Cibdat

I've just been approve for my removal with a divorce waiver in 6 months: no RFE, no interview!!!! I'd like to share my experience and the list of the evidences I submitted because they may help.

Unlike most couples, my ex and I met and lived abroad together before we decided to settle down together in America. My ex had spent 9 years in Europe. He owed nothing in The US... no house, no car, no credit cards, no insurance.... After 4 years of relationship in Europe, I got the visa K-1, moved with him to The US and... our marriage fell apart a year later....

At that point we didn't have a car (we used to work and live downtown, and bike everywhere); my ex had no health insurance, mine was through my own country; I arrived in January, we got separated a year later, just before we could file our taxes jointly.... The financial proofs I had were lease agreements (shared with roommates....), a renter insurance (no more than 20$/months), and a joint bank account for current expenses (rent, bills and grocery shopping). To make things a bit more complicated, my ex and I were not in good terms, so he did not helped me with the process, nor to gathered the documents.

I then decided to use the strength of my case: our 5 years relationship, 4 of them spent in 3 different countries in Europe. To do so, I went against 2 rules that are usually admitted:

1. “Do not submit too many pictures”. I understand immigration thinks that pictures can easily be faked... Yes, they can, but not if they were taken in the 4 countries we lived together, in the approximately 15 countries we visited, for the 4 Christmas we spent with my family, the ones with his family, pictures with friends or showing us assisting together at different events.
2. “Only submit documentation from your date of arrival to The US, they already have your file from the visa k1”. Yes… because they are supposed to look at the file you submitted for your k-1 visa/adjustment of status... Well, I don't think they have time to do so (they did not when I did my adjustment of status. The woman didn’t even have my file available. Fortunately, I had taken some pictures with me!). Also, what you give to them with your cover page is a first impression, a gut feeling. You're telling them the story of your relationship... It did not begin with your arrival to the State... In a case like mine, I think it was crucial to include documentation from before.

I then looked everywhere, especially in my e-mail box, and found a bunch of valuable proofs (I put the name of my ex in my inbox on the search section... It's a very efficient way to find stuff you forgot you had, such as concerts, events, planes or train tickets).

This is what my cover letter looked like:

• Copy of the decree of dissolution of marriage.
• Copies of my passport and green card (both sides).
• A letter explaining my relationship, marriage and divorce with my ex-husband.
• Three sworn affidavits by family (My mother) and friends attesting to my relationship and marriage with my ex-husband.
• A letter signed by me to attest that my marriage was entered in good faith. I am not in good terms with my ex-husband, so I do not have his.
• A copy of the lease agreement my ex-husband and I contracted in Germany; the one we signed in Denver for our house at XXX, and the one we had for our apartment at XXX. I am enclosing copies of mails we received to those addresses. [i’m missing one lease contract we signed for an apartment in XXX but I have copies of mails we received there]
• A copy of the rental insurance we contracted together for our house at XXX and XXX.
• A copy of a claim we filed with our rental insurance when my ex-husband laptop got stolen.
• A copy of the life insurance I had when working for XXX showing my ex-husband as beneficiary.
• A copy of the joint bank account we had with XXX (bank account extracts, debit cards, void check). I am enclosing the divorce paperwork showing a dispute we had about this joint bank account.
• A copy of a saving account my ex-husband had in my country and which correspondence was being mailed to my mother’s home address. My mother was actually helping him to manage the account from abroad.
• Copy of my registration to the Embassy, showing my ex-husband as the person to be contacted in case of an emergency.
• A copy of an e-mail my ex-husband sent to me when we were getting separated, speaking about our joint bank account, the Comcast and Xcel bills, as well as the tax returns we were going to file jointly. [We ended up not filling jointly because we were not in good terms at that time].
• Proofs that we were working together at XXX in Germany (Signed letter from the owner of the company) and at XXX in Italy (employment letters and tax returns).
• Copy of our plane tickets for our trip to Germany in DATE when we were still living in Italy. During this trip I met my ex-husband’s maternal family, who is from Germany. I am enclosing the pictures we took with them, as well as the pictures we took in Frankfort and Heidelberg.
• Copy of our trip to The US in DATE (before I immigrated to the US) when we were still living in Europe. During this trip I met his mother and we stayed at his sister’s and brother-in-law’s house for a month. I am enclosing the pictures with his family and friends, as well as an e-mail I sent to my best friend in Spain telling her about our trip.
• Pictures of my ex-husband with my family (parents, grand-parents, cousins, aunts and uncles) when we went to my home town in France for Christmas 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011.
• Pictures of our marriage in the US in DATE with my mother. Pictures of the dinner we had with my mother and my ex-husband’s friends to celebrate our union. Copy of the e-mails we received to congratulate us from family and friends, as well as a card that was mailed to us by my ex-husband’s mother. Copy of my Facebook page with people congratulating us and commenting the pictures I posted of our marriage.
• Pictures of my mother and my ex-husband’s mother when they met in the US in DATE. I am also enclosing a few pictures with my ex-husband and my mum when she came to visit us in DATES.
• Copy of a hotel we booked in CITY IN THE US for a city trip on DATE.
• Tickets, on-line reservations and pictures of events and concerts we attended together with my ex-husband in the US upon my arrival in DATE.
• Pictures of my ex-husband and I in the US with friends or by ourselves after my arrival in DATE, until the end of our relationship.
• Some of the e-mails my ex-husband and I exchanged from the beginning of our relationship, through the time he was here in Denver waiting for me to complete the visa process (showing how much we missed each other), until the end of our marriage and relationship. I am enclosing e-mails I exchanged with my family and friends as well.
• The pictures we took from the beginning of our relationship in the different countries we lived in, and the countries we traveled to. Pictures with our roommates, friends and co-workers.
• Plane and train tickets we bought together for some of our vacations in Europe and North Africa.
• Letter from my employer attesting that I am a full time employee at XXX, a copy of the benefits I am entitle to as a XXX full time employee, a copy of three recent pay check, extracts of my American savings accounts, and the contact information of the managers, co-workers and lawyers I worked or work for in America to attest of my competences and good morals.

I hope it can helped you guys to file your application and feel a little bit less stressed out. It looks like for my experience that every relationship is different. You just have to show with any documentation you have, that it was a true one.

Good luck to everybody and thank you to all the people in this wonderful web-site!!!!

CHAMPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGNE!!!!!!!!! I've just received a letter in the mail stating that I have been approved!!!!!! I was filing with a waiver. No RFE, no Interview! I can't even believe it! I am going to write a post about my case as I had very little financial proofs and based most of my case on pictures, planes tickets and family get together. The date of the approval was 09/08 (that's also my mum's birthday... ). Thanks to all of you for this blog. It really helped! Good luck to those who are still waiting!

I filled a divorce waiver as well...

I got my biometrics appointment today in the mail... Yaaaayyyyy!!!!! It is on 04/24.

Hi guys,

I received NOA date :03/13/15 but havent heard anything about biometric appoinment yet. Should I worried or just call the service center for confirmation?

The same here! I received NOA on 03/16 but no biometrics yet... I read that sometimes they waived them. Anybody knows if it is still true?

Hello: I sent it on March 12th I think to CA. I'm filing a waiver. Crossing fingers....

Hey! You cam add me as well. NOA 03\16 but I'm still waiting for biometrics appointment. Thanks

Hi everyone!

I sent my package this month and have already received the document to extend my green card.

I got divorced a year after my mariage. It was a 5 years relationship. I'm kind of freaking out now with the whole process. We were both living in Europe before I got my green card. We went through a lot of experiences together, lived in 4 different countries, met our in-laws, and traveled abroad together. when we arrived to the US, we had savings but we owed a very little amount of things. No cars, no credit cards, my health insurance was a private one from my country and my ex didn't have one. I submitted our joint bank account statements, lease agreements (the one we had in the US, and the one we signed when living abroad), our renter insurance, proofs that we worked together abroad, plane and train tickets, tones of pictures and e-mails.

I know it sounds stupid but I'm very worried about the lack Of financial proofs.

Voila... good luck to you and to me!