Hi

I know that a similar situation that I am n must be there on this forum. But I would still like to post my specific question here.

I have a conditional GC and I am divorced right now.

My story goes this way. I have been a victim of domestic violence since the day I came to US. But I did not realise it till now. I had an argument with my husband a few months back, at that time I was 1 1/2 months pregnant. He verbally and physically abused me, and since I feared my safety, I had to run away at that night. Since I left the house, I did not get to take anything with me, except the clothes that I was wearing. I did not file a police complain, since I feared that if we reconcile, he may not like it that I called the police on him.

I decide to go ahead and terminate my pregnancy, since our relationship was going nowwhere. I did inform my husband, but he very diplomatically handled the situation and left me with no choice. I terminated the pregnancy. He called me and tried to get me back, saying that he will change etc. I waited for a few months to still see if after this also we can work this relationship. I agreed inspite of all the fights and arguments that we had, but he never took me back home. I stayed all this while with a family friend hoping that he would take me back home. Since I had over stayed my limit at the family friend's house, I left for my country after informing my husband. He told me it was my choice if I wanted to go back to my parents or come back to him. Since he gave me a choice, I booked a return ticket.

After I came back to my country, I emailed him, but got no response, also called him a few times, but got his voice mail. I did leave a message asking him to call me, but he did not. A few months passed by and I returned to the US, as I could not stay out for more that 6 months, or I would need a re-entry permit. Since my husband was not communicating with me, I could not go to our house, or rather his house. hence I went to another friend of mine, and I came to know there that, my husband had filed for a divorce behind my back, while I was away visiting my parents in my country. This came as a shock to me, but I learned that he got the divorce on default grounds. He claimed that his spouse is missing and since he cannot contact me, he wants default and uncontested divorce. He was granted the same. He goes around telling everyone that since I termonated the pregnancy he divorced me, but he does not tell then the real story, that he physically abuse me while I was pregnant.

Anyways....to come to the point. Now I have to file for the removal of conditions by myself. How do I prove that I entered this marriage in good faith ? I do not have any documents like tax returns etc. He never told me or let me get involved in any financial matter of the house. Since we lived with our in-laws, I am not even sure on who's name are the morgatge papers etc. But after this incident took place, I did contact an organization, which helps victims of domestic violence, and they were helping me. They told me that they would help me find an attorney, since I was not employed and I am unemployed still (finding work). I did not go for the option, because I realised that if this realtionship is working out, then why file for a divorce. So here I am today. What do I do ? I cannot afford an immigration attorney, so pls advice accordingly. Since I was not present here when the divorce took place, will this create a problem now that I have to file for the waiver for removal of conditions ? Will they not doubt that I am doing this just bec I want the GC ?

Also what documents do I file, to prove that this marriage was entered in good faith, considering the fact that I do not have most of the documents to prove our relationship was bonafide ???


Pls help.

You definitely need to make an appointment with a good immigration lawyer to at least find out what your options are. This is a big one and you should definitely try to get advice from a reliable source.

Best wishes.

Kim,

You should see a family (divorce) lawyer as well. Perhaps the immigration lawyer that you see can recommend someone who they work well with. There may be little that you can do with regard to the divorce at this point, but anything that you can do with regard to documenting the abuse issue will be helpful.

Yodrak

Thnx guys....but as I said, it is difficult for me to hire an immigration attorney at this point. How much do they charge though ? Any idea for such cases ??? Any information will be helpful.

Hey Kim
I am exact in same situation as you are right now.Where do you live?I live in NC and My US citizen wife wants separation(because NC requires 1 yr separation to get actual divorce decree),I was not employed till now and I came here exactly year ago.I studied full time and didn't work and lived with in laws family(they said not to work until I pass my exams)and then my wife kinder started liking someone else(as I suspect)and now I just got job 2 weeks ago.my thoughts to you,find a job as soon as possible and then make an appointment with good immigration attorney,they usually charge couple of thousand bucks,but If you will get chance to stay here,it will pay off.The only thing thats different between you and me is-I never left country after coming here a year ago.I also have no joint bank account,tax returns etc....cuz my wife wanted me to send back to my country.But all you need to do is-to prove that you entered the marriage the marriage in good faith,show marriage photos,affidavits of people that know you since you entered in USA,each and every document that shows that you were together,if you have had mails coming on your address,where you both lived..etc..let us keep in touch if you don't mind,probably we can help each other at least sharing current situations.I am sorry about you.....it is hard to survive like that..and it is my own feelings.but lets do it and hope for better in future.Good luck.Take care kim.

Kim,

If your goal is to stay in the USA, then you can not worry about the cost of a good lawyer - hire one. USCIS will look very closely at your petition and most likely you will have to go in for an interview. From what I have read on other posts, the folks at USCIS will need evidence to show that you were abused. They will need records from any or all: police, hospital, counselor or your minister. The USCIS grants a conditional green card for marriages less than two years, because they want to make sure that the marriage is not fraud. You need to do everything that you can to prove that you intended a life long commitment.

Good luck

I moved your topic here "Effects of Major Family Changes on Immigration Benefits"

The Self-petition for removal of conditions can be filed by an alien with one or more grounds. Typically, one files based upon a bonafide marriage that terminated in divorce, because this is normally true. In the event that the alien has little evidence of that, there's no reason not to try, but to supplement that ground with another, if applicable.

Before contacting Catholic Human Charities (they normally provide pro bono legal assistance) relate the facts in a manner in which they will aid your story.

"You were married to a husband that was emotionally and physically abusive and wondered if this relationship would be wise to continue. You then learned that you were pregnant by your husband, and if the relationship were doomed, considered it unwise to begin a family. You took steps to terminate the pregnancy without informing your husband, due to fear of reprisal and repercussions that could ensue. Emotionally drained, you left the country after terminating the pregnancy to be with family for comfort and moral support, and later on returned to the US to find your husband had filed for divorce in your absence, claiming abandonment as his ground."

If presented in this manner, it is clear that you are being punished for your independent thinking and actions. If I were involved in psychological examination, I'd see it that way. Check to see if there is a CHC in your community and ask for assistance in preparing an I-751 waiver with good faith marriage AND emotional abuse as your valid grounds. By the way, preparing to expand your family can be interpretted also as evidence of the bonafide nature of your intentions in the marriage, despite the fact that you chose to terminate the pregnancy later.

Without tax returns, did you commingle your finances? Bank accounts? Insurance policies with both names on them as beneficiaries?

Hey Diadromous Mermaid
Well right now my current situation is as following-My wife and her family are trying to chuck me out of their house because my wife doesn't want to make things work out anyhow.I found a parttime job but I cannot afford appartment etc....so now I wanted to know that-my wife and her brother signed affidavit of support form to invite me here as a dependant..can I force them legally to provide me acomodations etc?and if you know please tell me how much as that affidavit of support says cost of living for one month?because I have nothing in my pocket and they are agree to sign appartment lease for 6 months..can I ask for more comfort for me?or can they throw me out of their house if my wife leaves home?because I have nowhere to go.Any input would be greatly appreciated.Thank you in advance.

If you have a CR-1, then I presume your wife and her brother executed an I-864. In that Affidavit, the US sponsor is assuring the US gov't that you will be provided sufficient support equal to 125% of the current poverty guideline figure. Hers is a commitment to the government (a contract with the agency) and not with you, however, in various states aliens have been successful lately in using the third party beneficiary claim to file a civil suit against the USC for some sort of support. Mind you, whether legally sound or not, there's no guarantee, and all litigation costs money!

This is what I think, please note think, how it works.

The I-864 is a three party agreement, it has the potential to be enforced by the Us Government or by the Immigrant.

Both are very rare, very very rare.

The only case I know which was reported on www.ilw.com involved a lady who sought to enforce the agreement against her husband, I think ex husband by the time it was decided.

I have lost the link, but my recollection was that:

1. It is a civil contract she was seeking to enforce.

2. She was obligated to mitigate (seek employment to reduce) her damages.

3. The Judge decided the obligation amounted to something like $12,000 for one person, she had a part time job so her net was somewhat less than this, no doubt her Lawyer would take a chunk so what she actually ended up with could be quite small.

And obviously all this took time to achieve.

Most people who can work are not likely to get enough to make it worth considering, but it might be a useful tool in getting some sort of voluntary payment.

Not entirely true. Stump versus Stump was one case, and no there is no mitigation required.

Thanks for the name, found it:

http://www.ilw.com/articles/2006,0110-wheeler.shtm



I think this is the bit where we read it in different ways.

I took this as meaning that this was not something the Court needed to consider, as it had happened, rather than that they had taken a positive view that it was not required.

Probably the safest thing to say is that it is undecided. I would not want to assume as a potential recipient that I did not need to mitigate.

There are actually two..

Stump v. Stump (Fort Wayne Indiana)

Chesire v. Chesire (somewhere in Florida)

diadromous mermaid,

True, the contract is between the sponsor and the government, but the contract is clear that the alien being sponsored can sue the sponsor directly to obtain the minimum level of support should it be needed.

I think where scorpionking is going off track is in framing the issue in terms of his expenses rather than in terms of his income. The I-864 requires the sponsor to assure that the alien has a minimum level of income (if they cannot obtain it on their own), it does not require the sponsor to cover the alien's expenses. The alien is on their own to spend their income appropriately so as to cover their expenses.

Yodrak

http://www.ilw.com/articles/2006,0608-mehta.shtm

That does not cover mitigation either.

US law can sometime be very weird, but for mitigation not to apply seems odd.



So $1,600 a year, less legal costs.

I have a feeling the net to the plaintiff would have been very small to the point of it not being worth the hassle.

You are looking for advise that I do not believe anybody here is qualified to give.




I am not sure how strong your bargaining position is, have you asked?




Honor?

If her Brother owns the house I would have thought he could evict you, the I-864 has no impact on that.

[/quote]

The Self-petition for removal of conditions can be filed by an alien with one or more grounds. Typically, one files based upon a bonafide marriage that terminated in divorce, because this is normally true. In the event that the alien has little evidence of that, there's no reason not to try, but to supplement that ground with another, if applicable.

Before contacting Catholic Human Charities (they normally provide pro bono legal assistance) relate the facts in a manner in which they will aid your story.

"You were married to a husband that was emotionally and physically abusive and wondered if this relationship would be wise to continue. You then learned that you were pregnant by your husband, and if the relationship were doomed, considered it unwise to begin a family. You took steps to terminate the pregnancy without informing your husband, due to fear of reprisal and repercussions that could ensue. Emotionally drained, you left the country after terminating the pregnancy to be with family for comfort and moral support, and later on returned to the US to find your husband had filed for divorce in your absence, claiming abandonment as his ground."

If presented in this manner, it is clear that you are being punished for your independent thinking and actions. If I were involved in psychological examination, I'd see it that way. Check to see if there is a CHC in your community and ask for assistance in preparing an I-751 waiver with good faith marriage AND emotional abuse as your valid grounds. By the way, preparing to expand your family can be interpretted also as evidence of the bonafide nature of your intentions in the marriage, despite the fact that you chose to terminate the pregnancy later.

Without tax returns, did you commingle your finances? Bank accounts? Insurance policies with both names on them as beneficiaries?
[/quote]

Hi
Mermaid

Thanks for the above reply, I too thought on the same lines. My intention was to take the realtionship ahead. With or without the child. BUT....I Did inform my husband before I terminated the pergnancy and he also came to meet me, though he gave me no choices where I could have re-considered, and the thought of being a single mother, scared me, hence......I did what I thought was best for my child and me at that time.

As for the tax returns, I was told by my husband that since I do not work, I cannot file my tax returns, he never involved me in any financial matters or any thing related to paper work. Infact he also filled all my immigration papers himself, and just came to me for my signatures. He never told me what the immigartion papers were all about, I just knew that they were immigratiion papers, from the headings on the forms. I do have statements of our bank accounts, but do not have any Insurance policy copies, as he kept all of the papers to himself, and the condition that I left the house, did not permit me to take any papers or even ask for any thing later on.

Hey Mermaid,Now my current situation is as follows-Right now I am staying with my wife and her family because they don't want to support me and I have nothing(no finance to support myself)so they can't chuck me out of the house,but I am worried because I have no joint bank account,no tax returns(she filed as maried filing separately),and no home lease(we stay in my brother0in-laws house)...and clock is ticking-and It is already a year since I came here in USA.My question is-how to prove before immigration officer that why don't I have joint bank account etc..even our marriage lasted almost a year.My wife mentioned that-the reason why she didn't add my name in her account is-if we will have argue in future-I can whipe-out her account(thats how my mother-in-law told her to do)and she filed taxes separately because her intention is to throw me out of this country(also created by her mother originally).But we still have joint health insurance,I tried to make an appointment with marriage counselor but it is not reported because my wife was not willing to come at all with me.The main plus point for me is-I can obtain many affidavits to prove bonafide nature of marriage,photos together in several family events,joint health insurance,marriage photos and dvds,mails coming to same address....now my wife says that she will move out of that house very soon and then I have no right to stay there anymore,is it true?and can I then say that it is her who left me to prove I am not at fault?Any input from you would be greatly appreciated.Thank you in advance.

scorpianking,

You continue to frame your discussion in terms of the expenses you have to cover rather than in terms of the minimum level of support (income) that the I-864 is intended to provide you.

Forget about how much you need to cover your rent. Concentrate what your income is having made every effort that you possibly can to obtain an income. You can request a court award you the difference between that income and 125% of the poverty level on a retroactive basis. Whether that amount is enough to cover your rent or not does not factor into it.

If you prevail your sponsor will have to pay your legal expenses in addition to the amount of support money that you are awarded. If you do not prevail you will be in a deeper financial hole than you are now unless your attorney was working on a contingency basis.

Keep in mind that your opponent will be attempting to demonstrate that you should have been able to find a way to support yourself and that you did not make every effort to do so. The side that can make the most convincing argument is the side that will likely prevail.

Yodrak

Hello Yodrak,Thank you for such a nice advice,but I wanted to know the conclusion of your previous post in simple english if you don't mind,because I know english not very well,so here it is what I understood-If I will not make an effort to go to the court and file a case against my sponser(s),it will be bad for my side,correct?I talked to an attorney(free consultation) and he said that it is very lengthy and hard process,so I am kinder stressed and confused.and what do you mean by 'Income'(Concentrate what your income is having made every effort that you possibly can to obtain an income.)I have no money in my pocket to hire an attorney.And If I file a suit against them will it affact when I need to remove the conditions from my conditional greencard later on?and please tell me-what are the chances to win the case?right now whose side is stronger mine or their?I am really very confused and really need some inputs.Any help would be very much appreciated.Thank you in advance.

scorpionking,

You ask questions that I cannot answer. In part because for some of the questions you have not provided enough information to form an opinion, but more significantly because these are questions that should be put to an attorney who has experience with the issue.

I suspect that there are not very many such attornies, and it doesn't seem that you could afford such an attorney if you could find one. So be guided by the advice that you got from your free consultation. I expect that the attorney you spoke with was correct in saying that suing your wife for support will be a lengthy and hard process, and my guess is that your she is counting on this when she says that she will not provide you with any support unless you get a court order. She is betting that you will not be able to take her to court.

You are in a difficult situation. My best wishes to you.

Yodrak