Sponsor supports finiancal ex-wife obligations I-864

[paul_ryan 0]

Hello everyone,

 

I ran into the situation that I never thought it would happen to me. I am USC who filed I-129F K1 visa for my fiance back 2013.  She came to US in 2014 and live with me since then.  She cheated and have a baby with that person. She left the house already with her greencard. I talked to her that I am filing divorce right now so she will expect to receive the paperwork really soon and she needs to make the decision whether she signs it. She replied back to me that she will not sign it and she will ask for support due to I signed I-864. I do know that I have to support until she becomes USC or 40 credits of working. Here is the story of financial from beginning to now:

 

She was self employment for 2 years and she made just about 12-14K per year. I was student at the time and worked 20 hours per week.  She and I filed income tax for that 2 years around 40k per each year. I got the full time job last year and I filed income tax with her where she did not work due to baby. Hence, I filed 3 years income tax with her.

 —Is any of the working credits that she and I stayed together 3 years contributing to 40 credits work requirement and how do  I know how many years left that I need to support her?

—How much will I support her financial per year? is it 125% proverty line or depending the money that I make ( I make a quite good number)? Do I need to support her son as well as she now has two people in her household (her son(not my son) and herself)?

I do know that I am not asking legal advices here but I just want to ask whether someone who went through this situation and can give me the feedbacks. Thanks

 

 

[Roel 7,191]

You don't give her any money. 

You only need to pay money to the government if she starts using benefits and become a public charge. 

[paul_ryan 0]

Just now, Roel said:

You don't give her any money. 

You only need to pay money to the government if she starts using benefits and become a public charge. 

The way she sounds like she will try everything to make me paying that. What is the limit that government will allow her to apply for. I cant just pay whatever she asks the government for. 

[Roel 7,191]

"If the individual you sponsored receives any "means-tested public benefits," you are responsible for repaying the cost of those benefits to the agency that provided them. If you do not repay the debt, the agency can sue you in court to get the money owed." 

 

https://www.uscis.gov/greencard/affidavit-support

Edited April 8, 2018 by Roel

[Roel 7,191]

Actually I might have been wrong 

 

https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/immigrant-ex-spouse-moved-rich-relation-really-need-support.html

[CEE53147 559]

If you were married when the baby was born, the child is assumed too be yours, and you are responsible for child support.  If this is the case, be sure your divorce attorney takes proper step to disestablish you as the father.

[Villanelle 4,121]

please read this thread=

 

[paul_ryan 0]

27 minutes ago, CEE53147 said:

If you were married when the baby was born, the child is assumed too be yours, and you are responsible for child support.  If this is the case, be sure your divorce attorney takes proper step to disestablish you as the father.

This is correct that baby was born when we were married. My lawyer is working to remove my name as her son’s father on Birth certificate.

[kris&me 572]

not knowing your state some of this may not apply but the baby is eligle for WICK as all babies are and that is not considered public  charge / the mother can get vouchers for Milk and cheese and eggs , etc

if she is living with another person,  his income must be taken into account for any assistance she gets and probably not eligle unless he is complete deadbeat and not working 

some states you need to be seperated a year before a divorce is final (like NY State) your lawyer knows the law for your state

Do the DNA and prove child not yours

don't worry so much when she says she will not sign/ she moved out (prove that) and the lawyer will work on the rest 

sorry it happened to you

[paul_ryan 0]

12 minutes ago, kris&me said:

not knowing your state some of this may not apply but the baby is eligle for WICK as all babies are and that is not considered public  charge / the mother can get vouchers for Milk and cheese and eggs , etc

if she is living with another person,  his income must be taken into account for any assistance she gets and probably not eligle unless he is complete deadbeat and not working 

some states you need to be seperated a year before a divorce is final (like NY State) your lawyer knows the law for your state

Do the DNA and prove child not yours

don't worry so much when she says she will not sign/ she moved out (prove that) and the lawyer will work on the rest 

sorry it happened to you

 

She sent me the DNA result that she did between child and her child’s father. The paperwork shows clearly they are son and father. They will not marry together as far as I know (99% confidence interval).  I am living in Orgeon and she is in Florida. It is frustrated that she came here under my sponsor and now came back to ask for money where she cheated. It is my fault to choose the wrong person to marry. 

[Boiler 43,429]

To get anything under the I 864 she would need to sue you in Federal Courts, usually, she might try and bring it into the Divorce settlement but that would be a long shot.

[CEE53147 559]

10 hours ago, paul_ryan said:

 

She sent me the DNA result that she did between child and her child’s father. The paperwork shows clearly they are son and father. They will not marry together as far as I know (99% confidence interval).  I am living in Orgeon and she is in Florida. It is frustrated that she came here under my sponsor and now came back to ask for money where she cheated. It is my fault to choose the wrong person to marry. 

The courts are unlikely to accept her DNA test nut will order another one.

 

The child support should be a higher priority than anything else since it can go through college and is modifiable.

 

Others should note that in a similar situation to immediately file for a divorce.

[TBoneTX 43,057]

A noncontributory post has been removed.

[Balamban 113]

22 hours ago, paul_ryan said:

The way she sounds like she will try everything to make me paying that. What is the limit that government will allow her to apply for. I cant just pay whatever she asks the government for. 

I suspect that the situation may be actually quite complex.

 

Divorce is ruled by the state in which the divorce is filed.  Some states seem fairly fair about child support and some, at least in my opinion are not fair at all.  I know you have little funds but if possible try to find a divorce lawyer for it may' be much to your advantage to divorce her in Oregon versus her filing divorce in Florida.  In a sense, sometimes it can be a race to see who gets to divorce first.  It may matter a lot and may not matter at all.  Worse, it may be worlds better for you to have to go to your local Court than to hire a lawyer in Florida.

 

Again, no matter how rational it may seem to you I advise you to not fall back on the logical reasoning of but I have no money, for that will never, ever work. 

 

You have two distinct issues.  First is the support under USCIS.  If she uses, as someone has already said, WIC (Women and Infants Care) she rings up a bill, and you technically are responsible for it.  The paternity of the father may or may not materially affect what you would owe, and worse, you can contest the bill and/or counter-sue the father of the child, but this however, is not an easy thing to do.  The short story is that if she uses WIC, TANF or Food Stamps, you owe.  Whether you have money or not does not ever matter to any Governmental agency, or Court.

 

As far as child support, you likely do not owe any.  But that is "to the child," and the child has a mother, again a complex situation.  The documentation that you have is a start, but, as someone pointed out correctly, the Court will likely demand a new genetic paternity test.  Here, even though the child is not yours the Court may look upon the case as, since you brought her here, you owe her a certain level of support.  What you owe, if any, will come out of a usually painful legal battle.  If you choose to ignore Court actions or if you cannot afford legal action it is likely that the other side (her side) will take advantage of that and make high demands.  Without a counter-argument, the Court will often grant those demands.

 

In a sense, your best and worst defense is that you do not make enough money.  Therefore, it may be wise to come to some agreement with her, in other words, pay her off to go away and be done with it.  Even there though, I'm sad to say, this is an area where someone who can work well as "pro se" (a person who represents themselves without a lawyer) will have trouble.  Therefore, my advice, which I hate to give, for I loathe lawyers, is hire a lawyer.  Any contact that you make with her without a lawyer may simply be thrown out in Court.  And worse, is an agreement is made and she has NOT had it reviewed with a lawyer it will likely be thrown out by a Court.  Try to be amicable with her, no matter how furious you are for you are likely the one to suffer here as unfair as that may be.

 

Do not ever think that because you have on money, you are safe.  My neighbor, during the economic crash of 2008-2009 found himself unable to pay child support because he was a contractor and almost all building stopped and there was no work.  The Court demanded he pay.  He said: "I cannot, there is no work."  And the result: He spent a month in jail.  The only way he was able to get out was to agree to sell his back-hoe which he had bought in 2006 for $45,000.  I was sold for $17,000 and he used that to pay the back child support.  In the eyes of the Courts and government agencies it seems every decade gets worse and worse.

 

You are in a terrible situation and I hope that you are able to navigate and get through it and someday find a woman who won't cheat on you.  I do wish you the best of luck.

Edited April 9, 2018 by Balamban

[Californiansunset 332]

47 minutes ago, Balamban said:

I suspect that the situation may be actually quite complex.

 

Divorce is ruled by the state in which the divorce is filed.  Some states seem fairly fair about child support and some, at least in my opinion are not fair at all.  I know you have little funds but if possible try to find a divorce lawyer for it may' be much to your advantage to divorce her in Oregon versus her filing divorce in Florida.  In a sense, sometimes it can be a race to see who gets to divorce first.  It may matter a lot and may not matter at all.  Worse, it may be worlds better for you to have to go to your local Court than to hire a lawyer in Florida.

 

Again, no matter how rational it may seem to you I advise you to not fall back on the logical reasoning of but I have no money, for that will never, ever work. 

 

You have two distinct issues.  First is the support under USCIS.  If she uses, as someone has already said, WIC (Women and Infants Care) she rings up a bill, and you technically are responsible for it.  The paternity of the father may or may not materially affect what you would owe, and worse, you can contest the bill and/or counter-sue the father of the child, but this however, is not an easy thing to do.  The short story is that if she uses WIC, TANF or Food Stamps, you owe.  Whether you have money or not does not ever matter to any Governmental agency, or Court.

 

As far as child support, you likely do not owe any.  But that is "to the child," and the child has a mother, again a complex situation.  The documentation that you have is a start, but, as someone pointed out correctly, the Court will likely demand a new genetic paternity test.  Here, even though the child is not yours the Court may look upon the case as, since you brought her here, you owe her a certain level of support.  What you owe, if any, will come out of a usually painful legal battle.  If you choose to ignore Court actions or if you cannot afford legal action it is likely that the other side (her side) will take advantage of that and make high demands.  Without a counter-argument, the Court will often grant those demands.

 

In a sense, your best and worst defense is that you do not make enough money.  Therefore, it may be wise to come to some agreement with her, in other words, pay her off to go away and be done with it.  Even there though, I'm sad to say, this is an area where someone who can work well as "pro se" (a person who represents themselves without a lawyer) will have trouble.  Therefore, my advice, which I hate to give, for I loathe lawyers, is hire a lawyer.  Any contact that you make with her without a lawyer may simply be thrown out in Court.  And worse, is an agreement is made and she has NOT had it reviewed with a lawyer it will likely be thrown out by a Court.  Try to be amicable with her, no matter how furious you are for you are likely the one to suffer here as unfair as that may be.

 

Do not ever think that because you have on money, you are safe.  My neighbor, during the economic crash of 2008-2009 found himself unable to pay child support because he was a contractor and almost all building stopped and there was no work.  The Court demanded he pay.  He said: "I cannot, there is no work."  And the result: He spent a month in jail.  The only way he was able to get out was to agree to sell his back-hoe which he had bought in 2006 for $45,000.  I was sold for $17,000 and he used that to pay the back child support.  In the eyes of the Courts and government agencies it seems every decade gets worse and worse.

 

You are in a terrible situation and I hope that you are able to navigate and get through it and someday find a woman who won't cheat on you.  I do wish you the best of luck.

I don't know why you keep on repeating that OP has not much money or any money...he said in his first post that he makes a good amount of money now (see below). 

 

23 hours ago, paul_ryan said:

I make a quite good number

 

You have good points though....