N400 interview coming up and dismissed divorce

[gigant 0]

Hi,

My N400 is coming up next 20 of April;

My wife filed for divorce on Jan 2009 but we still live together; my wife is now thinking of filing a dismissal of the divorce.

Is this dismissal legally possible within 4 weeks?

Will a record remain in Court even in case of dismissal?

My trouble is this: even if she files for a dismissal, will the immigration see the divorce record and de-naturalize me later on after oath?

The problem is that I don't know what is the current stage of our divorce:

on a brief conversation with the

Plaintiff attorney(my wife's attorney) last week we have been told thet the Court is 4 months behind and we will be divorced no sooner than the summer;

The attorney added that "if she tells me to stop it I will stop it";

Now I really would like to show up at the interview and have my mind clear that when they ask me: is your marriage still valid? I can say yes! It is;

I need advice on what to do;

I would not go to the interview and say "she filed for divorce and dismissed and have the IO keeping me there for 2 hours or try to call my wife"

Pls advice on this complicated situation

Thank you a lot

[bggirl 0]

I think that your marriage is valid until the moment it's finalized. If the attorney said he can stop it, then he 'will probably be able to, and then you will still be married, and should say just that at the interview. Of course, that is just my very own opinion and can be very wrong. I am sure somebody who knows better will advise you on what to do. Good luck!

[NickD 202]

Accidentallyclicked on the Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion site and recalled all the problems we had at that time that was our major motivation for applying for USC at the earliest possible date. Very happily married, but with threats of deportation or losing your job and driver's license with no traveling permitted for the lesser of two evils.

We managed with great effort to get my wife's foreign passport renewed, but our daughter turned 18 and she has to wait those additional two years. But also has a fresh foreign passport and a ten year card. So what's the rush? If you are not living together which is the key for the marriage privilege, you certainly can't be honest at your interview and apparently you are panicked about it. So why not just wait? You have that card, so not going to be deported, that would be my choice if I was in your situation. Just reading between the lines of all these forms, complete honesty is the only policy.

Suppose I could have lied about our daughters age, just a couple of months.

Edited March 11, 2009 by NickD

[bimmerboy 0]

Hi,

My N400 is coming up next 20 of April;

My wife filed for divorce on Jan 2009 but we still live together; my wife is now thinking of filing a dismissal of the divorce.

Is this dismissal legally possible within 4 weeks?

Will a record remain in Court even in case of dismissal?

My trouble is this: even if she files for a dismissal, will the immigration see the divorce record and de-naturalize me later on after oath?

The problem is that I don't know what is the current stage of our divorce:

on a brief conversation with the

Plaintiff attorney(my wife's attorney) last week we have been told thet the Court is 4 months behind and we will be divorced no sooner than the summer;

The attorney added that "if she tells me to stop it I will stop it";

Now I really would like to show up at the interview and have my mind clear that when they ask me: is your marriage still valid? I can say yes! It is;

I need advice on what to do;

I would not go to the interview and say "she filed for divorce and dismissed and have the IO keeping me there for 2 hours or try to call my wife"

Pls advice on this complicated situation

Thank you a lot

As long as your wife tells her lawyer to stop the divorce and both of you are in a same house you should be fine.

[lucyrich 20]

Hi,

My N400 is coming up next 20 of April;

My wife filed for divorce on Jan 2009 but we still live together; my wife is now thinking of filing a dismissal of the divorce.

What about your N400 is coming up next 20 of April? Is that the interview date? Or the filing date?

See the USCIS published interpretations 319.1 (available on the USCIS site, click laws and regulations, interpretations)

Although section 319(a), as distinguished from sections 319(b) and (d), further requires that the petitioner shall live in marital union with the citizen spouse during the entire period of three years immediately preceding the date of his petition, no similar requirement exists for the period between the date of filing the petition for naturalization and the date of naturalization, during which period only the existence of a legally valid marriage is required.

If you were living together in valid marital union for the entire three years before you filed, then between the filing date and oath, the only thing that is required is that the marriage remain legally in existance -- that is, that the divorce not be final.

If you separated before filing the N-400, it gets a bit more complicated. Short separations followed by reconciliation may be OK, but longer ones not.

If you are open about the situation, and tell the investigator the whole story of the divorce filing and dismissal (whether the investigator asks or not), then you won't be guilty of misrepresentation. The worst that will happen is that they might deny the naturalization and invite you to file after you've accumulated five years permanent residence.

If you mislead the investigator and omit anything about a separation, divorce filing, or similar circumstances, then you might be guilty of misrepresentation, even if you technically avoided outright lying when you answered the questions he directly asked. The consequences of misrepresentation could be severe, including denied naturalization, deportation, or succesful naturalization followed at some later date by administrative denaturalization. So whatever you do, stay far, far, far away from misrepresentation and make sure the investigator knows about the marital situation.

[gigant 0]

Hi, My N400 is coming up next 20 of April; My wife filed for divorce on Jan 2009 but we still live together; my wife is now thinking of filing a dismissal of the divorce.

What about your N400 is coming up next 20 of April? Is that the interview date? Or the filing date? See the USCIS published interpretations 319.1 (available on the USCIS site, click laws and regulations, interpretations) Although section 319(a), as distinguished from sections 319(B) and (d), further requires that the petitioner shall live in marital union with the citizen spouse during the entire period of three years immediately preceding the date of his petition, no similar requirement exists for the period between the date of filing the petition for naturalization and the date of naturalization, during which period only the existence of a legally valid marriage is required. If you were living together in valid marital union for the entire three years before you filed, then between the filing date and oath, the only thing that is required is that the marriage remain legally in existance -- that is, that the divorce not be final. If you separated before filing the N-400, it gets a bit more complicated. Short separations followed by reconciliation may be OK, but longer ones not. If you are open about the situation, and tell the investigator the whole story of the divorce filing and dismissal (whether the investigator asks or not), then you won't be guilty of misrepresentation. The worst that will happen is that they might deny the naturalization and invite you to file after you've accumulated five years permanent residence. If you mislead the investigator and omit anything about a separation, divorce filing, or similar circumstances, then you might be guilty of misrepresentation, even if you technically avoided outright lying when you answered the questions he directly asked. The consequences of misrepresentation could be severe, including denied naturalization, deportation, or succesful naturalization followed at some later date by administrative denaturalization. So whatever you do, stay far, far, far away from misrepresentation and make sure the investigator knows about the marital situation.

Thank you lucyrich,

The 20 of april is my interview date but, sadly, I think common sense suggest me probably is better not to show up and withdraw

Reading your reply I should tell the IO that she filed than she dismissed and I should show him dismiss papers: what if they want to dig further? Ask for evidence of reconciliation? Try to call my wife....

My wife will be in Turkey the date of the interview and be back the 29: what happens if they decide to put the case on hold?

To get my 10 yrs green card We have been through the stoke interview (or the interview in separate rooms)

If I add everything up it gets kind of scary...

The one thing that I don't understand if someone dismiss a divorce why a divorce record still show???

Why uscis will investigate after (why not before??) your oath if a divorce has been filed?

Why if they ask me: is your marriage still valid? I have to tell the story of divorce and dismissal? I should just say; my marriage is ok!

Anyway, I m heading toward a play-safe-withdraw decision

I m also thinking to go to the office where I took fingerprints and ask them an opinion

[gigant 0]

Hi,

My N400 is coming up next 20 of April;

My wife filed for divorce on Jan 2009 but we still live together; my wife is now thinking of filing a dismissal of the divorce.

What about your N400 is coming up next 20 of April? Is that the interview date? Or the filing date?

See the USCIS published interpretations 319.1 (available on the USCIS site, click laws and regulations, interpretations)

Although section 319(a), as distinguished from sections 319(B) and (d), further requires that the petitioner shall live in marital union with the citizen spouse during the entire period of three years immediately preceding the date of his petition, no similar requirement exists for the period between the date of filing the petition for naturalization and the date of naturalization, during which period only the existence of a legally valid marriage is required.

If you were living together in valid marital union for the entire three years before you filed, then between the filing date and oath, the only thing that is required is that the marriage remain legally in existance -- that is, that the divorce not be final.

If you separated before filing the N-400, it gets a bit more complicated. Short separations followed by reconciliation may be OK, but longer ones not.

If you are open about the situation, and tell the investigator the whole story of the divorce filing and dismissal (whether the investigator asks or not), then you won't be guilty of misrepresentation. The worst that will happen is that they might deny the naturalization and invite you to file after you've accumulated five years permanent residence.

If you mislead the investigator and omit anything about a separation, divorce filing, or similar circumstances, then you might be guilty of misrepresentation, even if you technically avoided outright lying when you answered the questions he directly asked. The consequences of misrepresentation could be severe, including denied naturalization, deportation, or succesful naturalization followed at some later date by administrative denaturalization. So whatever you do, stay far, far, far away from misrepresentation and make sure the investigator knows about the marital situation.

Sorry lucyrich,

you are suggesting to VOLUNTEER upfront my situation;

why is that necessary when the question is "are u still married and lving to the same person?"

i will answer just YES; where is the need to add, unasked questions??

[lucyrich 20]

Sorry lucyrich,

you are suggesting to VOLUNTEER upfront my situation;

why is that necessary when the question is "are u still married and lving to the same person?"

i will answer just YES; where is the need to add, unasked questions??

Because volunteering the information makes your worst-case scenario much less bad.

Either they will think the separation is important or they'll think it's unimportant. I suspect it's unimportant, but it's not my opinion that matters. It's not your opinion that matters, either.

If you volunteer the information, the worst that can happen is they'll deny the N-400, and that could only happen if they felt the separation was important (which I suspect it isn't). If they denied the N-400 this way, you'd be eligible to reapply in a couple of years when you qualify without the marriage. You were already prepared to withdraw the application, which is pretty close to the same thing.

If you don't volunteer the information, the worst that could happen is they'll find you misrepresented a material fact, which would result in deportation, loss of US Citizenship (if US Citizenship had been granted), and a lifetime bar to the US. This might happen before or after naturalization was granted, so you'd never be able to rest easy knowing that your citizenship made you immune from deportation. Remember that in order to stay clear of "misrepresentation" in immigration terms, you've got to be more careful than just avoiding telling an outright lie. If you knowingly withhold something you believe to be a material fact, that can be misrepresentation.

Another way of looking at it is, why NOT volunteer the information? If it's because you think it will make them more likely to deny your application, then you're admitting that you think it may be a material fact, which effectively says that not making them aware of it carries a lifetime bar. If you think that volunteering the info won't harm your application in any way, I'd tend to agree, but that also means that there's no downside to volunteering it.

[gigant 0]

Sorry lucyrich, you are suggesting to VOLUNTEER upfront my situation; why is that necessary when the question is "are u still married and lving to the same person?" i will answer just YES; where is the need to add, unasked questions??

Because volunteering the information makes your worst-case scenario much less bad. Either they will think the separation is important or they'll think it's unimportant. I suspect it's unimportant, but it's not my opinion that matters. It's not your opinion that matters, either. If you volunteer the information, the worst that can happen is they'll deny the N-400, and that could only happen if they felt the separation was important (which I suspect it isn't). If they denied the N-400 this way, you'd be eligible to reapply in a couple of years when you qualify without the marriage. You were already prepared to withdraw the application, which is pretty close to the same thing. If you don't volunteer the information, the worst that could happen is they'll find you misrepresented a material fact, which would result in deportation, loss of US Citizenship (if US Citizenship had been granted), and a lifetime bar to the US. This might happen before or after naturalization was granted, so you'd never be able to rest easy knowing that your citizenship made you immune from deportation. Remember that in order to stay clear of "misrepresentation" in immigration terms, you've got to be more careful than just avoiding telling an outright lie. If you knowingly withhold something you believe to be a material fact, that can be misrepresentation. Another way of looking at it is, why NOT volunteer the information? If it's because you think it will make them more likely to deny your application, then you're admitting that you think it may be a material fact, which effectively says that not making them aware of it carries a lifetime bar. If you think that volunteering the info won't harm your application in any way, I'd tend to agree, but that also means that there's no downside to volunteering it.

Thank you lucyrich,

Your opinion make perfect sense,

"Detail" I have to add to this post is me and my wife have been throught the "stokes" interview back in 2005 for my AOS;

This make things even worse,

I think I will withdraw the application

I honestly don't even "trust" my wife behaviours: who knows if after my n400 interview she will, for some reason get upset and REFILE for divorce??.... This will put me in trouble for the oath...

I can wait 2 years for my dream to became reality