Good Faith / Bona Fide

[tuckin14 58]

I'd like opinions on this situation and on a particular matter.

My wife and I were married in January 2011, while she lived in Canada. She continued to live in Canada and we saw each other regularly. She got her green card in November 2011, and we began to work on getting her teaching licenses, and she got a teaching job in the USA and moved here in the summer of 2013, and bought a condo (in her name).

At around the same time we filed the I-751, she told me to leave her home; this was in September or October, 2013. We continue to see each other sometimes but she is clearly heading for divorce. (She is now on Match.com.)

Additional facts: I did not abuse her by any conventional meaning of the word (being "old" and "short" and "a poop" do not qualify, I think). We have no children. Her stated reason for the separation was that I lost my job and she "didn't want to be with an unemployed guy." The "hardships" she would suffer if she had to move to Canada would be to find a new job there and to have to sell her house here.

I do not remember what supporting evidence we filed with the I-751. We might have filed a record of times we met (i.e. airline boarding passes). We had no joint bank accounts, no affadavits, no evidence that we lived together because we didn't.

So let me ask some questions:

1) USCIS told me that if I withdraw my support for the petition, she would immediately lose her status in the USA. That as of that moment she would no longer be able to work, and that removal proceedings would start. That if we were not legally divorced as of that time, that she could not file a petition on her own. Is this correct? Does this mean that she could file an individual petition after we were divorced?

2) Is there any way to determine if USCIS will require an interview?

3) If I do not withdraw the petition but USCIS finds out that I moved out at her request within two months after she moved to the USA, will they likely take it as prima facie evidence that the marriage was not entered into in good faith? Note that she never lived with me except for about six weeks. She will say that she entered into it in good faith but that I was impossible to live with.

4) Is there any reason I cannot tell her that I will withdraw the petition unless she makes a favorable divorce settlement with me? I cannot of course say "If you give me a good settlement I will say that I was so abusive that you couldn't live with me." I can't agree to lie. But can I threaten to withdraw the petition if she fights me on the settlement?

Is there any benchmark for this situation? In our minds, or at least mine, the marriage was bona fide at first. She had to get her green card, then teaching licenses, then find a job here. We spoke every day and saw each other about 30 weekends a year. If USCIS finds out the facts, will they say "Well, we understand that people try to make a marriage work and sometimes it just doesn't and we don't revoke residency just because people can't work things out" - or will they say "Lady, you've gotta be kidding. OK so it took you a while to get a job here but then 5 weeks after you move here you toss the guy out? Does that sound bona fide to you?"

Suppose I withdraw the petition. What USCIS made it sound like, is that she'd immediately become unemployable here. She would not be physically removed until she went before a judge, at which time she could explain why she should be allowed to remain. But would she in fact have to wait until the divorce is final, then file a petition on her own, and try to explain why it should be granted? Is the best she can hope for to be allowed to remain but to be unable to work for months or years?

If she loses her green card, is it possible she'd be disqualified from entering the USA even as a visitor? Would it be likely that if she later married someone else in the USA that she might be denied residency later based on a first presumably fraudulent marriage?

Other comment welcome, thanks in advance.

[106206 15]

First, sorry to hear it's not working out. That said, I do not think you'll find much advocacy for taking oath under an immigration officer, stating you and your estranged wife, who is on dating websites and kicked you out, are in a bona fide marriage since 2011, so she can get her 10 year GC - in exchange for a favorable divorce settlement. I'd consult a divorce attorney, not an immigration attorney. Good luck.

[tuckin14 58]

First, I never proposed lying to an immigration officer. The question regarding the divorce settlement pertained to not withdrawing the I-751. It is not certain there would even be an interview.

Second, I would appreciate answers to other elements of the post.

Thanks.

[tuckin14 58]

This is a more focused element of another post I made in this thread.

Our facts are as follows: Married in January 2011, green card issued in November 2011, starting in August 2012 we began getting my wife's teaching licenses in various states, and she looked for and got a job starting August 2013. She lived in Canada until August 2013, then bought a condo near her new work, we moved in together, and in September she told me to leave. There was no abuse, or at least none by me of her that most people would recognize as abuse.

I believed the marriage was in good faith. During the period prior to her relocation to the USA we saw each other about 25-30 weekends a year.

We had no joint bank accounts as her banking was in Canada and mine in the USA, but when she moved to the USA we did not bank jointly either (we had a few joint accounts for convenience). The condo was purchased in her name alone, and I was listed as "Resident" and "Partner" on the building access records, not "spouse." We physically lived together for about 5 weeks. We have no children.

Here is my question. Is USCIS likely to determine that while I may have entered the marriage in good faith, that my wife did not? Will they look at it and say, essentially, that anyone who would leave their spouse literally at the moment they began work in the USA probably never had any intent other than obtaining the green card for the ability to work?

[Boiler 45,670]

No

[Boiler 45,670]

What evidence do you have?

[Cheezees 1,514]

Please don't post more than once.

[Penguin_ie 5,994]

***** Two topics merged. PLease do not post moire than once on a question/ issue ****

I don;t think the bonafide's will be an issue. Her not living in the USA for most of those two years she's been a Legal PERMANENT RESIDENT may be.

Edited January 22, 2014 by Penguin_ie

[tuckin14 58]

What evidence do you have?

"Evidence" as to what?

And who is responsible for "evidence." Am I supposed to be trying to prove something one way or the other? Isn't it USCIS that is asking for evidence to make their own determination?

[Teddy B 17,252]

***** Two topics merged. PLease do not post moire than once on a question/ issue ****

I don;t think the bonafide's will be an issue. Her not living in the USA for most of those two years she's been a Legal PERMANENT RESIDENT may be.

I agree with this. Seems she never established residency in the US. Still not sure if that would be enough to affect her ROC.

[BlovesD 14]

4) Is there any reason I cannot tell her that I will withdraw the petition unless she makes a favorable divorce settlement with me? I cannot of course say "If you give me a good settlement I will say that I was so abusive that you couldn't live with me." I can't agree to lie. But can I threaten to withdraw the petition if she fights me on the settlement?

Blackmail??

[Teddy B 17,252]

4) Is there any reason I cannot tell her that I will withdraw the petition unless she makes a favorable divorce settlement with me? I cannot of course say "If you give me a good settlement I will say that I was so abusive that you couldn't live with me." I can't agree to lie. But can I threaten to withdraw the petition if she fights me on the settlement?

Blackmail??

Yeah, that whole post is laden with vengeance.

[Boiler 45,670]

And what settlement, why would there be a settlement?

[Sandra G. 5,051]

Blackmail is a crime. DIVorce and move on,let her ROC alone,her chance is very small to renew the GC filing l751 waiver,since she has zero commingling finances with you.

[DJ&L 83]

Blackmail is a crime. DIVorce and move on,let her ROC alone,her chance is very small to renew the GC filing l751 waiver,since she has zero commingling finances with you.

I wouldn't jump to conclusions about blackmail. Divorce is a negotiation. You should use the leverage you have to negotiate the most favorable settlement for yourself. I would refrain from specifically saying, I'll do this unless you do that...but you can certainly say, If I elect not to withdraw the petition, what would you be willing to do?