ROC dilemma

[ariendj 39]

This is the timeline of my friend.

• Married in 2015.
• Entered US in July 2016 via CR1 visa.
• Separated in December 2016.
• Exited US in December 2016.
• Conditional GC expired on July 2018.
• Final divorce decree in June 2019.
• Applied for ROC on December 2019.
• Remarried on April 2021.
• Applied for SB-1 on April 2021.
• Approved for SB-1 on July 2021.
• Re-entered US (1 year conditional GC) on August 2021.

 

The USCIS status is  'scheduled for interview'.

 

The few questions are:

1. Her current husband is Canadian. Can she travel to Canada while waiting for the interview? Will there be any issue at the immigrations?
2. What type of interview questions can she expect at the ROC interview since her first marriage ended in a divorce?
3. Should she contact USCIS to expediate the case since its been almost 21 months?
4. Should she chance her status to 'being married' in her ROC?

 

Thank you in advance.

Edited September 4, 2021 by ariendj

[Rocio0010 5,565]

1 hour ago, ariendj said:

This is the timeline of my friend.

• Married in 2015.
• Entered US in July 2016 via CR1 visa.
• Separated in December 2016.
• Exited US in December 2016.
• Conditional GC expired on July 2018.
• Final divorce decree in June 2019.
• Applied for ROC on December 2019.
• Remarried on April 2021.
• Applied for SB-1 on April 2021.
• Approved for SB-1 on July 2021.
• Re-entered US (1 year conditional GC) on August 2021.

 

The USCIS status is  'scheduled for interview'.

 

The few questions are:

1. Her current husband is Canadian. Can she travel to Canada while waiting for the interview? Will there be any issue at the immigrations?
2. What type of interview questions can she expect at the ROC interview since her first marriage ended in a divorce?
3. Should she contact USCIS to expediate the case since its been almost 21 months?
4. Should she chance her status to 'being married' in her ROC?

 

Thank you in advance.

She left the US in 2016 and came back in 2021? Her resident status would have been deemed abandoned. Am I missing something?

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

22 minutes ago, ra0010 said:

She left the US in 2016 and came back in 2021? Her resident status would have been deemed abandoned. Am I missing something?

She got an SB1 - returning resident visa. 

[Rocio0010 5,565]

Just now, SusieQQQ said:

She got an SB1 - returning resident visa. 

See? I told you I was missing something. As I tell my students “I just wanted to know if you were paying attention!”

[Immi_Matter 15]

Your friend's case will be closely scrutinized as first marriage ended within 2 years. I expect interview questions to be challenging. 

[carmel34 3,531]

15 hours ago, ariendj said:

• Her current husband is Canadian. Can she travel to Canada while waiting for the interview? Will there be any issue at the immigrations?
• What type of interview questions can she expect at the ROC interview since her first marriage ended in a divorce?
• Should she contact USCIS to expediate the case since its been almost 21 months?
• Should she chance her status to 'being married' in her ROC?

For travel to Canada, make sure you have a stamp in your passport, extending the green card expiration, (go to local USCIS field office, make an info pass appointment).  Without the stamp it will be difficult or impossible to reenter the US.  SB-1 is single use.

 

Expect normal ROC interview questions, if you filed with a divorce waiver they may ask about the marriage relationship before divorce, assuming strong evidence of that was submitted you should be fine.

 

ROC can take 2 years or longer, depending on the field office, there is no expedite for ROC since you can get a passport stamp if needed for travel or work.

 

ROC was filed with divorce waiver, so it will be adjudicated and the interview conducted based on the previous marriage.  At the ROC interview they are likely to ask if anything has changed since the I-751 was filed, you should be truthful and say you are remarried, left the US for five years, etc.  Remember, they have everything about you on their computer records.

 

Good luck!

[jakelake 222]

Edit

Edited September 5, 2021 by jakelake
Edit

[ariendj 39]

2 hours ago, carmel34 said:

For travel to Canada, make sure you have a stamp in your passport, extending the green card expiration, (go to local USCIS field office, make an info pass appointment).  Without the stamp it will be difficult or impossible to reenter the US.  SB-1 is single use.

 

Expect normal ROC interview questions, if you filed with a divorce waiver they may ask about the marriage relationship before divorce, assuming strong evidence of that was submitted you should be fine.

 

ROC can take 2 years or longer, depending on the field office, there is no expedite for ROC since you can get a passport stamp if needed for travel or work.

 

ROC was filed with divorce waiver, so it will be adjudicated and the interview conducted based on the previous marriage.  At the ROC interview they are likely to ask if anything has changed since the I-751 was filed, you should be truthful and say you are remarried, left the US for five years, etc.  Remember, they have everything about you on their computer records.

 

Good luck!

Thank you for the info.

She has a i551 stamped for 1 year. Would that suffice for the travel or does she need any other stamp in order to go out of the country?

11 hours ago, Immi_Matter said:

Your friend's case will be closely scrutinized as first marriage ended within 2 years. I expect interview questions to be challenging. 

Yes that is what we were thinking too. She had her proof of marital issues including conversations and photos send to the USCIS which says it all regarding the first marriage. I believe she has to stay by those when she is interviewed for the ROC.

[jakelake 222]

1 hour ago, jakelake said:

How did she get another conditional GC?

The first one expired in 2018. I would think that the ROC application would have been filed before that. 

How did she even get an SB_1 visa when her GC had expired?

 

[ariendj 39]

7 minutes ago, jakelake said:

 

I think it was an out of the ordinary scenario. Her final final divorce papers were received in December 2019 and she immediately applied for ROC.

 

The interviewer and supervisor for the SB-1 at the consulate were handed all the proof showing how she was being harassed all the while even in her home country by the ex-husband and his family. And thus proved that she was not in a state to apply for ROC till she got the final divorce papers.

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

40 minutes ago, jakelake said:

How did she even get an SB_1 visa when her GC had expired?

That is part of what a SB1 visa is for. You don’t need an unexpired GC to apply for one, you just have to have had valid status when you left the US. The SB process is notoriously difficult to get through so I would assume she had very strong evidence. 

[ariendj 39]

Just an update to this case.

She never got an interview till date due to the delay in USCIS. She got an extension for another year.

 

She travelled to Canada without any issue.

My new query in regards to this case is; Since she has an additional year extension to her GC, can she apply for an I130 for her Canadian husband? 

[da95826 387]

On 7/18/2022 at 10:18 AM, ariendj said:

My new query in regards to this case is; Since she has an additional year extension to her GC, can she apply for an I130 for her Canadian husband? 

Since she apparently got her green card sponsored by her ex spouse she got a divorce from so now she can not sponsor a new spouse for a green card until 5 years have passed from getting her original green card through her ex spouse.