Poker_Pro

Well, I had my interview yesterday, I was there for over an hour

The officer was better than the previous one, at least gave me much more feedback

It did make me upset how she kept referring to that maybe we should let an immigration judge decide this and that they tend to be nice so i have options. I asked her flat am I being denied she said I did not say that, but you have a bad case

Basically

the first separation took place in july 04, green card came in the mail in October of 2004, then we went back and forth and she eventually took all her stuff out. She said she understands the financial trouble, but the initial separation came too soon, and I dont have much documents to provide jointly after the greencard arrived

I have car insurance bill that got cancelled,
joint tax returns for 2004
bank statement showing what we owe when we went in over draft
joint bankruptcy filed February 2005


I told her I understand the marriage went bad, but we had a terrible time, and I could not be asking my ex-wife to keep more and more things jointly when bankruptcy was at our door.

She said I should of stayed together longer before getting separated, I begged her to see that its NOT a scripted story, I was not going to ask my ex-to stay a little longer with all the fighting just so we look more joint on paper, i knew i was doing the right thing and all my worrys at the time was the unhealthy relationship.
She then said, and I SWEAR word for word, "well, if you have a girlfriend now that comes from a similar cultural background, marry her and she can sponser you, better than this case.


at the end she gave me her fax number and asked me to get an official transcript of 2004 taxes from IRS and fax to her, and the she stamped my passport for one year

It was devastating, I got my conditional back in 04, and now i am suppose to start allover again and file an i-485 like the one i did back in 2003



any thoughts

P.S.. she said she will check the LAW, but she does NOT believe that I was suppose to be granted Conditional residence since the separation came too quickly, even though divorce took place over a year later

Poppy girl

I really do not know what to suggest I know you PM'd me but I decided to post my reply in the hope that someone else may have some input.

Yes I did file a self petition and it was granted, but my case it was a little different I had originally filed a VAWA which I cancelled when we reconciled and he sought counciling, I returned to him 3-4 times and had solid evidence of this through his bad boy ways ie Solicitor,Cops,family,and the Hospital I am not going into detail on a public forum, but with all these events that happened it was more then clear that we married for love I went through hell and stood by him until I could take no more, I had to break away for good because I feared for my life in the end, I never really opened up about it before but thats the way it was.

It would of been easier to of married Chucky the horror movie character.

I filed a self petition soley based on my break down of marriage, and not based on the VAWA.

bluesails

What other evidence of your relationship together could you provide to them? Have you obtained affidavits/letters from friends, family, coworkers who met you as a couple, know about your relationship and can provide supporting letters attesting to your valid marriage? Did you ever take any vacations together? Do you have copies of the hotel receipts, airline receipts? Did you visit any family together, do you have pictures of family events with other family members?

I would think a joint bankruptcy is a pretty strong indication that you were a couple, that isn't something someone does to themselves to help their good friend. But see what else you can think up that you might have or can get that you may not have thought about before to overcome their preconceived inclinations.

Poker_Pro

THank you Poppy and Bluesail for writing back...

Yes I have obtained three affidavit one from the ex-wife herself.. The immigration office told me that the marriage had good start, but her issue was that I dont have many evidence of joint after the AOS interivew and the green card conditional was granted. But thats where the trouble came, i lost my job, we had to go to small claims court several times, all the way to bankruptcy
so joint documents are few that include car insurance cancellation notice, since we had a car we bought together that i ended up being responsible for all the way to the divorce. Joint bank letter indicating that our account went in the negative - Bankruptcy granted joint by the court in 2005, and an email communication where ,my and ex and I were talking about our troubles from just a month ago

I prepared a coverletter, got an official transcript from the IRS indicating that
we filed married jointly in 2005 for 04 taxes ( conditional greencard came 10/04 ) and a joitn statement from our lawyer dated december 04 (which i found after my interview last week) and now I am waiting for a US citizen who knew us both during marriage and after to attach her letter to my fax to the INS officer

I contacted several lawyers, but most said I seem to be well on my way and NOT quite sure what they can do for me at this stage..

to sum it all up, on my way out the INS officer and I stayed with her for over an hour said that her struggle is with the fact that Kathy moved out before the greencard came in the mail even though i had already lost my job and we were in small claims court by then, and that I dont have many documents showing joint after 10/04 - so she asked for the tax returns since they were filed april 05. It was really hard, cause she seemed understanding at times considering the pain that came with the bankrutpcy and at other times she is like maybe you need to take this to an immigration judge

I dont know.. I just hope I resolve this I have been in lalala land with conditional status for close to 4 years now, and two interviews for that i-751 waiver,

Noorah101

I don't have anything to add, just give them all the evidence you can gather. I wish you all the best.

Rene

Poppy girl

You would think that the bankruptcy alone was sufficent evidence, I have seen folk or read of people married for a lesser period and still been approved.

bluesails

It sounds like she is just trying to punt this off to someone else to sign off on because she doesn't know the law as she should or just doesn't want to be the one to sign her name. I've seen this too often and is indicative of both an overly complex legal system and bad training.

This is where having an attorney would be helpful. Maybe you could consult with someone at Catholic Charities to see if they can provide you with a argument to support your case based on the LAW. Maybe that would provide the officer some confidence since they don't seem to have confidence in their own interpretation.

Perhaps others that went through AOS could add their comments. It would help to have a timeline or if you don't want to post it all, at least have this when you meet the attorney/Catholic Charities:

Year of marriage:
Filed I-485 when?
Date received conditional card?
Date filed I-751?
Did you file one as joint and then another after divorce?
Date separated?
Date divorced?

I believe at the end of the day there is no requirement that you have to stay married any particular length of time. You have to prove you had a valid marriage to get the conditional green card. To remove the conditions, you either are married 2 years+ and file it jointly or you file to remove conditions on your own after a divorce, at which time you still only have to prove it was a valid marriage. This officer seems is being difficult because they are not confident themselves in what is needed and thus seem to keep trying to pawn you off on going before an IJ. Seems ridiculous and waste of gov't resources, but this process is rife with that.

Poker_Pro

Thanks for your input. I am actually having a conference call with a lawyer tomorrow that offered to help me write that coverletter, I will be sure to ask him for legal language that can support my case.
My interview was last Monday and I am in fear what might happen the longer I wait before faxing her the tax and other documents

here is some timelines
- Married December 31st, 2002
- Filed I-485 around FEB 2003
- AOS interview Feb 2004
- Lost my job March 1st, 2004
- Small claims court for both of us May/June 2004
- She moved out around July 2004
- Conditional greencard arrived Oct 2004
- Filed joint bankruptcy and our tax returns Feb/April 2005
- Divorced March 2006, by the end summer of 2005, we were just unable to work it out anymore, so she filed around december 05
- Filed I-751 waiver, September 2006
- Interview in the midwest, August 2007
then nothing, just extensions everytime i conduct an info pass, then I moved to the EAST COAST....
notice in the mail around June of this year indicating that i have an interview
which took place last monday

and here I am....in three months I will be finishing my fourth year as a conditional residence

Poker_Pro

I have been in contact with several lawyers. I sent the required transcript plus a coverletter

Unfortunately, it does not seem like I am getting much favorable response from the different Immigration lawyers. Most are telling me that it seem like I am well on my way anyway and too much into the process..

What can a lawyer do for me.. after two interviews on my own. Can I retain one to check on the status for me or send an additional argument.. or

am I better off just waiting and if I get denied go retain a lawyer..

Thanks