divorce before second Green Card

[mario16]

Hi
I got my first Green Card in January of last year. This October I was going to send my paperwork for the removal of condition. My wife just told me that she wants a divorce. She also stole all my paperwork that I colected over the years to send for my 2nd green card. I notified the police, but they can not do much since we are still married.
I was wondering if I should fight the divorce and try to explain that she is taking advantage of the situation(she told me on few ocassions that I can not get my papers without her) Or should I simply sign the divorce and try to apply on my own explaining the situation to the INS.
If I do sign the divorce papers should I have her sign me a letter explaining why she wants the divorce?

I would appreciate any advice.
Thanks

[bkwld]

Try to work things out with her. The Greencard you got was under the condition that you married to her. If you divorce now, you no longer qualify for the permanent Greencard. If you must divorce, seek an experienced immigration attorney's advice regarding your immigration situation.

[jain_pk]

Prove your marriage

Prove that your marriage is good faith marriage. I beg to differ with the previous poster, you are still eligible for GC but you will have to file a waiver and I believe that there will be much more scrutiny.

Folks with experience, please chime in !!! Has anyone gone through similar dilemma, how did you guys solve it and what was the outcome ?

[SISA]

OK, I am not a lwyer but I am in the process of getting my green card and I have a very good friend a lawyer who is helping me!
And she warned me of such situations so this is what she advised me:
If your wife wants a divorce before the time of I-751 comes you have to fight the divorce! The longet you fight the better! You have to do your best to reach the SECOND anniversary of your marriage (you marriage not your conditional card) because there is a presumption (if you ever get to immigration court) that if the marriage did not continue over 2 years it was fraudulent! And this is the presumption the immigration officer will hold agains you! So whatever you do try to make it to the second anniversary of your marriage! But still you will need all the papers from that time (bills, rent receipts etc.) If she stole them from you that is a problem and I do not know how to solve it!
What I would do is try to work it out with her! I do not know the reason why she wants a divorce. You should know it! Did you cheat on her? Did you beat her? Whatever the reason is apologize to her, offer her something...Just try to patch it up! If you still go to court tell the judge that you do not want divorce by no means and they will order you to go to a marriage counsellor! And so on and so on... it's gonna be a long fight but do not give up!
That's all I know from my lawyer!
If you wanna contact her I can give you the phone number! But she will charge you for what I just told you!
Good luck!

[jain_pk]

So live a terrible life or be Honest ? Senior members please chime in

I see your point, however, I am not sure one should wait for 2 years. Doesn't the Immigration Court look at the proof of a genuine marriage rather than a timeline. Senior members please chime in ?

I have got different opinion from different people and not sure which one is correct.

[SISA]

In this particular situation even the second annivaersary of the marriage won't help much because the bills and all the papers of any joint accounts have been taken away by one of the spouse (the US citizen) which hinders the other spouse's attempts for permanent residence. Thus, even though the marriage has continued for 2 years there is no actual proof of both spouses having lived together and having shared their lives together (which is the goal of a genuine marriage!), especially if the couple has no children.
So this predicament shows how vulnerable the immigrant is and how dependable on the US citizen! To me personally this is an absolutely unacceptable situation. One could never ever predict what might happen in 2 years even if both parties loved each other to death at the time they agreed to marriage! Life is so unpredictable nowadays! And someone being driven in such a predicament means that they are thwarted from their true intentions (if one wants divorce this means a huge blow for the other, not only seperation but a possible deportation and ruin of all plans for a future). One is forced to look for and propose deals of any kind to the other side just to get out of the situation, one can be blackmailed, humiliated, abused and so on and so on! Now the answer lies in the hands of an experienced attorney who on his own terms will try to force a deal by an utmost exploit of the immigration laws in anyway possible and undoubtedly at an immensely high cost!
Good luck to anyone who falls in a trap like that!

[jain_pk]

SISA, you couldn't be more correct. Your advice is to the point. However, I still feel that he still has a chance. Most of the papers that his wife has taken away from him can be retrieved without a problem. He can get copies of phone bills, Lease, digital photo's, affidavit's from friends, credit card receipts, joint bank statements etc from the companies directly. Even after that its sad that immigrants have to prove so much. My understanding was that these fraud laws were for cases that got into marriage solely for wrong purpose. Its a difficult job to segregate good from bad, but overall, with the proof that I have listed above I think it should be more than sufficient.