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On 8/14/2020 at 2:43 PM, Villanelle said:

You absolutely do NOT have to prove abuse again. When they approve a 360 or 751 abuse waiver its decided you were an abuse victim. They don't reevaluate you for abuse. 

 

 

Thank you, Villanelle.  Sounds like I need to do more research on the naturalization process, and possibly on finding a different lawyer... 

15 hours ago, Villanelle said:

All abuse waivers are processed by Vermont regardless of where you live. Occasionally they do get transferred or processed at other service centers but their goal is to have them done at Vermont because Vermont has the special unit for abuse.

 

Congrats on your approval! Im not sure if the attny advised you this but since you were approved for ROC under abuse waiver you can apply for citizenship at 3yrs (from resident since date on your card) if your spouse was a USC. Id have to go back and read the dates you posted to be sure but most likely you qualify right now if you filed ROC in 2018!. 

 

When you file n400 you need to do it by mail on paper. The online system will not accept it so you need to send it in. There is also a memo posted occasionally in the VAWA thread you can search for. It explains the policy that allows 751 ROC abuse to naturalize at 3yrs and many people find it helpful to include the memo with their packet. Sometimes they reject the packet incorrectly thinking you are not eligible. 

Thank you Villanelle!  26 months is a long process.  The hardest part was to re-live the details of my abusive marriage and to recall them for USCIS, which was not on my own timeline in my process of recovery.  But I think it all made me a stronger person in the end. 

I become a conditional resident in September 2016.  I actually had a phone call with my attorney after the i-751 was approved to discuss naturalization process.  She did not suggest the 3 year rule.  I brought it up.  She said since the 5 year mark is so close for me, it may just be easier to go through the regular timeline, especially if we went through the 3 year rule, we will have to once again convince USCIS of my abusive marriage.  

She said she would look into it more and get back to me.  She hasn't, and it was in June we had this conversation... 

What are your thoughts?  Is it easier to go through the 5-year process for naturalization?  

Thank you.  

Hi Kimkim21,

Sorry for the delay.  Are you still waiting for your pending case?  I submitted the following documents:

- 13 page personal statement detailing the dating relationship, marriage, the abuse, the divorce (filled by him)

- 4 separate police reports

- Letter from crime victims assistance program services (within local police precinct)

- Judgement of divorce 

- Court order from divorce court to frame both parties from harassing each other, which was intended to replace my protection order against him after divorce court dismissed the family court complaint 

- Letters of support from psychologist of 9 months, 2 friends who let me stay with them when I did not feel safe, the leader of a meet up group aimed to support people in abusive relationship, a neighbor who saw how badly I was hurting emotionally

- Emails with the staffer of a local elected official when I thought I was going to become homeless

- Press coverage of a DV rally I organized at NYC city hall

- My volunteer work with my local community board, which shows I have good moral character and civilly engaged

-  My new lease after divorce demonstrating that I no longer reside with him

Not all these will apply to you.  And to be honest, while these were additional documents, I am not sure that these more strongly demonstrated the abuse or met what USCIS was asking: proof of "physical violence and injuries".  But perhaps everything together helped make the case. 

Good luck! 

On 7/15/2020 at 7:55 PM, Kimkim21 said:

Hi congrats on your approval..I'm in the same situation as you were and I would like to know what additional evidence did you sent in plz can you share 

I have the same question - change of last name after divorce.  

BTW, my case was never transferred to a different service center, unlike most other I-751 cases.  As far as I could tell - I was routinely checking my case status online a few times a week - it stayed at the Vermont location for the entire 26 months. 

Hi,

I wanted to provide an update on my case. 

Additional evidence submitted early November 2019.  Due to admin issues at my lawyer's office, files reached USCIS 3 days late (2 of the 3 days were weekend days).  USCIS provided no information or update during the next 150 days or so, despite the RFE stating application update to follow within 60 days after submission of additional documents.  

I put in a service request after 60 days.  No response or update to the service request. 

March 19, 2020, online case status indicates that case was approved as of 3/17/2020, 4 days after the expiration of I-751 extended extension.  Original conditional PR expired September 2018, first I-751 receipt notice extended status for 12 months to September 2019, and second I-751 receipt notice extended status for an additional 6 months to March 2020.  Reached out to my lawyer right away requesting a professional confirmation. However there is no confirmation until actual approval notice is received in the mail.  

March 20, 2020, online case status indicates "your new card has been mailed to your address".  Lawyer provided the same response, plus the fact that their offices are working remotely.  They will check on the mail when safe to do so.  Written communications were directed to my lawyer's attention because that was the safe address at time of filing, Jan 2018.  Now I had to try to be as patient as I possibly could, waiting it out... 

April 28 2020, received approval notice and new 10 year card from my lawyers office.  USCIS backdated the 10 year card start date to follow the expiration date of second i-751 extension date.  

Battered spouse case approved without interview, and apparently during reduced office hours at USCIS due to COVID-19.  Filing to approval, 26 months.  

Hope this is helpful to someone, and gives you reassurance if you too are waiting on an update on your case... 

Thank you to everyone's support and insight.  

13 hours ago, implife said:

I don't think you need to worry about this. You married in good faith. Your marriage didn't work out. You should be eligible for ROC.

Thank you.  

1 hour ago, JeanneAdil said:

not sure how USCIS will view it but a judge didn't 

 

Can you elaborate what you mean here?  The family court judge never got to see me and my ex husband again for the return appearance.  The divorce court judge vacated family court’s temporary order of protection.  Which judge are you referring to? 

1 hour ago, JeanneAdil said:

not sure how USCIS will view it but a judge didn't 

Pretend i am immigration officer and this is what i ask of you

1,  you say he controlled you financially and yet one of the requirements for a O1 visa is that you have to prove 

Command a high salary or remuneration for their  services.

2.  O1 visa is good for 3 years and you came in 2013 and married in 2016 (if 2 year green card is valid till 2018)

 

I am not sure I understand your point or question.  Are you asking me to explain how my ex husband controlled me financially when I supposedly had a high salary? 

3 hours ago, Villanelle said:

Also please do not be worried that the protection order was canceled when it was merged by the family court . You are eligible for VAWA if you were abused in the US- period. One time, many times, doesnt matter. Whether you have a current RO has nothing to do with the fact that abuse occurred which makes you eligible.

Thank you. This means a lot. I just need to work on providing enough proof now to convince USCIS that I was abused. 

3 hours ago, Villanelle said:

Anyone whos spouse was USC and gets approved under ROC abuse waiver is eligible for naturalization at 3 years. 

But again, ROC needs to be approved first for the 3 year eligibility.

6 hours ago, implife said:

that makes sense. so, in my mind, staying away from each other is the resolution of the harassment case. if there's no suspicion of physical abuse, your mutual intention to divorce each other was probably sufficient. in any case, that would be useful information to share with USCIS

I see.  So you don’t think USCIS will necessarily view the divorce court’s treatment on protection order unfavorable for my case?

1 minute ago, geowrian said:

You may or may not qualify under the 3 year rule still if you are still married to your USC spouse.

Not to hijack the thread...but it may be something to look at if you plan to naturalize.

Thank you.  The divorce was signed by judge in May 2018.  So that wouldn’t work.  Even if it did work, I would still need to work on the removal of conditions. No? 

4 minutes ago, geowrian said:

The 5 years starts from once you obtain permanent residency. O-1 is a non-immigrant visa, so they did not start permanent residency in 2013. Since they are going through ROC and filed in 2018, they must have obtained permanent residency in 2016 or later (unless they filed late).

They also need to complete ROC anyway.

 

Edit: Unless you are maybe referring to the 5 year ban on federal funds...? yeah, that would expire, but I'm not sure how that would apply. (Sorry, I really don't know if this was what you meant or the 5 year rule for naturalization).

 

Somebody who has been an LPR for 5 years can apply for naturalization.

You are correct.  The current I-751 was actually an early filing.  The 90 day window of filing would have started in June 2018.  I filed in January 2018.  

1 minute ago, geowrian said:

The 5 years starts from once you obtain permanent residency. O-1 is a non-immigrant visa, so they did not start permanent residency in 2013. Since they are going through ROC and filed in 2018, they must have obtained permanent residency in 2016 or later (unless they filed late).

They also need to complete ROC anyway.

 

Somebody who has been an LPR for 5 years can apply for naturalization.

I see.  I became a conditional resident in September 2016.  It has not been 5 years.  

5 hours ago, implife said:

Well, that's the "final decision" in this case: you need to be divorced. It does not necessarily determine there was no abuse. Were you ordered to stay away from each other during divorce? There had to be a reason why the judge decided not to proceed with the abuse case.

Yes - the divorce court  judge did order for us to stay away and refrain from harassing each other, the same day that he ordered to vacate the temporary order of protection.  I can’t explain why the judge ordered that, except that maybe he didn’t believe I was in imminent danger, or that maybe he believed what my ex husband stated: I made up the accusations of abuse to receive favorable consideration on equitable distribution. 

49 minutes ago, JeanneAdil said:

You have been here working since 2013??? don't you qualify under the 5 year rule????

What is the 5 year rule?  Please advise.  

Just now, geowrian said:

I would focus on what they are asking for specifically in the RFE. If they want anything else later, you will have the opportunity to address it at that time. But don't worry about what they might or might not want later...the process is stressful enough as-is.

Thank you.  It really is exhausting.  One day I am focused on moving on from the bad marriage where I planned to spent rest of my life with this person. The next day, I question if I should tell my employer that I may be deported. 

9 hours ago, geowrian said:

Even if there is abuse, one must still show a bona fide marriage. The abuse option means the case is handled by IOs who are better suited to abuse cases and the limitations of evidence obtainable due to that.

But abuse alone is not cause for ROC to be approved.

USCIS did not ask for further evidence on good faith marriage in the RFE. Do you think I can check that off now, and assume they determined, based on my already submitted documents, that the marriage was in good faith? 

1 minute ago, geowrian said:

Either that or that they haven't evaluated the marriage evidence yet. Impossible to tell, sorry.

I see.  So we don’t know for sure. 

9 hours ago, geowrian said:

Even if there is abuse, one must still show a bona fide marriage. The abuse option means the case is handled by IOs who are better suited to abuse cases and the limitations of evidence obtainable due to that.

But abuse alone is not cause for ROC to be approved.

The RFE did not ask for additional evidence on good faith marriage.  I believe that means USCIS determined it was a marriage with good faith?  

9 hours ago, implife said:

How do you know it wouldn't be helpful?

I guess I don’t know.  The problem is USCIS asked for the final decision on family court case, but the divorce court dismissed the case altogether.  So I suspect it will make it look like there was no abuse?

9 hours ago, implife said:

After reading this, it seems like you should've taken one of two options:

1) demonstrate that your marriage was established in good faith, and that you are now, unfortunately, divorced (divorce waiver) 

2) demonstrate abuse

You seem to have done a combination of both.

 

You will probably not be able to demonstrate option (2). I would find a lawyer who could help you pursue option (1).  Your current attorney doesn't sound good to me.

 

Thank you.  I agree with the options you pointed out.  

I was able to speak to my lawyer tonight, finally.  She said everyone is getting the RFEs these days and she thinks it is highly unlikely USCIS will deny my case in the end.  Also she thinks staying on the current abuse waiver is the better course of action because refiling on divorce waiver could mean I have to wait another 2 years for processing.

she offered to speak to my current physiologist to work on a letter.  Also suggested other documents I can work on, including an affidavit from my mom who witnessed the harassment and intimidation firsthand, documentation from police department DV specialist who followed up with me after each police response (all are not physical  but only intimidation and harassment), and inclusion of an anti DV rally I organized last year at the steps of city hall.  

11 hours ago, JeanneAdil said:

sorry to hear 

but could not afford counseling?

your lawyer needs to enforce the support order and get you the help you need/  financial responsibilty does not end till you either work 40 hours or become a citizen

If immigration does not approve the naturalization process,   at least go for the counseling you need and let the lawyer do his work/ he should know about support orders 

seems like US citizens fill one out but never see it enforced 

Thank you. The recommendation of biweekly counseling was received when a contested divorce proceeding was already happening.  I had been working full time since 2013 because I was on the O-1 visa.  The divorce court turned out to be very bad for me.  He filed for divorce when he sensed he was losing a firm grasp over me and could no longer excert full control of what I do and how I think. As he filed for divorce first, he got to portray me as someone only interested in my career and behaved irresponsibly during the marriage. The judge believed him and told me I needed to vacate the marital home even though I had no place else to go.  Looked into DV shelters and couldn’t find anything then. Now there seems to be more funding for DV shelters and makes me happy to see that.  So even though I was working full time and earning decent salaries, all my money went to divorce lawyer and I couldn’t afford counseling. Ex husband even asked the court for me to pay his legal fee at one point.... in the end I gave up on fighting for the marital home even though my name was on the deed too. His lawyer got the court to order me to move out within 10 days. 

Now that I can think more clearly, I should have gone to counseling instead. 

2 minutes ago, Villanelle said:

Also re-reading it seems you sent a psychiatrist report with dx and not a psych evaluation. That may be the medical professional documentation you are missing.

Thank you Villanelle.  I did submit a psycho social report that is 4-page in length, recommended by my lawyer.  USCIS read it carefully and asked for further evidence on the recommended bi-weekly counseling at the end of the report.  The problem is I was going through a contested divorce 19 months ago and could not afford the counseling, even though I knew I really needed it.  I did start counseling finally in January 2019, and my now psychologist says he can definitely write a report to support my case.   

Also submitted with my initial filing was a temporary order of protection, with a return date back to family court for final determination.  USCIS also asked for further evidence on that court hearing.  The problem is my ex-husband's divorce lawyer got the family court case combined with the divorce court, and the first thing the divorce court judge did was to vacate the temporary order of protection.  This was not helpful at all then, and not helpful for the RFE now.  

I will message sandranj as you suggested.  Thank you very much.  

24 minutes ago, little immigrant said:

I was in a similar situation as you. Emotional and financial but not physical. I had maybe one picture of bruises because he threw me down but I'm sure it wasn't enough. If it had to come down to it I would have switched to a divorce waiver but I never qualified for VAWA. 

Thank you for sharing.  I am so sorry you had to experience abuse.