strange situation...

[ml82 1]

hi everyone, i need your help.

so here is my situation: i met a girl in vietnam when i was there with my family and we decided to marry. she came over to the states under a k1 visa and we got married in the states. i had to leave to go overseas to work for a year. i realized everything was going too fast and wanted to cancel everything. USCIS sent me a letter for our AOS appointment but i didn't attend. they postponed it. i then wrote them a letter stating that i didn't want to be her sponsor anymore. i just went to end this marriage once and for all.

she tells me she can not go back even if she wanted to because she is married to me, but from my understanding, that doesn't mean anything right?

currently, i am still working overseas and trying to figure out this whole mess i got myself into. here are a couple of questions i have as well.... if she gets deported, am i still legally married to her? if so, how could i file for a divorce?

any help is very appreciated, thanks guys.

[canadian_wife 1,791]

Deportation does not end your marriage. File for divorce in the state in which you were married - would that work?

Good luck

[ceadsearc 515]

currently, i am still working overseas and trying to figure out this whole mess i got myself into. here are a couple of questions i have as well.... if she gets deported, am i still legally married to her? if so, how could i file for a divorce?

If she gets deported, you are still legally married. You need to file for divorce to be divorced. Try looking into the laws in the state where you got married to see what can be done from abroad (or do you travel home frequently?) .... as for the part about her staying in the US, does she want to stay? She can leave for Vietnam if she wants, but if she doesn't want to she may try her had at VAWA (though it doesn't sound like she'll have any evidence to support it).

[juliava 80]

Yes, currently you are still married AND you are still her sponsor.

You signed form I-864 Affidavit of support and let me remind you what the form says:

Your obligations under a Form I-864 will end if the person who becomes a permanent resident based on a Form I-864 that you signed:

Becomes a U.S. citizen;

Has worked, or can be credited with, 40 quarters of coverage under the Social Security Act;

No longer has lawful permanent resident status, and has departed the United States;

Becomes subject to removal, but applies for and obtains in removal proceedings a new grant of adjustment of status, based on a new affidavit of support, if one is required; or

Dies.

Note that divorce does not terminate your obligations under this Form I-864.

Your obligations under a Form I-864 also end if you die. Therefore, if you die, your Estate will not be required to take responsibility for the person's support after your death. Your Estate may, however, be responsible for any support that you owed before you died.

If you want a divorce and you are abroad, better hire a lawyer. However, keep in your mind that a divorce will not cancel your sponsorship obligations, as stated above.

[Anh map 2,098]

If the adjustment of status was not granted then your I-864 is not in force. Your letter withdrawing the petition and/or affidavit should be all that's needed. She cannot adjust status via anyone else if she entered with a K1 petition. She would need to leave the US.

If you want to end the marriage then file for divorce.

*Topic moved from K1 forum to Effects of Major Family Change forum*

Edited December 12, 2010 by Anh map

[juliava 80]

If the adjustment of status was not granted then your I-864 is not in force. Your letter withdrawing the petition and/or affidavit should be all that's needed. She cannot adjust status via anyone else if she entered with a K1 petition. She would need to leave the US.

If you want to end the marriage then file for divorce.

*Topic moved from K1 forum to Effects of Major Family Change forum*

As far as I understood their AOS is still in progress, it hasn't been adjudicated yet. Their AOS interview was postponed.

However, you are right, he needs to withdraw the petition first. A divorce by itself would not cancel the spouse sponsorship.

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

She came, they married , she has fullfilled the requirements of the K1, He has abandoned her, opening up the possibility of an VAWA filing ( mental abuse counts) . He needs to talk to a lawyer like Marc Ellis and find out what he can do and also what her options are.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

As far as I understood their AOS is still in progress, it hasn't been adjudicated yet. Their AOS interview was postponed.

However, you are right, he needs to withdraw the petition first. A divorce by itself would not cancel the spouse sponsorship.

The only petition he's filed is the I-129F. Like any petition, it can only be withdrawn up until the benefit you petitioned for has been granted. The benefit you petition for with an I-129F is a visa. She's already gotten the visa, so he can't withdraw the petition. With a green card application it's the foreigner who submits the petition. The only thing the US citizen can withdraw is the affidavit of support. He can withdraw the I-864 anytime before the green card is approved.

ml82, there is nothing legally preventing her from returning to Vietnam. She's a Vietnamese citizen, and her marriage to you doesn't change that. She can return anytime she wants to. The reason she says she can't return is probably cultural. When she left to marry an American she became a Viet Kieu. If she returns to Vietnam without having made her fortune in the US then she'll disgrace not only herself, but her entire family. This shouldn't affect your decision to divorce her in any way, but it might help you understand why she's so reluctant to go back to Vietnam.

[juliava 80]

The only petition he's filed is the I-129F. Like any petition, it can only be withdrawn up until the benefit you petitioned for has been granted. The benefit you petition for with an I-129F is a visa. She's already gotten the visa, so he can't withdraw the petition. With a green card application it's the foreigner who submits the petition. The only thing the US citizen can withdraw is the affidavit of support. He can withdraw the I-864 anytime before the green card is approved.

ml82, there is nothing legally preventing her from returning to Vietnam. She's a Vietnamese citizen, and her marriage to you doesn't change that. She can return anytime she wants to. The reason she says she can't return is probably cultural. When she left to marry an American she became a Viet Kieu. If she returns to Vietnam without having made her fortune in the US then she'll disgrace not only herself, but her entire family. This shouldn't affect your decision to divorce her in any way, but it might help you understand why she's so reluctant to go back to Vietnam.

Yes, Jim, you are right. The form I-864 affidavit of support is what I had in my mind. Thanks for correcting me.

[Fandango 1,439]

hi everyone, i need your help.

so here is my situation: i met a girl in vietnam when i was there with my family and we decided to marry. she came over to the states under a k1 visa and we got married in the states. i had to leave to go overseas to work for a year. i realized everything was going too fast and wanted to cancel everything. USCIS sent me a letter for our AOS appointment but i didn't attend. they postponed it. i then wrote them a letter stating that i didn't want to be her sponsor anymore. i just went to end this marriage once and for all.

she tells me she can not go back even if she wanted to because she is married to me, but from my understanding, that doesn't mean anything right?

currently, i am still working overseas and trying to figure out this whole mess i got myself into. here are a couple of questions i have as well.... if she gets deported, am i still legally married to her? if so, how could i file for a divorce?

any help is very appreciated, thanks guys.

If you really just sincerely 'changed your mind', I hope she can be successful with VAWA and an abandonment claim. That's really unkind to pluck her from her life, then leave her with no options.

[rlogan 2,036]

hi everyone, i need your help.

so here is my situation: i met a girl in vietnam when i was there with my family and we decided to marry. she came over to the states under a k1 visa and we got married in the states. i had to leave to go overseas to work for a year. i realized everything was going too fast and wanted to cancel everything. USCIS sent me a letter for our AOS appointment but i didn't attend. they postponed it. i then wrote them a letter stating that i didn't want to be her sponsor anymore. i just went to end this marriage once and for all.

she tells me she can not go back even if she wanted to because she is married to me, but from my understanding, that doesn't mean anything right?

currently, i am still working overseas and trying to figure out this whole mess i got myself into. here are a couple of questions i have as well.... if she gets deported, am i still legally married to her? if so, how could i file for a divorce?

any help is very appreciated, thanks guys.

You can do a divorce from overseas, or at least get started on it.

The laws in your state are going to dictate whether you need to appear in person to have a divorce or dissolution granted. There are generally waivers you can sign, but I think one of you is going to have to show up to court. In our state one person has to show, anyway. Check into that.

She is "out of status" but not an illegal alien per se yet. She came in legally. You applied for AOS. It isn't clear what the timeline is here, but she isn't instantly an illegal alien that's going to be hunted down and deported once you withdraw that affadavit of support.

The right thing to do is be forthright and work through the divorce properly. If she contests it, then it is going to take some time and despite being out of status, and even if her time was expired, I have a feeling ICE would not be putting this on the top of their agenda to pursue for deportation.

Aside from the reasonable obligation I think a fellow has in being forthright about carrying through the divorce properly, you can't get married again until you do. If you try, then technically you have committed bigamy which is a felony in a lot of states. That's why I only stay married to one woman in the harem at a time. Nothing illegal about having a dozen in your harem. You just can't marry them.

Kind of an interesting state of law.

[ml82 1]

thanks for the response everyone.

here's some more insight into the situation, i'm a vietnamese american. i agreed to marry this girl under the influence of my parents. so she has been living under my parents house, which also happens to be my legal residence.

so, to end things.... i need to first withdraw my sponsorship, then file for divorce, correct?

she doesn't want to file for divorce. she demands that i get her the green card. this is illegal and i'm not willing to do that. on top of that, i've been away for a year and half, that would totally look suspicious to USCIS.

again, thanks for any information.

[indian guy 13]

I don't know why some people bring forigner to this country, use them and then left them to their own. they don't realise thathow hard it will be to adjust in this country specially when there is a language difference.

Marriage is a joke here, people fell for for it just too.

THIS ABOVE IS PERFECT EXAMPLE

[coraliesolms 47]

Wow... marriage and immigration isnt like "buyers remorse". You cant just ask for a refund and walk away! You married this woman, brought her to a new country and then ABANDONED her... thats terrible. I dont usually get judgemental on these forums, but this is unreasonable!

[Dee600 0]

U so right Lisa,she will make it with abondonment I hope she does cause it's unfair think of this poor girl

True

Wow... marriage and immigration isnt like "buyers remorse". You cant just ask for a refund and walk away! You married this woman, brought her to a new country and then ABANDONED her... thats terrible. I dont usually get judgemental on these forums, but this is unreasonable!