Romeio

Hi guys,

I've been using this site for a quite a while as a passive member. I've seen so many profound lawyers and knowledgeable members on immigration issues on this site which I must appreciate. This site helped me a lot until today. I already got my conditional green card on April 20, 2005 via marriage to a US citizen in Boston. But my marriage has gone completely sour. I caught my wife cheating on me not just once or twice but many times. I love her to death. So, i kept on forgiving. But now, she left me and went back to her parents' house and she doesn't even call me or want to talk to me. The thing is we are supposed to be filing jointly to remove the conditions on my card 90 days prior to the second anniversary. But I really don't think that's goanna happen with the way she is treating me. I'm so worried and still miss her. I just don't wanna get deported and want to keep my green card. I don't know where to start and what to do. This whole immigration thing is beginning to depress me. I don't know how the divorce works in Massachusetts and how is it goanna affect my immigration status. Any inputs and insights will be highly appreicated. Thanks a lot in advance.

Romeio

CaliforniaBride

I did a search and found this thread:

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=312490

Here's a link to the search that I did:

http://britishexpats.com/forum/searc...earchid=150416

Hope this helps.

jeffreyhy

Romeio,

Start by discussing the specifics of your particular situation with an immigration attorney experienced in marriage-based immigration (as opposed to employment-based immigration).

Good luck to you.

Regards, JEff

maximus76

at the mean time, keep collecting all the evidence of your marriage being bona fide.
PS: But i hope that it still gonna work out between you and her

ian-mstm

Well, right here is where you made your first mistake!


You need to know that even if you are separated or divorced, she is still financially responsible for you according to the I-864.


True. However, if you divorce, you can file for a waiver of the joint filing requirement.


Since you've asked I'll add an insight here... from what you've said, it sounds like your wife may be bipolar: manic - her multiple affairs; depressive - her retreat to a safe location where she doesn't have to face the guilt of her manic episodes. This may have nothing whatsoever to do with you! I've had a fair bit of experience with this and there's a lot more... but I'll stop now.

Ian

Romeio

Thank you all for being so kind and trying to help out with all that you can. I have one question though how do u know if a lawyer is solely a marriage based immigration lawyer. I found out that most lawyers they say they deal with so many fields like family, criminal, business, and immigration. I used a lawyer when i applied for my green card and he really didn't have much knowledge on immigration laws as much as I found out from this site but his website and office says he deals with immigration too. I really don't wanna go through him again. I thought he is only into family law and just trying to make some extra bucks saying that he deals with immigration issues too. Now, how can i find a true immigration lawyer for marriage-based case who only charges a reasonable fee for my case in Boston. I tried AILA they referred me a lawyer. It was too expensive for me though. She said she charges hourly and she even charges for the initial consultation around $ 128/hr. Guys, one more time any more inputs will be highly appreciated.

ian-mstm

Make an appointment and, before you give any details, say to the lawyer, "I need to file for a waiver of the joint filing requirement for the I-751". If you get a blank stare... then you need to find someone else!

Ian

Eric S.

You can meet with an immigration lawyer for a half hour consultation at
International Institute of Boston for $30. They have a walk-in clinic on
Thursdays and Saturdays. Info here:
http://www.iiboston.org/client/legal.htm. They can also refer you to a
lawyer that has experience in your kind of case.

Good luck.
- Eric S.


"Romeio" <member19667@british_expats.com> wrote in message
news:[email protected] m...
    > Thank you all for being so kind and trying to help out with all that you
    > can. I have one question though how do u know if a lawyer is solely a
    > marriage based immigration lawyer. I found out that most lawyers they
    > say they deal with so many fields like family, criminal, business, and
    > immigration. I used a lawyer when i applied for my green card and he
    > really didn't have much knowledge on immigration laws as much as I found
    > out from this site but his website and office says he deals with
    > immigration too. I really don't wanna go through him again. I thought he
    > is only into family law and just trying to make some extra bucks saying
    > that he deals with immigration issues too. Now, how can i find a true
    > immigration lawyer for marriage-based case who only charges a reasonable
    > fee for my case in Boston. I tried AILA they referred me a lawyer. It
    > was too expensive for me though. She said she charges hourly and she
    > even charges for the initial consultation around $ 128/hr. Guys, one
    > more time any more inputs will be highly appreciated.
    > --
    > Romeio

maximus76

so agree!
those international institutes are so great and affordable.
if you want to find in your town, just google it, type in "name of your town and international institute". They are all over the US in major cities.

Eric S.

Forgot to mention. Catholic Charities also provides free or low cost
immigration assistance in many cities. Here's the info for Boston:
http://www.ccab.org/immigration_and_refugee.htm

I knew a little bit about International Institute because a friend of my
mom's worked there. I don't know much about Catholic Charities, but they
have been mentioned often on this group.

- Eric S.

"maximus76" <member18167@british_expats.com> wrote in message
news:[email protected] m...
    >> You can meet with an immigration lawyer for a half hour consultation
    >> at
    >> International Institute of Boston for $30. They have a walk-in clinic
    >> on
    >> Thursdays and Saturdays. Info here:
    >> http://www.iiboston.org/client/legal.htm. They can also refer you to
    >> a
    >> lawyer that has experience in your kind of case.
    >> Good luck.
    >> - Eric S.
    >> "Romeio" <member19667@british_expats.com> wrote in message
    >> news:[email protected] m...
    >> > Thank you all for being so kind and trying to help out with all that
    >> > you
    >> > can. I have one question though how do u know if a lawyer is solely
    >> > a
    >> > marriage based immigration lawyer. I found out that most lawyers
    >> > they
    >> > say they deal with so many fields like family, criminal, business,
    >> > and
    >> > immigration. I used a lawyer when i applied for my green card and he
    >> > really didn't have much knowledge on immigration laws as much as I
    >> > found
    >> > out from this site but his website and office says he deals with
    >> > immigration too. I really don't wanna go through him again. I
    >> > thought he
    >> > is only into family law and just trying to make some extra bucks
    >> > saying
    >> > that he deals with immigration issues too. Now, how can i find a
    >> > true
    >> > immigration lawyer for marriage-based case who only charges a
    >> > reasonable
    >> > fee for my case in Boston. I tried AILA they referred me a lawyer.
    >> > It
    >> > was too expensive for me though. She said she charges hourly and she
    >> > even charges for the initial consultation around $ 128/hr. Guys, one
    >> > more time any more inputs will be highly appreciated.
    >> > --
    >> > Romeio
    > so agree!
    > those international institutes are so great and affordable.
    > if you want to find in your town, just google it, type in "name of
    > your town and international institute". They are all over the US in
    > major cities.
    > --
    > don't worry, be happy!!!
    > Posted via http://britishexpats.com

sibsie

While you're here Eric, did your wife ever get her GC?

Eric S.

Hi Sibsie,

Nope. Not yet. It's 5 months now. We called the misinformation line about
it a couple of times and they said that it could take up to six months. If
she still didn't have it after 6 months, to call again. I think at that
point, we'll make an Infopass appointment.

We're not stressing about it too much, because she has the passport stamp.
But it's a little annoying given that a lot of other people are reporting
that they've gotten their cards in a week or two after the AOS interview.

How about you?

- Eric S.


"sibsie" <member17406@british_expats.com> wrote in message
news:[email protected] m...
    > While you're here Eric, did your wife ever get her GC?
    > --
    > Posted via http://britishexpats.com

sibsie

No sign of my welcome letter or GC yet. My understanding is that Vermont, who issue the cards are fully up to date. I called the Mis-info line who staggeringly actually put me through to Vermont.

They did tell me that sometimes the district office "forget" to file the I-89 which is the form that generates the GC. They said if I hadn't had it in six weeks to go back in with Infopass and make sure the form had been done. I've only heard of you and me from Boston who haven't got the cards yet. I'm infopassing on 28th July which is early for me, but I'd rather just get the thing done.

Eric S.

Let us know what happens when you go for your Infopass appointment.

- Eric S.

"sibsie" <member17406@british_expats.com> wrote in message
news:[email protected] m...
    >> Hi Sibsie,
    >> Nope. Not yet. It's 5 months now. We called the misinformation line
    >> about
    >> it a couple of times and they said that it could take up to six
    >> months. If
    >> she still didn't have it after 6 months, to call again. I think at
    >> that
    >> point, we'll make an Infopass appointment.
    >> We're not stressing about it too much, because she has the passport
    >> stamp.
    >> But it's a little annoying given that a lot of other people are
    >> reporting
    >> that they've gotten their cards in a week or two after the AOS
    >> interview.
    >> How about you?
    >> - Eric S.
    >> "sibsie" <member17406@british_expats.com> wrote in message
    >> news:[email protected] m...
    >> > While you're here Eric, did your wife ever get her GC?
    >> > --
    >> > Posted via http://britishexpats.com
    > No sign of my welcome letter or GC yet. My understanding is that
    > Vermont, who issue the cards are fully up to date. I called the Mis-info
    > line who staggeringly actually put me through to Vermont.
    > They did tell me that sometimes the district office "forget" to file the
    > I-89 which is the form that generates the GC. They said if I hadn't had
    > it in six weeks to go back in with Infopass and make sure the form had
    > been done. I've only heard of you and me from Boston who haven't got
    > the cards yet. I'm infopassing on 28th July which is early for me, but
    > I'd rather just get the thing done.

Romeio

Thank you again to you all for all the valuable information you provided. I still have some curiosities. What's the statistics on the succes rate of the waiver of joint filing requirement ultimately leading to permanent green card. I understand it depends on individual cases and the evidences being provided plus the luck of the person. Does anyone heard of anyone being denied the case and being deported? If the Amercian spouse is willing to write a letter stating the marriage to be bonafide how should it be written. Is there any places one can view sample letters online. Should it be notarized or just signed by the letter writer? I'm so worried about this whole situation. I appreciate all the guidance and help from the Veterans and other knowledgeable members in this matter.thanks a lot again.