kerrydavid

I'm finally at the end of a long journey. VJ has been an incredible resource through the past 4 years, and so I felt like posting this to help others who may be in the situation I was in, as I was constantly on here looking for information during my own complex "visa journey."
Filed joint ROC petition, while separated, exactly one year ago today. Filed for divorce a month later. Got an ROC interview date in October, but divorce still wasn't final. Requested to reschedule the original interview. Final divorce decree came two days later.
Today, I went with my attorney to the field office, and we waited for about an hour. We were called by one of the immigration officers who apologized for the wait, but he needed to do a background check. 20 minutes later, the officer came back out and called my name. He asked "do you have your final divorce decree?" - Which I did. We then went into the officer's office where he placed me under oath.
I had spent the entire past week going through anything and everything I could find as far as evidence of bona fide marriage. I was very confident that this would "go well" since I remember my entire relationship and marriage in detail. There was nothing he could have asked that would have caught me off guard. I was a bit nervous though since my ex wife and I had never had a joint lease, nor did we have an impressive assortment of joint assets. We had two joint bank accounts, joint health insurance and a joint dental plan. Beyond that, most of the evidence was in the nature of random mailers addressed to the both of us, three years of joint tax return transcripts, and affidavit from a close friend and my own very detailed 12 page statement. Main piece of evidence was a photo album spanning three years of traveling together.
After the officer swore me in, he began asking straightforward questions like "when is your birthday?", "what is your address?" etc. He then started asking me questions about my ex and I's relationship from beginning to end. He was very polite the entire time, yet firm. My ex and I had moved a lot due to the both of us working in seasonal retail jobs, so he asked a lot about dates, exact addresses, how long we'd been at this address, that address and so forth. Eventually, he said "I'm just going to tell you right now, you're approved, but I have to do this just to have it all down in writing." He then asked "did you have joint bank accounts? Joint health insurance?" to which I replied "yes" and grabbed a couple of papers to show him, to which he replied something in the lines of "that's okay, I've seen them in your file." He then said something in the lines of "Your statement was very well written, and you have an incredible amount of pictures. Everything looks okay, I can tell it was real and unfortunately didn't work out. I don't need anything more." He then said something in the lines of "Congratulations, I realize that this has been tough, but we're done. Best of luck to you!" He shook my hand, and showed me and my attorney out.
My ex wife wrote an affidavit, but the officer never asked for it or any other additional evidence. He told me and my attorney that the case would have likely been approved without an interview if we had been divorced when initially filing. SInce we filed jointly, but were separated, CSC had sent it to the field office.
Overall, the main lesson I can share with others here is this: FRONT LOAD YOUR PETITION, and be creative with your evidence if you lack joint assets. My own 12 page statement was extremely detailed, and spanned the entire relationship from first meeting until today. The officer told me straight up that the statement was well-written, detailed and therefore extremely helpful. Also, pictures can be excellent evidence if you do it right. Think quality over quantity. All pictures submitted with the petition clearly showed that they were taken at different locations, during different seasons and many of them were with family members. 15 - 30 pictures from different locations, with clearly distinguishable backgrounds, different holidays and seasons, as opposed to sending 300 selfies and all they show is that you know how to use a camera.
Also, ROC petitions are mostly DIY. However, if your marriage is failing at the time you have to file ROC, I recommend at least consulting with an attorney, especially if you live in California where even simple divorces can take up to a year. Mine was uncontested and still took 10 months, which made the entire case a lot more complex. Overall, the waiver interview was "the easy part." If your marriage was genuine, and your memory is in reasonable shape, you will be fine.
Front load, front load, front load. I cannot stress this enough. I carried a 2 pound stack of papers (anything and everything) with me, and he didn't ask for anything at all.
Thank you everyone on VIsaJourney for all the help and support over the past 4 years.

Hey there,
I got divorced in October and it is now time for me to start the process for the removal of conditions. My ex-spouse agreed to actually support the petition by providing a affidavit. Below you will find the actual wording and I would like to receive some feedback. Is the below stated sufficient? Is it supportive? Will USCIS "like" it?
Thanks in advance.
WORDING OF AFFIDAVIT:
Before me, the undersigned notary public, in and for said County and State, personally appeared [FORMER SPOUSE], who is known to me and who, after being first duly sworn, does depose and say the follows:
My name is [FORMER SPOUSE], and this affidavit is intended as a support document of the Petition to Remove the Conditions of Residence of [PETITIONER]. I am fully aware that I might have to testify before an officer of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service in regards to the aforementioned petition and or in regards to this affidavit.
I was married to [PETITIONER] until the 7th of October 2009. The marriage was dissolved through divorce which I filed for in June 2009. I realized that [PETITIONER] and I were not at the same stage in life and I felt that it would be best for everyone involved if I would pursue the dissolution of the marriage.
I married [PETITIONER] in good faith and out of love, and even though there is no legal bond between us anymore I care very much for him and wish him all the best. The marriage was never intended to circumvent the immigration law or to allow [PETITIONER] access to the United States. I strongly support his Petition to Remove the Conditions of Residence.
If you have any questions or need further information regarding this affidavit or our marriage, please do not hesitate to contact me by phone or mail: 123-456-7890; [FORMER SPOUSE], 1 Example Street, Sample City, WA 12345.

Personally, it's hard for me to believe you have tax returns like that....unless you're Donald Trump.....😄

I was looking for a sample cover letter for I-751 divorce waiver, but found nothing. Instructions for I-751 say:
Page 2, Evidence of the relationship, middle of the first paragraph:
"Submit copies of as many documents as you wish to establish this fact and demonstrate the circumstances of the relationship from the date of the marriage to the present date, and to demonstrate any circumstances surrounding the end of the relationship, if it has ended."
It took me more than a week, but I came up with this:
I hope this helps someone and I sure hope this 1/2" thick package is good enough for them to approve me. Mailing it tomorrow, maximum Monday.

thank u @Damara  and @santiagosilvafor the advice,  i think its best for me to file for a waiver and see what happens, its not in my hands anymore,  I put in Gods hands whatever the outcome will be, but i really got married in good faith, i will try to call uscis and also ask immigration atty what can they advice me in my situation. thank u.

@kerrydavid- when someone says they dont know the answer theres no point in continuing to ask them. Someone will eventually come along and answer you...
 
Anyway- Once you have a conditional GC you MUST complete ROC successfully OR abandon your status (return overseas) / have it denied. So its either has to be approved or denied/surrendered. You CAN NOT simply let the card expire and file AOS through a new spouse. 
You probably have more evidence then you realize. Look through the ROC threads for ideas of what people sent. See what you have. Then you choose if you want to pay and file and wait 15-19 months for it to be approved or leave the US and surrender your GC. If you surrender your GC and then immediately file for a new spousal visa they will ask you about your previous marriage as it would appear you opted to not prove it bonafide and lose the status. This wont prevent you from getting the spousal visa but it can delay you with RFEs and extra time in AP. 

Wer now in 80 days of waiting. We got our noa1 last feb.26. My fiance called uscis ystrday and he said automated machine answered and jst said we will noticed u by mail if we recieve ur case.. its really upsetting coz it's been longer and longer now