Filing for I751 after divorce

[leila85 12]

Hello everyone,

 

here is my question: I am filing the waiver for I751 after divorce. I hired an attorney ( an expensive one btw) to make sure that everything will be filed properly and to have guidance at the interview. 
i sent what he asked me at the end of April and my GC will expire on September 2021. His assistants said that he’s working on my affidavits and then I will have to tell people to sign them again once he corrects them. It’s now June and I asked how long it will take before filing and he’s saying takes up to 4 months 😟 for all the documents to be organized. My GC expires in September at the beginning so I hope he meant 3 to 4 months since I sent him all the evidence. Has anyone been in the same situation is that normal for an attorney to take that long?????? 
 

thank you in advance 

[Mike E 11,740]

1 hour ago, leila85 said:

 

. Has anyone been in the same situation is that normal for an attorney to take that long?????? 
 

Our attorney wants to meet us 120 days before my wife’s green card expires and she plans  to file at exactly 90 days before the gc is filed. IOW  she wants just 30 days to organize the I-751 
 

Since you are already divorced you don’t have to wait until 90 days before your gc expires.  
 

Something seems off with what your lawyer is doing.  

Edited June 3, 2021 by Mike E

[Scandi 4,168]

You can file today. No idea why you would want to pay an attorney a ton of money to delay your filing? I can delay your filing for free, if you like.

[leila85 12]

@Mike E thank you so much! Exactly! I told him I need them to send me the extension in advance since I need to renew my driver license and possibly travel abroad. I understand that he has many clients and I sent lots of documents but it’s been since aprile I sent them.... like end of April I believe and is now June and I don’t have any update on my case yet 😒 I am so disappointed I might have filed by myself at this point! I hired him cause I needed guidance on what to file but now I’m worried that I’ll be out of status if he doesn’t hurry 😒

[mindthegap 2,590]

An attorney is supposed to be act on your instructions, and be paid by you for services that serve your best interests.

If those are not being met, consider dispensing with their services and finding another one, or filing without one. 

 

If you are divorced you can file right now, you can file in the 90 day window, or you can file after the 90 day window - it does not matter which. Only joint filings are restricted to the specific 90 day window.

 

 

 

[leila85 12]

Thank you @mindthegap yes when I first hired him in April he was the one telling me I didn’t have to wait to file and now he’s taking so long! The thing is he still needs to send me back 4 affidavits so I can take it to the witnesses to sign them. And obviously that’d take time as ppl are not gonna sign it right away since they’re busy! 
Yeah I’m thinking to dismiss it and do it by myself since I won’t have time to look for another attorney at this point! I can’t believe I sent everything a month ago and it got no where such a waste of time and money! 
well I’ll keep you guys posted 😕

[USC4SPOUSE 506]

@leila85 truth is that you can file the I-751 with a divorce waiver on your own. In essence, you would show the same evidence of bona fide marriage that you would show with a joint filing. It's entirely up to you. 

[leila85 12]

Thank you @usc4spouse 

I thought about filing on my own but I felt more secure to file with an attorney but I this point I might as well file by my self at least I won’t be out of status 

[USC4SPOUSE 506]

3 minutes ago, leila85 said:

Thank you @usc4spouse 

I thought about filing on my own but I felt more secure to file with an attorney but I this point I might as well file by my self at least I won’t be out of status 

@leila85 it sounds to me like you have substantial evidence. Otherwise, your lawyer would not have asked you to wait for a month to organize it. Honestly, it's not difficult. Be thorough, though. The devil is in the details. USCIS wants to see evidence since the date of your marriage and not since the date that you received your conditional green card. That's really important. Though, you probably already knew that. 

 

[mushroomspore 3,044]

16 minutes ago, leila85 said:

Thank you @usc4spouse 

I thought about filing on my own but I felt more secure to file with an attorney but I this point I might as well file by my self at least I won’t be out of status 

A lawyer has absolutely zero power in terms of "security" when it comes to regular generic cases, like yours and most of us here. Doing it yourself gives more security since you know for sure it's done and you'll get the updates directly.

[mindthegap 2,590]

1 hour ago, leila85 said:

Thank you @mindthegap yes when I first hired him in April he was the one telling me I didn’t have to wait to file and now he’s taking so long! The thing is he still needs to send me back 4 affidavits so I can take it to the witnesses to sign them. And obviously that’d take time as ppl are not gonna sign it right away since they’re busy! 
 

Um…. Why is he preparing the affidavits to then get signed by people? 

That defeats the point of the affidavit being sworn statements by the people in their own words. 
 

Sure, I sent my people a general outline of what was needed and what it was for, and they sent me their drafts to check they were ok before signing & scanning them, but they were still all their own words. 
Very different to what your lawyer is doing…

He sounds shady as hell 😂

 

Edited June 3, 2021 by mindthegap

[SunflowerSweet 1,321]

If it’s the affidavits alone that are what is holding this all up, unless you have very minimal other evidence, I would consider whether they are actually worth it. Affidavits are fine, and can be nice supporting evidence, but there are definitely better documents out there to show a bonafide marriage and life together. We only submitted affidavits because as a young couple without kids, joint owned property (we rent), or substantial assets, I felt we needed more extra padding wherever we could get it.

 

If you have a decent amount of other types of evidence, and the affidavits are going to be what makes this a 4 month wait versus a 1 month wait, I would consider just filing without. Especially with what you’re saying about the statements being written completely by the lawyer and just signed off on by the parties, and not their direct statements. In the chance you end up getting and RFE (which you might not!) the delay could potentially be the same that waiting for them to be completed anyway. You could also always bring them along to any interview if you end up having one.

[leila85 12]

@mindthegap 😅 no I think I miss explained myself. These people already write these affidavits and he’s revising them and putting them in the right format. But that’s their own ones and two of them are from my ex parents in law and my ex sister in law. But the thing is if I have to bring them back to them to be sign it’ll take time. Also he still needs to correcty declaration letter and tell me what and what not is better to write in it. Otherwise what did I hire him for? Lol 

[leila85 12]

@SunflowerSweet thank you so much 😀.

i don’t think it is only that tho I sent him lots of documents. Those affidavits are from my ex in laws. So that would help but I need to go there and make them sign again and notarize them. 
I don’t think it can take up to 4 months to review everything even if it’s a lot. But I am going to call the office tomorrow once again to see what is going on! Otherwise I’ll just file by myself 

[leila85 12]

@USC4SPOUSE thank you 🙏 I do but I need someone to organize them properly. I was just nervous cause my friend got denied the first time and then sent to court and has to pay an attorney at that point but it was so much stress so I decided to hire him. But I rather file myself at this point I don’t know