Divorce - No AoS

[Iused2LoveHer 0]

I want to divorce my wife. we have been together in the usa for 6 mos & it not working. we got married on day 85 of her arriving on k1 visa.. I never filed aos after the marriage 3 mos ago.

We live in georgia. am i legally responsible for anything other than buying a plane ticket to get her home? can she legally refuse to leave my house and make things difficult? i just want her out in a couple of weeks even if divorce isn't filed by that time.

BTW, save the "i feel sorry for her," "she gave up her whole life to be with you" comments. it's not working between us and we are both unhappy.

Edited January 21, 2011 by Iused2LoveHer

[Azzudiin 26]

Her immigration status is none of your concern anymore, and she has all the legal rights that any married person would have including filing for alimony or child support etc.

She can take you to divorce court to split assets, she has a ton of legal rights. Going home or staying in the USA is her decision and you have nothing to do with it.

And no I won't give you the aforementioned line about feeling sorry for her, she was big girl and made decision to come here, but you were big boy and made decision to marry, so you get to live with the consequences, as does she.

Get a lawyer and hope yours is better then hers because in the end, the best lawyer wins if the divorce case doesn't involve cheating or abuse.

[belinda63 2,981]

Since she came on the K-1 the only way she can obtain a green card without leaving is by the VAWA or by you sponsoring her. As to the divorce and what you will owe there that is up to family court. If you did not file the I-864 you are not responsible to the US govt. if she becomes a public charge.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,235]

You need to separate two things: your marriage and your wife's immigration status.

Let's start with the second one: immigration.

Since you didn't file for AOS, your wife has no way to adjust her status to that of a resident. Her I-94 has since expired and she can't get a SSN (unless she has one already), can't get a driver license, can't find legal employment. Her options are limited and since she couldn't even adjust status if she got married to another US citizen, there's not much left for her here in the good ole USA.

Still, you can't deport her and you shouldn't make her angry with deportation talk either.

Now to the marriage.

You can file for divorce, she can file for divorce. Depending on the State you reside in, this will be a fault or no fault divorce. It will require a 6-month or 1-year separation or abandonment or none of the above. If your wife leaves the US before your divorce is filed you file in absentia. During the divorce proceedings, the judge will talk about what you "owe" your wife. Whether that's an airplane ticket or half of your castle is something that again depends on your State and the Prenuptial she signed before saying "I do."

[James and Cynthia 70]

Get a lawyer and hope yours is better then hers because in the end, the best lawyer wins if the divorce case doesn't involve cheating or abuse.

Wow. You are certainly right about that. I know from experience. And if her lawyer is better than yours, and costs a lot more, don't be surprised if you have to pay for both lawyers.

-James

[VanessaTony 3,567]

I want to divorce my wife. we have been together in the usa for 6 mos & it not working. we got married on day 85 of her arriving on k1 visa.. I never filed aos after the marriage 3 mos ago.

We live in georgia. am i legally responsible for anything other than buying a plane ticket to get her home? can she legally refuse to leave my house and make things difficult? i just want her out in a couple of weeks even if divorce isn't filed by that time.

BTW, save the "i feel sorry for her," "she gave up her whole life to be with you" comments. it's not working between us and we are both unhappy.

Technically you're not legally responsible for anything, not even her ticket home. Morally you are but there's no legal there.. I would pay for the ticket simply to make her leaving a bit easier (on both you and her and her family).

She can't refuse to leave "your" house if you've asked her to leave, but she can force you out of your house by taking out a restraining order against you. The way that works is that you are the only one able to work and it's likely that you would need to pay her bills.

Honestly the ONLY way to make this easier on both of you (and minimise the risk of you getting into trouble) is to talk to her about it. You should file divorce now. Talk to her about what she wants because as someone else stated she is technically permitted to half you own.. but that depends on state rules. She's unlikely to get alimony because the marriage was too short. Get her to sign off on the divorce and settlement, give her a ticket home, treat her with respect until then and you should be okay.

Good luck.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Also, yes she can make your life difficult, VERY difficult and expensive if she chooses to.

[Iused2LoveHer 0]

I m giving her 6 mos worth of money for when she gets back to her country to make it easier for her.. i have been unemployed for abt 6 mos myself & do not own the "house" i live in ... actually an apt. i dont think she will cause probs but can be stubborn at times. if she is technically out of status, i thought she would have less options to make things difficult or could not refuse to leave. how would she be entitled to half my stuff after 3 mos marriage & while not a resident?

state: georgia

Edited January 24, 2011 by Iused2LoveHer

[Darnell 8,478]

you should make the time to study up on georgia law about divorce, seriously.

If you can't use a computer to find this information -

at least get down to the county courthouse, and talk with the county clerk - let THEM guide you on where to go - and also -

find the law library that's attached to the county courthouse - USUALLY the law librarian there will GIVE YOU some pre-printed template to use for a 'no-fault divorce'.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

I m giving her 6 mos worth of money for when she gets back to her country to make it easier for her.. i have been unemployed for abt 6 mos myself & do not own the "house" i live in ... actually an apt. i dont think she will cause probs but can be stubborn at times. if she is technically out of status, i thought she would have less options to make things difficult or could not refuse to leave. how would she be entitled to half my stuff after 3 mos marriage & while not a resident?

state: georgia

You can offer to help her leave, but you can't force her to go. She'll have to make that decision on her own.

She won't be entitled to "half your stuff". Like most states, Georgia applies the rules of separate and marital assets. Anything you had before the marriage is usually separate property. Anything acquired after the marriage is usually marital property. There are exceptions, of course, but that's usually the way it works. It's unlikely any of the more common exceptions would apply to you with such a short marriage. She will have a claim to her own separate property, and a share of the marital property.

Georgia also applies the rules of "equitable distribution" of marital assets. This doesn't necessarily mean equal. It means whatever the court decides is fair. However, the court will strongly encourage the parties to come to an agreement regarding distribution of assets on their own. The court won't order distribution of marital assets unless the parties can't reach a property settlement on their own.

Georgia also considers the length of the marriage when determining if spousal support or alimony should be paid. Again, with such a short marriage it's very unlikely they would order any support payment.

[jrmejia 31]

I m giving her 6 mos worth of money for when she gets back to her country to make it easier for her..

I kind of like that.