Residency crumbling down.. HELP!!

[vero777 0]

Hi, I'm a holder of a 10 yrs green card and after 3 yrs of being legal resident (based on marriage with a US citizen) I tried to apply for citizenship and I was told by my husband that he didn't remember his previous marriages/divorces.. so I waited another 2 yrs to apply for citizenship based on 5 yrs of legal residency.

A month ago I found out that when I got married, my husband divorce wasn't finalized yet.. therefore I think our marriage is null. Now the dilema is.. MY IMMIGRATION STATUS!!!

If my marriage anulles then my status is not valid... not sure what to do.. as I can't afford an attorney.. do anybody know anything about this situations?? Please HELP ME.. Now I don't know if I should apply for citizenship or should I just keep renewing my green card????

[pushbrk 12,154]

Hi, I'm a holder of a 10 yrs green card and after 3 yrs of being legal resident (based on marriage with a US citizen) I tried to apply for citizenship and I was told by my husband that he didn't remember his previous marriages/divorces.. so I waited another 2 yrs to apply for citizenship based on 5 yrs of legal residency.

A month ago I found out that when I got married, my husband divorce wasn't finalized yet.. therefore I think our marriage is null. Now the dilema is.. MY IMMIGRATION STATUS!!!

If my marriage anulles then my status is not valid... not sure what to do.. as I can't afford an attorney.. do anybody know anything about this situations?? Please HELP ME.. Now I don't know if I should apply for citizenship or should I just keep renewing my green card????

Many Attorneys will do an initial consultation for little or no money. I think once you are awarded permanent residence, a marriage anullment would have no effect but you will want to know for certain for your piece of mind. Remember it is not your permanent residence that expires. It is just the card. You need not remain married to renew the card.

See if your questions are answered here.

http://www.foreignborn.com/visas_imm/immig...green_cards.htm

[PaulineA 1]

Sorry to hear about your situation. It seems a little strange to me that your husband wouldn't remember his previous marriges or divorces. It isn't something anybody is likely to forget. However, I would suggest going to an immigration lawyer, find one with a free consultation. The lawyer will be able to advise you further. Good luck, and I hope your situation gets resolved.

[Nanusia & Lukaszek 0]

How in the world did this get to GC, and past the AOS process without anyone noticing the lack of divorce decree?

[wildestkabs 0]

I think once you are awarded permanent residence, a marriage anullment would have no effect

I think the situation here is a little different in the sense that the residence was awarded on the basis of marriage, where that marriage was not valid to begin with, as the divorce had not been finaized. So should the residence be valid?

You mentioned that you don't have any money but I would still recommend that you talk to an attorney.

[Fandango 1,439]

How in the world did this get to GC, and past the AOS process without anyone noticing the lack of divorce decree?

That's what I was wondering.

Off topic...Nanusia & Lukaszek...could you possibly hit the return button between both of your siggy jpgs? The fact that they are on the same line is screwing up the sizes of all your posts.

[wildestkabs 0]

I tried to apply for citizenship and I was told by my husband that he didn't remember his previous marriages/divorces.. so I waited another 2 yrs to apply for citizenship based on 5 yrs of legal residency.

I am a little confused here. Regardless of whether you apply for citizenship based on marriage to a US citizen or on your own, you would use the same form and therefore, answer the same questions.

Has your husband provided you with that info now? Another thing to think about is that if you do go for the naturalizaton interview, the AO might ask you why you did not file earlier (its a pretty obvious question, actually)? What will you say then?

I have to say that your entire post is confusing. You say that he did not provide you with that info, so you waited another 2 years? Why? Once you hit the 3 year mark, each and every day, after the day you completed 3 years, you were eligible to file, so you could have kept asking him for that piece of information. Why wait specifically for 2 years?

[vero777 0]

Based on what I was told you can apply for:

1.) 3 yrs after becoming a legal resident AND married and living with a US citizen

2.) 5 yrs after becoming legal resident

so after 3 yrs of being (as i thought) legal resident i tried to apply and he came up with stuff that he didn't remember his prior marriages.... he is 55 and i'm 34 he is a vietnam vet and has some things that he erased from his mind... so i thought this one was one of those... because he said he got married when he was 18 and then when he was 20 his name is very very very common so i tried to pay one of those services where they investigate past marriages but they can only go back 30 yrs ... so

i waited another 2 yrs to apply for reason number 2 (5 yrs after becoming legal resident) and he just told me....

so now he is like... don't worry is not that serious.. but i'm shaking cause my legal residence is based on a marriage with a US citizen but if my marriage is null i guess all this time is also thrown to the trash....

[diadromous mermaid 36]

Based on what I was told you can apply for:

1.) 3 yrs after becoming a legal resident AND married and living with a US citizen

2.) 5 yrs after becoming legal resident

so after 3 yrs of being (as i thought) legal resident i tried to apply and he came up with stuff that he didn't remember his prior marriages.... he is 55 and i'm 34 he is a vietnam vet and has some things that he erased from his mind... so i thought this one was one of those... because he said he got married when he was 18 and then when he was 20 his name is very very very common so i tried to pay one of those services where they investigate past marriages but they can only go back 30 yrs ... so

i waited another 2 yrs to apply for reason number 2 (5 yrs after becoming legal resident) and he just told me....

so now he is like... don't worry is not that serious.. but i'm shaking cause my legal residence is based on a marriage with a US citizen but if my marriage is null i guess all this time is also thrown to the trash....

Rather than try the "do it yourself" method to learn the status of your USC husband's prior marriage, a consultation with both a family lawyer and an immigration lawyer would be recommended.

The family lawyer could find out the disposition of any prior marriages, to ascertain whether your current marriage is valid. The immigration attorney could advise you, upon getting information as to the status of your current marriage, of what you should do with regard to naturalisation.

What is a bit confusing to me is how it is you are worried. You say you found out that his divorce was not finalised about a month ago. What leads you to believe that? Is it your husband's foggy recollection, or something else?

[diadromous mermaid 36]

Based on what I was told you can apply for:

1.) 3 yrs after becoming a legal resident AND married and living with a US citizen

2.) 5 yrs after becoming legal resident

so after 3 yrs of being (as i thought) legal resident i tried to apply and he came up with stuff that he didn't remember his prior marriages.... he is 55 and i'm 34 he is a vietnam vet and has some things that he erased from his mind... so i thought this one was one of those... because he said he got married when he was 18 and then when he was 20 his name is very very very common so i tried to pay one of those services where they investigate past marriages but they can only go back 30 yrs ... so

i waited another 2 yrs to apply for reason number 2 (5 yrs after becoming legal resident) and he just told me....

so now he is like... don't worry is not that serious.. but i'm shaking cause my legal residence is based on a marriage with a US citizen but if my marriage is null i guess all this time is also thrown to the trash....

Rather than try the "do it yourself" method to learn the status of your USC husband's prior marriage, a consultation with both a family lawyer and an immigration lawyer would be recommended.

The family lawyer could find out the disposition of any prior marriages, to ascertain whether your current marriage is valid. The immigration attorney could advise you, upon getting information as to the status of your current marriage, of what you should do with regard to naturalisation.

What is a bit confusing to me is how it is you are worried. You say you found out that his divorce was not finalised about a month ago. What leads you to believe that? Is it your husband's foggy recollection, or something else?

[diadromous mermaid 36]

Based on what I was told you can apply for:

1.) 3 yrs after becoming a legal resident AND married and living with a US citizen

2.) 5 yrs after becoming legal resident

so after 3 yrs of being (as i thought) legal resident i tried to apply and he came up with stuff that he didn't remember his prior marriages.... he is 55 and i'm 34 he is a vietnam vet and has some things that he erased from his mind... so i thought this one was one of those... because he said he got married when he was 18 and then when he was 20 his name is very very very common so i tried to pay one of those services where they investigate past marriages but they can only go back 30 yrs ... so

i waited another 2 yrs to apply for reason number 2 (5 yrs after becoming legal resident) and he just told me....

so now he is like... don't worry is not that serious.. but i'm shaking cause my legal residence is based on a marriage with a US citizen but if my marriage is null i guess all this time is also thrown to the trash....

Rather than try the "do it yourself" method to learn the status of your USC husband's prior marriage, a consultation with both a family lawyer and an immigration lawyer would be recommended.

The family lawyer could find out the disposition of any prior marriages, to ascertain whether your current marriage is valid. The immigration attorney could advise you, upon getting information as to the status of your current marriage, of what you should do with regard to naturalisation.

What is a bit confusing to me is how it is you are worried. You say you found out that his divorce was not finalised about a month ago. What leads you to believe that? Is it your husband's foggy recollection, or something else?

[diadromous mermaid 36]

How in the world did this get to GC, and past the AOS process without anyone noticing the lack of divorce decree?

That's what I was wondering.

Off topic...Nanusia & Lukaszek...could you possibly hit the return button between both of your siggy jpgs? The fact that they are on the same line is screwing up the sizes of all your posts.

An absent divorce decree would only become apparent if the petitioner declared the prior marriage to begin with. How on earth could USCIS know the status of a prior marriage otherwise?