Mobius1

I agree, part of the social media lawyers not just Jim but also "Uncle Brad" among others is a campaign to get more customer leads. However, immigration like other matters of life can have an impact regardless on how strong a marriage is. We can agree to disagree as individual experiences greatly vary.

Congrats. How was the general mood of the IO, the questioning process? I have heard some unpleasant things about Orlando office

Dear Lovelywaves, Don't be terrified. I went through the same situation as you. I wish to save you the anxiety, countless hours, and high bills that I have spent/ paid to come to this conclusion, speaking to not only to 10 actual lawyers but also a former USCIS IO about this grey area. The direction in such particular situation is not clear and perhaps on purpose. Legally speaking you are married until the judge signs the final paper. Legally speaking you are unable to apply for waiver unless you have the decree. Only if you are called in for an interview and your soon to be ex doesn't show up, IO asks for your situation, under oath you have to be truthful and inform of a pending divorce. You have not lied anywhere since no interview took place, hence no misrep which essentially is your fear. As per former IO I asked, "Its on them, since they did not take an interview". Don't live a life of constant fear, file that N400. Don't let the misinformed forum posters scare you. During your N400 interview, at best the IO might ask you why you filed for divorce. TLDR = ITS NOT AN ISSUE, FILE THAT N400

At the most, the might question your spouse about why sudden divorce and there are a million real reasons. If you can provide a notarized statement mentioning the marriage as real and some details as to why it had to end, it will be very helpful.

You are absolutely right. I apologize guys if I have come across as combative. Immigration matters just hits us all differently, some more than others. we are all in this together for a better life we deserve.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JQS-mW2AYzc Thats one. Pretty sure I saw a similar, more recent one. From my first day here until now even, the misinformation people (the usual suspects) spread here, the ego they have where they feel like some lawyers because they read an article or two…good God…

I honestly can’t argue with a 🧱

Well I do give you this much, VJ forums are more about anxiety than help, speaking from my first hand experience. However, my opinions about this particular topic are taken directly from the forum’s beloved lawyers, if logic isn’t something people trust in. Perhaps you should look into some of Jim Hacking’s videos

So the long timeline isn’t related to you. I am speaking of the people who are waiting for 2+ years to even hear something back

Ofcorse not, but you also can’t foresee what situation may happen in future that could drastically impact your status, such as a DUI, DV, accidental voter registration and somethings not even the person’s fault just bad luck. Most lawyers will disagree with the large amount of wait. Generally when your wait far exceeds the extension, there is a cause for concern. Lastly, the “ripples in marriage” I spoke of is essentially Jim Hacking’s point of view.

It actually does in most cases. When you have a paranoia which is very common in immigration issues, it festers in the personality, employment, vacation all of which are impacted thus causing a conflict with the USC that has none of the issues. Weather or not you want to believe it, until you have the passport in hand, your stay in the US is never guaranteed. To a lot of people, deciding their long term future such as kids, house, investments are dependent on the outcomes.

It’s truly insane how long these are taking to process. And one wouldn’t be wrong in saying that it’s intentional to cause ripples in a marriage.

Filing a joint ROC in a stable marriage and then getting separated with divorce process initiation is one thing, it happens, people / USCIS deals with it, people get approved. However, getting separated prior to filing ROC is a difficult process (possibly lying). In my opinion, you need to move fast. You can file a i751 divorce waiver. Divorce waiver itself is a very convoluted process on which there are two camps of thought. One says you just can’t even file for waiver request until you have the decree. Another just “wings” it, USCIS tries to be reasonable and accepts the filing then throws the ball in your court where you must come up with the final decree in 87 days (haha yea right..only if it took this little time to get it processed). Both routes have their own troubles. Where the first one is all about timing while second one is about having nerves of steel, since you might have to face removal procedure. Both very much approvable. Do yourself a favor. Hire a lawyer. Many of them provide installment payment options. Your case is not very easy nor so simple that a “know it all “ here can guide you through.

Address change definitely. Though this may prompt inquiry from them. Separation, not a must since you may still reconcile. What you need to realize, once you ring the divorce waiver bell, you can’t take it back (as far as I know) so think long and hard before you do that. Once you are decided on getting on with the divorce, think if it will be done quick. You will get an RFE to provide final divorce within 87 days. Depending on the officer and your divorce progress, you may be able to buy more time. If you can’t provide it, you will be denied and likely sent to immigration court for removal, where you will have another shot at removing your conditions. Most lawyers try to avoid the court route. Either ways, what’s important is that if you separate and reconcile, it will invite extra scrutiny come your interview. If you divorce and get your final order, make sure to convert your i751 to waiver. Bottom line: This is not a DIY anymore, hire a lawyer and get professional advice instead of saving some bucks and gambling with your future in the US

Lawyers these days don’t recommend submitting n400 (Naturalization) until your i751 is approved. One reason being if the couple divorces, the person becomes ineligible for 3 years rule, hence denial of n400 along with the app and lawyer fee. Secondly, it may add to the delay (not a 100% on this)

Since you have the decree, send the decree with the change request ASAP, not tomorrow but today! Your worst nightmare would be true if they approve your joint i751 before they receive your divorce decree + change request.

However, a bit different where approval happened before divorce. As per Jim’s wife, it’s not an issue, just messy.

Error… correcting myself here.. What most people are trying to get to is, if your divorce got finalized before approval of I-751 joint. In this case one should have asked USCIS to convert the joint petition to waiver, since one has the decree in hand.

First of all, why are so many of you asking if the OP is Sarah herself? If the person is trying to maintain a barrier, let them… OP or an eager volunteer, please fill out this as it will make things easy for everyone to understand in 1 go instead of reading 6 pages. Just month and year will do. date married date applied for I-751 joint date started divorce date joint I-751 got approved date divorce finalized date applied for n400 date it got denied What most people are trying to get to is, if your joint i751 got approved before finalizing of the divorce. * If so, then yes your i751 was approved on missing critical info and should have been converted to waiver. * If it was approved after, then it’s something else. Now, before someone starts a misinformation campaign, neither Sarah nor USC is “required” to inform for divorce process until it’s finalized before approval. And not at all if after the approval. USCIS has plenty of things to do rather than reading a sob story. Trust me, I have spent about $1,000 consulting actual multiple lawyers to come to this conclusion. However, if USCIS had conduced an interview and one was in middle of a divorce, it would need to be disclosed. I751 joint would be either denied outright or converted at the spot and an RFE of 87 days issued, depending on the IO’s mood.

I am “somewhat” in the situation as you but the difference being divorce was finalized 3 months after approval. However, since your approval was done before the approval, this is a disaster not in the gray area. I have had a consultation with a very well renowned lawyer, she had a client that got divorce finalized 1day after joint petition was finalized. They sent the decree 3 times but USCIS rejected it. However, the client did get her citizenship approved. My suggestion is to keep the past lawyer’s communication handy and hire a new one. Your task must be to inform USCIS right away with the help of the new lawyer.

It’s not a problem. While going over the application, the officer verifies the information and will inquire about the name change at which point he can respond by saying he changed his mind

Situations like yours, like mine, and others involving i751 / divorce are in a gray area where the guidance is not crystal clear and on purpose when the divorce is not final. Even the lawyers are split on this. A camp firmly believes in the waiver only when you have the decree. Another files for waiver as soon as other party files for divorce (which I feel is troublesome). Why? A couple may file for divorce and then chose to cancel it. Your waiver request with Uscis may or may not cancel though but definitely will put you in hot water. However, you may be able to get more time by submitting through your lawyer a timeline of progress in your divorce process. Once you have a mediation, that gives you a good timeframe of divorce getting finalized (1-2 months). Lastly, if all else fails, you will be put in deportation but still you have a good chance here. Your LPR is only canceled by am immigration judge. They have no reason to deny your i751 waiver request provided it was a legitimate marriage and you have the final divorce with you will definitely have by the time your hearing takes place. Good luck, stay strong, it’s not over yet.

There is no law that requires what you mention here. The responsibility is on the Beneficiary to inform once their divorce completes before i751 approval.

You can’t withdraw the petition but can withdraw your support by writing a letter. Essentially you are telling USCIS you don’t want any part of this. Then they will send your spouse Letter of intent to deny and then eventual denial. However, he can still have the conditions removed using i-751 divorce wavier BUT if he gets convicted of the sexual crimes you mention, that’s a deportable offense. Suffice to say it’s a very difficult road ahead of him.

As a victim of this abuse myself, yes I can very much attest to this behavior. Luckily USCIS knows this and has protections in place for such victims. Though its the victim's responsibility to keep good records of abuse as hearsay wouldn't help.