McBy

Hi, Hope somebody can give me insights.

My lawyer and I submitted forms I-365, I-485, and all the forms and documents to te USCIS in relation to VAWA in October, after I went back to my home country in April 2016.

My divorce was approved March 2016. My husband was giving me $1,000 monthly as we agreed, from January to September. However, I moved out of the US in April. 

I have been issued prima facie as per status update but there has been no update since November.

I have one son who went with me to the US with a fiance Visa, I got married to my in August 2014. My papers for AOS were not submitted and a lot of things happened leadig to a VAWA-related case and divorce.

I have the following questions:

1. Shall i file taxes for 2016?

2. Can I do it online?

3. Shall I declare my alimony of $1,000 monthly up to April since I left the US by that time only up to September, which was the last month for the spousal maintenance?

4. Is there a possibility that I would get some credits since I have a son with me? My ex did not pay any support for my son since he was a stepfather and not a biological father.

Your responses will be appreciated. Thank you very much!

Thanks so much, Sandra!

Macby if you are abroad then you can file form I824 just after VAWA approval.

Oh no, I do not have AP. I also do not know about the i824. Hope she submitted it too.

Do we have to wait for the VAWA approval before sending i824?

Thanks so much for your response, Sandra!

MCbay If you left the U.S with the advance parole you still can return to the U.S to attend the AOS interview, but if you left without advance parole then you can't have an interview in the U.S anymore because your AOS will be considered abandoned .

If you will attend the interview in your home Country then your attorney must submit to USCIS form I-824 in order to request further action on the approved self-petition and you will have the interview in the Philippines. Your attorney probably knows everything that I mentioned above but please make sure that he withdraws the form I-485 asap and take further action once your VAWA is approved ok.

My VAWA packet was received by the USCIS on Oct 26. Prima facie was issued on The 1st week of Nov. My lawyer submitted i360, i485, i765 altogether.

I moved back to my home country in April 2016 because it is hard for me to stay in the Is. My lawyer said that we can try to atill pursue my application.

Is there anybody who has gone through the same? How did it go? Does it take lesser time to process i-485 and i360 if they were sent together? Not to mention if it will be approved or not.

Praying that my application would be approved.

Oh that is so sad. Thank you.

Mosby If your overstay in the United States was for less than six months (180 days) then you will not have problem to reenter in the USA.If you overstayed for more than 180 days then you will have a ban.Once you leave you will have the ban,no matter what.

Hi Sandra,

Is there a way to just inform USCIS about what I have gone through with my ex spouse and request that I would not have a 10year ban? I wish to just go nack to my home country but I so not want the 10 year ban because it was not my intention to overstay.

Thank you!

Mcby you don't have to leave to file VAWA.You just file VAWA and that is it, assuming that you got married with who sponsored your K1 visa.

Hi everyone, I have been following this thread. I am in the process of going for self petition through VAWA but I also have another question.

I arrived here in the USA August 2014 and got married in the same month. My AOS was not taken care of. So I have been overstaying here. My divorce was just approved this month. My question is, if I will just go back to my home country will I still have that 10 year bar to re enter the USA?

*i meant find not fund this thread

Wow, I should've found this thread several months ago. My last post here in VJ was about my husband not wanting to sign my i864 for AOS as i went here with a fiance visa in 2014. I have been waiting for my turn with the Immigration Rights advocate. They said that it may be as soon as possible.

Anyway, it is so encouraging to read through the posts in this thread. I will check thisfrom time to time. Advocates advised me that my case is surely VAWA, no physical abuse but certainly emotional abuse. I will know more soon.

I'm so thankful to fund this thread.

That's interesting.

There was a thread some months back started by a guy who did not wish to complete the I 864, he then came back asking about the waiver, I think a mod closed it.

Btw, we had the chance to file for it but when he read about the i864 he wouldn't.

He said that he is going to pay for my tickets and give me some funds to start with a new life back to my home country. I am just not sure about when he would be able to have the funds when we also have other things to pay.

What i wonder about is how is the marriage other than the husband not filing for AOS?

If the day to day interaction is good, then maybe give him time to sign? Maybe he is insecure and thinks she will run off? I am not taking sides or justifying the op's husband's actions. If the only issue is not signing and the marriage is good otherwise it may be worth waiting. Another question is does the husband make enough money to support the three of them? There are several things to consider here and it is not a cut and dried case of sign or divorce. I think a heart to heart talk between the op and her husband is in order. If he isn't happy with the marriage, he should send her home and pay for it.

Things would be fine without the document. At this time we are on financial crisis but even if we have the funds he would not go for it. Sample, just to sign and pray and save for it then submit it when we can - he says he is not comfortable with it.

We had times when we were like in a roller coaster while adjusting. He is willing to keep me here like forever just that he doesn't even think that it is a responsibility for him to sign. Even recommended self petition for me. Really weird.

Now im just hoping that i would be able to go home before 180 days of overstay here.

What i wonder about is how is the marriage other than the husband not filing for AOS?

If the day to day interaction is good, then maybe give him time to sign? Maybe he is insecure and thinks she will run off? I am not taking sides or justifying the op's husband's actions. If the only issue is not signing and the marriage is good otherwise it may be worth waiting. Another question is does the husband make enough money to support the three of them? There are several things to consider here and it is not a cut and dried case of sign or divorce. I think a heart to heart talk between the op and her husband is in order. If he isn't happy with the marriage, he should send her home and pay for it.

It's quite difficult to contact the Philippine Embassy. Sigh.

Thank you. I haven't contacted Philippine Embassy. I will later.

Sometimes, a foreign consulate within the U.S. can help to repatriate its citizens. Consult the nearest Philippines consulate. Charity organizations might help to provide some funds for your return tickets.

I do not have work coz I can't yet. Trying to get some projects that I can do and earn some. No savings no money even for the plane ticket. Husband says he will take care of it and would even give me some funds to start a new life. I don't know where he would get funds and i have been waiting. I assume there is really no funds

I am so thankful for every insight. Helps me think better.

My son is in grade 4.

Really thankful for your time. I read every post just can't respond to each one. Will keep you posted.

If it will somehow "save" the marriage, perhaps I will talk to him about it.

Yeah, the I864 is a contract between the sponsor and the US Government, so the US Government would have to agree to any deviation of that obligation - good luck obtaining that.

However, along the line you mention, could be a post-nuptial agreement that spells out the conditions of a potential divorce. It could structure things like who has to leave, who gets what, spousal support - pretty much everything except child custody/support, but since we are talking about a step-child here then custody/support of the child is not an issue. Such a post-nuptial agreement would not (indeed, could not) remove the obligation the sponsor has with the US Government, but it could limit the outlay of funds to the wife should the marriage break down and, since the husband doesn't seem to bright as it is, it would probably give him a greater sense of relief than it really does perhaps encouraging him to sign the I864 which is necessary for AOS.

Waiting for some sort of amnesty remember, OP has a son who will turn 18yo some day and desire a life of his own. Incidentally, there is no ban on entry for the son as long as he leaves/or is given legal residence prior to his 18th birthday. The ban will affect the OP. Also, the requirement is to leave the US not necessarily return to the PI. Canada? Mexico?

I am not sure how possible this is but i can perhaps research on it.

What if he signs the I-864 and then ya'll sign a document between each other that states if anything happens and it doesn't work for you guys, he won't be under any obligation. . bla bla...

Or am I totally wrong here?

About the IR1, i told him about it just so that he can think things over and see what really bothers him and then decide if he would petition us again or finally divorce me.

He doesn't like it because he would be liable to support me anyway and then I would be sobfar from him to be a wife to him. He wouldn't go with me in the Philippines too.

So in all the feedback that I got the best solution seems to be the divorce then going home. It's heartbreaking but with his reasons I have very little options. There are people we know who even take his side, telling me that I should just wait and questioning my love for him. It's so hard.

I am thinking that they just don't understand my situation. They are all USC. It's just so hard for me.

"he just doesn't believe that the affidavit is a way to go". That's really not his call to make. The law is quite clear right now and him following the correct procedure is the safest, guaranteed way for him to keep his wife and step-son with him. How he would rather take a risk, if he does want you there, is beyond me.

"but he also says that he does not want me to go but i just have to wait perhaps a year or two before he may think of signing." this is just garbage. By then, you'll be well into an overstay and he'll have even more leverage over your situation.

It sounds like he's expecting you to divorce and doesn't want the liability, in which case, you should just cut to the chase and give him what he wants (divorce, leave).

That's a great point.

OP, if you were to leave and go home and stay married to him, you'd be married and he could later file the I-130 for the IR-1 when and if he ever feels like signing an I-864.

He'll have to continue to have a long-distance wife.

No matter how much it hurts, i think that you are right.

Unless there something missing to the story, I can't understand his logic. Who in their right mind would leave their spouse in limbo status? Based on what you wrote, I think he is not ready for marriage life.

I personally took the responsibility of filing my wife's AOS and ROC (she just reviewed and signed the documents), and never blink about the I-864 financial obligation. What does waiting a year or two provide him (no one can guarantee a lasting marriage)? If you were to agree with this, I would have to call you a fool because he isn't going to change.

When we talked about it he said that he just doesn't believe that the affidavit is a way to go. Like what happened lately with the immigrants granted residency he said something like it may happen to us too, and he would not need to sign that doc.

He also said that our marriage has been stressful to him. So he thinks that just in case we would go for divorce after the AOS he would be in huge trouble.

Lately, he said that he just does not think that it is his responsibility to sign it. He heard of the self petition and even recommended it. He is willing to give me some funds to start a new life again but he also says that he does not want me to go but i just have to wait perhaps a year or two before he may think of signing.

Even if you convinced him that the I-864 liability is less than the potential divorce liability;

You would always have a CLOUD OVER THE MARRIAGE because he valued this liability above continuity of a critical relationship and

was utterly apathetic as regards your child.

Many states (like NY) will not even use I-864 recourse on the sponsor for medicaid (as an example).

3 IDEAS:

a. He thinks you'll run off and recourse public funds he'll be billed for. Any reason he might think that?

b. He decided the love isn't there and sees this as his way out. Why add liability he thinks, when this can pressure her out.

c. He wants to lock you in a closet out-of-status and pressure you into his bidding with fear of deportation and separation from your child.

Call him out on the A vs B vs C with a camera in the corner......... alas a door might open.

That is true... Even without overstay it has been difficult for non-immigrant visa... Good point.

Not sure how realistic non immigrant visa is with the over stay. ban makes it much worse.

I may not come back within the next few years, yes. That is unless I will have some opportunities like business, trainings, or conferences. That's one of the things I am also concerned about. However, of course I will have to weigh which would be better, like if I should let my son finish this schoolyear with the risk of being banned for 3 years or leave soon and be safe with possible opportunities... Sigh

Realistically I guess you will not be coming back anyway.

Something that has not been mentioned but he signed the I 134 and I can not believe he knew that was not enforcable but was unaware of the I 864.

It's really a weird situation. I couldn't even believe it.

Let's say it has been a hard adjustment for both of us. The married life together and me migrating here. We both know that marriage is not easy. We are old enough and we both have gone through a lot in our lives before marriage and we just want to have a happy family.

We were even supposed to file the AOS, filled out all the forms but when he read about the I-864 and the legal implications it has on him, he would not sign it. He is willing to sign the divorce papers over the affidavit.

Honestly, if we remove the affidavit, we would be fine. We will both work this marriage out and stay as a happy family. It's just in the signing where we are having problems. He is even saying that he does not want me to go and it will surely hurt him a lot. I have just told him that I choose not to stay here in the US illegal. He does not want to come with me to the Philippines if it's just the documents that he is having problems with.

I could not fully understand. It would be easy to comprehend if he would just say that he thinks that the marriage would not work and we just need to move forward with our own lives.

It's weird to me how he thinks he's making it *your* choice about leaving or staying. It seems to me like *he's* make the choice since by not signing the I-864 he's essentially saying "go home" (since staying illegally is not a sane choice for you and your son, and one you really should not even be considering).

Does he not actually want to be your husband anymore? That seems to be the real root of the problem, on a relationship level. Are you splitting up whether he signs or not?

We will talk about this. Im thinking of letting my aon finish thr school year but that would mean to leave in June or July. Thank you.

So 3rd May, not to rush it but you need have left by the end of April. So you have a couple of weeks.

I-94 expired on Nov 4, 2014.

Okay, so in May, just a few weeks away, she will hit the '180 days of unauthorized stay' mark which would put her in a three year ban should she wish to come back to this country.

So, OP, you should determine exactly when this date is ... your date of entry + 90 days on the I94 + 180 days ... count the days, not the months, as every month is different. This is the date you need to leave the US should you wish to remain eligible to return under another visa at somepoint in the future without a ban of entry.

OP does not need to be present to initiate, conduct or conclude a divorce. However, it is imperative that the OPs husband file the divorce action if she wishes to be considered 'divorced' under PI law. She can sign papers via mail or he can conclude the divorce without her presence and/or appearance. There may be a waiting period before divorce can be initiated, so maybe done after she leaves the US as noted above.

This would keep OPs options open in the future should she meet someone else more responsible and decide to return to the US. If OP cannot convince the husband to sign the I864 and file AOS in the next couple of weeks, I don't think additional time would make any difference. It's not that difficult of an issue to understand.

Really great to know. Thank you.

People like to throw the VAWA route in just because USC solely refused to file AOS.

Here is good post from the past VAWA thread:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/435545-vawa-part-4/page-174