Marriage based AOS interview

[WeGuyGal 1,052]

Anything possible

[gc@gc 184]

4 hours ago, AnythingButCommon said:

Hi Everyone,

 

I am right now in really stressful situation and would like to know if anyone had any experience /knowledge about it.

 

I am naturalized US citizen. Got my initial green card based on my first marriage which ended in less than two year. But I filed for condition waiver to extend my conditional green card and got 10 years green card without interview. I waited for five years and applied for citizenship and it got approved last year.

 

Yesterday, i had my wife's AOS interview. Here is my experience. 

 

IO (Interview officer) announced my wife's name in waiting area, We both went toward her. She asked for who is US citizen and asked to go with her separate. My wife was waiting outside. First question she asked me was, How did you received your citizenship. I asked that it was though my marriage to  US citizen's spouse. She asked what happened and why you got divorce.  I said that it didn't work out, we had conflicts and she wanted divorce. IO then asked me about how long did you lived together. We lived together for 5-6 months and then i had to moved to different state as got the job there. It was mutual decision and my ex wife was with me in that decision. IO replied that you only leave for 5 months which is not a marriage. IO started getting into dip on the topic. I explained OI that we were dating for over two years and when i moved to different state, i didn't had choice as it was for my job. IO replied that looks like it's fraud and i have to review your previous evidence. IO asked me that did you had interview when you applied for GC conditional waiver. I replied no and OI replied right away that where they screwed up at that time. IO said that you should be received interview and looks like your application should be canceled at that time. IO said that she will not make AOS decision today as she need to request my previous file and need to review it. If they find that i received my citizenship which the sham marriage, i could loose my citizenship and they will regent current AOS application as if i am not citizen, i can't apply for that. IO mentioned it twice that your citizenship could be taken away and you will be deported. She continue asking me about my first marriage and keep telling me that you only lived together for 5 months which is not a marriage. I answered those but probably have wrong year/timeline related to her questions. My first marriage was almost seven years ago and i was not at all prepared for those question. IO asked about is my current spouse and her family knows about my first marriage. I replied yes. There were may other question as well regarding my current arranged marriage and past marriage.  After some time, IO moved on and started asking me about my current marriage. IO had paper with all different questions like my spouse name, where din you met, how long did you dated, etc. There were about 30-40 questions in paper. I answered to all questions honestly. At the end IO said that she will not make decision today but will take my wife's interview. Now it's my wife's turn. She didn't know anything about what happened to me. My wife's interview went well. She was asked the same question regarding our marriage and my wife answered those correctly. IO also asked for photos and scanned those. Regarding my first marriage, IO only asked one question to my wife that Was she knew about my first marriage which she does. Our both's answer are consistent. My wife's interview went well. That's all. Now we left without any decision.

 

Now i am concern about so may different things. Looks like it was more interview about my first marriage. It was real marriage and i did nothing wrong. I didn't received interview during conditional removal but it wasn't my fault. I don't know what to expect now. I am scared now that looks like i could loose my citizenship and probably facing deportation.

 

I know i just have now wait and watch but i couldn't stop myself thinking about that i could loose my citizenship and probably have to leave country.Can they review my files/evidence from 5-6 year ago? What are possibility of denaturalization? What would be my option if they start denaturalization process? My wife and we both are really stress now and don't know what to think and what not to think.

 

Please help if anyone know of this type of case and what the possibility of me loosing my citizenship?

 

Thanks in advance everyone.

 

there is not much you can do right now.

 

if they go after you, then you should hire a good attorney 

 

 

[moosy 139]

When they asked you previously if your first wife will back you up, they meant: will your first wife tell them that it WAS a real marriage, or do you think she will tell them it was not? If she tells them she thinks it was not a real marriage, you are screwed.

[AnythingButCommon 2]

3 hours ago, moosy said:

When they asked you previously if your first wife will back you up, they meant: will your first wife tell them that it WAS a real marriage, or do you think she will tell them it was not? If she tells them she thinks it was not a real marriage, you are screwed.

Our marriage was real but I don't know what she will tell. I had no contact for over five years but i thought USCIS are neutral and go by documents/evidence as any divorce is difficult and people would try to hurt each other. Also hypothetically, if ex say that marriage wasn't real, isn't it problem for her as well?

[NJI751 12]

Please don't listen to the negative posters on this forum. The bar for denaturalization is extremely high, and the burden of proof is on USCIS to show that you lied during your Green Card or Naturalization application process.

 

Read this from the NYT for context:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/22/us/politics/supreme-court-citizenship.html

 

And the USCIS officers are trying to scare you hoping that they catch you in a life. Be consistent with your answers. There is no law that says you had to be married for X amount of time for a marriage to be entered in good faith. And that's the key here, if you entered your first marriage in good faith, you have nothing to be worried about. I know I said the burden of proof is with USCIS, but it would still help if you had the evidence you submitted ruing your ROC Application.

 

A court can not make decisions based on the words of a jilted ex-spouse. That's not how the law works.

 

If you can afford it, you should still get a good lawyer.

 

 

[AnythingButCommon 2]

8 hours ago, azblk said:

You have nothing to worry about if you first marriage was bona fide. The bar for de-naturalization is EXTREMELY HIGH and unless they have much more than suspections of an IO you will be fine.

Good to hear that.I needed to hear something positive . I know there is nothing much i can do right now other than waiting.

[AnythingButCommon 2]

8 hours ago, Roel said:

Did you already know your current wife when you were still married to the wife number 1? They might think you got married to US wife just to later be able to sponsor your current wife. Worst case scenario, I guess.

No. There is four year difference between my divorce and i met my current wife. 

[AnythingButCommon 2]

9 minutes ago, NJI751 said:

Please don't listen to the negative posters on this forum. The bar for denaturalization is extremely high, and the burden of proof is on USCIS to show that you lied during your Green Card or Naturalization application process.

 

Read this from the NYT for context:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/22/us/politics/supreme-court-citizenship.html

 

And the USCIS officers are trying to scare you hoping that they catch you in a life. Be consistent with your answers. There is no law that says you had to be married for X amount of time for a marriage to be entered in good faith. And that's the key here, if you entered your first marriage in good faith, you have nothing to be worried about. I know I said the burden of proof is with USCIS, but it would still help if you had the evidence you submitted ruing your ROC Application.

 

A court can not make decisions based on the words of a jilted ex-spouse. That's not how the law works.

 

If you can afford it, you should still get a good lawyer.

 

 

Thanks NJI751! I am thinking the same that it's probably to scare me.

[WeGuyGal 1,052]

12 minutes ago, NJI751 said:

Please don't listen to the negative posters on this forum. The bar for denaturalization is extremely high, and the burden of proof is on USCIS to show that you lied during your Green Card or Naturalization application process.

 

Read this from the NYT for context:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/22/us/politics/supreme-court-citizenship.html

 

And the USCIS officers are trying to scare you hoping that they catch you in a life. Be consistent with your answers. There is no law that says you had to be married for X amount of time for a marriage to be entered in good faith. And that's the key here, if you entered your first marriage in good faith, you have nothing to be worried about. I know I said the burden of proof is with USCIS, but it would still help if you had the evidence you submitted ruing your ROC Application.

 

A court can not make decisions based on the words of a jilted ex-spouse. That's not how the law works.

 

If you can afford it, you should still get a good lawyer.

If you quote an article, helps to understand it carefully. The article is partly irrelevant to OP's case because the supreme court's reference related to immaterial misstatements by an applicant. That is different from residency/naturalization on the basis of a sham marriage, not that anyone is accusing the OP of that. 

 

OP has chosen to avoid responding to some questions asked earlier in the forum.. of course he can chose to!  USCIS will be the final arbitrator here. 

 

Check these for reference (neither are directly relevant, but worth a read)

https://www.voanews.com/a/indian-national-first-lose-united-states-citizenship-under-operation-janus/4200556.html

https://www.uscis.gov/news/news-releases/uscis-investigation-results-two-year-conviction-marriage-fraud-ring

 

[AnythingButCommon 2]

6 minutes ago, WeGuyGal said:

If you quote an article, helps to understand it carefully. The article is partly irrelevant to OP's case because the supreme court's reference related to immaterial misstatements by an applicant. That is different from residency/naturalization on the basis of a sham marriage, not that anyone is accusing the OP of that. 

 

OP has chosen to avoid responding to some questions asked earlier in the forum.. of course he can chose to!  USCIS will be the final arbitrator here. 

 

Check these for reference (neither are directly relevant, but worth a read)

https://www.voanews.com/a/indian-national-first-lose-united-states-citizenship-under-operation-janus/4200556.html

https://www.uscis.gov/news/news-releases/uscis-investigation-results-two-year-conviction-marriage-fraud-ring

 

I think i answered all questions. If i missed then it's probably i have not read it. Can you point me to what i didn't already answered.

 

I was also just not responding to specific question as i know marriage was really and had enough evidence to support that. Others are saying that it's only 5 month lived together and then moved out. I know in USCIS's eye it's red flag but I had genuine reason of moving out because of my contract finished where i was working, i didn't received green card at that time so i has to go where ever i can find work. It was mutual decision. 

 

[NJI751 12]

@WeGuyGal

 

Fair enough. I did read the article, but that doesn't exactly apply to this case. I closely follow SCOTUS decisions on Immigration related issues. The point I was trying to make is that there is a high bar for de naturalization. 

 

By posting the two links, you are making the explicit assumption that the OP committed marriage fraud. Who knows, maybe he did. But for now, let's take him at his word. 

 

The USCIS Officer was using scare tactics by saying that you can't have a legitimate marriage if you are only together for 5 months. That is absolutely not the case. The law does not discriminate based on how your long your marital union was - as long as it was entered in good faith. As long as the USCIS can't prove that the OP entered his first marriage fraudulently, they can not denaturalize him.

[WeGuyGal 1,052]

6 minutes ago, NJI751 said:

@WeGuyGal

 

Fair enough. I did read the article, but that doesn't exactly apply to this case. I closely follow SCOTUS decisions on Immigration related issues. The point I was trying to make is that there is a high bar for de naturalization. 

 

By posting the two links, you are making the explicit assumption that the OP committed marriage fraud. Who knows, maybe he did. But for now, let's take him at his word. 

 

The USCIS Officer was using scare tactics by saying that you can't have a legitimate marriage if you are only together for 5 months. That is absolutely not the case. The law does not discriminate based on how your long your marital union was - as long as it was entered in good faith. As long as the USCIS can't prove that the OP entered his first marriage fraudulently, they can not denaturalize him.

I do not know OP's marital background any more than you.  The entire thread is predicated upon OP sweating USCIS's handling of his file, that's all. 

[WeGuyGal 1,052]

1 hour ago, AnythingButCommon said:

I think i answered all questions. If i missed then it's probably i have not read it. Can you point me to what i didn't already answered.

 

This one

[azblk 338]

USCIS officers have been known to try and shake up couples to unsettle them if they suspect something is awry. From what the OP has said the IO seemed to base his suspicions on the length the marriage lasted after green card. There is NO required time to stay in a marriage just that the marriage be valid and ongoing at the time of approval. Based on what the OP said there is nothing to worry about.

[little immigrant 800]

My situation is similar. I'm a naturalized US citizen under the 5 year rule after my first marriage failed. I got married again and petitioned my spouse who overstayed his tourist visa. During my naturalization interview I told them about my first and second marriage and also told them I was going to file for my husband. We should have our interview soon I hope. We filed in July and he already has his ead. My first marriage was real however I'm still scared of what might happen. They already asked me at length about it during my naturalization interview so I'm not sure what to expect.