A Divorce Could Be A Path to Green Card

This is an all to often question:

My U.S. citizen wife left me after I got my two-year temporary green card. Can I nevertheless get my permanent card? I married my wife last year and we lived together. My wife petitioned for me and I applied for permanent residence. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services approved the case and issued me a temporary green card valid for two years. My wife works, but she did not mention me when she filed her taxes. I am still looking for a job.

After my wife received her income tax refund, she packed her things and left our rented apartment, saying that I did not meet her demands. She told me that if she doesn’t help me with getting my permanent card, the authorities would come after me and deport me.

Some attornies are addressing this problem like this:

If your marriage was bona fide or “real,” you can get your permanent card (valid for 10 years and renewable), without your wife’s help. However, you may have to divorce your wife.

You received a two-year conditional permanent resident card only because you became a permanent resident within two years of your marriage. The three reasons you can use to remove the condition without your wife’s signature, are : 1) you entered the marriage in good faith and the marriage was bona fide or “real” and it was terminated by divorce or annulment;. 2) you are the victim of spousal abuse or your child has suffered abuse from your wife 3) that leaving the United States would result in your suffering extreme hardship. Based on your letter, the easiest path to the permanent card for you may be proving that you enter the marriage in good faith marriage. It doesn’t help that your wife didn’t note her marriage to you on her tax return, but hopefully you have other proof that your marriage was bona fide.

You should look into getting a divorce. When a conditional permanent resident applies to self-petition to remove the condition based on a good faith marriage only, the USCIS will want to see a divorce or annulment decree before approving the petition. If your divorce or annulment is not final when the time comes to file form I-751, Petition to Remove the Conditions of Residence, you should nevertheless file the form. The USCIS will give you 87 days to get a divorce judgement. If you can’t get the judgement in time, the USCIS will refer your case to an immigration judge. The judge should give you more time to get a divorce or annulment decree.

The experienced family document prepares at Discount Divorce assists clients throughout Arizona, including the cities of Ahwatukee, Avondale, Buckeye, Chandler, El Mirage, Gilbert, Glendale, Goodyear, Mesa, Peoria, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Sun City, Surprise, Tempe, Tolleson and Youngtown.

Call for a free consultation or visit www.discountdivorcepro.com or call (602) 896-9020. Discount Divorce is located at 13817 N. 19th Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85023-6105.

As always you should seek legal advice for specific issues like the one above before coming to Discount Divorce to have your documents done and processed so that your legal rights may be protected.