Divorce while CR1

[Erthwhile 0]

Hi,

so I and my wife have been married ever since September 2008. We lived almost 2 years in Italy, we moved to the US because my wife had found an internship there and I had been accepted to a prestigius MBA program.

After we moved, problems started. We lived apart because of her work and my school, I met new people, we started fighting, Itold my wife I was unhappy... Basically, she left me and I haven't heard back from her since October. I have tried to email her, but no replies. She changed her cellphone number, and I have literally lost her traces.

Now, I have been in the US for 6 months, and I want a divorce. What are my options not to lose my green card status?

We lived almost 2 years together in Italy, we have a joint bank account there but not here (given we both still were technically students when we moved and we lived apart almost from day 1). I have some pics of her coming to see me where i stay now and of many trips we took together, plus I fully spported her financially when we were in Italy and helped her with school costs (I really loved her and wanted the best for her).

Now, I am in a limbo.

Thanks a lot for your help!

P.S.

- If I divorce but decide NOT to remove conditions right away, what would happen? Would I be in trouble and be reported or will I be fine? This marriage is untolerable, plus I have met another person i would really start to see - since she seems to care about me more than my wife at this point.

[canadian_wife 1,791]

You need to remove conditions and prove that the marriage was entered into in good faith, you need to do this before your green card expires. When does your green card expire?

Failing to remove conditions can result in a deportation order against you

Good luck

[Erthwhile 0]

You need to remove conditions and prove that the marriage was entered into in good faith, you need to do this before your green card expires. When does your green card expire?

Failing to remove conditions can result in a deportation order against you

Good luck

My GC expires in 2012, I have been in the US for only 6 months...

[milimelo 4,188]

Is there a reason you keep opening new topics while the other two on the same issue are still out there?

I-751 waiver after divorce http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/286146-i-751-waiver-after-divorce/page__p__4337561#entry4337561

Divorce situation and new life http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/279745-divorce-situatio-nand-new-life/page__p__4251373#entry4251373

I'll just say that you're moving on extremely fast for someone who has been in the country for mere 6 months.

[Okalian 41]

My GC expires in 2012, I have been in the US for only 6 months...

Try to collect as much evidence as possible that shows you and your spouse were married for real reasons, not for fraud. They dont care why the marriage ended more than they do how it was started.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Is there a reason you keep opening new topics while the other two on the same issue are still out there?

I-751 waiver after divorce http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/286146-i-751-waiver-after-divorce/page__p__4337561#entry4337561

Divorce situation and new life http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/279745-divorce-situatio-nand-new-life/page__p__4251373#entry4251373

I'll just say that you're moving on extremely fast for someone who has been in the country for mere 6 months.

Agreed. That second thread was posted back in October, three months after he arrived.

Rob, if you get divorced then you should apply for removal of conditions right away. If USCIS discovers the divorce then they are required to terminate your conditional resident status. You would receive a Notice of Intent that they are going to initiate removal proceedings against you, and you would be required to file for removal of conditions immediately or face deportation.

You need to provide proof you entered into the marriage in good faith and not simply to secure an immigration benefit. They are going to look closely at what happened after you received your green card. You were dating someone else three months after entering the US. This doesn't look good.

[Erthwhile 0]

Agreed. That second thread was posted back in October, three months after he arrived.

Rob, if you get divorced then you should apply for removal of conditions right away. If USCIS discovers the divorce then they are required to terminate your conditional resident status. You would receive a Notice of Intent that they are going to initiate removal proceedings against you, and you would be required to file for removal of conditions immediately or face deportation.

You need to provide proof you entered into the marriage in good faith and not simply to secure an immigration benefit. They are going to look closely at what happened after you received your green card. You were dating someone else three months after entering the US. This doesn't look good.

Well... I have plenty of proofs our marriage was entered in good faith. And I have plenty of explanations on why we were not living together in the US right away (noth students, she needed to find a job, found it in Philadelphia), nor had financial mingling (again, both students, not much money, my wife had her accounts in Missouri, etc).

For how complicated this stuff is, I can tell my marriage was true and real. Also, I was seeing someone after all the problems with my wife. I wasn't hiding that from her. And I did NOT cheat on her, that's for sure. Also, after a while - and without doing anything wrong in the meantime - I tried to reach out to her to ask her to go counseling together to see if we could save this. She never replied....

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Well... I have plenty of proofs our marriage was entered in good faith. And I have plenty of explanations on why we were not living together in the US right away (noth students, she needed to find a job, found it in Philadelphia), nor had financial mingling (again, both students, not much money, my wife had her accounts in Missouri, etc).

For how complicated this stuff is, I can tell my marriage was true and real. Also, I was seeing someone after all the problems with my wife. I wasn't hiding that from her. And I did NOT cheat on her, that's for sure. Also, after a while - and without doing anything wrong in the meantime - I tried to reach out to her to ask her to go counseling together to see if we could save this. She never replied....

I think what you need to realize is that the IO is going to spend a total of maybe 15 minutes with your ROC package. They are going to see that you weren't living together after arriving in the US, and that your marriage fell apart shortly after that. If I was an IO then I would probably suspect your primary motive in coming to the US was to go to school and get a job, and not necessarily to be with your wife. It doesn't sound like you have much evidence to prove this wasn't the case. The IO can't read your mind or tell what's in your heart. They have to make a decision based on the evidence.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,235]

That being said, why don't you list the evidence you have to show that your marriage was bona fide so that VJ members can give you feedback before sending it off?

[sichuan red 5]

Well... I have plenty of proofs our marriage was entered in good faith. And I have plenty of explanations on why we were not living together in the US right away (noth students, she needed to find a job, found it in Philadelphia), nor had financial mingling (again, both students, not much money, my wife had her accounts in Missouri, etc).

For how complicated this stuff is, I can tell my marriage was true and real. Also, I was seeing someone after all the problems with my wife. I wasn't hiding that from her. And I did NOT cheat on her, that's for sure. Also, after a while - and without doing anything wrong in the meantime - I tried to reach out to her to ask her to go counseling together to see if we could save this. She never replied....

She found a job in Philadelphia? In a previous thread you said she found a job in Washington!

Ma che? Non sei stato onesto. Ono in grado di scrivere in Inglese o Italiano, ma la risposta sarà la stessa.

La mia famiglia, viene dalla Sicilia, e dico a voi, andare a Napoli! Capisce?

[VanessaTony 3,567]

I think what you need to realize is that the IO is going to spend a total of maybe 15 minutes with your ROC package. They are going to see that you weren't living together after arriving in the US, and that your marriage fell apart shortly after that. If I was an IO then I would probably suspect your primary motive in coming to the US was to go to school and get a job, and not necessarily to be with your wife. It doesn't sound like you have much evidence to prove this wasn't the case. The IO can't read your mind or tell what's in your heart. They have to make a decision based on the evidence.

Jim qn, it's obvious that the OP didn't marry his wife to get a greencard because they've been together a while BUT can he still get into trouble because he used that relationship to get a GC when it appears they didn't plan to stay together? I don't know what the rules are on this.

I know that marrying for immigration benefits are bad, but immigrating based on a failing marriage is that bad? I know it sounds bad but is there a rule that they need to prove their relationship since being here? Or can the OP simply prove their relationship before and that's all that matters?

[Okalian 41]

During my AOS interview my wife and I had different addresses in 2 different states, obviously didn't live together. But we were approved on the spot after explaining we were both seniors in college and makes no sense to transfer to another university just to satisfy USCIS. We were approved on the spot. Ofcourse it was along with the fact that my wife and i shared the same culture, so that helped too.

Rob C, i think you may have a difficult time explaining the distance marriage on paper, but if called for an interview, you may have a chance. You better be very, very convincing, especially that your case is slightly complicated due to the whole divorce thing.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

During my AOS interview my wife and I had different addresses in 2 different states, obviously didn't live together. But we were approved on the spot after explaining we were both seniors in college and makes no sense to transfer to another university just to satisfy USCIS. We were approved on the spot. Ofcourse it was along with the fact that my wife and i shared the same culture, so that helped too.

Rob C, i think you may have a difficult time explaining the distance marriage on paper, but if called for an interview, you may have a chance. You better be very, very convincing, especially that your case is slightly complicated due to the whole divorce thing.

Did you have joint bank accounts? did you travel to see each other? Did you send money back and forth to take care of each other? Are you on the same cell phone bill? Do you call each other/email etc? Did you have any proof of that? Did you live together during school breaks?... did you have any of that or are you telling me that your AOS was approved based on none of the above evidence and living apart? You didn't send any proof of relationship with your AOS docs or show evidence of relationship?

Living apart in itself isn't going to get you denied if you have other proof of relationship, but in the OP's case (in previous threads) he talks about how there are no joint accounts. I believe they rarely visited each other.. they don't really have much proof of relationship since arrive, especially as the OP posted 3 months ago (3 months after arriving) about how it was falling apart so probably for the last 3 months there's been no visits to each other or many calls or anything. it's been enough time that the OP has found someone else.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Jim qn, it's obvious that the OP didn't marry his wife to get a greencard because they've been together a while BUT can he still get into trouble because he used that relationship to get a GC when it appears they didn't plan to stay together? I don't know what the rules are on this.

I know that marrying for immigration benefits are bad, but immigrating based on a failing marriage is that bad? I know it sounds bad but is there a rule that they need to prove their relationship since being here? Or can the OP simply prove their relationship before and that's all that matters?

No, the rule is that they must have entered the marriage in good faith and not primarily to secure an immigration benefit. There have been many cases of relatively long relationships where there was little or no prior indication of fraudulent intent right up until the immigration benefit was obtained, and then things changed drastically. For example, maybe the foreign spouse arrives in the US and does a runner, or maybe the relationship changes dramatically soon after they arrive in the US, or they live apart since arriving in the US, or the foreign spouse has another relationship "on the side" or develops another relationship soon after immigrating.

They look closely at what happens shortly after the immigration benefit is obtained to see if perhaps this is all they were waiting for before making dramatic changes. Long term relationships don't usually fall apart suddenly unless something serious happens to change it. Being separated from each other for a few months is not usually enough to break down a long term relationship. Most people on VJ were separated from their loved ones for longer than a few months - multiple times - and their relationship weathered this just fine. It's going to look suspicious to an IO.

[Okalian 41]

Did you have joint bank accounts? did you travel to see each other? Did you send money back and forth to take care of each other? Are you on the same cell phone bill? Do you call each other/email etc? Did you have any proof of that? Did you live together during school breaks?... did you have any of that or are you telling me that your AOS was approved based on none of the above evidence and living apart? You didn't send any proof of relationship with your AOS docs or show evidence of relationship?.

We were barely married (court part) for only 2 months and the religious marriage wasn't yet consummated so NO, we didn't live together. And the only proof brought to the interview was notarized testimonies from friends, pics from engagement party etc and that's it. And yes, it was approved without the evidence you mentioned. I brought my phone records to show that I called her but the IO didn't want to see it. In my case, there really was no other way but to be apart for the first 4 months of marriage (married in January, graduated and moved to FL in May). I believe, however, that in my case the whole cultural ordeal played a huge role at AOS. My ROC included 300 pages (some were printed on both sides) of evidence that certainly was an overkill. My marriage lasted 1 month shy of a third anniversary, so an interview wasn't necessary.

My point is, it's really IS case-by-case and there's no way to generalize. At the time of the OP's AOS, they certainly found enough evidence to deem their marriage legitimate and a greencard was granted. That same evidence will be recalled to adjudicate his current case. Removing conditions for the OP can be a breeze if the IO/USCIS focuses on their joint residence in Italy which, according to OP, spanned 1.5 years or something. But ROC could be a nightmare if USCIS considered only the part following their move to the US. Just like Jim said, they may think the entire marriage was solely to gain her trust and enter the US as a PR, then decided to end it. And the fact that they separated upon entry to the US may support the latter suspicion and trigger further complications.

Edited January 24, 2011 by Okalian