conditional resident,divorce-remarry or waiver?

[spikey08 0]

I am a 22 year old german citizen and conditional permanent resident of the U.S due to being married to a U.S. citizen. My husband and I got married in Denmark in 2007, then moved to the U.S. together in January of 2008, where we started my "Adjustment of Status" in Illinois. Since October of last year I have been back in Germany, however, I do plan on completing my education in the U.S. Due to (well documented) both mental and physical cruelty, I am going to divorce him and was wondering where to go from there. Once the divorce is finalized, will my permanent resident status automatically be terminated? The card does not expire until November of 2010, but I was wondering which route to take to apply for the 10-year card, since filing jointly will be out of question. He is a Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran with several mental illnesses and a severe drinking problem, all of which has been documented by doctors. Since he has been both mentally and physically abusive throughout our marriage and police reports as well as his medical records document this cruelty , I was considering applying for a waiver of grounds of extreme cruelty. However, the major problem is that I do not plan on returning to him or the U.S. until the divorce-court date, which means I have no proof in my hands whatsoever. I neither have any documents to prove the abuse nor do I have the necesarry documents to prove that our marriage was entered into in good faith. Considering the circumstances, would you recommend applying for a waiver? Or could I simply wait until I am divorced and marry my new partner and start the "Adjustment of Status" process all over again? Since Im lacking evidence and there is NO way for me to get it, I would prefer not taking my chances and start the process again, if possible. My new partner is a U.S. citizen also and we have been wanting to get married regardless of the green card issue. Would I be able to enter the U.S. as a tourist under the visa waiver program and get married within the 3 months that I am allowed to stay? Or would I have to remarry here in Europe and then adjust my status in the U.S. again?

I am hoping for some helpful, honest answers.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

You said you have well documented proof of his abuse. You CAN apply for removal of conditions based on a BONAFIDE marriage and divorce.

You are well within your rights to cancel the current greencard and then apply for another greencard based on your marriage to this new fella, but I honestly have never seen that situation before... and it just sounds very confusing and like proving a "real" relationship with the new guy would be hard seeing you are married and/or recently divorced and then "suddenly" filing a new greencard application.

I would apply for the waiver myself first. If it's denied then I'd try the other path... but that's just me.

I don't know too much about it but I do think the waiver is the way to go to start of with.

[Lona.C. 16]

your case sounds a little complicated i would seak advise from a laywer ,

but as vanessa said you could try to file ROC with a waver ,

but I doubt that will get aproved if you deside to stay out of the country longer then 6 month

since you been out of the country since oct thats 5 month ,

( someone correct me if I'm wrong ) to my knowlege you cant stay out of the US longer then 6 month or it could be concidert abbanden status ,

also as vanessa said be prepared to answer some questions if you abbonden your status now,

and aply for another GC right after divorce , so keep all the police records and every doc you got proving you where abused

[nane1104 146]

I don't neccessarly disagree with the posters above, but here is what I am thinking could work:

I am assuming your new man is stationed in Germany right now as well and hopefully has some time before he has to PCS to the US again.

I'd turn my greencard in ASAP, get divorced, marry the new guy and wait until right before he needs to go back and do DCF in Germany.

By then you hopefully have been married a little while and gathered enough proof of a bonafide marriage to apply for your visa.

I'd make sure to also have evidence of your abuse in your current marriage in case this question comes up during the application process/interview.

I wouldn't be so worried, just make sure you turn your greencard in correctly, don't let it just expire.

Good luck to you!

[spikey08 0]

Thank you everybody for taking the time to read about my situation and your opinions and advice!

Unfortunately it seems that you all either misunderstood or missed the most important part of what I wrote :

"However, the major problem is that I do not plan on returning to him or the U.S. until the divorce-court date, which means I have no proof in my hands whatsoever. I neither have any documents to prove the abuse nor do I have the necesarry documents to prove that our marriage was entered into in good faith."

All proof there might be to show that it was in fact a real marriages, such as our bills,bank statements or lease agreements are in our house in Illinois where he is still living. I am in Germany and I do not plan to go back to him or that house. I will go to the U.S. for the court date only to finalize the divorce. So since Im not in Illinois nor plan on going there, I have no proof at all. No proof to show he was abusive, such as his medical records and no proof that we entered the marriage in good faith. So, considering the lack of evidence...should I even think about trying to apply for a waiver? Or simply turn in my green card, remarry ( which I will do anyway, not for this purpose ) and start all over again?

Another question is if we would have to marry here in Europe since entering the States under a Visa Waiver with the intent to marry is illegal?

[nane1104 146]

I read that, that's why I would say forget about removing conditions and start over.

The only evidence I'd say you should have is for the abuse you had to deal with in case that comes up later on.

Wouldn't it be the easiest for you to marry in Europe? Denmark maybe where the marriage will be legal in Gemany AND the US?

Then you do DCF and get your GC approval before you even return to the US.

If you try to enter on VWP and they smell "wedding", you might be in trouble, but even if that flies, you'd have to still do AOS in the States which is a much lengthier process than DCF.

[TheBears 9]

Would it be possible to retreive the evidence from the house in Illinois when you go back for the divorce proceedings? Police escorted visit to retrieve personal belongings or something along those lines. I know you don't want to go back to him or that house, but if you did return to the house for a small amount of time while he wasn't there (with a police escort if you wanted), then you would be able to have the evidence of abuse in case it's needed during your next adventure with US Immigration.

[Ian + Anne 0]

Errmm ......... If your not living in the USA .... you will be classed as 'abandoning your residency' here in the USA, so therefore you will have to start all over again. You will need to obtain a new visa etc.

Since you have not lived here since November of 2009, you have no current evidence that you work or live in the USA, it's not going to work. The only way for you to go without having to do the visa thing again is to move back to the USA within the nect month or so and get a job and some place to live to rebuild your life here as a single person, this will be the only way to save your residency status.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,235]

Although your English is excellent, I'm not sure I have understood your case correctly, so let me see if I got that right.

1) You are a GC holder and your card expires in December.

2) You are back in Germany for about 6 months now.

3) You want to go back to the US after being divorced to finish your education.

4) You have a new boyfriend, presumably another US citizen, whom you want to marry once you are divorced.

What I didn't get is if you or your still-husband have filed for divorce yet.

Here's my take on this.

No, there's no way for you to file the I-751 jointly. WAWA is an option, but I wouldn't even choose that particular route as you can't really document it well. Which leaves you the option to file for ROC alone.

You can do that once you are divorced, immediately. Since you are not divorced yet, you have time until your GC expires. If you are not divorced before your GC expires, you file the ROC nonetheless, preferably only a week or two before, as it buys you time. You will then receive a RFE because they need the divorce decree in order to finalize the ROC. I don't know about IL, but with some luck you will be divorced by then. Once you have the divorce decree, you'll have a Biometrics appointment and, most likely in cases like yours, a few weeks later an interview.

Despite your lack of documentation, I don't see why you can't get some documents from your husband until then. As you described your case, you entered the marriage in good faith. Since you two left a paper trail behind, staring in Denmark, I think you can do that successfully.

Now you are in D-land for half a year now. I don't know your situation, but you will have to return to the US for the Biometrics appointment and the interview. Being absent for such a long time can make things difficult for you, but it doesn't have to be, as you are able to show and explain that you have and never had any intention to abandon your residency, and that the move away from your husband was temporarily and purely out of necessity for your own safety.

All that said, the ROC costs you $545, plus you have to be present for the Bio appointment and the likely interview. If you are sure you will be marrying #2 in any case, doing another AOS is an option. It cost a bit more, but you don't have to fly over there for the two appointments, so that levels out. You know what you have to submit on paperwork, but compared to scraping documents from your still-husband's bathroom floor it again might not be such a big deal, compared.

So what are the odds that you can remove conditions successfully? I'd say about 50%, give or take 10%. Is it worth trying that, in light of all of the obstacles you are facing? Only you can make that decision.

Edited March 5, 2010 by Just Bob

[schatzi3277 6]

I am a 22 year old german citizen and conditional permanent resident of the U.S due to being married to a U.S. citizen. My husband and I got married in Denmark in 2007, then moved to the U.S. together in January of 2008, where we started my "Adjustment of Status" in Illinois. Since October of last year I have been back in Germany, however, I do plan on completing my education in the U.S. Due to (well documented) both mental and physical cruelty, I am going to divorce him and was wondering where to go from there. Once the divorce is finalized, will my permanent resident status automatically be terminated? The card does not expire until November of 2010, but I was wondering which route to take to apply for the 10-year card, since filing jointly will be out of question. He is a Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran with several mental illnesses and a severe drinking problem, all of which has been documented by doctors. Since he has been both mentally and physically abusive throughout our marriage and police reports as well as his medical records document this cruelty , I was considering applying for a waiver of grounds of extreme cruelty. However, the major problem is that I do not plan on returning to him or the U.S. until the divorce-court date, which means I have no proof in my hands whatsoever. I neither have any documents to prove the abuse nor do I have the necesarry documents to prove that our marriage was entered into in good faith. Considering the circumstances, would you recommend applying for a waiver? Or could I simply wait until I am divorced and marry my new partner and start the "Adjustment of Status" process all over again? Since Im lacking evidence and there is NO way for me to get it, I would prefer not taking my chances and start the process again, if possible. My new partner is a U.S. citizen also and we have been wanting to get married regardless of the green card issue. Would I be able to enter the U.S. as a tourist under the visa waiver program and get married within the 3 months that I am allowed to stay? Or would I have to remarry here in Europe and then adjust my status in the U.S. again?

I am hoping for some helpful, honest answers.

[schatzi3277 6]

Before remarrying make sure you are also officially divorced in Germany. As long as you are a german citizien your marriage is automatically valid in germany. I found out about that when i renewed my passport. Big surprise. The thing is once you get remarried germany want see your second marriage as valid and you would be married to two man legally in germany.

Good luck with everything

[Lona.C. 16]

Before remarrying make sure you are also officially divorced in Germany. As long as you are a german citizien your marriage is automatically valid in germany. I found out about that when i renewed my passport. Big surprise. The thing is once you get remarried germany want see your second marriage as valid and you would be married to two man legally in germany.

Good luck with everything

OH the flash backs of fun time Divorce when you got married in germany,

yes as schatzi said you also have to make sure you are officialy divorced in germany

before you remarry

( I was in canada when I divorced my EX so yes the traditionel divorce in canada then got the divorce cert and had to go to the consulate,

to well lets call it divorce again by german law ,

what a fun time the run around was

if they dont have your divorce in the german registry,

you will not be aloud to marry again in germany it will be considert poligammy ( or how you spell that thing )

[rika60607 215]

1. If you married in denmark and then came to US with your husband, you should have done DCF or CR1 visa route and not adjustment of status. If you came on VWP with your husband and then AOS'ed I am amazed that your AOS was approved.

2. Now you want to use VWP again to marry and AOS?! I do not think you will get away with it again.

3. Your conditional GC is good until it's taken away. Your card could be *not taken away* up until 1 year of absence per border patrol discretion. Once you are divorced, the USCIS may be compelled to cancel your GC, but it takes some time.

4. You may think you do not have evidence of bona fide marriage and abuse, but the paper trail exists. You just have to be creative to restore it. Photos together? Trips taken together? Afiidavits of support? Credit cards/bank accounts in your name (call them, they should be able to send you copies of statements). Joint property, car insurance, medical insurance, utility bills?

If you want to remove conditions, you should return to the US within a year, attend your divorce and collect all the evidence you can. Otherwise, turn in your GC to the US embassy and travel on VWP as any European would. However no GC means no going to school in the US either.

5. You could travel on VWP to the US, get married, go back to Germany within the time allowed by VWP and have your new husband file CR-1 for you.

[lucyrich 20]

Others have pointed out most of the relevant points. I'll point out one further thing. You cannot adjust status from your current conditional green card based on husband #1 to a new green card (conditional or not) based on husband #2. INA 245(d) explicitly prohibits that. If you gain status based on the second husband, it's got to be a brand new visa, or else an entrance on some other non-immigrant basis followed by an adjustment of status from that (and note that an entrance on another non-immigrant status would probably be illegal if, at the time of entrance, you planned to adjust status based on your marriage to husband #2).

Another point: Your current status will not automatically be revoked due to the divorce. In fact, the divorce gives you the right to file an I-751 immediately, without having to wait for the "two years less 90 days" time period.

You have two basic routes: remove conditions on the existing green card while avoiding abandonment of status, or get a brand new status based on the new marriage. I don't know which would be better. You may want to consult with a couple of attorneys to weigh the pros and cons. Obviously, whatever you do, you don't want the authorities to suspect that you're marrying for the green card instead of getting the green card to support your marriage.

[lucyrich 20]

3. Your conditional GC is good until it's taken away. Your card could be *not taken away* up until 1 year of absence per border patrol discretion. Once you are divorced, the USCIS may be compelled to cancel your GC, but it takes some time.

What you say is ordinarily true of an unconditional green card, but for a conditional green card, there's another thing to consider. If the conditional GC is allowed to expire without having an I-751 filed, then the conditional GC is immediately no good. INA 216( c )(2)(A)(i).