A real mess for citizenship, married before divorce not final

[Hypnos 6,579]

Since her green card was improperly issued then it's possible USCIS will refer her case to ICE and immigration court, and will attempt to take away her green card and place her in removal proceedings.

USCIS can reverse any immigration benefit they have granted to an alien if it was based on erroneous information or done in error, as was done here. Will they in this case? There's not really any way to find that out other than by poking the bear, which would be a bad idea.

The fact she had a conditional green card initially means that it was not issued under VAWA, since those are always issued for ten years regardless of the length of the marriage.

She should speak to a reputable immigration attorney, and ideally more than one to gain some kind of consensus. I suspect that their advice will be "do nothing, never apply for citizenship again, and try to keep under ICE's radar".

Edited July 26, 2013 by Hypnos

[Justine+David 218]

I'm surprised that they didn't serve her right there for deportation. I completely sympathize with her situation, but the fact remains that she was never entitled to a green card in the first place. They may serve her with deportation later on and I don't think she is out of the woods right now even to keep her card. She needs a good, competent lawyer. Maybe you can help her out with that...

[yorubaqueen13 28]

Is it possible the Uscis is wrong at this stage? An error in looking at the divorce date? Ive seen it happen time n time again here in Michigan!!! When a divorce is legally final on a hearing date but then neither party files the signed judgment with the clerk due to the fees for filing, and boom! Wen finally filed, the date represents day of filing even tho the actual divorce took place earlier on.. Culd this b the case? Wat state is Marie from? All states procedures vary but i would ck into the USCIS making an error wen determining the divorce date if she was certain her man was free to marry back then... Our Government makes ALOT of mistakes... Its worth checking out... Maybe even goin to the court where her man was divorced the first time an getting the divorce decree from his first marriage... Use a F.O.I.A form its public record no matter wat state... Also have her check the States divorce laws, if its possible if the ^ above scenario happened? I would explore all avenues right now and doin this foot work (pro-per) will save her $ if she does end up getting an attorney any ways.... A little investigation goes a long ways n since its her butt on the line id say its worth the effort God bless her & I pray u find a way to help ur friend...

[MedRoni 161]

I am concerned that even if she does obtain legal counsel, there is nothing that they can do, as she obtained the GC illegally. Although she was not aware of the situation, in Government rules and regulations, it does not matter. She obtained her GC under false pretenses, and she may be put into the process for deportation.

It is possible, especially since she obtained the green card through an invalid marriage while on a few year overstay of a tourist visa... which is a big no no.

[robotvisiontx 1]

I think there are some confusions here:

1) how could she actually stay in US for 2 years with a tourist visa before she get marry in 2004.

2) how could she get her 10 year GC after she was divorced.

I understand that she does not have the money for hiring a lawyer. But I think most lawyers would do a free consultation for the first meeting. I suggest her at least try to visit 2 or 3 lawyer just to figure out how bad she really need a lawyer in this case...

she may not be able to solve the problem soon..but doesn't means she want to avoid to know how serious her problem is. I suggest her at least try to find out if there is any risk that her GC will be revoked.

[Azure30 22]

Well, the OP didn't actually SAY she overstayed on her tourist visa. She could have left and come back through proper channels after the marriage?

[newlyweds2010 208]

I think there are some confusions here:

1) how could she actually stay in US for 2 years with a tourist visa before she get marry in 2004.

2) how could she get her 10 year GC after she was divorced.

I understand that she does not have the money for hiring a lawyer. But I think most lawyers would do a free consultation for the first meeting. I suggest her at least try to visit 2 or 3 lawyer just to figure out how bad she really need a lawyer in this case...

she may not be able to solve the problem soon..but doesn't means she want to avoid to know how serious her problem is. I suggest her at least try to find out if there is any risk that her GC will be revoked.

My guess:

1) She didn't leave

2) (a) The 10-y GC was approved before the divorce; or (b) waiver

[Autumnal 25]

I echo the cry: get a lawyer. She's going to need someone who can produce the paper trail and work the system, and someone who will be able to negotiate tricky waters. Unfortunately with no money this may be somewhat difficult, but it's worth pursuing. The problem is, she obtained her green card on fraudulent grounds through no fault of her own. She has her green card but renewal could be tricky afterwards.

[Eric-Pris 1,610]

Yes, this seems to be partially USCIS error for not catching the overlapping marriages. But in the end, the applicant is always responsible for things like that. The dates are obviously on the paperwork we send it, so she (or husband) should have noticed, but it was missed until Citizenship. But if she doesn't speak English and is not very educated, she wouldn't have known what she was looking at anyway.

My guess is that the employees who process Citizenship applications are smarter, more experienced, better performers, etc. I think they send all the slackers to AOS.

[AnotherLostSoul 167]

LOL....good guess!

My guess is that the employees who process Citizenship applications are smarter, more experienced, better performers, etc. I think they send all the slackers to AOS.

[warlord 73]

It will now all depend on if they reported her to ICE or not. I'm sure it did get documented somehow on her file, but that still doesn't mean they will put her in deportation proceedings. Now, with that done, the big issue is (if she isn't put in deportation), what happens after the 10 year card expires and she has to get a new 10 year GC? Will it show back up on that and then that will be her final denial if she can't renew her GC?

Not sure how that would work. But yeah as others have said a lawyer is the best option, but if they can't afford it, there's really nothing one can do but ride it out and see if they do anything with her or not. Hard to say at this point...

[TBoneTX 48,758]

most lawyers would do a free consultation for the first meeting. I suggest her at least try to visit 2 or 3 lawyer just to figure out how bad she really need a lawyer in this case...

she may not be able to solve the problem soon..but doesn't means she want to avoid to know how serious her problem is. I suggest her at least try to find out if there is any risk that her GC will be revoked.

She should indeed do this.