Divorce in America/UK
 

Hi all,

Thanks for taking the time to read. I just need an ambiguity confirmed by someone who may have more knowledge than myself.

CONTEXT: I (UK-citizen) was married in the UK to my wife (US-citizen) in October 2012 after being a couple since 2008. Obtained CR-1 visa in May 2013. Moved to America in September 2013. Now, unfortunately, we plan on divorcing after splitting in February 2015.

We have no children, we divided our property/money independently, and in all honesty, we are on 'decent' terms considering. We're hoping this is going to be a matter of signing/sending papers - no courts/lawyers.

QUESTION: My question is simple - I think: Do we divorce in America or England?

This is important as I will need to apply for a 'good faith' waiver on my I-864. If anyone has any advice & experience with this too - I'd love to hear it.


Thanks - Zzapapa

Re: Divorce in America/UK
 

The simple answer is, it makes no difference to USCIC where you divorce. What matters is your status.

If you entered on a CR-1, then you should be a green card holder (probably conditional) and that means you can get the restrictions lifted after two years, which would technically be next month (May 2015). Once this is done, you can stay in the US and apply for naturalization after five years (it would have been three based on marriage).

Bottom line is, if at all possible, you really need to stay married at least until the conditions have been lifted if you want to stay in the US.

Re: Divorce in America/UK
 

Yes. I am on a green card with conditions. You see, I thought I had to wait until May 2016 - and neither of us wanted our marriage over our heads for at least another year. So you're saying that I apply to lift conditions a year after I received my green card in the UK - not when I arrived/and not two years after?

Re: Divorce in America/UK
 

"You and your spouse must apply together to remove the conditions on your residence by filing Form I-751. You should apply during the 90 days before your second anniversary as a conditional resident. The expiration date on your green card is also the date of your second anniversary as a conditional resident. If you do not apply to remove the conditions in time, you could lose your conditional resident status and be removed from the country."

That seems to say it is two years?

Re: Divorce in America/UK
 

When did you actually receive your GC? I'm not 100%, but I believe it's after two years of marriage, but it may be two years of residency. Ian or someone more knowledgeable will be along soon to confirm.

If it is amicable, which it sounds like it is, then having the marriage 'hanging over your heads' really makes no difference unless one of you wants to remarry. At least until the immigration paperwork is signed, sealed and delivered.

Of course, if you plan is to move back to the UK, then none of this matters, but provided you both entered into the marriage 'in good faith' (not just to gain residency), then it's in your best interest to get it sorted before actually divorcing.

ETA: Yes, it's the expiration date on your conditional green card and you can apply 90 days before, so if you arrived in September 2013, you can apply in June.

Re: Divorce in America/UK
 

You don't have any direct choice in the matter - you file for divorce where you live.

You can minimize the involvement of lawyers in your divorce, though personally I would recommend that you have a lawyer review the paperwork, but you can't eliminate the involvement of the court because it is the court that grants the divorce.

Re: Divorce in America/UK
 

Ok either it is either my stupidity after a long work week, or my dyslexia, but everything is correct except I arrived in Sep 2014 - not 2013. The marriage was in 2012 though. My mistake, I apologise.

I was quite confident that I would pass a 'good faith' requirement as we have been together so long and in all truth, was totally legit. I mean we dated long-distance from 2008… lived in the UK together for around 2-years as well before coming to America (2010-2012)… I'm sure, with all the facts, and on the balance of probability, a reasonable person would agree…. Do you have any further advice (or words of encouragement!)? I'm a little more worried now.

I'm popping out for the morning on a work engagement, I'll be back later tonight!

Re: Divorce in America/UK
 

What is the expiration date on your GC? That's all that matters as to when you can apply for the removal of conditions (90 days before that date).

It's never easy to give encouragement to someone involved in a divorce except to say if it is, and stays, amicable, it's easier for all concerned. As I said earlier, unless there's a specific reason like one partner wants to get married, it really doesn't matter if you stay married until the paperwork is done and dusted. That's the time, from your point of view, you can decide whether you want to make your home in the US or are forced to return to the UK (unless you meet an American and want to try it all over again!).

Re: Divorce in America/UK
 

You file where you live.

If you can agree on every single thing mutually, you can avoid lawyers, otherwise you will probably wan't one.

Re: Divorce in America/UK
 

I didn't really mean encouragement in my divorce. I understand from an outsider, or someone not involved in the situation, just keeping the marriage going until May next year is easier and less risky. However, from a health perspective, it's really affecting us both. According to NY state, I can't divorce until September anyway, as I haven't been a resident in NY for a year. So we have to wait until then - frankly that is long enough. Also, if we did wait, we can't continue living together, or sharing experiences that we could file with our I-751 - to me that'd look more suspicious than just being truthful…)

My GC expires on September 15th, 2016.

Honestly, I know my options for the most part. I just have to try and convince the USCIS that my application for a waiver is based on 'good faith'. I was more hoping someone might know of other's experiences of success. We have been in a relationship since 2008, 10s of transatlantic flights, thousands of e-mails, a joint-British bank account, hundreds of photos (up until January 2015 when problems started), cinema/theme park/theatre tickets, tonnes of little keep-sakes, and perhaps my anxiety medication since we broke up (bad attempt at humour)…

I guess obtaining a lawyer is necessary but getting anecdotes and experiences from real-life people who have no special-interest in my case is invaluable to me.

My whole life is in America now, I've just started a great graduate job, everything I own is here… the thought of being forced back through absolutely no fault of own is very frightening.

Re: Divorce in America/UK
 

zzpapa if you want to stay in the US then if I were you, I would consult an immigration lawyer who will give you definitive advice for your situation and then a divorce lawyer you can advise you based on the immigration situation. You have a lot to lose and it's best to be sure about what you can/cannot do.

Just having a good idea of your situation really does reduce the stress and gives you a good starting point for productive discussions with your wife.

Re: Divorce in America/UK
 

I agree with petitefrancaise (hard to agree with anything French, I know! ;))

By no means did I suggest or imply you should do anything illegal and truthfulness is always the key and recommendation. You must do what you need to for your health (first and most importantly!) and future.

You must be prepared for the very real possibility that you will be headed back to the UK. Maybe Civilservant will pop in and give his experiences as he recently had a similar situation. That doesn't mean it'll be the same for you, but may give you a better idea of how to proceed.

Re: Divorce in America/UK
 

As others have mentioned, courts will (generally) only hear a divorce case if you have residence or some other existing and ongoing connection to that state / country. You can't go "jurisdiction shopping" otherwise everyone would pick the state which offered the best conditions for their personal settlement. You divorce where you live.

Re: Divorce in America/UK
 

I'm likely in a minority but if the divorce is amiable, I'd file through something like LegalZoom. In the '80s I went though an amiable uncontested divorce writing up how property would be divided and only one lawyer was used but I would have used LegalZoom instead if it was available since the lawyer turned a well written document into something that the judge couldn't understand and I had to explain to the judge what the lawyer really meant. In California when a divorce is uncontested and agreed upon, only one party needs to show up before the judge.

Divorce - Get Help Filing Divorce Online | LegalZoom

Beside messing everything up, the lawyer's final bill was $500 more than the original quote since we owned two properties even though the law firm didn't have to do anything additional.

If both were to get lawyers, a $300 bill could easily turn into $8,000 or more.

Re: Divorce in America/UK
 

Since the OP's immigration status is at stake here, it's not a simple no-contest divorce, is it? He has a lot more to lose than his wife. In this kind of situation, the more accurate information he has, the better. First stop, immigration advice. Then you can decide with your wife how to handle things. With definite plan in place, things are more likely to be favourable to you.

Look for a collaborative divorce attorney, this will be the cheapest divorce route using attorneys.