Just Jenney

I guess the question then becomes, "At what point in the life cycle of the marriage does it need to be bona fide in order to satisfy USCIS and result in removal of conditions?"

Does it only have to be "bona fide" the day you marry? During the first year? What about by the time you file to have the conditions removed?

I think it's this latter question that has some of us (Rene, me) questioning whether this will work in your favor. At the time you filed the I-751, your marriage was already failing. You had been living apart for quite some time, not just geographically but also maritally. Neither of you moved to live with the other in order to try to salvage the marriage, but rather continued to live apart and live separate lives.

Despite this, you filed a joint petition to remove conditions. THAT is the part that seems misleading in your case -- not that you entered the marriage in good faith, but that you didn't file the I-751 itself in good faith. Even the affidavit your husband included with your I-751 petiton expresses his belief that your marriage was basically over by that point. It just makes it very difficult for me to understand how that can be acceptable to USCIS.

Perhaps one of the resident lawyers can pop in on this discussion...

~ Jenney

Shelley11

Jenney,

I found this which clears up a lot of things I believe.

http://www.ilw.com/articles/2005,0621-wheeler.shtm#bio

Read this part:

Failing marriages and good faith/divorce waiver. The hard cases are those where the parties are separated or not getting along. If the parties are still married, even though they may be living apart and contemplating divorce, they can still file a joint petition. The key is whether they are cooperating with each other. There is no requirement that it be a viable marriage at the time the I-751 is filed or adjudicated; the requirement is that the marriage not be terminated and that it was entered in good faith. Ask your client whether it is likely that the U.S. citizen spouse will sign the joint petition and show up for an interview in the future. If so, consider this as the first option.

ian-mstm

Perhaps... but USCIS is not obligated to subscribe to this position, so it's just a bit dangerous to rely on such information as definitive.

Ian

olliewat

I think though the sticking point here would be that your husband signed a letter that was included in your I-751 package that basically said that your marriage was over. So LEGALLY, the marriage wasn't terminated, but for all intents and purposes it had been.

Yea - "things just weren't working out" in my eyes translates to "our marriage is over." Of course, we can't tell you that the interviewer will feel the same way, but I would suggest you get a second opinion from an immigration lawyer.

Noorah101

Shelley,

I would make sure to bring your lawyer along to the interview with you as well, even if it costs extra. If the officer starts on a denial route, perhaps the lawyer can point out things in a legal sense to convince the officer otherwise.

Rene