What Happens After a Divorce.... ?

[buster2209 2]

Here's the situation;

I came into the US on a K-1 Visa and married my then g/f about 2 years ago. I received my green card about 15 months ago and have to wait 6 months to apply to remove the conditions. According to this site, it's takes about 6 months for the I-751 to be processed thus in about a year, my GC will be unconditional as opposed to being conditional as it is right now.

I have found some info here;

http://divorce.lovetoknow.com/Green_Card_Divorce

about what to do in case of a divorce.

Whilst my wife and I aren't even close to getting a divorce, we seem to be drifting apart and I'm worried that if we did divorce, I'm going to have to leave. Like many people, I now have a life here complete with apt, car, job, friends, etc so I obviously don't want to leave.

I'm interested if anyone can testify to the advice given in the link above and if anybody has actually been through this.

Thanks in advance

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

The article is basically correct, but it contains several technical errors. For example, it confuses conditional permanent residence with a green card being issued, implying that someone with a green card cannot be a conditional permanent resident. As you are undoubtedly aware, conditional permanent residents also get a green card.

The article also states that the a final divorce automatically terminates conditional permanent residence. The law goes a little further and says that USCIS will take steps to terminate conditional permanent residence if they discover that the conditional permanent resident has divorced. Those steps begin with a notice of intent from USCIS. So, termination of conditional permanent residence is not automatic. USCIS must first discover the divorce, and then begin the termination process. In the overwhelming majority of cases, USCIS doesn't learn about a divorce until they receive an I-751 from a conditional permanent resident asking for a waiver of the joint filing requirement based on divorce. USCIS isn't receiving automatic updates from divorce courts around the country.

If your marriage ends in divorce then you can self-petition to remove conditions, as the article states, if you can provide evidence you entered the marriage in good faith. This generally means evidence you lived as a married couple, at least until the marriage began to deteriorate. If you're in the midst of a divorce when it comes time to file your I-751 then you must file it on time, even if you don't yet have the divorce decree. USCIS will eventually send an RFE for the divorce decree, which will usually give you several more months to complete the divorce.