Conditional resident when marriage is older than 2 years?

[wemoloh]

I'm hoping to get some clarity on an unusual situation. *Here's the gist of it, using false names:

Alice is a U.S. citizen. *In 2012, she married*Bob, who is not a U.S. citizen. *In 2016, Bob's 8-year-old child Charlie (from a previous relationship with Diane) arrived*in the U.S., the beneficiary of a petition by Alice (Charlie's stepmother). *In 2017, Alice changes her mind and decides to send Charlie back to his country of birth. *Diane, worried that Charlie will lose his opportunity for a life in the U.S., travels to the U.S. (on a visitor visa) and takes custody of Charlie, taking him to live with his aunt and uncle in another state. *At this point, Diane realizes that the green card issued to Charlie only gives him conditional status (CR2). *Diane does not have money for lawyers and court costs. *Diane has some issues with the way Charlie was treated while he was living with Alice and Bob, but no real evidence of abuse.

Alice and Bob are uncooperative and USCIS hasn't been able to tell Diane why Charlie was given CR2 status, even though the marriage was provably older than 2 years when Charlie was issued his visa. *What might be the reason for the CR2 status? *Could it have something to do with Bob's immigration status, which is unknown to Diane? *More importantly, does Charlie have any recourse to stay in the U.S. lawfully*after his 2-year green card expires?

Thank you for any light you can shed on this situation.

[inadmissible]

If Charlie believes he was granted CR2 in error, he should apply for detail correction on Form I-90 (fee waived)

[PryncissQueen]

Why is Charlie's father not cooperating? Who is Diane? Charlie's biological mother? What problem does Alice have with Charlie? He is a child... Unless Alice feels like Bob is only using her to get his citizenship and also citizenship for his child....

[wemoloh]

If Charlie believes he was granted CR2 in error, he should apply for detail correction on Form I-90 (fee waived)

Thank you for replying. We've looked at that option, but there are additional problems. The I-90 instructions say that he must attach his original green card and a copy of the marriage certificate when filing with reason "2.d". But Charlie does not have his original green card, as Alice has kept it and refused to give it back. He only has the visa in his passport to show his immigration status. And Alice and Bob also refuse to provide a copy of their marriage license (we can only get an unofficial copy from the state clerk's website). On top of that, when we asked USCIS about this option, they said that this probably would not work because the CR2 status was determined by the State Dept., not USCIS, so it was not DHS's error.

[wemoloh]

Why is Charlie's father not cooperating? Who is Diane? Charlie's biological mother? What problem does Alice have with Charlie? He is a child... Unless Alice feels like Bob is only using her to get his citizenship and also citizenship for his child....

I can't speak to Alice and Bob's motivations. From my perspective they are acting cruelly and irrationally. Yes, Diane is Charlie's biological mother.

[inadmissible]

That determination would have been made by CBP not State Department. See page 10 of https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/fi...02282013_1.pdf it makes sense too - whether the alien is admitted as CR/IR depends on the date of admission, which State Dept isn't privy to

If he needs a new green card, cough up the massive fee for a new green card

Most counties provide unrestricted, certified extracts of marriage records to children of the registrants. They may give Charlie a hard time for being a kid, but it is worth a shot. Also, USCIS may accept an informational copy.

Finally, does Bob pay child support? Parents suddenly become awfully cooperative when faced when state court issued Child Support Order

[wemoloh]

That determination would have been made by CBP not State Department. See page 10 of https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/fi...02282013_1.pdf it makes sense too - whether the alien is admitted as CR/IR depends on the date of admission, which State Dept isn't privy to

If he needs a new green card, cough up the massive fee for a new green card

Most counties provide unrestricted, certified extracts of marriage records to children of the registrants. They may give Charlie a hard time for being a kid, but it is worth a shot. Also, USCIS may accept an informational copy.

Finally, does Bob pay child support? Parents suddenly become awfully cooperative when faced when state court issued Child Support Order

Thank you for the link, that's very interesting information. I guess it didn't occur to me that USCIS would have given us inaccurate information.

I suppose we'll go ahead with the I-90; it's worth a shot, especially if the fee is waived.

There's no formal custody or support order in place. The problem with getting the family courts involved at this point (nevermind the cost) is that the state where Charlie was residing with Alice and Bob would have jurisdiction for the next six months, and it would be impossible for Diane and Charlie to move there.

[newacct]

I'm confused. How does Diane know that the classification on the plastic card says "CR2", if Alice has kept the plastic card and Diane and Charlie don't have access to it?

[inadmissible]

You don't have to move to file for child support in another state

Plenty of community organizations that give pro bono support to CSO filers, plenty of contingency-fee who will help enforce it

[wemoloh]

I'm confused. How does Diane know that the classification on the plastic card says "CR2", if Alice has kept the plastic card and Diane and Charlie don't have access to it?

Diane asked about this specifically during an Infopass appointment, and USCIS looked up Charlie's A-number in their system and told her that his status is CR2.

[wemoloh]

You don't have to move to file for child support in another state

Plenty of community organizations that give pro bono support to CSO filers, plenty of contingency-fee who will help enforce it

I appreciate the advice. I don't think we're at the point of needing to get the family courts involved right now. Since Diane will have to leave the U.S. soon, I suppose it would have to be the aunt and uncle pursuing support, based on the Power of Attorney given them by Diane. We wouldn't want to risk a judge granting formal custody to Alice and Bob, if they claim to have changed their minds again.

[newacct]

So it seems like there are two issues here:

1. Alice is keeping the card away from them. This is probably illegal but there isn't much recourse to recover it; they could call the police or something but the police won't compel someone to hand over something without a court order, and suing is a huge pain (plus she can just say she lost it). The simplest solution is to simply treat it as lost or stolen, and apply for a replacement card based on being lost or stolen (they will have to pay the fee when applying for that reason). If it's a conditional card, and it's past the 2 years, USCIS might refuse to replace it, and if that happens, they will have a basis to challenge the conditional designation as wrong.

2. The category is wrong. Actually, they don't have the card so have no basis to complain that the information on the card is wrong. They only know what code it says in the computer system but they don't have a physical card itself that is wrong. So the first thing to do is to get a card. And then if they get the card and the category on the card is wrong, they have a basis to complain about the information being wrong (or if USCIS refuses to replace it due to conditional status being over, as above, then they have a basis to challenge that). I know it seems roundabout to have to do it in two steps, but this is the only logical way to do it.

By the way, this has nothing to do with the Department of State or the visa. Even if they got CR visas, they will still get IR green cards if they enter the US after the 2nd anniversary. So all that matters is the date of entry and date of marriage. See this page (at the end of section a):

Note:
It is extremely important that inspectors and adjudicators be very conscious of the date of the marriage at the time the alien is admitted or adjusted. It is not unusual for an alien to be issued a conditional resident immigrant visa by a consular officer shortly before the second anniversary, but to apply for admission after that second anniversary. Likewise, an applicant for adjustment might file a Form I-485 (or even be interviewed regarding such application) prior to the second anniversary, but not be granted adjustment until after that second anniversary. In such cases, the alien should be admitted, or adjusted, without conditions (see 8 CFR 235.11(b) regarding the authority of inspectors to amend the visa classification on an immigrant visa in such situations).