Expatgirl

My husband and I filed jointly the I-751 in January 2006. We received a
letter from Texas service center letting us know that the case was
transferred to local district office-Miami- for adjudication. Meanwhile,
I discovered that my husband was cheating on me and since then all the
unconscious problems came out, something is now broken. I moved out for
some time to let us think and try to find new basis. However it is not
working, my husband refuses:mad: couple counseling and we still do not
know if we want to divorce.
I vexed my husband in a way that he told me that he won't go to the
interview with me, but does not want to divorce either.
SO !! Can I go to the interview alone explaining the situation. I do not
want to get a divorce just to file a waiver. Should I file a new I-751
with a waiver even if I am not divorced?

--
Posted via http://expatforums.com

Just Jenney

I believe it's either one or the other: You have to be either married and filing jointly or divorced and filing individually. There is no option to file individually based on your marriage to a USC if you are NOT divorced.

From the sparse details you have described here, there does not seem to have been any abuse involved, so the waiver is moot. (Cheating on your spouse -- however disrespective and immoral -- isn't the same thing as abusing your spouse, at least as far as I know.)

From the sounds of it, your husband is perhaps on the fence right now about whether he wants to continue being married to you. (You do, also.) If he doesn't agree to divorce you and he ALSO doesn't agree to file a joint I-751 application, then that puts you in a position where you'll very likely have to leave the US and go back to your home country. Maybe once he realizes the gravity of the situation he'll come around and make a decision, one way or another. Then you'll be able to go forth with whatever options are available to you.

You said something about an I-751 interview -- do you have an interview date?? How do you know you'll be having an interview?

~ Jenney

Expatgirl

    > > My husband and I filed jointly the I-751 in January 2006. We
    > > received
    > > a
    > > letter from Texas service center letting us know that the case was
    > > transferred to local district office-Miami- for adjudication.
    > > Meanwhile,
    > > I discovered that my husband was cheating on me and since then all
    > > the
    > > unconscious problems came out, something is now broken. I moved out
    > > for
    > > some time to let us think and try to find new basis. However it is
    > > not
    > > working, my husband refuses:mad: couple counseling and we still do
    > > not
    > > know if we want to divorce.
    > > I vexed my husband in a way that he told me that he won't go to the
    > > interview with me, but does not want to divorce either.
    > > SO !! Can I go to the interview alone explaining the situation. I do
    > > not
    > > want to get a divorce just to file a waiver. Should I file a new I-
    > > 751
    > > with a waiver even if I am not divorced?
    > > --
    > > Posted via http://expatforums.com
    > I believe it's either one or the other: You have to be either married
    > and filing jointly or divorced and filing individually. There is no
    > option to file individually based on your marriage to a USC if you are
    > NOT divorced.
    > From the sparse details you have described here, there does not seem
    > to
    > have been any abuse involved, so the waiver is moot. (Cheating on your
    > spouse -- however disrespective and immoral -- isn't the same thing as
    > abusing your spouse, at least as far as I know.)
    > From the sounds of it, your husband is perhaps on the fence right now
    > about whether he wants to continue being married to you. (You do,
    > also.)
    > If he doesn't agree to divorce you and he ALSO doesn't agree to file a
    > joint I-751 application, then that puts you in a position where you'll
    > very likely have to leave the US and go back to your home country.
    > Maybe
    > once he realizes the gravity of the situation he'll come around and
    > make
    > a decision, one way or another. Then you'll be able to go forth with
    > whatever options are available to you.
    > You said something about an I-751 interview -- do you have an
    > interview
    > date?? How do you know you'll be having an interview?
    > ~ Jenney
    > --

The letter from The texas service center says that the case is
transferred to the local office for adjudication based on an interview
the Local Office will schedule at the earliest opening. We did not
receive yet any correspondence from the Local Miami Office.
My husband is mentally trying to pressure me, to show me that my life
and future are in its hands. I still love him.
If vere we come back together, fine. In the case we do not reach any
conciliation and he agrees to divorce, then, do I have to cancel the
first I-751. How do I do that? Do I have to hire a lawyer to take care
of that? Do I have then to re-send the I-751 with a waiver and
affidavit? How do they decide to grant or not the petition?

--
Posted via http://expatforums.com

Expatgirl

    > The letter from The texas service center says that the case is
    > transferred to the local office for adjudication based on an interview
    > the Local Office will schedule at the earliest opening. We did not
    > receive yet any correspondence from the Local Miami Office.
    > My husband is mentally trying to pressure me, to show me that my life
    > and future are in its hands. I still love him.
    > If vere we come back together, fine. In the case we do not reach any
    > conciliation and he agrees to divorce, then, do I have to cancel the
    > first I-751. How do I do that? Do I have to hire a lawyer to take care
    > of that? Do I have then to re-send the I-751 with a waiver and
    > affidavit? How do they decide to grant or not the petition?

How Immigration handle the status of Separation. People are not to
decide to get divorced immediatly because they have at some point of
their married life and personal life some issues. If we already filed
JOINTLY, do I have to go with my husband to the interview if he does not
want to? Is the JOINT FILlING sufficient?

--
Posted via http://expatforums.com

ian-mstm

You must go to the interview together. If you filed jointly *and* you get called for an interview *and* if your husband doesn't go with you, then your application will be denied and you will become *immediately* removable from the US. End of story. Period.

The only way to proceed if he refuses to go with you to an interview, is to divorce him and file to remove conditions by yourself. You can not file, however, until the divorce is final.

So... make up your mind what you want to do.

Ian

Just Jenney

I'm not 100% sure, but in that case I DO think you have to cancel the existing I-751 application and refile a new one individually. Your circumstances would have changed, you would no longer be filing jointly if your husband refuses to continue on in the process, and so the first application would be irrelevant.

As to how you cancel it, I would think a letter to TSC and your local USCIS office would be a start. Hopefully others will have some insight on that.

If you feel more comfortable with professional assistance, then by all means hire a lawyer. But you're not required to.

From my understanding, yes. Although, I'm not sure what "affidavit" you are talking about. The I-864 affidavit of support is NOT part of the I-751 application. Again, hopefully others can shed more light on this.

Based on the evidence you send with your application.

~ Jenney

Just Jenney

Like Ian said, if your husband doesn't attend the interview with you, your application will be denied and you'll be deportable.

Even if you DIDN'T have to attend an interview -- most people don't for I-751 applications -- by signing the I-751 application you are swearing that your marriage is ongoing and genuine, and that the application is, in fact, joint. If circumstances change and you do not notify USCIS of that change, then what you are swearing to on the application has become false. And you never, EVER, want to lie to USCIS -- even by omission, even if you think "they'll never find out".

But in your case, there WILL be an interview. And there's no way to show that the application is still joint if one of the parties refuses to participate.

~ Jenney

sdmansour

The letter from The texas service center says that the case is
transferred to the local office for adjudication based on an interview
the Local Office will schedule at the earliest opening. We did not
receive yet any correspondence from the Local Miami Office.
My husband is mentally trying to pressure me, to show me that my life
and future are in its hands. I still love him.
If vere we come back together, fine. In the case we do not reach any
conciliation and he agrees to divorce, then, do I have to cancel the
first I-751. How do I do that? Do I have to hire a lawyer to take care
of that? Do I have then to re-send the I-751 with a waiver and
affidavit? How do they decide to grant or not the petition?




Fortunately, in this country and in most states, women are able to divorce without their husband's permission - it's called a "no fault divorce" or something similar.

Guest21

*immediately* removable from the US. End of story. Period.

Are you sure of this? I have a girlfriend who went alone and was told( I do not remember how many days?) but to file for an extention on the 1-751 until the Divorce came threw or worked out her options, she was not told to leave Immediately.
I am not saying that you are wrong I just know what happened to her.

Whiskers

Just Jenney

Anything is possible, I suppose. Well, not ANYTHING, but the interviewing officer would have some wiggle room for discretion. A lot will depend on who does the interviewing, how competent are they regarding the various options available, are they in a good mood that day, etc.

It seems to me that the OP's husband is relishing the fact that her future depends a lot on what HE decides to do. Power trip sort of thing. And if that's true, he seems like a real jerk. I'm not sure I'd want to be married to someone so willing to hold something like that over my head.

On the other hand, neither one of them seems to be rushing to get divorced, so I'm not sure what the OP will end up doing. She has SOME control over what happens, but she needs to make a decision.

~ Jenney

Folinskyinla

Hi:

Time for consulation with an EXPERIENCED immigration lawyer. If you can't afford one, contact local battered women's shelters -- they will probably know who to referr you to.

Nora

expatgirl ,

Don't freak out, there's ALWAYS a way to get out of the weird
situations like this. First of all, I've been in the same situation
(got divorced while pending I-751). I had an interview for that old
case recently and they just decided to CLOSE the case. That's no big
deal if he doesn't show up (which is normal if you will be divorced by
the time of the interview.). The most important thing is to apply for
the waiver as soon as you are over w/ the divorce.

Now on the divorce matter--DON'T let him put pressure on you and
confuse you! Go see a divorce lawyer--there's a possibility to get
divorced even if he doesn't want to sign the papers, it shouldn't be a
big deal! You don't depend on him, don't let him scare you.

Nora

whiskers wrote:
    > > You must go to the interview together. If you filed jointly *and* you
    > > get called for an interview *and* if your husband doesn't go with you,
    > > then your application will be denied and you will become *immediately*
    > > removable from the US. End of story. Period.
    > >
    > > The only way to proceed if he refuses to go with you to an interview,
    > > is to divorce him and file to remove conditions by yourself. You can
    > > not file, however, until the divorce is final.
    > >
    > > So... make up your mind what you want to do.
    > >
    > > Ian
    > *immediately* removable from the US. End of story. Period.
    > Are you sure of this? I have a girlfriend who went alone and was told( I
    > do not remember how many days?) but to file for an extention on the 1-
    > 751 until the Divorce came threw or worked out her options, she was not
    > told to leave Immediately.
    > I am not saying that you are wrong ;) I just know what happened to her.
    >
    > Whiskers
    >
    > --
    > Posted via http://britishexpats.com

Just Jenney

But, you're NOT in the same situation. The OP has stated that she would rather not get divorced just so she can file a waiver. So filing a waiver when she isn't divorced (or even divorcING) isn't going to work.

It IS a big deal if the interview is before they are divorced -- or if the interview is before they DECIDE whether they want to be divorced. As of now, USCIS thinks the I-751 is joint, when it's obviously not.

Again, the OP is apparently not sure she even wants a divorce. In my opinion she needs to get that matter sorted first before anything else. That, plus see a qualified immigration attorney to discuss her options.

~ Jenney

Nora

I agree w/ Jenney. Expatgirl has to figure out first what does she want
to do about her marriage. In my previous post I've kinda assumed she
wants to get divorced (based on what she said about her husband putting
pressure on her, etc.) which would make her immigration process way
easier. But hey, getting a good attorney is the way to go.

Nora


Jenney & Mark wrote:
    > > expatgirl ,
    > >
    > > Don't freak out, there's ALWAYS a way to get out of the weird
    > > situations like this. First of all, I've been in the same situation
    > > (got divorced while pending I-751). I had an interview for that old
    > > case recently and they just decided to CLOSE the case. That's no big
    > > deal if he doesn't show up (which is normal if you will be divorced by
    > > the time of the interview.). The most important thing is to apply for
    > > the waiver as soon as you are over w/ the divorce.
    > >
    > > Now on the divorce matter--DON'T let him put pressure on you and
    > > confuse you! Go see a divorce lawyer--there's a possibility to get
    > > divorced even if he doesn't want to sign the papers, it shouldn't be a
    > > big deal! You don't depend on him, don't let him scare you.
    > >
    > > Nora
    > >
    > > whiskers wrote:
    > > > > You must go to the interview together. If you filed jointly *and*
    > > > > you
    > > > > get called for an interview *and* if your husband doesn't go with
    > > > > you,
    > > > > then your application will be denied and you will become
    > > > > *immediately*
    > > > > removable from the US. End of story. Period.
    > > > >
    > > > > The only way to proceed if he refuses to go with you to an
    > > > > interview,
    > > > > is to divorce him and file to remove conditions by yourself. You
    > > > > can
    > > > > not file, however, until the divorce is final.
    > > > >
    > > > > So... make up your mind what you want to do.
    > > > >
    > > > > Ian
    > > > *immediately* removable from the US. End of story. Period.
    > > > Are you sure of this? I have a girlfriend who went alone and was
    > > > told( I
    > > > do not remember how many days?) but to file for an extention on
    > > > the 1-
    > > > 751 until the Divorce came threw or worked out her options, she
    > > > was not
    > > > told to leave Immediately.
    > > > I am not saying that you are wrong ;) I just know what happened
    > > > to her.
    > > >
    > > > Whiskers
    > > >
    > > > --
    > > > Posted via http://britishexpats.com
    > But, you're NOT in the same situation. The OP has stated that she would
    > rather not get divorced just so she can file a waiver. So filing a
    > waiver when she isn't divorced (or even divorcING) isn't going to work.
    > It IS a big deal if the interview is before they are divorced -- or if
    > the interview is before they DECIDE whether they want to be divorced. As
    > of now, USCIS thinks the I-751 is joint, when it's obviously not.
    > Again, the OP is apparently not sure she even wants a divorce. In my
    > opinion she needs to get that matter sorted first before anything else.
    > That, plus see a qualified immigration attorney to discuss her options.
    >
    > ~ Jenney
    >
    > --
    > Posted via http://britishexpats.com