Folks,

Never thought I'd be soliciting for advice in this forum but life is strange. Our relationship has rapidly fallen apart (we are totally different people and have totally different expectations) and I am exploring options for damage control. I am looking at a divorce and am trying to estimate my financial liability. Facts:

My wife (the non-USC) arrived earlier this year on a K3.
Her I-130 is sitting approved at the foreign consulate.
We have applied for EAD (still pending approval) but have not applied for AOS (as we thought that she might go to her homeland for the 130 interview in a month or so).

If I file for divorce, and write to the foreign consulate that I wish to withdraw the petition, does that "stop" the process? I understand that I am probably financially liable for her for the remainder of the 2 years of her K3 visa, but am I in the clear after that?

Has anyone else been in this situation?

Thanks in advance.

If you contact USCIS and request that the I-130 be withdrawn, yes, that will effectively cease the process of your petition. Your wife will be required to return to her country.

If you contact USCIS and request that the I-130 be withdrawn, yes, that will effectively cease the process of your petition. Your wife will be required to return to her country.

Couldn't she apply for adjustment on her own following a divorce based on a good-faith marriage? I don't think it's so clear-cut that she would have to return to her country.

K-3 no adjustment of status yet, is how I read the OP's situation.

Q: My ex-husband is a U.S. citizen and he was the petitioner for my I-130 and I-485 application when we were married. We divorced before my I-485 adjustment of status application was granted. Am I still eligible for adjustment of status based on my prior marriage to my ex-husband?

A: No. Generally speaking, in cases where a spouse is the petitioner in an I-130 application, if the marriage terminates by divorce before the adjustment of status is granted, the beneficiary will not be eligible for permanent resident status through this relationship.

Filing if the Couple is Separated

More troublesome is if the couple is still married, but separated or otherwise not getting along. With limited exception, as long as the couple is legally married, it is necessary to have a joint petition. Thus, troubled marriages often need either to be reconciled or terminated in order to file the I-751. As explained below, the I-751 can be filed by divorced individuals, and may be approved, as long as there is sufficient evidence that the marriage was genuine when initially entered into. It is more difficult to satisfy the USCIS in such scenarios, however.

Joint-Filing Waived in Limited Cases

There are two situations in which a person who is still legally married can file the I-751 without the spouse. The first is if the person entered into a marriage in good faith, but has been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty by the petitioning spouse. The second is if termination of permanent resident status and removal from the U.S. would result in extreme hardship to the foreign national. Extreme hardship is a high standard and can be based only upon conditions that arose after the conditional residency was acquired.

With no AOS filed, the Non-Immigrant cannot file for Adjustment of Status on their own, withdrawing the I-130 petition effectively closes off the CR-1 as an option to get green card.
I found this one:
http://www.hooyou.com/divorce/faq.html

Also note in the case of if a Conditional Green card were issued, fortunately this is not the case for the OP here is another out:

The best way to handle situations where there is a conditional green card involved is to not be hasty and file for a divorce, the best course of action it to file for a separation. A LPR cannot file to lift conditions separately unless they are divorced, if only separated, they need to file jointly to remove the conditions with a few exceptions, and that is where you get the leverage.

http://www.murthy.com/news/n_remcon.html
http://www.divorceinfo.com/trialseparation.htm

Couldn't she apply for adjustment on her own following a divorce based on a good-faith marriage? I don't think it's so clear-cut that she would have to return to her country.