserable with her husband, there is no battering etc, so she can't file on grounds of abuse, she loves her husband but she is constantly finding all sorts of things out about him that she can't live with, don't want to go into detail because it is her private affair, just trying to help her find out her legal standing.

Her main dilemma is this: if she starts divorce proceedings now, will she be able to continue with her life here after the divorce when it comes to her filing alone for removal of conditions? or should she suck it up and hope that he will file a joint with her in a year or so from now? I have advised her to see an immigration lawyer, because I don't think she can rely on him to file with her in a year from now the way things are going, he could turn around and say he won't file, but if she was divorced by then she could file alone. She has loads of proof that she entered into the marriage in good faith. For example, she came into the marriage with a lot of money and they have bought a house together and she has set up a savings account with her own money in joint names. she has all the usual of emails, cards, photos, joint property, vacatins taken together, mutual friends, joint bills for utilities etc.

She is asking me, should she get divorced now and hope they will accept her filing alone, or should she stick it out for a year, living a marriage of constant arguing and hope he will file with her when the time comes. I know she can't live like that, but she really entered into the marriage for love, and she has built a life here that she doesn't want to lose.

If she feels there's no chance of redeeming the quality of the marriage, and she has sufficient evidence of a bona fide marriage, dating from the award of the conditional green card until now, then there should be little concern about divorcing now, so long as she feels the divorce, if contested, that is, would be finalised by the time she has to file he I-751. I hesitate to suggest how long divorces take from filing to final decree, because it varies from state to state and also on whether it is contested by the spouse. Life is short. If this relationship is doomed, there's no point in prolonging the agony for the sake of the green card if she has the documentation she needs.