Divorce & I-751

[Boiler 43,632]

There are actually two..

Chesire v. Chesire (somewhere in Florida)

http://www.ilw.com/articles/2006,0608-mehta.shtm

That does not cover mitigation either.

US law can sometime be very weird, but for mitigation not to apply seems odd.

The Court held that the defendant US citizen spouse was required to continue to support his wife from December 20, 2001 till the date of the judgment. The plaintiff ex-spouse had to be supported in an amount equal to 125% of the annual income stipulated under the federal poverty guidelines from 2001 to 2006, which amounted to $50,116.75, minus the wages of $41,795.54 that she had received on her own accord during this period. Defendant was thus ordered to pay $8,321.21.

So $1,600 a year, less legal costs.

I have a feeling the net to the plaintiff would have been very small to the point of it not being worth the hassle.

[scorpionking 2]

diadromous mermaid,

True, the contract is between the sponsor and the government, but the contract is clear that the alien being sponsored can sue the sponsor directly to obtain the minimum level of support should it be needed.

I think where scorpionking is going off track is in framing the issue in terms of his expenses rather than in terms of his income. The I-864 requires the sponsor to assure that the alien has a minimum level of income (if they cannot obtain it on their own), it does not require the sponsor to cover the alien's expenses. The alien is on their own to spend their income appropriately so as to cover their expenses.

Yodrak

Hey Diadromous Mermaid

Well right now my current situation is as following-My wife and her family are trying to chuck me out of their house because my wife doesn't want to make things work out anyhow.I found a parttime job but I cannot afford appartment etc....so now I wanted to know that-my wife and her brother signed affidavit of support form to invite me here as a dependant..can I force them legally to provide me acomodations etc?and if you know please tell me how much as that affidavit of support says cost of living for one month?because I have nothing in my pocket and they are agree to sign appartment lease for 6 months..can I ask for more comfort for me?or can they throw me out of their house if my wife leaves home?because I have nowhere to go.Any input would be greatly appreciated.Thank you in advance.

Hey Yodrak,Thank you for your input.Now I have a question-then what should I do right now,All I have is 300$ in my bank account and they want me to leave the house rightaway......and I have no financial support...they are agree to pay for my appartment lease for 6 months,but then It will not enough atleast until I will find a good job and I cannot do anything without my credit scores(I never had an bank account because I was mentally abused by my wife and her mom till now,but I can't prove it),so please you guys guide me a little to make a decision.My demand is couple of thousand bucks and 6 months rent.....so that I can start living myself and atleast find an attorney to lift the conditions from my 2yrGreencard.And I have an another question as well-I-864 is signed by my wife and brother-in-law together,so If my wife leaves the house(cuz I can't move)can I still stay in that house legally? because the honor of the house is her brother.I am confused and can't afford an attorney right now,but i will in future(I have one more year handy).Any input from you would be greatly appreciated.Thank you in advance.

If you have a CR-1, then I presume your wife and her brother executed an I-864. In that Affidavit, the US sponsor is assuring the US gov't that you will be provided sufficient support equal to 125% of the current poverty guideline figure. Hers is a commitment to the government (a contract with the agency) and not with you, .....

[Boiler 43,632]

All I have is 300$ in my bank account and they want me to leave the house rightaway......and I have no financial support...they are agree to pay for my appartment lease for 6 months

You are looking for advise that I do not believe anybody here is qualified to give.

My demand is couple of thousand bucks and 6 months rent.....so that I can start living myself and at least find an attorney to lift the conditions from my 2yrGreencard.

I am not sure how strong your bargaining position is, have you asked?

And I have an another question as well-I-864 is signed by my wife and brother-in-law together,so If my wife leaves the house(cuz I can't move)can I still stay in that house legally? because the honor of the house is her brother.

Honor?

If her Brother owns the house I would have thought he could evict you, the I-864 has no impact on that.

[Kim2023 0]

The Self-petition for removal of conditions can be filed by an alien with one or more grounds. Typically, one files based upon a bonafide marriage that terminated in divorce, because this is normally true. In the event that the alien has little evidence of that, there's no reason not to try, but to supplement that ground with another, if applicable.

Before contacting Catholic Human Charities (they normally provide pro bono legal assistance) relate the facts in a manner in which they will aid your story.

"You were married to a husband that was emotionally and physically abusive and wondered if this relationship would be wise to continue. You then learned that you were pregnant by your husband, and if the relationship were doomed, considered it unwise to begin a family. You took steps to terminate the pregnancy without informing your husband, due to fear of reprisal and repercussions that could ensue. Emotionally drained, you left the country after terminating the pregnancy to be with family for comfort and moral support, and later on returned to the US to find your husband had filed for divorce in your absence, claiming abandonment as his ground."

If presented in this manner, it is clear that you are being punished for your independent thinking and actions. If I were involved in psychological examination, I'd see it that way. Check to see if there is a CHC in your community and ask for assistance in preparing an I-751 waiver with good faith marriage AND emotional abuse as your valid grounds. By the way, preparing to expand your family can be interpretted also as evidence of the bonafide nature of your intentions in the marriage, despite the fact that you chose to terminate the pregnancy later.

Without tax returns, did you commingle your finances? Bank accounts? Insurance policies with both names on them as beneficiaries?

Hi

Mermaid

Thanks for the above reply, I too thought on the same lines. My intention was to take the realtionship ahead. With or without the child. BUT....I Did inform my husband before I terminated the pergnancy and he also came to meet me, though he gave me no choices where I could have re-considered, and the thought of being a single mother, scared me, hence......I did what I thought was best for my child and me at that time.

As for the tax returns, I was told by my husband that since I do not work, I cannot file my tax returns, he never involved me in any financial matters or any thing related to paper work. Infact he also filled all my immigration papers himself, and just came to me for my signatures. He never told me what the immigartion papers were all about, I just knew that they were immigratiion papers, from the headings on the forms. I do have statements of our bank accounts, but do not have any Insurance policy copies, as he kept all of the papers to himself, and the condition that I left the house, did not permit me to take any papers or even ask for any thing later on.

[scorpionking 2]

Thnx guys....but as I said, it is difficult for me to hire an immigration attorney at this point. How much do they charge though ? Any idea for such cases ??? Any information will be helpful.

Kim,

If your goal is to stay in the USA, then you can not worry about the cost of a good lawyer - hire one. USCIS will look very closely at your petition and most likely you will have to go in for an interview. From what I have read on other posts, the folks at USCIS will need evidence to show that you were abused. They will need records from any or all: police, hospital, counselor or your minister. The USCIS grants a conditional green card for marriages less than two years, because they want to make sure that the marriage is not fraud. You need to do everything that you can to prove that you intended a life long commitment.

Good luck

The Self-petition for removal of conditions can be filed by an alien with one or more grounds. Typically, one files based upon a bonafide marriage that terminated in divorce, because this is normally true. In the event that the alien has little evidence of that, there's no reason not to try, but to supplement that ground with another, if applicable.

Before contacting Catholic Human Charities (they normally provide pro bono legal assistance) relate the facts in a manner in which they will aid your story.

"You were married to a husband that was emotionally and physically abusive and wondered if this relationship would be wise to continue. You then learned that you were pregnant by your husband, and if the relationship were doomed, considered it unwise to begin a family. You took steps to terminate the pregnancy without informing your husband, due to fear of reprisal and repercussions that could ensue. Emotionally drained, you left the country after terminating the pregnancy to be with family for comfort and moral support, and later on returned to the US to find your husband had filed for divorce in your absence, claiming abandonment as his ground."

If presented in this manner, it is clear that you are being punished for your independent thinking and actions. If I were involved in psychological examination, I'd see it that way. Check to see if there is a CHC in your community and ask for assistance in preparing an I-751 waiver with good faith marriage AND emotional abuse as your valid grounds. By the way, preparing to expand your family can be interpretted also as evidence of the bonafide nature of your intentions in the marriage, despite the fact that you chose to terminate the pregnancy later.

Without tax returns, did you commingle your finances? Bank accounts? Insurance policies with both names on them as beneficiaries?

Hey Diadromous Mermaid

Well right now my current situation is as following-My wife and her family are trying to chuck me out of their house because my wife doesn't want to make things work out anyhow.I found a parttime job but I cannot afford appartment etc....so now I wanted to know that-my wife and her brother signed affidavit of support form to invite me here as a dependant..can I force them legally to provide me acomodations etc?and if you know please tell me how much as that affidavit of support says cost of living for one month?because I have nothing in my pocket and they are agree to sign appartment lease for 6 months..can I ask for more comfort for me?or can they throw me out of their house if my wife leaves home?because I have nowhere to go.Any input would be greatly appreciated.Thank you in advance.

If you have a CR-1, then I presume your wife and her brother executed an I-864. In that Affidavit, the US sponsor is assuring the US gov't that you will be provided sufficient support equal to 125% of the current poverty guideline figure. Hers is a commitment to the government (a contract with the agency) and not with you, however, in various states aliens have been successful lately in using the third party beneficiary claim to file a civil suit against the USC for some sort of support. Mind you, whether legally sound or not, there's no guarantee, and all litigation costs money!

Hey Mermaid,Now my current situation is as follows-Right now I am staying with my wife and her family because they don't want to support me and I have nothing(no finance to support myself)so they can't chuck me out of the house,but I am worried because I have no joint bank account,no tax returns(she filed as maried filing separately),and no home lease(we stay in my brother0in-laws house)...and clock is ticking-and It is already a year since I came here in USA.My question is-how to prove before immigration officer that why don't I have joint bank account etc..even our marriage lasted almost a year.My wife mentioned that-the reason why she didn't add my name in her account is-if we will have argue in future-I can whipe-out her account(thats how my mother-in-law told her to do)and she filed taxes separately because her intention is to throw me out of this country(also created by her mother originally).But we still have joint health insurance,I tried to make an appointment with marriage counselor but it is not reported because my wife was not willing to come at all with me.The main plus point for me is-I can obtain many affidavits to prove bonafide nature of marriage,photos together in several family events,joint health insurance,marriage photos and dvds,mails coming to same address....now my wife says that she will move out of that house very soon and then I have no right to stay there anymore,is it true?and can I then say that it is her who left me to prove I am not at fault?Any input from you would be greatly appreciated.Thank you in advance.

[Yodrak 7]

scorpianking,

You continue to frame your discussion in terms of the expenses you have to cover rather than in terms of the minimum level of support (income) that the I-864 is intended to provide you.

Forget about how much you need to cover your rent. Concentrate what your income is having made every effort that you possibly can to obtain an income. You can request a court award you the difference between that income and 125% of the poverty level on a retroactive basis. Whether that amount is enough to cover your rent or not does not factor into it.

If you prevail your sponsor will have to pay your legal expenses in addition to the amount of support money that you are awarded. If you do not prevail you will be in a deeper financial hole than you are now unless your attorney was working on a contingency basis.

Keep in mind that your opponent will be attempting to demonstrate that you should have been able to find a way to support yourself and that you did not make every effort to do so. The side that can make the most convincing argument is the side that will likely prevail.

Yodrak

.....

I think where scorpionking is going off track is in framing the issue in terms of his expenses rather than in terms of his income. The I-864 requires the sponsor to assure that the alien has a minimum level of income (if they cannot obtain it on their own), it does not require the sponsor to cover the alien's expenses. The alien is on their own to spend their income appropriately so as to cover their expenses.

Yodrak

Hey Yodrak,Thank you for your input.Now I have a question-then what should I do right now,All I have is 300$ in my bank account and they want me to leave the house rightaway......and I have no financial support...they are agree to pay for my appartment lease for 6 months,but then It will not enough atleast until I will find a good job and I cannot do anything without my credit scores(I never had an bank account because I was mentally abused by my wife and her mom till now,but I can't prove it),so please you guys guide me a little to make a decision.My demand is couple of thousand bucks and 6 months rent.....

[scorpionking 2]

scorpianking,

You continue to frame your discussion in terms of the expenses you have to cover rather than in terms of the minimum level of support (income) that the I-864 is intended to provide you.

Forget about how much you need to cover your rent. Concentrate what your income is having made every effort that you possibly can to obtain an income. You can request a court award you the difference between that income and 125% of the poverty level on a retroactive basis. Whether that amount is enough to cover your rent or not does not factor into it.

If you prevail your sponsor will have to pay your legal expenses in addition to the amount of support money that you are awarded. If you do not prevail you will be in a deeper financial hole than you are now unless your attorney was working on a contingency basis.

Keep in mind that your opponent will be attempting to demonstrate that you should have been able to find a way to support yourself and that you did not make every effort to do so. The side that can make the most convincing argument is the side that will likely prevail.

Yodrak

.....

I think where scorpionking is going off track is in framing the issue in terms of his expenses rather than in terms of his income. The I-864 requires the sponsor to assure that the alien has a minimum level of income (if they cannot obtain it on their own), it does not require the sponsor to cover the alien's expenses. The alien is on their own to spend their income appropriately so as to cover their expenses.

Yodrak

Hey Yodrak,Thank you for your input.Now I have a question-then what should I do right now,All I have is 300$ in my bank account and they want me to leave the house rightaway......and I have no financial support...they are agree to pay for my appartment lease for 6 months,but then It will not enough atleast until I will find a good job and I cannot do anything without my credit scores(I never had an bank account because I was mentally abused by my wife and her mom till now,but I can't prove it),so please you guys guide me a little to make a decision.My demand is couple of thousand bucks and 6 months rent.....

Hello Yodrak,Thank you for such a nice advice,but I wanted to know the conclusion of your previous post in simple english if you don't mind,because I know english not very well,so here it is what I understood-If I will not make an effort to go to the court and file a case against my sponser(s),it will be bad for my side,correct?I talked to an attorney(free consultation) and he said that it is very lengthy and hard process,so I am kinder stressed and confused.and what do you mean by 'Income'(Concentrate what your income is having made every effort that you possibly can to obtain an income.)I have no money in my pocket to hire an attorney.And If I file a suit against them will it affact when I need to remove the conditions from my conditional greencard later on?and please tell me-what are the chances to win the case?right now whose side is stronger mine or their?I am really very confused and really need some inputs.Any help would be very much appreciated.Thank you in advance.

[Yodrak 7]

scorpionking,

You ask questions that I cannot answer. In part because for some of the questions you have not provided enough information to form an opinion, but more significantly because these are questions that should be put to an attorney who has experience with the issue.

I suspect that there are not very many such attornies, and it doesn't seem that you could afford such an attorney if you could find one. So be guided by the advice that you got from your free consultation. I expect that the attorney you spoke with was correct in saying that suing your wife for support will be a lengthy and hard process, and my guess is that your she is counting on this when she says that she will not provide you with any support unless you get a court order. She is betting that you will not be able to take her to court.

You are in a difficult situation. My best wishes to you.

Yodrak

scorpianking,

You continue to frame your discussion in terms of the expenses you have to cover rather than in terms of the minimum level of support (income) that the I-864 is intended to provide you.

Forget about how much you need to cover your rent. Concentrate what your income is having made every effort that you possibly can to obtain an income. You can request a court award you the difference between that income and 125% of the poverty level on a retroactive basis. Whether that amount is enough to cover your rent or not does not factor into it.

If you prevail your sponsor will have to pay your legal expenses in addition to the amount of support money that you are awarded. If you do not prevail you will be in a deeper financial hole than you are now unless your attorney was working on a contingency basis.

Keep in mind that your opponent will be attempting to demonstrate that you should have been able to find a way to support yourself and that you did not make every effort to do so. The side that can make the most convincing argument is the side that will likely prevail.

Yodrak

.....

I think where scorpionking is going off track is in framing the issue in terms of his expenses rather than in terms of his income. The I-864 requires the sponsor to assure that the alien has a minimum level of income (if they cannot obtain it on their own), it does not require the sponsor to cover the alien's expenses. The alien is on their own to spend their income appropriately so as to cover their expenses.

Yodrak

Hey Yodrak,Thank you for your input.Now I have a question-then what should I do right now,All I have is 300$ in my bank account and they want me to leave the house rightaway......and I have no financial support...they are agree to pay for my appartment lease for 6 months,but then It will not enough atleast until I will find a good job and I cannot do anything without my credit scores(I never had an bank account because I was mentally abused by my wife and her mom till now,but I can't prove it),so please you guys guide me a little to make a decision.My demand is couple of thousand bucks and 6 months rent.....

Hello Yodrak,Thank you for such a nice advice,but I wanted to know the conclusion of your previous post in simple english if you don't mind,because I know english not very well,so here it is what I understood-If I will not make an effort to go to the court and file a case against my sponser(s),it will be bad for my side,correct?I talked to an attorney(free consultation) and he said that it is very lengthy and hard process,so I am kinder stressed and confused.and what do you mean by 'Income'(Concentrate what your income is having made every effort that you possibly can to obtain an income.)I have no money in my pocket to hire an attorney.And If I file a suit against them will it affact when I need to remove the conditions from my conditional greencard later on?and please tell me-what are the chances to win the case?right now whose side is stronger mine or their?I am really very confused and really need some inputs.Any help would be very much appreciated.Thank you in advance.

Edited May 11, 2007 by Yodrak

[scorpionking 2]

scorpionking,

You ask questions that I cannot answer. In part because for some of the questions you have not provided enough information to form an opinion, but more significantly because these are questions that should be put to an attorney who has experience with the issue.

I suspect that there are not very many such attornies, and it doesn't seem that you could afford such an attorney if you could find one. So be guided by the advice that you got from your free consultation. I expect that the attorney you spoke with was correct in saying that suing your wife for support will be a lengthy and hard process, and my guess is that your she is counting on this when she says that she will not provide you with any support unless you get a court order. She is betting that you will not be able to take her to court.

You are in a difficult situation. My best wishes to you.

Yodrak

Hi Yodrak...thank you for best wishes,hopefully it will work for me.And I can afford an attorney because some people is willing to help me with it so no problem with it.I am just not confident with this decision to file law suit against them,I can rely only on the case If I will feel pretty-much sure that I will win the case and I can pay of attorneys fees atleast.They are already agree to cosign for appartment lease for 6 months(cuz I have no credit-is a plus for me probably).Do you know anybody in this forum with same situation as mine?thank you so much for your input and keep in touch.God bless you.

scorpianking,

You continue to frame your discussion in terms of the expenses you have to cover rather than in terms of the minimum level of support (income) that the I-864 is intended to provide you.

Forget about how much you need to cover your rent. Concentrate what your income is having made every effort that you possibly can to obtain an income. You can request a court award you the difference between that income and 125% of the poverty level on a retroactive basis. Whether that amount is enough to cover your rent or not does not factor into it.

If you prevail your sponsor will have to pay your legal expenses in addition to the amount of support money that you are awarded. If you do not prevail you will be in a deeper financial hole than you are now unless your attorney was working on a contingency basis.

Keep in mind that your opponent will be attempting to demonstrate that you should have been able to find a way to support yourself and that you did not make every effort to do so. The side that can make the most convincing argument is the side that will likely prevail.

Yodrak

.....

I think where scorpionking is going off track is in framing the issue in terms of his expenses rather than in terms of his income. The I-864 requires the sponsor to assure that the alien has a minimum level of income (if they cannot obtain it on their own), it does not require the sponsor to cover the alien's expenses. The alien is on their own to spend their income appropriately so as to cover their expenses.

Yodrak

Hey Yodrak,Thank you for your input.Now I have a question-then what should I do right now,All I have is 300$ in my bank account and they want me to leave the house rightaway......and I have no financial support...they are agree to pay for my appartment lease for 6 months,but then It will not enough atleast until I will find a good job and I cannot do anything without my credit scores(I never had an bank account because I was mentally abused by my wife and her mom till now,but I can't prove it),so please you guys guide me a little to make a decision.My demand is couple of thousand bucks and 6 months rent.....

Hello Yodrak,Thank you for such a nice advice,but I wanted to know the conclusion of your previous post in simple english if you don't mind,because I know english not very well,so here it is what I understood-If I will not make an effort to go to the court and file a case against my sponser(s),it will be bad for my side,correct?I talked to an attorney(free consultation) and he said that it is very lengthy and hard process,so I am kinder stressed and confused.and what do you mean by 'Income'(Concentrate what your income is having made every effort that you possibly can to obtain an income.)I have no money in my pocket to hire an attorney.And If I file a suit against them will it affact when I need to remove the conditions from my conditional greencard later on?and please tell me-what are the chances to win the case?right now whose side is stronger mine or their?I am really very confused and really need some inputs.Any help would be very much appreciated.Thank you in advance.