Divorcing between N400 and Oath

[Husbandandwife 35]

Hello, 

 

well .... it looks like a nightmare, but I need you guys advice... 

My husband went to my N400 interview last month, even though he was not able to attend with me. 

My N400 was approved and I’m in line for the Oath (They didn’t schedule it yet and I don’t know the date). 

Unfortunately I discovered my husband is cheating on me and I left home after see his pictures with another woman. I think now he is getting ready to send me the divorce paper. 

It has been so painful and sad ... now I am worried how it could affect the my naturalization. If he send me the divorce paper before the oath it could reflect in my naturalization? 

I appreciate any comments... thanks 

[aleful 1,905]

hi

 

yes, if you filed under the 3 year rule, you must remain married and living together until you have your oath ceremony, if not, even if you passed the test, you can't take the oath because you are no longer eligible,  on the back of your oath ceremony letter, there are questions that you need to answer and one of the questions will be that you aren't together any more and you need to notify immigration,

 

you will need to wait until you have been a resident for 5 years

 

 

[jhon30 28]

36 minutes ago, Husbandandwife said:

Hello, 

 

well .... it looks like a nightmare, but I need you guys advice... 

My husband went to my N400 interview last month, even though he was not able to attend with me. 

My N400 was approved and I’m in line for the Oath (They didn’t schedule it yet and I don’t know the date). 

Unfortunately I discovered my husband is cheating on me and I left home after see his pictures with another woman. I think now he is getting ready to send me the divorce paper. 

It has been so painful and sad ... now I am worried how it could affect the my naturalization. If he send me the divorce paper before the oath it could reflect in my naturalization? 

I appreciate any comments... thanks 

Divorce Prior to Oath Ceremony Can Result in Denial of 319 Citizenship Application

By Paris Lee of Lee & Garasia, LLC posted in Citizenship and Naturalization on Monday, October 29, 2018. 

USCIS recently clarified that lawful permanent residents applying to naturalize on the basis of marriage to a US Citizen must not only demonstrate "living in marital union" with their spouse three years immediately prior to filing, but also that termination of the marriage at any time prior to the Oath of Allegiance renders an applicant ineligible under section INA 319(a). We have seen this second provision being strictly applied to deny naturalizations applications where the applicant divorces after passing the examination but prior to the oath ceremony. Practically speaking, this may not affect residents in states that administer the oath the same day as the interview, such as New Jersey. In general, however, most states regularly schedule the oath ceremony many months after the applicant has passed the examination. This gap can, in some cases, be quite long, especially if background checks are being conducted, an officer needs to look into something, or on occasion, neglects to finish reviewing the file. In the interim, an applicant's marital situation may rapidly deteriorate and the couple may seek a quick dissolution. Unfortunately, if this occurs prior to the oath, the applicant has technically fallen outside the boundaries of INA 319, the section of the law that allows green card holders to apply after only three years marriage to a US Citizen (versus the normal requirement of five years permanent residence prior to becoming eligible). This is one reason why applicants are expected to review and complete a questionnaire on the day of the oath verifying that certain information has not changed, ie., address; arrests; trips outside the US; and in this case, marital status.

[Santos12 41]

Policies have changed. You need to be married until the oath ceremony, but not in a marital union. Meaning you may still be married on paper but not living together.

USCIS has posted a memorandum. The marital union is required only at the time of application. Check this link:

https://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/Updates/20181012-MaritalUnion.pdf

 

You’ll be able to be naturalized since divorce cases can take months to finalize so by the time you take the oath of allegence you’ll still be legally married.

[Husbandandwife 35]

25 minutes ago, Santos12 said:

Policies have changed. You need to be married until the oath ceremony, but not in a marital union. Meaning you may still be married on paper but not living together.

USCIS has posted a memorandum. The marital union is required only at the time of application. Check this link:

https://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/Updates/20181012-MaritalUnion.pdf

 

You’ll be able to be naturalized since divorce cases can take months to finalize so by the time you take the oath of allegence you’ll still be legally married.

Thank you so much for clarity. I don’t want be dramatic, but I was crying since the comment above. I really appreciate your help. Hopefully everything gets ok. 

[carmel34 3,529]

You will be fine, as you will most likely still be legally married when you have the oath ceremony, because divorces take a long time to be finalized, especially in California.  Just make sure that when you receive the divorce papers from your husband, that you get an attorney so that your rights to half of the marital property and perhaps child or spousal support are protected.  If your husband is the only one who works, he would also be responsible for paying your attorney's fees and an attorney can help you with this and other ways to protect assets like bank accounts from being misused or emptied by the cheating husband.  Also an attorney is important so that the proper responses can be filed with the court in a timely manner, or a final judgment on the divorce could be made sooner if you or your attorney do nothing.  As long as you stay on top of the divorce process, you should be able to delay the finalization of the divorce until after your oath ceremony.  So sorry this has happened to you.  Good luck and stay strong!

[Santos12 41]

20 hours ago, Husbandandwife said:

Thank you so much for clarity. I don’t want be dramatic, but I was crying since the comment above. I really appreciate your help. Hopefully everything gets ok. 

Stay calm. Don’t trust everything you see on the internet. Especially those comments from attorneys online. They try to scare you with the worst case scenario so you can hire them. Everything will settle and hopefully you’ll have your oath ceremony very soon.

[DAWGY 4]

don't immediately sign the divorce papers. get a lawyer and explain your situation,your lawyer should be able to delay the divorce until you take your oat.