eoyn

Hey there guys,

I was hoping to get some advice from this board regarding the situation I find myself in now. I came over to the US to be with my wife in September 2006, however she only had her GC at this time. We lived together until getting married on April 27th 2011. By this time she had become a US, so we decided on November 2012 to go ahead and apply for my GC. At this time I had unfortunately been living in NYC illegally for a number of years, so we were unable to get much evidence of a good faith marriage. My interview came on March 2013, I had managed to rustle up quite a bit of evidence, such as leases, bank statements from those that would allow me to join, and of course joint tax returns. My interview went smoothly, I was nervous as hell, but due to a prior DUI, the IO said she would have to pass it on to her supervisor, well the following morning I was approved and got my conditional GC, if I had waited one more month we would have been married for 2 years and I would have got the 10yr card..doh!. Thats the backstory.

By October our marriage was suffering, we still are friends, but we could not live together anymore. Plus I learnt that she had slept with someone else, and I could not handle that anymore. December 1st 2013 we called it quits living together and went our separate ways, we made a weak effort and trying to rekindle the marriage ( to help me with the 10yr card ) but alas, it just cannot work. We are filing now for uncontested divorce in NYC which should not take longer then 4-5 months. My GC expires on March 6th 2015, so I have to reapply starting around early December 2014 or when the divorce is finalized. We would have been married for 3 years, although 5-6 months separated.

I can prove we entered a bone fide marriage up until about October/November 2013, only 5-6 months after getting the initial GC, even though we had been married for 2yrs already. Sorry, I am just really nervous about this, all this time and work could go down the drain. I have things like:
3 years of tax returns,
4 years of lease up until November 2013,
shared phone bills,
shared credit card up until about August last year, although I still have hard copy of both of em,
shared bank account, although I havent used it much,
tons of photos
signed affidavits from her mom, my best friend saying marriage was real, and one from her saying marriage ending was not my fault
all documentation from previous interview
I will have the divorce papers

Thats about it! I will write a letter with my submission about our marriage and the end of it. What else can I do?

Another option, which I am not to keen on is to hold off on the divorce and submit the joint i-751. But then I cannot prove we are still living together, even though she would most likely come to the interview with me, it would be tough to convince anyone we are still in love, unless they accept the fact we dont live together anymore? I am getting confused.

Any help from people who are familiar with this would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks.

ian-mstm

You won't be reapplying. You'll be filing to remove the conditions on your status.


It sounds like you're going to submit the I-751 with a waiver. That's probably a good idea. Keep in mind that you are required to prove only that you entered the marriage in good faith. You do seem to have a lot of good evidence of that, so I don't think you'll have a problem.

Edit to add: Don't include the affidavits. I know it sounds like something you should include, but in a waiver situation, it's a risky move!


Good - because it's a pretty bad idea.

Ian

S Folinsky

General comment:

I don't know how long a New York uncontested dissolution takes to be final. However, it bears remembering that the 90 day window does NOT apply to waiver applications. So, no problem if filed after the second anniversary. ALSO, it is possible to file "early" once the dissolution is final. When I was in practice I would do that in that it was a "win-win" situation -- clients got to look good to INS/DHS and I got to collect a fee sooner.

eoyn

Thanks for the imput guys, yeah the second idea is bad. I just want to be completely honest with everything, at the end of the day I have lived in the US for 12 years now, and don't want to go home, so I will follow everything by the book.

Ian, if I may ask you a question, why do you say that the affidavits would be a risky move? Is it to desperate? A few sites I have come across mention including them. Thanks for your help again.

ian-mstm

In the absence of other evidence, affidavits are good. If, however, you have good evidence (such as you do), then affidavits call into question the character of the affiant. Affidavits from a former MIL and a friend who says things aren't your fault, are most likely to suggest to the officer that they're doing you a favor... or they feel sorry for you!

Ian

eoyn

ahhh, gotcha, ill get them, but i wont submit them, when Im at the interview, if I need to bust them out, then I will. Thanks Ian for all your help. Hope you have a great weekend.

eoyn

I'll keep you updated regarding how this works out.

eoyn

Hey guys, been awhile. Im sending off all my forms tomorrow, the divorce finally came through. Its been a bit of a disaster, the ex wont help at all with documentation that she took when she left me. Should I write a cover letter? I have until March 6th before I loose status again. Its just been a long battle and its tempting to give up, but I will fight on.

bewildering

What documents are missing? Tax transcripts are available from the IRS. You will have access to shared bank accounts and credit cards. And former landlords will have access to old leases.

eoyn

Hey,

I have all those thank the lord, I meant superfluous stuff, like letters and photos. How long should the cover letter be and any ideas on what I should include?

Ian

Noorah101

Submit without letters and photos if you have to, and keep trying to work on getting them in case you get an RFE.

A cover letter is not required, but if you choose to include one, there's no set format or how long it should be. I'd make it as short as possible, though, and stick to straightforward facts.

Rene

eoyn

Thank you, will do. Just the facts and will send off tomorrow. Will keep this thread updated.

Ian

eoyn

Mailed i-751 with waiver on 25th Feb, and received i-797 on the 6th March, the day my Conditional expired! Close! Anyways, now the waiting begins.

civilservant

If you filed at Vermont, be prepared for a wait. I filed on Jan 6th and got my biometrics appointment notice yesterday.

richbogle84

Is the I-797 simply the letter that I've heard folks talk about receiving when they submit their I-751, which 'extends' their Green Card validity period for one year while the I-751 is being processed?

Many Thanks, Rich.