vj = dj {divorce journey}???

[Simply_Uno 1]

This is a Q&A from a lawyers site.

I am not recommending anyone to anybody

I am posting this for those that have went through their VJ and now its

{fill in the blank} journey

the link at the bottom goes back to the site where there is more information that will lead you to a resource in your area (usa) only.

God Bless

UNO

p.s. mods please place where applicable

1. How do immigration issues affect your divorce case?Each year, more than 400,000 citizens of the United States marry foreign-born persons and petition for them to obtain permanent residence in the U.S. Spouses of U.S. citizens are considered “immediate relatives” under the immigration laws, and are exempt from usual limitations. In other words, marriage to a U.S. citizen is the fast lane to a green card.

Many people in New Jersey are immigrants from other countries. Your spouse may be one of them. When divorce becomes inevitable, you will have to consider how to handle immigration issues relevant to you or your spouse. Unless there are obvious issues of fraud involved, New Jersey courts are mostly sympathetic toward an immigrant spouse and his/her children.

A fundamental doctrine of divorce and immigration cases is that a person who immigrates to the U.S. based on a marriage that is less than two years old at the time of his/her admission will receive conditional permanent residence status. This status lasts for two years. To attain full permanent residence status, the conditional resident must file a petition with the INS prior to the second anniversary of his/her admission as an immigrant. At that time, if the marriage is still intact, the immigrant spouse will receive a full permanent residence. Conversely, if the marriage is dissolved, the immigrant spouse will lose his/her immigrant status and become deportable.

2. I have sponsored my spouse’s immigration application. I have just caught her cheating on me. What should I do now?

I have heard countless stories of resident alien wives who cheat on their husbands. In most cases, the alien spouse starts to cheat on her husband as the two year anniversary approaches. If you sponsor your spouse’s immigration application, and if the marriage is ending, you should withdraw your sponsorship promptly because through sponsorship you have assumed the responsibilities of supporting your spouse and his and her dependents. When a person signs an affidavit of support, he or she accepts legal responsibility for financially supporting the sponsored immigrant(s) until he or she becomes U.S. citizens.

It must be emphasized that divorce does not necessarily terminate your financial responsibilities toward your immigrant spouse before he or she becomes a U.S. citizen unless he or she leaves the United States. A spouse-sponsor should withdraw any Petition for Alien Relatives and the Affidavit of Support as soon as possible if divorce proceedings are imminent.

3. How are immigration applications based on marriage treated after a divorce?

When an immigration application that is based on marriage is pending before the INS, an immigrant spouse will be considered out-of-status upon the dissolution of the marriage. There is also a strong possibility that the alien spouse could be subject to removal proceedings after the divorce case is finished.

A person who immigrates to the United States based on a marriage that is less than two years old at the time of his/her admission will receive conditional permanent residence. If the marriage is still intact at the second anniversary, then the immigrant spouse will receive a full permanent residence. Meanwhile, if the marriage ends in divorce, then the immigrant spouse will lose his/her immigrant status and become deportable. Where the qualifying marriage has ended in divorce or annulment during the two-year conditional residency period, the conditional resident may apply for a waiver of the joint filing requirement based on the parties’ good faith when they entered into the marriage.

4. What is conditional residence status?

Conditional resident status is conferred on an alien to the United States or a lawful permanent resident in a marriage that is deemed bona fide and that is less than two years old. The status is conditional for another two years. If the marriage lasts more than two years, then the alien can be approved for lawful permanent status without any condition.

The U.S. citizen may petition for his or her alien spouse to receive an immigrant visa. An alien with an approved immigrant visa petition may be issued an immigrant visa by a U.S. consular post abroad and use the visa to be admitted to the U.S. as a permanent resident. Also, some aliens already in the U.S. may use an approved immigration visa to petition to gain permanent resident status through an adjustment inside the U.S. The INS will interview the couple to determine the bona fides of the marriage.

Conditional resident status becomes permanent after the second anniversary of the residence status if the alien and the petitioning spouse jointly file an I-751 petition that is signed by both parties. This is filed within ninety days of the second anniversary of the granting of conditional resident alien status. Thereafter, they are interviewed by an I.N.S. examiner to see if their marriage is legitimate.

5. I am now involved in a nasty divorce. I am a resident alien female from Brazil and my husband caught me cheating on him. He refuses to assist me in processing the I-751 petition. What can I do to maintain my immigration status?

In my experience many alien spouses cheat on their spouse. The cheating often occurs close to the couple’s two year anniversary. If the alien spouse is a conditional alien resident for at least two years, then he or she will not need their spouse’s assistance to process the I-751 petition. If the marriage is shorter than two years, then the alien spouse can request a waiver. The waiver can be based on one or more of the following grounds: extreme hardship if deported, termination of a good faith marriage, or battered spouse or child ground.

The good faith waiver requires that the qualifying marriage was entered into in good faith by the alien spouse, that the alien was not at fault in failing to meet the requirement of filing the joint petition, and that the qualifying marriage was terminated other than by the death of the petitioning spouse. The battered spouse must prove that during the marriage the alien spouse was battered or the victim of extreme cruelty by the U.S. citizen spouse.

6. How will a divorce affect the issuance of my conditional green card?

Aliens who obtain their permanent residence based on their relationship with a U.S. citizen spouse or an alien parent's U.S. citizen spouse are granted conditional permanent residence if the qualifying marriage took place within two years prior to the date permanent residence was conferred. Conditional permanent residence means that the permanent residence is subject to termination if it is found that the qualifying marriage was a sham marriage or a marriage that was entered into only for purposes of obtaining an immigration benefit. Other than the conditional permanent resident being subject to having his status terminated, he is afforded the same rights as is any other permanent resident. Within ninety days before the two-year anniversary of the permanent residence being granted to the alien, the alien and spouse must apply to have the condition removed.

When permanent residence is granted conditionally to an alien spouse, that conditional permanent residence may be terminated within two years from the date permanent residence was granted if the marriage has been terminated through divorce. This rule also applies to the child of the alien spouse who obtains his conditional permanent residence based on the marital relationship of his parent. In other words, the general rule is that divorce terminates the conditional permanent residence. Nevertheless, in this scenario, it is possible for the alien to obtain a waiver of the termination. A waiver of the termination is granted to the alien if the alien can show that the marriage was a union in good faith and if the alien was not at fault for his failure to file the joint petition to remove the condition. Generally speaking, if the conditional permanent resident can show that the marriage was entered into in good faith, it is presumed that he was not at fault for failing to file a joint petition. Two ways to show that a marriage was entered into in good faith are proving that the couple had a child together and producing evidence that the couple owned property jointly.

7. How will a divorce affect an alien’s immigration status after he or she has obtained unconditional permanent residency?

Divorce does not adversely affect an alien's immigration status after the alien obtains permanent residence unconditionally. The only effect divorce may have on an alien at this stage is that it may delay obtaining citizenship. If a permanent resident is married to a U.S. citizen, he has a three-year residency requirement for U.S. citizenship as opposed to a five-year residency requirement. In order to benefit from the shorter residency requirement, the alien must be married to the U.S. citizen for at least three years prior to the exam date. Therefore, if the alien is divorced before being married to a U.S. citizen for at least three years before his exam date, and if he has not been a permanent resident for five years, he will have to wait until he has been a permanent resident for five years before he is eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship.

8. I believe that I am a victim of marriage fraud. Can I contact the INS and request that my spouse be deported?

I have encountered many nasty divorce cases where an embittered spouse gets dumped by an alien spouse. The immediate reaction by the U.S. spouse is to undertake efforts to have his/her spouse deported. The U.S. spouse often will contact the I.N.S. and request that his or her spouse be deported based on the grounds of marriage fraud. My advice to the U.S. spouse is to chalk it up as a bad experience and avoid being vengeful. I also advise the U.S. spouse that he or she was probably aware of the risks of the marriage, and that the failure of the marriage has to be accepted.

If the alien spouse is seeking to “shake down” the U.S. spouse, then I may advise that an annulment be pursued. Fraud in the inception of marriage is grounds for an annulment. An allegation of marriage fraud may be made to obtain an annulment by the spouse of an alien who gained legal resident status through marriage. It is very important for an alien spouse to vigorously contest an annulment based on fraud. An annulment complaint can really “soften up” an alien spouse. This strategy can really work wonders, and significantly reduce an alien spouse’s demands in any divorce case.

Unfortunately, there are risks with this strategy. A U.S. citizen could face criminal liability for a marriage fraud allegation. It is important to inform any U.S. citizen that if he or she had any knowledge of an alien’s intention to marry in order to gain legal resident status, and if that citizen participated knowingly in the sham marriage, criminal provisions subject U.S. co-conspirators to a felony prosecution under 18 U.S.C. Section 1001.

To conclude, the best strategy for a U.S. citizen to follow is to avoid the obvious impulse of trying to have the ex-spouse deported. One doesn’t have to continue to sponsor the immigration application. However, the impulse of trying to “nuke” the application should be avoided. If the alien spouse is seeking excessive alimony and unrealistic demands for equitable distribution, then the U.S. citizen may want to pursue an annulment. Alternatively, the U.S. spouse could insert a count of marriage fraud in the divorce complaint. It is very rare for a U.S. citizen to be prosecuted for marriage fraud. The U.S. Attorney is really more interested in pursuing immigration fraud on a mass level, such as slave labor cases. However, the laws do exist on the books. If an alien spouse is money-hungry in a divorce case, pursuing an annulment or alleging fraud in the divorce complaint is the equivalent of throwing a “monkey wrench” in his or her plans.

http://www.divorcenet.com/states/new_jerse...ion_and_divorce

[rika60607 215]

This is a very poorly written article. While in general it is not incorrect, it has too many misleading "incorrect" sentences.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

This is rather appalling. It is poorly written and filled with a lot of inaccuracies as well as down right discriminating statements. I certainly wouldn't hire this lawyer for any immigration work.

[idocare 3]

Actually the article reads well and If some don't like the information or feel it leaves

to many holes or brings more question then it answered I believe she also included

the link, if you want; you could give the author some writing susgestions.

Just my thoughts, It's good to help others, when something as devastating as

divorce hits a person married to an Alien, your mind is in such a disarray that

it may be hard to think about where to start, you have the courts to research,

lawyers, and immigration issues to take care of etc. all the while your in a very

fragile state of mind and hurting.

Thanks for posting this information, I'm sure some will find this helpful.

[rika60607 215]

Aha.

And this is why I would not recommend this article to any hurting and confused person, be they hurting alien or hurting citizen.

It simply is not a good guide/reference material.

Actually the article reads well and If some don't like the information or feel it leaves

to many holes or brings more question then it answered I believe she also included

the link, if you want; you could give the author some writing susgestions.

Just my thoughts, It's good to help others, when something as devastating as

divorce hits a person married to an Alien, your mind is in such a disarray that

it may be hard to think about where to start, you have the courts to research,

lawyers, and immigration issues to take care of etc. all the while your in a very

fragile state of mind and hurting.

Thanks for posting this information, I'm sure some will find this helpful.

[DanielParul 50]

Aha.

And this is why I would not recommend this article to any hurting and confused person, be they hurting alien or hurting citizen.

It simply is not a good guide/reference material.

My thoughts exactly...

[GiGii 4]

The article almost states "if your spouse is cheating within 2 years of marriage, it was fraud". Yes, yes, fraud does exist. But honestly, how many couples get divorced within 2 years. I'd say a good amount of the total divorce rate. If it wasnt meant to be, then it wasn't. Some fail to see that any immigrant marriage desovles just because. They seem to always blame fraud.

[sara..... 371]

when ever there are problems between a couple that one or the other has immigrated to the USA first thing is thought oh it was a scam what about the countless other divorces that happen even if both parties are from the USA

someone once told me that it takes seven years of being married to get the point u can say u have a good marraige as it takes that long to get used to living with each other and learning how to work out ur differences........

now put that seven years worth of getting used to each other and add in the ingredient of getting used to another country far from ur own, no relatives to visit, no friends from childhood, strange food, strange custom's........

i personally think for some it just is to much and the marraige was not fraud but the way of life and all that goes with leaving ur home country was just to much to handle and if u dont have a spouse that can take into consideration all that the other person is going thru its a disaster waiting to happen.

we as the USA person in the marraige take for granted all that we have and all that we are allowed to do, people from other countries come here and have a hard time adjusting no matter how much they love us....they simply can not adapt to us or our way of life........i really hate seeing articles like this one and i think that each of us involved in marraige with someone from another country really needs to set down and think about what could or would happen if the shoe was on the other foot

ok im off my soap box now and i hope i have not made to many angry with my reply......

[DanielParul 50]

when ever there are problems between a couple that one or the other has immigrated to the USA first thing is thought oh it was a scam what about the countless other divorces that happen even if both parties are from the USA

someone once told me that it takes seven years of being married to get the point u can say u have a good marraige as it takes that long to get used to living with each other and learning how to work out ur differences........

now put that seven years worth of getting used to each other and add in the ingredient of getting used to another country far from ur own, no relatives to visit, no friends from childhood, strange food, strange custom's........

i personally think for some it just is to much and the marraige was not fraud but the way of life and all that goes with leaving ur home country was just to much to handle and if u dont have a spouse that can take into consideration all that the other person is going thru its a disaster waiting to happen.

we as the USA person in the marraige take for granted all that we have and all that we are allowed to do, people from other countries come here and have a hard time adjusting no matter how much they love us....they simply can not adapt to us or our way of life........i really hate seeing articles like this one and i think that each of us involved in marraige with someone from another country really needs to set down and think about what could or would happen if the shoe was on the other foot

ok im off my soap box now and i hope i have not made to many angry with my reply......

Very well said...

[Nagishkaw 510]

Indeed.

[Perseverance 1]

when ever there are problems between a couple that one or the other has immigrated to the USA first thing is thought oh it was a scam what about the countless other divorces that happen even if both parties are from the USA

someone once told me that it takes seven years of being married to get the point u can say u have a good marraige as it takes that long to get used to living with each other and learning how to work out ur differences........

now put that seven years worth of getting used to each other and add in the ingredient of getting used to another country far from ur own, no relatives to visit, no friends from childhood, strange food, strange custom's........

i personally think for some it just is to much and the marraige was not fraud but the way of life and all that goes with leaving ur home country was just to much to handle and if u dont have a spouse that can take into consideration all that the other person is going thru its a disaster waiting to happen.

we as the USA person in the marraige take for granted all that we have and all that we are allowed to do, people from other countries come here and have a hard time adjusting no matter how much they love us....they simply can not adapt to us or our way of life........i really hate seeing articles like this one and i think that each of us involved in marraige with someone from another country really needs to set down and think about what could or would happen if the shoe was on the other foot

ok im off my soap box now and i hope i have not made to many angry with my reply......

I agree well said.

Any marriage takes work...but a marriage from 2 cultures, you need to work even harder. It would be hard enough just to move to another country, now add a new marriage

It aint easy baby

[idocare 3]

I believe the poster posted this topic for those that may need direction, not for those that are currently experiencing hard times but are working on their marriage.

Notice the room it was moved too, and the contents of the message.

Although this message may not be directly for you it will help some.