How long do I have to be married for ROC with divorce waiver?

[WillJ 0]

 

Is there anyone who filed for ROC with a divorce waiver with bona-fide marriage ground? (Not extreme hardship or violence)

 

Please help me get some ideas. 

 

 

I am the beneficiary and I got married to a US citizen about a year and half ago. I got my green card  back in October 2018, so it has been only 2 months and half. 

Our marriage is bona-fide and we have lots of proofs. However, I found out that my spouse is cheating on me. I noticed something was strange with him, and I asked him what is wrong. He then told me he started seeing another girl, and doesn't want to be with me anymore. 

Since we got married and started living together, he has started seeing lots of differences in us, which caused fights. He was getting really sick of it, and then he met this girl. 

 

He said he is really into this girl and they are already thinking about getting an apartment together. Since he is crazy about her, he refuses to go to marriage counseling with me. He said, he is just done with me, and doesn't want any more drama.

 

I am devastated because of the broken heart, his betrayal, but not just that. I have my life here (mainly my job). My employer hired me on the condition that they don't have to sponsor me for work visa, so if I lose my conditional green card, I will lose my job also. 

 

Since we have not been married for 2 years (it has been only 1.5 years) and it has been only a few months since I got my green card, I feel like filing a divorce now will make it look like I married him for the green card.

I know we were truly in love when we got married and planned the future together, but it ended up not working out. He told me we don't have to file a divorce right away if it is going to look like a fake marriage, which it isn't. But he also said, he will still keep seeing this girl, and I shouldn't expect him to come back to me.

 

I don't know what to do anymore. Every time I see him, it breaks my heart, and I really want to move on with my own life. But divorcing now will most likely look bad also, and I will lose my job and life here too. I am really stuck. 

 

Can anyone give me some advice on what I should do now? Do you think divorcing at this timing and filing for a divorce waiver will look very bad regardless of the bona-fide evidence?

Is there anyone who went through a divorce within 2 years of marriage and still got their ROC approved with a divorce waiver? How long were you married before the divorce? Was there a big scrutiny?

 

[geowrian 22,335]

1 hour ago, WillJ said:

Is there anyone who filed for ROC with a divorce waiver with bona-fide marriage ground? (Not extreme hardship or violence)

Many, many, many people do this.

Extreme hardship is extremely difficult to show...you almost never hear of somebody going that route.

The abuse waiver requires showing a bona fide marriage + abuse. It's handled by staff that are better suited for evaluating evidence of a bona fide marriage when abuse is involved (i.e. many traditional forms of evidence may not be possible to obtain).

 

1 hour ago, WillJ said:

Can anyone give me some advice on what I should do now? Do you think divorcing at this timing and filing for a divorce waiver will look very bad regardless of the bona-fide evidence?

The short length of marriage after getting the green card is what it is. It's not a positive factor IMO, but it is what it is. What I can say is that it is not wise to stay in a marriage when both people don't want to continue it. And it's not wise to stay in a marriage for any immigration purpose...it usually tends to cause more issues (i.e. how do you show evidence of a bona fide marriage when there is no longer a real marriage relationship going on?). It just doens't work and can blow up in one's face if discovered  by the IO.

 

I'll defer to others with specific experiences. But most ROC petitions are approved in the end, including those with divorce waivers.

Edited January 3, 2019 by geowrian

[aliha 6]

51 minutes ago, WillJ said:

 

Is there anyone who filed for ROC with a divorce waiver with bona-fide marriage ground? (Not extreme hardship or violence)

 

Please help me get some ideas. 

 

 

I am the beneficiary and I got married to a US citizen about a year and half ago. I got my green card  back in October 2018, so it has been only 2 months and half. 

Our marriage is bona-fide and we have lots of proofs. However, I found out that my spouse is cheating on me. I noticed something was strange with him, and I asked him what is wrong. He then told me he started seeing another girl, and doesn't want to be with me anymore. 

Since we got married and started living together, he has started seeing lots of differences in us, which caused fights. He was getting really sick of it, and then he met this girl. 

 

He said he is really into this girl and they are already thinking about getting an apartment together. Since he is crazy about her, he refuses to go to marriage counseling with me. He said, he is just done with me, and doesn't want any more drama.

 

I am devastated because of the broken heart, his betrayal, but not just that. I have my life here (mainly my job). My employer hired me on the condition that they don't have to sponsor me for work visa, so if I lose my conditional green card, I will lose my job also. 

 

Since we have not been married for 2 years (it has been only 1.5 years) and it has been only a few months since I got my green card, I feel like filing a divorce now will make it look like I married him for the green card.

I know we were truly in love when we got married and planned the future together, but it ended up not working out. He told me we don't have to file a divorce right away if it is going to look like a fake marriage, which it isn't. But he also said, he will still keep seeing this girl, and I shouldn't expect him to come back to me.

 

I don't know what to do anymore. Every time I see him, it breaks my heart, and I really want to move on with my own life. But divorcing now will most likely look bad also, and I will lose my job and life here too. I am really stuck. 

 

Can anyone give me some advice on what I should do now? Do you think divorcing at this timing and filing for a divorce waiver will look very bad regardless of the bona-fide evidence?

Is there anyone who went through a divorce within 2 years of marriage and still got their ROC approved with a divorce waiver? How long were you married before the divorce? Was there a big scrutiny?

 

i read ur story i feel sorry and i feel bad for you. why ur husband seeking other woman? if you want still be patient and keep him until removal 2 year condition green card pass marriage they will approve and give you 10 years green card after divorce whatever you want. but it is very serious 2 year condition green card expire before divorce then you can deportation back your country. lose ur job and everything too.

[WillJ 0]

21 minutes ago, geowrian said:

Many, many, many people do this.

Extreme hardship is extremely difficult to show...you almost never hear of somebody gong that route.

The abuse waiver requires showing a bona fide marriage + abuse. It's handled by staff that are better suited for evaluating evidence of a bona fide marriage when abuse is involved (i.e. many traditional forms of evidence may not be possible to obtain).

 

The short length of marriage after getting the green card is what it is. It's not a positive factor IMO, but it is what it is. What I can say is that it is not wise to stay in a marriage when both people don't want to continue it. And it's not wise to stay in a marriage for any immigration purpose...it usually tends to cause more issues (i.e. how do you show evidence of a bona fide marriage when there is no longer a real marriage relationship going on?). It just doens't work and can blow up in one's face if discovered  by the IO.

 

I'll defer to others with specific experiences. But most ROC petitions are approved in the end, including those with divorce waivers.

As much as I feel I should move on because it only hurts me, I find myself wanting to keep trying and waiting. 

 

My husband has cheated on me before also. At that time he was wanting a divorce also and started seeing another girl. I was depressed and hurt, but I kept telling him how much I need and love him and apologized all mistakes I had made in the past. He got really emotional too, and he apologized to me for cheating and he decided to come back to me. So I forgave him... Then it happened again... 

 

I hate him for cheating on me twice, but I can forgive him If he comes back to me. I feel like waiting and trying to show him how much I care might help me get him back like last time.. 

This is why I wanna give it another chance by waiting and trying to talk to him. 

 

Also I personally don't wanna give up so easily. 

 

But I just wanted an opinion in case we do end up divorcing soon. And I wanted to know how heavy the scrutiny will be if the divorce occurs only a few months after getting conditional GC. 

Dont they consider the length of marriage at all though? It's been only a few months since GC arrival, but the marriage itself has been for 1.5 years. Actually 1.7-8 years now. 

We jus applied for AOS late.

[mindthegap 2,521]

You can divorce, and file an I-751 with a divorce waiver at any time. You should not be punished for doing so. 

 

Some extracts from 8 CFR 216:

(h) Waiver of Joint Filing

    (2) Good Faith, Not at Fault .

"Despite the best intentions, marriages do not always work out, and sometimes even bona fide marriages fall apart in less than 2 years. IMFA was not meant to be a tool to be used against unlucky or unlikely marriages; it was meant to be a tool against fraud. Accordingly, IMFA provides for a waiver if the alien can establish that he or she entered the marriage in good faith and he or she was not at fault in failing to meet the IMFA requirements. Things to consider when adjudicating this type of waiver include :

 

· Weight is not given to who filed the divorce. (Initially, the statute required that the alien had to be the moving party in the proceedings to terminate the marriage (i.e., that the alien had terminated the marriage for “good cause”). This occasionally resulted in what became known as “the race to the courthouse.” Since the issue was meant to center on whether the alien had good faith when immigrating, not on whose attorney could file for divorce faster, this requirement was dropped.)

· It does not matter if the conditional resident’s spouse entered the marriage in good faith, only the intent of the conditional resident him or herself is relevant. Interviewing the conditional resident’s former spouse (either in response to a call-in letter, a field examination or a referral to Investigations) may provide relevant and valuable information on the alien’s intent, or it may only result in a spiteful diatribe. Adjudicators should always be aware of the source and motivation of information provi ded. Also, when interviewing a former spouse, always be extremely careful not to divulge any information (such as the alien’s current location) which could result in the alien being subjected to abuse or battering.

· In determining good faith, it is usually helpful to look at the actions of the parties following immigration to the U.S. The same clues which can be useful in an ongoing marriage (e.g., did they establish joint bank account, were health insurance issues coordinated, etc.) are valuable indications of a fraudulent marriage. Perhaps assets which were commingled at the beginning of the marriage would have just been divided at the end. Reviewing the property settlement, which usually accompanies the divorce decree, may provide valuable information.

· The statute requires that the alien establish that he or she “was not at fault in failing to meet the requirements” for filing a joint petition for removal of conditions. This should not be read as requiring that the alien’s divorce decree finds his or her spouse to have been at fault, nor does it require that the divorce was obtained on a no-fault basis. You still might determine that the alien was wholly or partly responsible for not meeting the joint petitioning requirements. Likewise, a divorce decree stating that the alien was “at fault” (with regards to the breakup of the marriage) does not preclude you from independently determining that he or she was not at fault, at least with regard to the requirements of the immigration law.

 

· As the adjudicator, you must make your own determination on this issue. While the language of the divorce decree may provide useful information on the reasons why the marriage was terminated (and therefore why a joint petition was not possible), and may even significantly increase the alien’s burden of proof, the decision on whether to grant the waiver belongs to the Service, not to the divorce court judge. Remember that in the worst marriage fraud cases, the parties to the fraud would agree in advance that the alien would file for divorce and that the petitioning spouse would accept fault for the breakdown of the marriage."

 

 

and

 

"It does not matter if the conditional resident’s spouse entered the marriage in good faith, only the intent of the conditional resident him or herself is relevant. Interviewing the conditional resident’s former spouse (either in response to a call-in letter, a field examination or a referral to Investigations) may provide relevant and valuable information on the alien’s intent, or it may only result in a spiteful diatribe. Adjudicators should always be aware of the source and motivation of information provided. Also, when interviewing a former spouse, always be extremely careful not to divulge any information (such as the alien’s current location) which could result in the alien being subjected to abuse or battering."

 

 

 

 

 

 

[kline19 102]

Your employment doesn't have any direct threat from your ROC process even if you were to modify an ROC with divorce waiver. Your employer only needs to check your employment authorization once at the time of hire. But it will be a good idea that you should apply for a clean social security if you haven't yet and use your SS card with your driver's license in the future for any employment authorization. In that way, you never have to reveal your immigration status to your employer. 

 

ROC with Divorce waiver is a legal process and if you produce evidence showing the bona fides of your marriage then you should be fine. I also suggest to get into therapy on your own to deal with stress of this situation. That therapist might be able to write a letter describing your situation and how you tried to make the marriage work. It could work as a witness statement by a professional. This is just my thought on this. 

[WillJ 0]

Thank you for your replies, everyone. 

 

I just had a free consulting with an attorney, and he told me that my case would be heavily scrutinized because it has been only a few months since the conditional GC was obtained. 

And he even said the length of the marriage doesn't matter, but the length of time elapsed since the date of conditional GC arrival matters more. 

Is this true?  

I am freaking out... 

 

Also, we do not have joint bank accounts. For many reasons, we decided not to get a shares account. 

 

But we did have a lease and bills with both of our names, and we have almost always paid the rent and bills together (I have online receipts for those with either my card number or his card number). 

And I have life, medical (health, vision and dental), and car insurances all listing my spouse as the beneficiary/spouse. We also filed joint tax return last year. 

Even this year, he agreed to file a joint tax return since tax season is right around the corner.  (Are we allowed to do this immigration wise? Like two people married but going a rough patch with a possible divorce in the near future, but still do the tax jointly?) I

We also have each other as the emergency contact/spouse on our medical record at the hospital we often visit. 

And some other weak proof such as photos, texts and receipts. 

 

Are these enough? I am hoping joint bank account is not mandatory for bona fide proof.

[WillJ 0]

2 hours ago, mindthegap said:

 

"It does not matter if the conditional resident’s spouse entered the marriage in good faith, only the intent of the conditional resident him or herself is relevant. Interviewing the conditional resident’s former spouse (either in response to a call-in letter, a field examination or a referral to Investigations) may provide relevant and valuable information on the alien’s intent, or it may only result in a spiteful diatribe. Adjudicators should always be aware of the source and motivation of information provided. Also, when interviewing a former spouse, always be extremely careful not to divulge any information (such as the alien’s current location) which could result in the alien being subjected to abuse or battering."

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am also confused with this. 

Does this mean the marriage must be entered into in good faith by the beneficiary but it doesn't have to be that way by the US spouse? 

This sounds to me like it is saying as long as the immigrant side truly loves the US partner and gets married in true intent, it is okay for a US spouse to "secretly" help their immigrant partner even without true intent of marriage? 

I thought this was a heavy crime ?

[aliha 6]

23 hours ago, aliha said:

 

 

[WillJ 0]

A blank post ?_?

10 hours ago, aliha said: