Married2009

1. You are asking whether pretending to be happily married in order for her to gain an immigration benefit would be fraud. When I put it that way, I think it's pretty obvious. Yes.
2. There is always a remote possibility. Basically you need to decide if you're okay with knowingly committing fraud, and living with that choice and anything that results from that choice.
3. Which is ridiculous. If she has sufficient proof she entered the marriage in good faith she'll be fine with the divorce waiver. It's quite common.
4. Right. Staying married simply for insurance is a type of insurance fraud isn't it? I know when I signed up for my husbands insurance we had to show that we were married in the last year OR evidence that we were still actually living together. Makes me think it's important.
5. Yes she can
6. Yes she should.
My concern was mentioned by someone else above, the longer you are married, the more of a claim to your assets, 401K, life insurance etc. She would be your spouse and would have first claim on anything. Medical choices (say you're in an accident and they need to decide on treatment), what happens with you property (even if your will says something different she could try and fight it), she would be able to claim social security benefits when you die (this is even sometimes after divorce and is based on how long you've been married).
Truly, you've filed, follow through with it. Remind her SHE needs to file ROC by the deadline. You are not involved. If she fails to file ROC on time her LPR status will be revoked. If she hurries up with the divorce she won't need to wait for an RFE for the decree and can send it with the packet instead. If the divorce isn't final in time for her deadline then she needs to file without the decree and then she will be RFE'd for it and then have 86 days to reply. If she doesn't have it in time then her ROC will be denied and she will go before and immigration judge who will make USCIS wait for the decree. Basically she'll be on hold until it's all done. Big pain.
If you are no longer happily married, you have filed for divorce. Do not allow her to emotionally blackmail you with the love you still feel for her. Do what is best for you. It does not negatively affect her status, just means she needs to actually do things for herself.

and that fella would be wrong.

No, he doesn't. It depends on divorce court. The I-864 is an agreement between the US government and her husband, not her. Some have successfully used it to get support, most have not.

I am not saying they cannot change, but the chances of them doing so are almost nil - unless there is divine intervention or he/she goes into counseling. At this point, nothing (according to them) is their fault, it is all yours. Until they are willing to accept responsibilty for their actions, there is no hope of change. You only endanger yourself when you continue to associate with them.

Here's what I know GOD has blessed me with a wonderful man. And yes he is trustworthy and very honest upstanding man. He comes from a blessed family and I was so worried yesterday I felt like he was going to be honest as he should.
I will not divorce my husband he is the kindest and loving man. He just really can't be deceptive I am sure if he were not honest he would have been exposed I love my husband very much.
Today is a new day I feel better just a bit down. The Devil has no power it's just another one of his snares. I know GOD favor's me he's been excellent to me all my life. it's in his time so if I have to wait a little while longer I shall!! Thanks you all for your thoughts and experiences I really appreciated it.

If your case is straightforward, do it yourself. If it's complicated, get a good immigration attorney. Under no circumstances use an "agency" - waste of money.

One thing - if she calls and wants to meet you, take one of your friends with you. Never be alone with her. If she is trying to file VAWA, she could try to set you up. Did you pull your affadavit of support? That is the only thing you can do, really, other than sending the info to ICE.

One thing - if she calls and wants to meet you, take one of your friends with you. Never be alone with her. If she is trying to file VAWA, she could try to set you up. Did you pull your affadavit of support? That is the only thing you can do, really, other than sending the info to ICE.

No.
Immigration should NEVER be a system where the people who can afford to pay more get better service.

The others have answered your withdrawal question but I wanted to tell you, as someone who's been reading your story from the beginning that I think you're doing the right thing. You deserve to be treated so much better than he's treating you. You've wasted so much time trying to help him and get him here with you, thinking that's what he wanted, and he's just manipulated you and let you down.
It's going to be hard, but you will be okay.

I'm not sure anyone could give you an idea of cost since you don't want to say the country. Each country has it's won economic system and rates would vary greatly depending on the country. I would also guess in some countries there may be issues of legality as to what you can actually do or not do.
If it were me, I'd either trust my partner, or move on. I know it sounds easier said than done, but without trust, you cannot ever be happy. Even if you hire someone and they tell you they find nothing, can you really trust they did the work?
Anyway, just my two cents. Sorry you are going through this, and whatever the outcome, I hope that in the end you do whatever is best for you and your continued happiness

The longer you are allowing this clown to use and play you, the longer true love with a good man will not happen. You need healthy boundaries not co dependancy. You can not change him. Take your life back. He is comtrolling you.

This is an ICE case.
Suggest you divorce him on Monday. Change the locks, get a restraining order. Yer being played. About as bad as mcat was played. if rlogan is still visiting the site - maybe he'll check in - but do study rlogan 's prior posts with the member search tool - you'll read about the behavior patterns that yer 'spouse' is exhibiting and the reasons for running the h3ll away.
For ICE -
Write up about a 2 page cover letter, print out all of the emails he's sent you outlining his scheme, and give it to the ICE shift supervisor at your local USCIS office via an infopass appointment. They'll open a case - but don't expect any action until he's either picked up or he files again with another USCitizen.
Well, for certain - the people COACHING him have told him 'you better get back with your sweety - only she can get you a green card now'.
Trust me - folk are coaching him.

The dude is clearly blackmailing you.
Throw him out, file for divorce and move on with your life.
Good luck.

he was trying to correct someone who used the expression " train of thought" by saying saying the correct word should have been trend . A"train of thought" is the more commonly used phrase and very correct too.

You are damn wrong,they don't have to call you to attend an interview .The law is clear the individual has to inform UScis regarding the divorce and there is anything stating they have to call the individual to attend interview.You screw up big time.Find a good lawyer.We have before in the Vj journey cases like yours and they were denied as well.Good luck.

dont buy plane tickets as fake proof
thats lying.
no lying allowed.

Only you can make this decision. My advice is take time...as much as you need to figure things out. Hubby and I went through something similar when we were first married. It broke my heart. I yelled, I screamed, I cried. He got defensive and tried to turn the blame to me. BUT, after talking....really talking, after things calmed down, he realized how much damage he had done to our relationship. How much he had hurt me. He knew that if I stayed...things would have to change and that it would take me a VERY long time to trust him again. Is our relationship the same as it was when we first fell in love? No....but I would say its stronger and deeper. So it changed for the better after time.
It was really hard to trust hubby. Really hard. He made things easier though by giving me all his passwords for email, and phone. He completely stopped chatting online (he went astray online) and never ever complained if I asked him what he was up to online.
I've heard a leopard doesn't change its spots, once a cheater always a cheater....but I don't think its true. We're all human, we all make mistakes. Some of those mistakes are huge. But depending on the person, you learn from those mistakes. I love hubby and I know he loves me...and I thought WE deserved the chance to survive it. This was 6 years ago and our marriage is strong. Could I come back here in a few years and say he's done it again? I suppose I could, but so could anyone.....
Good luck and I wish you strength for whatever decision you make because whatever you decide it will be hard work.

Issue date of the Green Card should be your guide for all of the future filings and no other date.

Matt, the word "lie" only has one definition when it comes to being un-truthful. If lieing is how you or others live your life so it maybe, but don't use it as an excuse to get what you want.
Don't make lieing an ok source of survival. White lie, Blue lie, Green lie, small lie, big lie or half truths are all the same.

there's a cool option, for 'married filing jointly'
you fill out the tax form, both spouses sign it.
foreign spouse fills out the w-7 form, signs it.
the two of you sign a letter that states the two of you are electing that the foreign spouse be considered a resident alien for tax purposes.
submit all into the special w-7 intake address in Austin TX.
expect a paper check on the refund.
Good Luck ! My wife and I did this - the thing that makes a difference is to fulfill the ID requirements from the w-7 instructions.

The daughter is a dependant, the spouse is never considered a dependant (just a pet peeve I have about calling a spouse a dependant). I agree with everything else.
Dave

I think it is worthwhile to get ITIN for them both and file 'married filing jointly', not just to save taxes. Taxes you can reclaim even later by amending your tax returns. But 'married filing jointly' makes your immigration case stronger, from what I understand.

So sorry! I was thinking of another VJ member about the delay in arrival.
You are right about the evidence since marriage date and CR1 evidence. While he was waiting for his visa, did you save any proof of communication (cell phone/landline records or skype logs) or did you add him to anything like emergency contact info (even though he was still overseas)? I did both and added it to our ROC evidence.
For us, we also had evidence of living together before he got his visa. We got married in Jan '09 and I lived with him for 4 months right after we got married in Qatar where he was working and we honeymooned in Egypt with his family. Then I had to come back here in May '09 to file his CR1 application and I included our evidence of living together for 4 months after the marriage date. I also included this proof for his removal of conditions since it was from the date of marriage.
Also for the ROC evidence; before Ahmed arrived, I added him to my employer emergency contact info and my daughter's school. I did that as soon as I came back to the US. I also added him to my apartment lease (showing I am married) as soon as I got back to the US (although I know that's not possible for everyone to do before their spouse gets here or if you own your home).
I got a basic landline phone account just for being able to submit extra proof of phone bills while we were waiting for his visa. I printed out and submitted all of our landline and cell phone records and skype records from the time I returned to the US waiting for him. In short, I didn't wait until he arrived to get his name added to things that I could and I kept detailed phone and skype records while he was waiting to get his visa and submitted those. I added all that stuff to the proof we collected over the 2 years AFTER he arrived.
I basically drove myself a little nuts about saving and collecting proof from the day we got married, while we were waiting for his visa, and the 2 years after he arrived.
Good luck, I'm sure everything will work out fine for you both

Ghana is right behind Nigeria in 419 frauds. Many members of these gangs will try to get to the US to help the gang by funnelling money from innocent victims to the members back home. My guess is this is what is happening. Do NOT contact local authorities they are usually not well trained in these things. Contact the FBI , you don't want to mess around with these people and you don't want them to drag you down also. These people can be very very dangerous