Husband in India, but I the USC wants a divorce! Need Help

[amnyc86 1]

To answer some of the questions:

1) I went to my family court to apply for the temporary OP(order of protection) which was granted until the court date.

2) I informed him that I am going to proceed w/ the divorce here in the US, and since he has no job, no family, and did not establish life here, he should remain in India where he has more support. He was told by his own family not to return to the US, but as usual did not listen to reason. He was notified that he will be served w/ divorce papers once he arrives here, and he should make living arrangements, etc. I had NO idea his passport and GC will be confiscated.

3) I was informed by the court that the OP is not active until he is served.

4) I hired a process server to serve him at the airport; I also had divorce papers filed which needed to be served as well. Since he was detained, we had to wait for over 4hrs outside in the car, for him to be escorted out by officers and then served.

5) My ONLY concern is that he stay away from me! I thought he would change, mature, and understand that in a relationship there are lots of ups and downs. Key word here being AND...we unfortunately ONLY had downs. Perhaps it was his male ego, his upbringing, his insecurities, his culture, I am not sure. I know that I tried my all in this relationship, and now it has come to this. If the US gov't wants to keep him here, be my guest. As long as he stays away from me, my home, and my family. If he is capable of getting employment, and maintaining a life, then good luck to him. I do not want to harbor any bad feelings, or energy towards him. All I know is that I do not at any cost deserve anyone like him, and want him and his negativity to be away from me.

I have not notified any gov't agencies of my current situation. My question is should I? In the posts, there were suggestions that I notify ICE, and USCIS? Would that be beneficial to me as the USC not wanting to do anything w/ him?

It is a funny thing, this Affidavit of Support and it requires you to "support" someone for 10 yrs, regardless of the status of the relationship.

My attorney, unfortunately is not well versed in immigration. The family court has allowed him to submit some paperwork requesting financial support. He has to serve those papers to me, which hasn't happened yet.

I am hoping this nightmare of a relationship to be over as soon as possible. I understand that it would be a dream come true if he was deported, so I do not have to worry about my safety or finances. I work hard, earn money, pay my taxes, and live paycheck to paycheck to maintain my small home, and middle-class life. Now he wants a piece of that?

If he does not have his GC to obtain employment, that is NOT my concern if he is choosing to stay here w/o any support. Where did he get $ to get an immigration lawyer is beyond me. I am borrowing from family to pay my own attorney.

I have been to court 3x so far, taking days off from work, w/o any real resolution. I am thankful that at least my OP is still in place, and he is away from me.

I will glady take any advice or suggestions my fellow VJ'ers may have.

I thank you in advance for all the help so far. Your kind words have really cheered me up and gave me courage to move forward. I feel a thousand times better now, than when I first posted and had no clue on what to do or where to go.

[zeeshan123 1]

report him to USCIS and ICE.

since he has conditional GC, so he could be deported.

but u ll have to inform USCIS of all this.

[amnyc86 1]

report him to USCIS and ICE.

since he has conditional GC, so he could be deported.

but u ll have to inform USCIS of all this.

Will I have to report this to the local USCIS Office or the Vermont Center or both? I don't have his GC # but do have his SS#. He took all of the documents w/him like our marriage certificate, copies of the Affidavit of Support, etc.

Thank you Zee for your suggestion...will get on the letter.

[zeeshan123 1]

make info pass appt with local USCIS office,if u have time, and take all the evidence with u.

write letter to central head quaters and ICE.

make one letter and send it every where, even to ur senator.

attach evidence with it.

use his name, A #, SSN.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

It is a funny thing, this Affidavit of Support and it requires you to "support" someone for 10 yrs, regardless of the status of the relationship.

The affidavit has nothing really to do with your relationship. It is a guarantee to protect the taxpayers of the US from having to support an immigrant you sponsored.

There are a lot of good arguments against enforcing the affidavit in this case. However, none of those arguments are going to do you any good if his support claim is based on family law in the state where you live. In many states (including California where I live) the family code allows the judge to enter a temporary order of support while the divorce is pending when one party has a significantly higher income than the other. However, in many states (again, including California) an order of support is not routinely granted in a marriage of short duration. In California, for example, the judge isn't compelled to order support in a marriage of less than 5 years.

Once you get a copy of the motion, go over it with your attorney. If it's based on family law rather than the affidavit then your attorney should know if you have any options to contest it. If it's based on the affidavit, then you and your divorce attorney REALLY need to consult with an immigration attorney.

[sachinky 464]

You sponsored your husband's immigration to the U.S. You signed the affidavit of support saying that you would support him even in the case of divorce. It's not the U.S. government's fault that your husband turned out to be a douchebag. All they care about is that he doesn't become a public charge, regardless of your relationship status.

Good luck! Hope everything works out for ya!

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

You sponsored your husband's immigration to the U.S. You signed the affidavit of support saying that you would support him even in the case of divorce. It's not the U.S. government's fault that your husband turned out to be a douchebag. All they care about is that he doesn't become a public charge, regardless of your relationship status.

Good luck! Hope everything works out for ya!

The US government is not the problem here. There's very little chance of him becoming a public charge, at this point. He isn't eligible for most means tested benefits until he's been an LPR for 5 years. Unless he collects those benefits, the US government isn't going to do anything to enforce the affidavit.

The affidavit does include a clause where the sponsor promises to support the beneficiary, but there are strong arguments against having the beneficiary attempt to enforce this clause.

First, the promise is made to the US government, and not to the beneficiary, and the intent of the promise is to ensure that the beneficiary does not become eligible to collect the aforementioned benefits. Whether she supports him or not, he ain't eligible yet, so the intent has been met.

Second, the beneficiary is not a party to the contract. Courts in some states have determined that the beneficiary cannot sue to enforce a contract which they are not a party to. In those cases, the courts have determined that the US government would have to sue on behalf of the beneficiary, and that's not likely to happen.

Third, the obligations of the affidavit end when the beneficiary loses their legal permanent resident status and departs the US. There is a strong argument against a family court issuing an order to enforce the affidavit when there's a good chance that an immigration judge might soon issue an order declaring the affidavit null and void. They have a basis to ask the family court to postpone making a decision on the affidavit until the husband's immigration status has been firmly established.

I am not an attorney, nor do I play one on TV.

[Darnell 8,478]

Ya - the attorney the foreign husband engaged, he's being an @ss about even trying to do some financial thing using the affadavit of support. The judge can throw it out, if HER attorney can prove up the affadavit of support has nothing to do with 'spousal support during a divorce hearing'.

[sachinky 464]

I know the I-864 is a contract between the government and the petitioner. I was just referring to her statement--"It is a funny thing, this Affidavit of Support and it requires you to "support" someone for 10 yrs, regardless of the status of the relationship." I'm not even defending the husband or saying that he should be entitled to support. He sounds like a jerk.

The AOS is signed so that the USC doesn't bring over an immigrant, decide the marriage isn't working out and consequently divorce, making the immigrant a liability on the taxpayers then.

Most people don't read the AOS carefully enough when they sign it or have no idea of what it entails. They are in love and it's a just another piece of paper to sign. When the marriage goes south, then they start looking for ways to get out of the hook.

Edited May 7, 2010 by sachinky

[Boiler 43,759]

Only an IJ can take away his GC.

Such processes take months if not years.

There is no mention of any reason why he would have his GC taken away.

Once the Divorce is finalised he can file for his 10 year GC.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Only an IJ can take away his GC.

Such processes take months if not years.

There is no mention of any reason why he would have his GC taken away.

Once the Divorce is finalised he can file for his 10 year GC.

The general rule is that divorce terminates conditional residency. If USCIS discovers the divorce, they are compelled to take steps to terminate the conditional residency, which means starting removal proceedings. Self-petitioning based on good faith marriage is a request for a waiver of this rule. Given the circumstances in this case, he is going to have a difficult time proving good faith marriage with USCIS, yet he will be forced to try to do so if he wants to avoid deportation.

If I were an attorney (and I'm not), one of the arguments I would make against having a family court attempt to enforce the affidavit of support is that his future status as an LPR is far from guaranteed. Until it's established that he will be allowed to stay in the US, there's little point in enforcing the support clause. There is very little risk he'll become a public charge before his future status has been determined.

[Boiler 43,759]

He is a PR until an IJ says otherwise.

And he is not divorced. Divorces seem to take longer than conditional status and then it is limbo land until the paperwork is finalised.

I see no reason why he could not self petition after a divorce without a good chance of success.

The Affidavit of Support is limited and is independent of marital status, whether he could succeed is another issue, but certainly a card worth playing.

[3600rs 24]

The general rule is that divorce terminates conditional residency. If USCIS discovers the divorce, they are compelled to take steps to terminate the conditional residency, which means starting removal proceedings. Self-petitioning based on good faith marriage is a request for a waiver of this rule. Given the circumstances in this case, he is going to have a difficult time proving good faith marriage with USCIS, yet he will be forced to try to do so if he wants to avoid deportation.

If I were an attorney (and I'm not), one of the arguments I would make against having a family court attempt to enforce the affidavit of support is that his future status as an LPR is far from guaranteed. Until it's established that he will be allowed to stay in the US, there's little point in enforcing the support clause. There is very little risk he'll become a public charge before his future status has been determined.

Yes, what you say can happen, but not always happens. Its done on a case by case basis, many a times dependent on local practice. The above is not rule of thumb, every foreign divorcée would be in removal proceedings if it had been a rule. The Alien has a chance to file for a waiver regardless of whether or not he is a subject of removal proceedings. The waiver maybe Good Faith or any other condition. All he needs is reasonable evidence to convince the IO or even the IJ of his intent.

He is a permanent resident till the IJ says otherwise. He should be OK at the end unless there is a preplanned malicious sham scheme he was involved in, which need to be proved in court, not just accusations without evidence.

Edited May 7, 2010 by 3600rs

[3600rs 24]

Amnyc86:

Are you the same nationality of your spouse? Just curious...if your the same race of your spouse then there is one red flag less to raise.

[amnyc86 1]

Thank you all sincerely for answering questions, and adding recommendations.

At this time, my case is still pending at the family crt for the continuation of the OP. The judge kept renewing the OP until our court dates. We were told at the last court date, that he is asking for more time until his immigration status is declared, meaning they give back his conditional GC. But the judge allowed him to complete some form for financial support from me. This document has to be served to me, but it hasn't been. If he has $ for an immigration attorney, why seek money from me? Well one writer did call him appropriately a douche-bag. I guess the bag fits him just right.

We haven't even touched on the divorce. I hope that there won't be more issues with that. We don't have marital property, children, and have only been married for 12 months and 2 weeks. Out of that we were apart for 3 months while his papers were getting filed.

No one wrote back about if I should write to NCIS or ICE about this situation other than the VJ'r Zee. Please do let me know if I should proceed w/ a letter w/ accounts of the verbal and physical abuse to any of the offices. My thinking is why to write if they have already confiscated his GC and passport. And again, I did not know that would even happen. I think he did, b/c he brought his mother's death certificate w/ him in order to show the Immigration Officer at the airport. I suppose to show why he was away for 50 days out of the country.

I have forwarded some of your responses to my attorney. Hopefully she can take a look and have an understanding of this and be able to have an argument.

* To answer 3600r, yes I am of the same racial background as him, so no flags to be raised.

Thank you all again for your input, and suggestions.