What You Need to Know About Marriage-Based Green Cards and Divorce
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If you are a foreign national who is getting married to an American citizen, you may be eligible to obtain a green card. However, for the first two years of your marriage, this green card will only confer conditional resident status. Indeed, near the end of the two-year conditional period, you, as a green card holder, are required to file an I-751 petition to have the conditions on your green card removed. As a general rule, your American citizen spouse must jointly file the I-751 petition with you.
However, unfortunately, it is a reality that not all marriage makes it to the two-year mark. If you are a green card holder who has (or is now considering getting) divorced before your I-751 petition has been approved, you need to speak to an experienced Chicago spouse/fiance visa attorney immediately. You will need to go through extra steps to preserve your right to lawfully live and work in the United States.
Obtaining an I-751 Divorce Waiver
If you are divorced, your American citizen ex-spouse can no longer file the I-751 petition with you, as is generally required by American immigration law. As such, you will need a waiver that permits you to forego this requirement. Fortunately, divorce waivers are available under the law. However, it must be noted, that obtaining an immigration divorce waiver is not easy. You will need to prove the following four things to American immigration officials:
- You have a valid conditional green card;
- You have copies of your divorce records;
- You have reliable evidence that proves you marriage was of ‘good faith’; and
- You have evidence showing that circumstances changed, which caused the divorce.
Immigration Officials are Worried About Marriage Fraud
If you get divorced before your conditional resident status period has ended, immigration officials will need to verify that you did not commit marriage fraud. Simply put, immigration-related marriage fraud occurs when someone gets married to an American citizen for the primary purposes of obtaining a green card, instead of for the purposes of furthering their relationship with their partner. Of course, getting divorced does not mean that your marriage was a fraud. The truth is that sometimes things change. However, you need to be prepared to receive heightened scrutiny from U.S. immigration officials.
Get Immigration Law Advice in Chicago, Illinois
At Kriezelman Burton & Associates, LLC, our dedicated Chicago immigration lawyers have extensive experience handling marriage-based green card cases, including those involving I-751 waivers. To get immediate assistance with your case, please call our team today at (312) 332-2550. Immigration law consultations are always fully confidential.
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Highly recommend attorney Kevin Raica and attorney Agata Bigdanowicz. They were super helpful, responded on time, and won my case in record time. It took about a month and half in total for me to get my approval after filing!
Brittni Rivera and her team (Carina Lopez) are fantastic! They are responsive, efficient and beyond compassionate. Brittni Rivera and her team treated me with dignity and respect as they patiently answered all of my questions. They didn't move on without making sure I understood each step. Their work ethic was impressive. It felt like they were an extension of my personal team. I can't say enough to convey my gratitude…
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Thank you all, I found this group to be a great service. Thank you all, blessings to you. especially Khiabett
We are incredibly grateful for the help and support we received from this office. From the very beginning, they understood the urgency of our situation and treated our case with real care, professionalism, and speed. They were extremely responsive, clear, and compassionate throughout the entire process. They moved quickly when timing was critical, kept us informed, and helped us navigate a very stressful immigration situation with confidence. Thanks to their…
Kevin Raica and his team handled my immigration application and i can other recommend them enough. They made a stressful process very easy. They are very knowledgeable in this area and helped us at every stage from beginning to end.
Brittni Rivera She is my Attorney from 2017 Thank you so, so much. This truly wouldn’t have been possible without you, Brittni. Can’t wait to file for the green cards.
We hoped and prayed for this day, not knowing if it would ever come. Deportations are incredibly scary and overwhelming. We wanted to give a very special thank you to Jennifer Peyton of Chicago for securing this victory for us! With Jennifer on our side we were able to get our loved one back. On behalf of our family, thank you. When we started this journey, we had hoped and…
Matthew Kriezelman, first of all, thank you very much; you and your team are the best immigration lawyers in Chicago. I had a great experience—your professionalism was outstanding, and you were always there whenever needed. I give you five stars for the wonderful work you and your team did. Thanks again.
Hay momentos en la vida en los que una familia siente que el mundo se detiene. Nosotros vivimos uno de esos momentos y, en medio de la incertidumbre y el miedo, tuvimos la fortuna de encontrar a la abogada Sheila McNulty y al paralegal Rafael Rodríguez . Nos escucharon con empatía, nos guiaron con paciencia y defendieron nuestro caso con un profesionalismo, una dedicación y una calidad humana realmente excepcionales.…
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