Hey guys..I saw this forum and I am so happy that someone else also maybe in same situation as me.Now-I married with my wife(USC)in Jan-2006 and came here in USA in Late May-and now I have CR-resident card status for about 10 months.I live with my wife and her family,But unfortunately I got a really BAD mother-in-law and my wife follows her,so I got a problem and now they want us to separate,I don't know here anyone and don't have any job(I studied full time since I came here),I cannot go back to my country because of financial problems,I was using my wifes credit card till now and really trusted her and her family(on which I came here),and so don't have any joint bank account.They just don't let me know what they are doing regarding tax-filing and documentation,The only thing I have is 'Nice' marriage cerificate,some photos and greeting gifts from family members.They now want me not to become Permenant Resident(looks like they(wife)dont want so remove my conditions from CR status)they are looking for an appartment and want us to separate(I mean i will go to appartment alone,not with wife)-when I asked that what about my Green-card..they kinder told that we will help you in interview,but now I really don't trust them.My question is-if we live separately what is the chance to get permenant resident card without(absolutely)their help?please tell me the list of MANDATORY documents for applying in I-751 or at interview?how about If I fill it separately with waiver-how effective it is?is it headache or what?I tried my best to solve this problem with my wife but she now doesn't want to talk to me and I still live with them in their house in separate room totally MUTED,its so hard!!!!but i wan't to secure my career,something I can do only if I get Green card permenantly.Any hel from you guys would be greatly appreciated.Please tell me about all the options right now that I have,my CR expires in may-2008.Thanks in advance.

I'm not sure what other people would have to say about your situation but if I were you, I would stick out till the end. Having your green card in your hand is so incredibly important to your future if you want to remain in this country. Don't risk it and try to go along with what they have to say, who knows you might even be able to fix your marriage along the way. But do whatever it takes till you have that 10 year green card in your hands. At least, that's what I would do anyway.

Thank you so much mononoke28...you are correct..but the problem is almost solved and they now promised me not to break all my dreams and of course my career...regarding marriage..nobody can fix it that i know.I cannot stay in that house because my wife and her family feels discomfort living like this and so am I of ocurse.But they strongly promised because they were a lot under social pressure.I have good reputation so things worked like this.I will make all documents for I-751 and interview details before going from here.Thanks again..

Wow, that must be tough!!! It is pretty complicated situation, however you have a couple options. Firstly if things are not going anywhere between you and your wife and if there isn't joint initiative to improve (e.g marriage counceling) you are probably heading towards divorce. If you get divorced and if you entered into this marriage in good faith, you could file your I-751 with a 'good faith ' waiver. Nevetheless you will most likely have to prove it to immigration officer after you file it. You staying with your spouse at the same household just to fille I-751 isn't very good idea, especially if she or her family don't want you there. It might be just a waste of your health and time. You have to make a call. If you have money go see attorney and see what he/she says. Good luck.

I second that...

Hey sake...wow such a nice reply.Thank you.I would like you to know a littlebit more about my situation-They ask me to leave the home because my wife feels uncomfortable.They promised me to help me getting my GC(but it was just orally),They want just to separate us illegaly(i mean just to live separately without filing separation).now what I am asking you is-if I give divorce to her...plz plz tell me-what is the chances to get GC with the help of waiver for sure?I entered the marriage in good faith...then please tell me if you know-how can I proove it to immigration officer?and regarding money-I really don't have it now..but if you can tell me approx amount,I can think for it.And if you have links where people have same problem as mine,i can contact them.I am really very disturbed...I can't even study properly.The reason I don't have money is studied full time-they told me to do it like that so that i can pass my exams and then think about permenant job and then they started creating probs.Any help from you would be greatly appreciated.please tell me about mandatory documentation that I must have handy before leaving that house.Thank you so much in advance.God bless you.

This might be an ignorant question, but the thought just came to my mind when I read your last comment.
How do you plan on financing your life once you have moved out of your wife's house? Who is going to pay for your apartment? You study full-time, don't have a job, don't have resources, from what do you plan to live in the future?

For the visa situation, you might want to repost your question/situation in the forum "Effects of Major Family Changes on Immigration Benefits": http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showforum=127

There might be more people with similar situations.

All the best for your future!

I think that sticking it out in your wife and in-laws' house, no matter how hard it is, would be the safest option. Without a job, even if you have money saved up, you would be in a precarious situation if you moved out on your own at this point. You would also be in a precarious situation from an immigration standpoint if you separate or divorce before you have your green card. Perhaps you could consult an immigration attorney before making any moves or decisions?

I'm sorry that you are having such a tough time and that your marriage isn't working out. But no matter what happens, things in your life WILL get better. Hang in there and good luck!

Well financial problems at home sound like something that can be worked out. It's not a dangerous situation you're returning to. It didn't say where you were from but if you have nothing here, that being a support network of people, a means of financial stability, the ability to provide a home for yourself maybe returning would be a better option...

Thank you everyone for such a nice support.Now the good news are-my in-laws family offered me to live temporarily until filing of I-751 at their cousins house located very nearby and even promised that they will definately help me and my address will be the same as now(in-laws house address)..it is just because they don't like to see us living like this..you get it.Now I have a question-I will now start working part-time with my study and I don't need to pay for housing stuff..please tell me is it possible like that?We will not separate onpaper...I will collect all the evidence that we had together and even will open joint bank account after getting job...But I don't have joint tax returns..is it big bad issue??any help from you would be greatly appreciated.Thank you in advance.

Hey..anyone..any input?????????

Parties that are separated, except those where separation automatically leads to divorce after some time, can file jointly to remove conditions. There's no prohibition against that, but the caveat is that successful petitioning would be predicated upon demonstrating the bonafide nature of the marriage. Joint tax returns? Even though you may not have worked while married and as such the marital income reported on a tax return may have included a "0" figure for you, didn't your spouse file the tax return as "married"?

Hey...thank you so much...here is the matter thats going on with me right now-my wife and her family decided not to help me getting my GC at all...and about documentation-they never talked anything about it with me..I mean my wife filed tax forms I don't know even when,how and they now don't want to tell me anything.now my wife says that if I will stay in her house she would kill herself..(she said that infront of 5 people that are mutual),now my GC expires in may 2008,so I should file I-751 in feb 2008 and it is 11 months left from right now.My question is-if divorce takes 1 year then i will need extension for filiing I-751.and my wife is not ready to sign anything with me including I-751.Please tell me-can they throw me out of their house with the help of police if I will stick in their house anyway?and even it would be stupid thing cuz my wife doesn't gonna sign I-751 anyways.I cannot study right now because of all these and very stressful situation.I am looking for immigration lawyer,let me know the link where I can find the best one if you know.bottomline point is-all I need to do,now I must do myself only.and let me know what documents are most important to proove that the marriage was bonafide?Any help from you would be very much appreciated my friend,cuz right now all I have is this forum and some friends.thank yo so much in advance,God bless you.Take care.

I don't know what state you reside in (or, let's say I haven't looked back through your posts to see if you mentioned it) but state law does and may vary on this. In my state, if one is married and has been living in the marital home for more than 90 days, it is considered his or her domicile, and even in divorce situations, cannot be forced out of the home. Bear in mind that I say cannot be forced out of the home, legally. Many times, people in these situations prefer to move, just to mitigate the chance of further disputes. However, if you entered this marriage with bonafide intentions, and your wife, albeit being extremely irrational at this time, claims that if you stay she will kill herself, give some thought to how that might appear to others, were you to demand to stay. Would the police take a poistion on this and demand that you leave? I'd be inclined to say they would not, unless your remaining in the home were an apparent threat to her safety or they buy some claim that your presence has been potentially harmful for her. Again, this depends on the state you live in, so you might want to check that out.

As far as tax returns are concerned, if those returns were jointly filed as "married", you would have been asked by your wife to sign them, I would think. Unless she were completely devious and laced your endorsement on them herself. Mind you, for purposes of confirming that they are not jointly filed, if I were you I'd play devil's advocate and ask for copies, making sure your wife knows that you are aware that a joint return is as much your property as hers. Chances are, when apprised of that, she'll respond that they aren't joint returns, and you can then ask her to prove it ( in other words to volunteer information that you "don't recall signing anything" to let her off the hook. Make it appear that you believe they are joint, and ask her to demonstrate that they are not!

While you are still living in that home, gather all the evidence that you lived there as you can. Mail addressed to you, and you and her, bills issued in your name, driver's license showing that as your address, bank statements showing that address, etc.

Hi.....I have no words to describe your help....but thank you so much.Well I live in NC.And as I believe my wife and her mom just scares me a lot so that I leave that home for nothing.Right now I already started gathering all the evidences for my stay over here.and even her cousin family members also think I am right on my place and they are wiling to state that I entered this marriage in good faith and they know me from first day of stay in USA till now.I will ask her about tax papers.but She never asked me to sign anything...so most probably that means she filed it separately.Now please tell me-Can she file tax returns separately while she is not separated legaly till now?(cuz we live in same house right now),the thing is my signature is easy to copy.....and maybe she did it.Thank you so much for hint,I will make sure about it.now i have heard something like this-If I stay with her for at least 1 year as married in same house-then chances of getting my GC goes up even if after separation when I file I-751 myself,is that true?Now right now all I need is-keep in touch with you IF YOU DON"T MIND becoming my friend and good advisor.I will really appreciate each and every input from you by heart.just keep in touch in forum.Thanks again.Wish you good luck.

You can file tax returns electronically, that way you just affirm rather than sign.

Being separated for tax purposes has nothing to do with marital status. It is an option.

Hi....thank you so much for your help.Now I got a question-If I will stick in their house(cuz right now they are not talking to me anymore at all and I am living in the same house with my wife but different rooms)....Is it good Idea to just stick out in their house?cuz divorce takes 1 year and now I don't have enough time to get decree....and most probably my wife is not gonna sign anything with me,I know its confusing that staying in their house but they won't support me filing I-751...I don't know what to do right now...I live in NC...any input from you would be greatly appreciated.Thank you so much in advance.

If you remain married to your wife, and residing in the marital home, USCIS will expect a jointly endorsed I-751 petition from you and your wife. If your wife doesn't sign it, then you are in the same place as you are right now. Does North Carolina require some sort of separate cohabitation requirement that it takes one year to finalise a divorce? If so, it sounds like this is why the family are pressing for you to take up residence elsewhere so that their daughter will be free to conduct her life as a single woman again as soon as possible.
Why be steadfast about staying in that home? Why not gather as much documentation as you can in the next couple of weeks, and move forward? Do you fear you will not have sufficient evidence to prove the marriage was bonafide?

First of all-thanks again for your nice reply.Well...right now I am kinder trying to convince her and her family...well regarding documents that I need to prove my marriage was bonafide that I have are-1.marriage certificate 2.Lot of photos and even dvds 3.I can obtain affidavits from my wifes cousins family stating that they know me from my marriage till now(3-4 people)4. joint health insurance 5.copy of some bills that she paid for me(cuz I never had a bank account,studied full time)and no joint tax returns as well....And right now I don't have money to go to an attourney..thats why they kept me in their house...found a job recently.How do you think....what is good for me right now...what are the chances of getting GC with these evidance that I have if you know someone same as mine situation?And in NC they require 1 year separation before divorce...but I need to file my I-751 in the end of next february and I don't even have a year to be separated legally and have a decree in my hands thereafter.Do you have some links or site info where I can get free advice online or by call?any input from you would be greatly appreciated.Thank you so much.God bless you.

In terms of evidence ~ get creative. Essentially, USCIS is looking to see that the parties lived together and commingled their social and financial lives, as much as is/was practical. So to demonstrate you lived together, anything that shows your residence is and ws the same as hers can work. Do you have a driver's license, were you authorised as a second operator on the vehicle policy? Did you receive mail directed to you at the same address that she had mail directed to her? etc.....

As far as commingling of social lives is concerned, invitations, letters and cards, photographs, or event ravel itineraries show you cavorted together, socialised together etc....
As far as commingling of financial lives goes, if whatever you had in the way of finances was shared, used to pay bills that each of you generated, used to pay for utilities or upkeep of the home you both lived in...these are all good evidences.

Try to see if there is a Catholic Human Charities in your area. They often provided pro bono assistance in immigration.

WOW....thanks for such a nice reply and explanation.....I can have all the evidances that you described...I can ask about bills that are generated by me and paid by my wife,We live 6 people in a house and my brother in law is honour of house and pays almost all the utility bills,car insurance etc...for all of us.My personal expences always paid by my wife(but no longer of course now),as for social evidances-I can get them easily.I have drivers license(and I am included in car insurance under the name of my brother- in- law.),we have mails directed to both of us on same address.I will try to find it out about Catholic Human Charities today....thank you so much my friend.God bless you.I want to thank you so much when I will get my GC,so keep in touch