Green card chaser?

[garagegods]

Gerard,

 

sorry, to hear of your difficult situation. First get yourself a good Lawyer and begin to document everything that has happened, get all your documentation together and sequence of events. Also comming to the US on a K-1 visa is only a conditional status and there is still proof required that it is a legitimate relationship such as an interview for AOS . Another condition is to remain married with (the same person) for 5 years, if these conditions are not met it could be proven as a fraudulent marriage. And she will in no way be allowed to stay in the U.S. As far as the claims of abuse i have heard rumors of this scam thats why you need a Lawyer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

seek professional advice find a lawyer today

[garagegodness]

Gerard,

 

sorry, to hear of your difficult situation. First get yourself a good Lawyer and begin to document everything that has happened, get all your documentation together and sequence of events.  Also comming to the US on a K-1 visa is only a conditional status and there is still proof required that it is a legitimate relationship such as an interview for AOS . Another condition is to remain married with (the same person) for 5 years, if these conditions are not met it could be proven as a fraudulent marriage. And she will in no way be allowed to stay in the U.S.  As far as the claims of abuse i have heard rumors of this scam thats why you need a Lawyer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

seek professional advice find a lawyer today

gee, i did not know you had a handful research on that!

[yave20b]

I'm not a lawyer and I've not done much research into this depressing subject but I'm guessing the wife in this case it not in as good a position as some think...unless of course she can PROVE abuse. I mean look at the treatment we have been getting from the USCIS and the Consulate just trying to get our fiancee visas. The USCIS and Consulate seem to believe all applications for fiancee visas are fraudulent and the burden of proof is on us to prove otherwise. So I'm not sure how they will suddenly reverse their thinking when someone's K1 wife leaves them before the apparent time limit of 3 years or 5 years depending upon what you read, gets a quicky divorce, and then quickly marries another American to stay in the US. And then cries abuse to melt the hearts of the USCIS. Especially if there is an apparent surge is scamming of the system using this technique. My guess is the burden of proof is going to fall very heavily upon the wife, not the husband in this matter.

 

As for the abuse charge, I've watched similar charges play out in the divorce courts amongst several of the all American couples I work with at my little Peyton Place here. And not one of them has been successful to date. Because there was not any proof of abuse. Saying someone abused you and proving it are two different things. Unless you've been beaten and have police reports and/or hospital reports and/or other OFFICIAL documentation that abuse has indeed occured, then it is virtually impossible to use that wild card in any court proceedings according to what I've witnessed. And simply calling the police to your house to say your husband abused you will not necessarily make them declare it is so in their report. They will look for bruises, cuts, bleeding, and/or abrasions. Unless those are present, they normally don't declare abuse to be a fact. That's from a police friend of mine. I do not have any respect for anyone who really abuses others though and they should be prosecuted.

 

In any event, the one thing I agree with completely is that Gerard needs to get a lawyer pronto. Never second guess the law in serious matters.

[wolffjw]

Hi Gerald, I am so sorry to hear of your situation.

 

It has been three days since you first posted this subject, so my first question is: "what does your lawyer have to say about this?". Surely you have one by now.

 

I've just gone through an ugly divorce and have heard of so many horror stories of women who self-inflict bruises and such. These are real stories that really happened. I've been told this by my local police and they've told me that there is nothing they can do even though they know it is a scam.

 

Divorces are ugly, especially when the partner is supported and encouraged by lawyers, friends and family that they have convinced you are the devil and how to get even with you. My wife lied so bad about me that it was not even realistic, but she still convinced her family and friends (and lawyer) to support her.

 

As so many others have already advised, if you haven't already retained a 'good' lawyer, do so as fast as you possibly can. And my advice is to seek a darn good board certified lawyer who has a good courtroom winning record. You need a warrior who has lots of experience fighting, not someone to push papers. Finding a good lawyer is not easy either, but one place you can start is at the Clerk of Court's office by asking who is the more popular lawyers with winning court cases. They can't give you advice, but they can tell you statistics.

 

Please let us know what your lawyer tells you. You also need to focus on clearing your good name or it can haunt you forever.

 

Best of luck. My heart goes out to you.

 

-jim

[tywy_99]

http://uscis.gov/graphics/citizenship/imm_guide.htm

 

Here is some info about finding a lawyer under "Finding Legal Assistance" in the "Your Rights and Responsibilities as a Lawful Permanent Resident" section.

 

Hope it helps.

[Martytb]

I would like to emphasize what has been said regarding the lawyer.

The people who take the jobs investigating abuse have a predisposition to assume you are guilty. They already assume that anybody claiming abuse is abused. You can not reason with them. They already know you are a monster. Get the lawyer and get an annulment. Longer and harder than divorce but it has advantages.

 

You have my sympathy and empathey Gerald.

[who]

One thing I will tell you ,NEVER BE ALONE WITH HER AND TAKE A PHOTO OF HER NON BATTERED FACE,ALWAYS BE SOME WHERE WHERE YOU CAN HAVE WITNESS'S,AND YOU WILL BE FINE.

A story I read talked about a person that had her brother beat her to sue her husband for everything

[keelec]

If she can stand to go through the INS.. and then marrying someone for a SCAM....

 

She could sure hand a baseball bat to someone and stand there and take it... then hobble down to the nearest clinic.

 

-------------

 

Oh... Also check everything that you both have access to (credit cards, bank accounts, etc). Maybe even close all of your bank acounts and re-open new ones in case she has managed to swipe a checkbook or a few checks. If you have mutual credit cards. Either take your name off of them, or close the accounts.

 

Change the keys on all of your locks.

 

Do you have a long distance calling card that charges to your home phone? Video store rental card in both your names? Hmmm... Even if you only have $50 in a Bigzoo account... don't give that to her either.

 

Good Luck,

Clifford

[Jason+Joanna]

Maybe I am a bit naive, but I really don't see the benifit of anyone doing anything like this. For the following reasons:

 

The Chinese economy is growing at an incrediable 10% per yer, while our US economy is like that little train that could climb that tall mountain (last I checked its growing around 3 to 4 %). There are plenty of rich chinese to cheat now days (probably a hell of a lot better of then I am for sure).

 

She has family and friends there, and I presume no one here.

 

language barrier. Even Chinese people who speak english from there have some problems.

 

Trouble to establish a relationship. There is a reason why this process takes so long. They figure the cheaters will drop out, losing patience. Even if they don't they are most likely going to be caught.

 

AOS interview. Both parties have to be there, and prove the establishment of a solid relationship.

 

Seems like so much trouble just to cheat some guy here, with the risk of deportation very high. Something just does not add up... but then again I really don't know....

[tywy_99]

An alien who marries an U.S. citizen can obtain a green card. If the marriage was entered into within 2 years prior to being given permanent residency, the alien will receive "conditional permanent residence". This means that the permanent resident status can be terminated if, within two years after the permanent resident status is granted, the marriage is annulled, ends in divorce, or was completely fraudulent.

 

Note that this applies to legal proceedings affecting the marriage. If the marriage is not doing well so that the couple is not together, so long as they are not legally separated, the marriage is still considered "valid" for green card purposes.

 

 

 

source: http://www.myvisa.com

[Gerard]

Just for the record, I really don't care about whether she gets her greencard or not (i.e., I have no malicious intent against her) -- I'm only confused about what's happened, what's her motive. I guess it's natural to assume the worst, and there is certainly sufficient evidence that suggests motive/concludes that I was used as a catlyst to the American Dream. But the romantic side of me is wanting to hang on to the idea that we were not immediately compatable and that she truly didn't know how to live the American life (or her expectations didn't meet with reality). The main issue at the moment is that I surface from this horible experience unscathed, and the better I understand the venues as to how a person can be scammed, the better prepared I can be for any unfortunate upcoming situations.

[tonyontherock]

Sorry Gerard to hear stuff like this.

I am not sure how it works. I know proving abuse will get her the permanent green card. But before she gets that I think she can get the conditional green card renewed every year and work her. I am doubtful of this. I was told by a girl that came here on a K-3, divorced her husband and is working and living here still on that temp. three years after divorce. As I stated, I am not sure the info is true as she has a motive to tell it differently than what it is.

The sad part is, proving abuse is a lot easier. If a woman is smart enough, she would not go the criminal case route. She would invite the guy, provoke him and then hurt herself and call the cops and then drop the charges. Criminal cases are hard to prove. She would then go to a family court and bring a civil case for an order of protection. You will be very surprised how ready the judges are to believe her! Being elected or appointed, the first priority of a family court judge is to protect her rear end. Granting an order of protection does not, in most cases hurt the guy, as the judge sees it, but if she does not grant it and something happens, the judge gets burnt. A bench trial on what he says and what she says, she sums it up as believing the woman is more credible and she orders the transcript, with the photo and files the immigration papers. In New York, I have seen quite a few of those, including one where the woman was burnt with a cigarette and interestingly the guy never smoked in his life.

[Jason+Joanna]

I guess I am naive, because I do not get it at all....

 

I could see it if the streets here where lined with gold. But they are not. Life here is not that easy -- especially with the economy still struggling it is a bit difficult.

 

Our culture is different here, things are done differently. Making it even more difficult.

 

The process to come here is not easy, and seems to take around 1 year to complete.

 

They leave friends and family back home in China.

 

What is the benefit of basically selling yourself for very little return (in my opinion) ?

[turtle]

I guess I am naive, because I do not get it at all....

 

I could see it if the streets here where lined with gold. But they are not. Life here is not that easy -- especially with the economy still struggling it is a bit difficult.

 

Our culture is different here, things are done differently. Making it even more difficult.

 

The process to come here is not easy, and seems to take around 1 year to complete.

 

They leave friends and family back home in China.

 

What is the benefit of basically selling yourself for very little return (in my opinion) ?

I don't see it either. Unless she's got some skeletons and/or burned bridges in China. It also depends on how educated she is. I mean, a lot of people still believe the hollywood myth that america is some sort of paradise. Or maybe she's got a bf in the US that's she's been hiding. The original post mentioned something about chatting on her computer that was pass protected. Who knows?

[Jeikun]

Whether it makes sense to us or not, it is a fact that many many Chinese seek to come here illegally. Whether through visa fraud, or other means. Many of them paying what to a Chinese person could be several years salary for the oppertunity.

 

Maybe it's the fairy-tale of the streets being lined with gold and everyone being rich. Maybe it's problems they have with their personal social situation, or the government. Maybe they have family or a boyfriend they wish to join here but can't legally. There are as many reasons as there are people who do this.

 

This also brings up something I have thought from time to time. We often are incredulous in wondering why it takes so long, or more information is requested when we (the American) feel we have shown beyond a doubt that we are serious about the woman, and not playing the system. But don't forget, they are not only looking at you. Many Americans, sadly ARE honest about the relationship, but are also unknowing dupes and victems of a cruel con. They have to be convinced the relationship is valid from BOTH sides. No, this doesn't always excuse what they do... but remember they aren't just scrutinizing us. Ideally, it's for our own protection. Yes, I trust Jun completely, and you all trust your fiancees and wives completely, but so did most of the people who were conned. We're involved romantically, so the trust is required. The government is (ideally) impartial, so it is their job not to trust, but to determine to the best of their ability.