LPR petitioning spouse

[Mollie09 1,543]

You'll get heavily scrutinized by USCIS. How long ago was that? Did you get a divorce?

[Randyandyuni 2,682]

visitor visas from the Philippines are extremely hard to get, most likely you will be the one doing the visiting to there

[fitness trainer 11]

Yes mollie  been divorced since 2015.And was approved 2016..and what do u mean scrutinized for what reason petitioning my spouse?

[Tracy-->NY 40]

What visa did you come to the US on? How long were you married?

[f1660114 18]

2 hours ago, Tracy-->NY said:

What visa did you come to the US on? How long were you married?

OP mentioned he needs to wait until 2020 to get his USC so most likely he just got married like 2 3 years ago and holding his LPR like 1 2 years ago.

 

@ OP: you are not eligible to file for your spouse now, unless:
A. You are now a naturalized U.S. citizen;
B. You have been a lawful permanent resident for at least five years;
C. You can establish by clear and convincing evidence that you did not enter the prior marriage (through which you
gained your lawful permanent resident status) in order to evade any U.S. immigration law; or
D. Your prior marriage through which you gained your immigrant status was terminated by the death of your former
spouse;

[Coco8 1,039]

17 minutes ago, f1660114 said:

OP mentioned he needs to wait until 2020 to get his USC so most likely he just got married like 2 3 years ago and holding his LPR like 1 2 years ago.

 

@ OP: you are not eligible to file for your spouse now, unless:
A. You are now a naturalized U.S. citizen;
B. You have been a lawful permanent resident for at least five years;
C. You can establish by clear and convincing evidence that you did not enter the prior marriage (through which you
gained your lawful permanent resident status) in order to evade any U.S. immigration law; or
D. Your prior marriage through which you gained your immigrant status was terminated by the death of your former
spouse;

I had never heard of this. I thought any LPR could petition spouse regardless for how long they had the GC.

 

Is this because he was married before?

 

 

[mallafri76 1,012]

6 minutes ago, Coco8 said:

I had never heard of this. I thought any LPR could petition spouse regardless for how long they had the GC.

 

Is this because he was married before?

 

 

Yes. It's to try and deter green card shopping, so people don't marry a USC for a green card, then divorce and petition their real spouse to the US. 

[f1660114 18]

15 minutes ago, Coco8 said:

I had never heard of this. I thought any LPR could petition spouse regardless for how long they had the GC.

 

Is this because he was married before?

 

 

Sorry Coco8, I should have quoted the full sentences from I-130 instruction: LPR may not file I-130 for a spouse, if they gained lawful permanent resident status through a prior marriage to a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, unless ...

[Coco8 1,039]

Just now, f1660114 said:

Sorry Coco8, I should have quoted the full sentences from I-130 instruction: LPR may not file I-130 for a spouse, if they gained lawful permanent resident status through a prior marriage to a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, unless ...

 

12 minutes ago, mallafri76 said:

Yes. It's to try and deter green card shopping, so people don't marry a USC for a green card, then divorce and petition their real spouse to the US. 

 

Yes, then it seems that the first marriage will be re-examined in detail. That is kind of a double edge sword because it could potentially jeopardize the current status of the permanent resident. Maybe he should consult with the lawyer he used after his first marriage to see if he has enough evidence to support his spouse (I'm not saying he should pay a lawyer to file the petition, just a consultation about his evidence). Because his divorce involved abuse, it might work.

 

http://www.njimmigrationattorney.com/blog/2016/02/filing-for-new-spouse-after-green-card-2nd-marriage-issues.shtml

 

[JFH 12,189]

Mallafri76 has hit the nail on the head. You will need to be an LPR for 5 years before you can petition for a spouse since you gained your LPR status through marriage.

 

Just an observation, but this new marriage is likely to be heavily scrutinized (as will your previous one). They may find it unusual for someone who has been so badly abused by a spouse to marry again so quickly. Good for you that you have been able to trust again so quickly. I divorced my previous husband (not a USC) and it took me a while to even want to date again, let alone marry, and my ex-husband wasn't even abusive. Your timing does appear rather rushed?

[JFH 12,189]

*~*~*moved from "IR-1/CR-1 spouse visa case filing and progress reports" to "bringing family members of LPRs" as the OP is a green card holder, not USC*~*~*

[Boiler 43,683]

[geowrian 22,336]

10 hours ago, Coco8 said:

How long do you have left until USC? The issue is that people applying for citizenship are having to wait a while to get it (there seems to be a backlog). So unless your citizenship is 6 months away, I'd apply now as a LPR.

No need to wait to file the I-130...they either get in line now and wait, or they become a USC and the case gets upgraded. There's no advantage in waiting to file.

Edit: This is purely in theory now due to the 5 year wait issue.

 

1 hour ago, Coco8 said:

I had never heard of this. I thought any LPR could petition spouse regardless for how long they had the GC.

If somebody obtained their green card via marriage, then the presumption is that it was obtained fraudulently if they petition for a new spouse within 5 years. That presumption can be overcome, but it's a pretty high hurdle and usually isn't worth trying.

 

That said...why does the OP need to wait until 2020 to become a USC? I thought approved VAWA petitioners still fall under the 3 year rule...? It would avoid the fraudulent presumption issue, albeit it will still raise extra scrutiny with the timelines.

Edited July 7, 2017 by geowrian

[Coco8 1,039]

1 hour ago, geowrian said:

That said...why does the OP need to wait until 2020 to become a USC? I thought approved VAWA petitioners still fall under the 3 year rule...? It would avoid the fraudulent presumption issue, albeit it will still raise extra scrutiny with the timelines.

 

Great observation. It seems that is correct. Then, the OP is in luck. You can apply for citizenship under the 3 year rule and apply for an IR-1 for your wife; she will have to wait 12-14 months. 

 

In the link below it says "If you are a battered spouse of a U.S. citizen who was granted approval of an I-360 on that basis and you have been an LPR for three years, you can apply for U.S. citizenship now, without having to show that you are still residing with the citizen spouse. In addition, it does not matter if you are still married to the citizen or divorced." I could find it on USCIS website.

 

http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/when-vawa-green-card-holders-can-apply-us-citizenship-naturalization.html

 

Naturalization is taking a while so check the date in your green card calculate what is the earliest you could apply

 https://www.uscis.gov/forms/uscis-early-filing-calculator

 

 

 

 

[fitness trainer 11]

thank you coco8,and to some people who commented here this is my life story before some of you all judge me,2013 I met my ex USC and was inlove and build a relationship with her and was engaged and got married in 2014.But 2015 She totally change and even threatened me of leaving and was cheated on me.I didnt know what to do that time I didnt even had any status at all but was just married to her and got my working permit.to sum it all up 2015 she filed the divorced and left me with no reason but just use me.she wanted to marry this guy so she cheated on me and want to be with him.My parents hired a lawyer and was able to help me and so 2015 my lawyer applied for the vawa because I had reports of her abusing me mentally and emotionally and the USCIS approved my VAWA after all the evidences were true against her.After all of that its been two yrs so this yr I got married again and my status was LPR through vawa. To some that commented and said they couldnt done what I did got remarried well everyone is different when it comes to relationship and love.For me I was able to already moved on and found the right person this is all what I wanted to say thanks for all the comments to my post.

God Bless.