hugeness

Hi

Got married to a US citizen, very happily, in april... by october she had decided to dump me.. running out and leaving me in her house..
i now have an attorney, and think i can get somewhere else to live.. just got my 2 years residency in time, and a job the week she left me.

my questions are:
1. can i still stay here after the divorce is finalised?
2. can i actually convert my green card to a permanent one? ( the marriage was kosher, it just went rapidly sour on her part... (she has been on heavy anti depressants for over a decade, and hid this from me.. consequences of this can be imagined).

thanks for any advice..

Poppy girl

1. Yes you can stay file a I-751 self petition when the divorce is finalised.
2. The above really answers both questions.

Once you get divorced you can file straight away no need to wait until the 90day window, BUT its not a foregone conclusion that you will be approved for a 10yrs GC.

ian-mstm

As Poppy Girl suggested, yes - file an I-751 as soon as the divorce is final. Meantime, gather evidence that you married in good faith, and document the recent troubles you've had... dates, events, everything.


Yes, but you'll need documentation to support the waiver of the I-751 joint filing requirement.

While it sounds as though you're not in any danger of spousal abuse, you should take steps right now to protect yourself financially! Very important.

Ian

Rete

It appears that there is an epidemic of divorces almost immediately after obtaining residency status.

As Poppygirl and Ian stated, if you entered into the marriage in good faith and have the documentation to prove such claim, you may file for a waiver of removal of conditions based on that criteria. Since you have nearly two years in which to file since you are now seeking a divorce, you can wait until closer to the time of your expiration date on the green card to file the I-751 or file it once the divorce papers have been filed in court and up date the status with submission of the final divorce decree when received.

Where you live and how you plan to continue your life is your decision alone. Good luck.

janadeen

Sadly, seems there always has been.

Rete

Actually only for the last few years. When the forum was first started in 1998 it was extremely rare for divorce to occur so quickly as getting married and/or getting one's green card. It is sad though to see it happen, no matter what the reason for the breakdown of a marriage.

janadeen

Oh indeed – no doubt – sad to see divorce, no matter the occasion or cause.

I’m just saying that in my view and experience, I’ve frequently seen speedy divorce after obtaining residency status. Much of it fraudulent, but still, I’ve seen it frequently over the years – even before I’ve been on this board.

In one particular neighborhood where I lived in NY, it was commonplace – some even made a business of it.

Rete

That I believe. But then those marriages were done for just that purpose and would not come on a place such as this for advice. All that info and legal help has been sorted for them prior to the vows, I'm sure.

henryh

It is advisable to file the I-751 soon after the divorce has been finalized, rather than waiting until the 2 years are up. It shows good faith.

jeffreyhy

h,

No. They don't issue a permanent green card, the cards expire every 10 years.

But you can remove the conditions on your PR status.

Regards, JEff

lostlove

The last few years have seen a spike in such cases. They are like mushrooms growing after a rain.

hugeness

When writing 'such cases' remember you have no knowlege whatsoever of my case. I woke up this morning completely unconsolable .. i fired my attorney last week for being incompetent. I am at risk of being put on the street on the 2nd december, because of the way my case has been handled. losing my job and being deported.
I still have a lot of love for my wife, for some reason, who is treating me deploreably.
what i find growing most like mushrooms after the rain are superficial bigots who dont have a life, and have plenty of passive aggression to spread around.

For anyone reading this thread, the film Green Card went on release in 1990.
there has been abuse of immigration since immigration started.
The rules are far tighter now than they were.

hugeness

#Thank you to everyone for the specific responses, most helpful.
I am curious now to know though, what the risk is to me financially? I dont really have any money, I gave up my business and used any remaining capital to travel back and forth and for living expenses while awaiting my work visa..
maybe that answers it.. presumably the one thing poverty protects me from!

ian-mstm

With all due respect, your situation is far from unique - we see it all the time in this forum... so the responses you get will generally reflect what we see time and again. Your reaction is emotionally based right now, because you're in the middle of it. We are emotionally neutral on your situation... but it remains a fact that divorce in the immigrant community is higher now than in the past - but still within the norm for the married community at large.

The truth of the matter, is that there are far more immigrant marriages now than there were even 10 years ago - thanks to the Internet, I expect. That means that problems within marriage are also on the increase but, as far as I can tell, the per capita situation remains somewhat constant. Further, we read about more divorce issues now than in the past for two reasons - 1) divorce has become less of a stigma now than in the past, and 2) the Internet has allowed for easier communication and self-help... so people are "reaching out".

Ian

ian-mstm

I was thinking more in terms of checking accounts, credit cards ... that sort of thing. If you have none of those, then you'll probably be fine. Still, in any divorce action - depending on your state - you might find that your future wages are garnished due to some quirk of the law. So... the time to be proactive about this is now, before anything bad/worse happens.

Ian