Perminate Green Card question

[scott32]

My wife and I have been married since May of 2003.

 

My wife has recently started yelling that she wants a divorce any and every time we have a disagreement about pretty much anything.

 

My question I am asking here is this.

 

since in March she is to go and apply for her perminate status what happens if we divorce before then.

 

I was always told before that when someone migrates to USA on a financee visa that they had to stay married for either 7 or 8 years before they were able to stay in the country without bieng married.

 

Does anyone here know for sure, what the law is. If we get divorced before her 3 years here when she needs to apply for her perminate green card will she be able to stay in the USA or does she have to go back to china?

 

I think we need to be married for 7 or 8 years before she is able to stay here without being married, yet she seems to think she is able to stay here now without being married.

 

Please let me know what the case is.

 

Thanks,

 

Scott

[sailorboy]

Scott,

 

So sorry to hear about the down turn in your relationship. I am not totally sure either but seems I read somewhere that once she has permanent status she can stay in the USA. As for marriage time, I think the timeframe is 2 years is all.

 

I hope you can resolved everything with your wife and this will become a non-issue. Some of the other guys on this board have more knowledge than I do so I defer to them and their collective wisdom. Good luck.

 

Dave

[warpedbored]

The conditions on the green card are that she remain married to you for two years. If there is abuse within the marriage she can file an exception based on that. Within 90 days before the conditional green card expires you must file to have the conditions removed. If you wait until after that 90 days and the card is expired she would be out of status and could be deported. Once you receive the permanent green card and the conditions are lifted she is free to do anything she pleases including divorce you without any repercussions from the USCIS. What I am not clear on is how binding the I-864 is in the event of divorce.

Edited September 29, 2005 by warpedbored (see edit history)

[frank1538]

One of the more confusing aspects of the conditional green card relates to the two year rule and the joint petition to remove the conditions. If a couple gets divorced before the conditional green card expires, a divorced alien spouse MAY still be able to get a 10 year green card by requesting a waiver on the joint petition requirement, filing the petition to remove the conditions without his/her ex-spouse's involvement and proving that the marriage was entered into in good faith. What I don't know is whether the marriage must have lasted two years for this exception to apply, but it is moot in your case since you have been married since May, 2003. What is clear, though, is that you don't necessarily have to be married when you file for removal of conditions.

 

PS. The I-864 survives a divorce.

[Guest ShaQuaNew]

(6) How do I remove the conditions on permanent residence based on marriage? A lawful permanent resident is given the privilege of living and working in the United States permanently. Your permanent residence status will be conditional if it is based on a marriage that was less than two years old on the day you were given permanent residence. You are given conditional resident status on the day you are lawfully admitted to the United States on an immigrant visa or receive adjustment of status. Your permanent resident status is conditional, because you must prove that you did not get married to evade the immigration laws of the United States.

 

You and your spouse must apply together to remove the conditions on your residence. You should apply during the 90 days before your second anniversary as a conditional resident. The expiration date on your alien registration card (commonly know as 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. If you are no longer married to your spouse, or if you have been battered or abused by your spouse, you can apply to waive the joint filing requirement.

 

In such cases, you may apply to remove the conditions on your permanent residence any time after you become a conditional resident, but before you are removed from the country. If your child received conditional resident status within 90 days of when you did, then your child may be included in your application to remove the conditions on permanent residence. Your child must file a separate application if your child received conditional resident status more than 90 days after you did.

 

http://www.b-nlaw.com/useful_info.html

 

edit...

see also...

http://www.fourmilab.ch/uscode/8usc/www/t8-12-II-I-1154.html

Edited September 29, 2005 by ShaQuaNew (see edit history)

[Trigg]

Side note: You don't PPLY FOR THE PERMANENT GREENCARD TWO YEARS AFTER MARRIage, you apply two years after you recieve the temperary green card-90 days

[Jim - Portland, USA]

Scott,

 

In the situation you describe, she can divorce you and legally stay in America.

 

I'm sorry to hear this terrible news - hopefully a divorce is something that is the best for both of you.