Rights after Divorce

[ukstang 0]

Can anybody help me with this.

Married a US citizen, went through the whole K1-Green card process... lived and worked in the US between 2007-2009 for about 18 months, we both then (still what seemed to be happily married) moved back to Austria last March 2009, officially surrendered my green card at the US embassy in Vienna. Now she has decided that she wants to separate as she needs to live her life, something which I obviously have to accept and get over

so my obvious question is, what rights if any do I have to live get my green card back? My old boss wants me to come back and work for him and would sponsor me, but if that doesn't work out do I have any other options?

Thanks to anybody with an knowledgeable answer to this complicated situation.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Can anybody help me with this.

Married a US citizen, went through the whole K1-Green card process... lived and worked in the US between 2007-2009 for about 18 months, we both then (still what seemed to be happily married) moved back to Austria last March 2009, officially surrendered my green card at the US embassy in Vienna. Now she has decided that she wants to separate as she needs to live her life, something which I obviously have to accept and get over

so my obvious question is, what rights if any do I have to live get my green card back? My old boss wants me to come back and work for him and would sponsor me, but if that doesn't work out do I have any other options?

Thanks to anybody with an knowledgeable answer to this complicated situation.

When you surrendered your green card you ceased to be an immigrant. You have to start the immigration process over again.

If you're still married then you're eligible for a spousal visa. It sounds like you've been married over two years, so you'd be eligible for an IR1, which would get you a conventional 10 year green card (instead of the conditional 2 year card you get after a K1). However, if your marriage is on the rocks then you aren't going to get a visa this way.

What kind of work do you do, and what kind of visa would your old boss sponsor you for?

[ukstang 0]

When you surrendered your green card you ceased to be an immigrant. You have to start the immigration process over again.

If you're still married then you're eligible for a spousal visa. It sounds like you've been married over two years, so you'd be eligible for an IR1, which would get you a conventional 10 year green card (instead of the conditional 2 year card you get after a K1). However, if your marriage is on the rocks then you aren't going to get a visa this way.

What kind of work do you do, and what kind of visa would your old boss sponsor you for?

I am still married , but separated since a few weeks. I am a graphic designer and he would sponsor me for a H1b

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

I am still married , but separated since a few weeks. I am a graphic designer and he would sponsor me for a H1b

If you think your marriage might last for another year (the approximate time it would take to get an IR1 visa), and your wife is willing to sponsor you, then you might consider pursuing an IR1. Normally, I don't recommend that someone remain in a collapsing marriage in order to obtain an immigration benefit. It's not illegal, if the marriage was entered into in good faith, but it seems a bit immoral to me. If they are a conditional resident, the more honest approach would be to just get the divorce and self-petition to remove conditions. However, I don't really feel any moral objection to making this recommendation to you. Had you remained in the US you would have removed conditions by now, and the end of your marriage would be irrelevant for your continued status as an LPR. Since you surrendered your green card and remained married, it's pretty obvious you didn't enter the marriage for the green card.

If you feel pretty certain that your marriage is going to end, then you should probably pursue the H1B. USCIS didn't set a deadline for H1B petitions this year. The last announcement I saw, which was posted on April 8th, was that they were still accepting H1B petitions for the 2011 fiscal year. At that point, they'd only received about 20% of the cap since April 1st. It's possible there may still be some H1B's left for 2011. You'd need to be able to start work October 1st this year. If you want to pursue this then your employer's immigration lawyer needs to get moving quick!

Unfortunately, the H1B is a non-immigrant visa, but it would allow you to work in the US for six years.