Understanding the New Rule About Marriage-Based Petitions for Permanent Residency
Wedding websites make it sound like, once the wedding guests have gone home, your first year of marriage is pure bliss; you have no worries except sending thank you notes for your wedding gifts before your elderly aunts start complaining about it on social media. In fact, the first year of marriage brings its own set of stressors. Your in-laws show up at your house unannounced when you are least equipped to deal with them, you are never allowed to ask how long they are staying, and they find fault with everything you do and everyone you love. The way that you and your spouse resolve conflicts early in your marriage can set the pattern for a lifetime of cooperation or a lifetime of resentment. The pressure is high enough if you and your spouse are both United States citizens or permanent residents, but it is even worse if one spouse depends on the other for his or her immigration status. The new federal rule that makes newlyweds whose spouses have petitioned for green cards for them more vulnerable only adds to the stress. If you are getting a divorce after your spouse sponsored your petition for U.S. permanent residency, contact a Boca Raton divorce lawyer.
Newlyweds in Immigration Limbo Could Face Removal Proceedings
Earlier this summer, a new federal rule went into effect, authorizing the government to initiate removal proceedings for foreign nationals who had overstayed their visas, even if the foreign nationals had a pending case for adjustment of status to permanent residency, based on their recent marriage to a U.S. citizen. Before this rule went into effect, the government rarely initiated removal proceedings in situations like these. The adjustment of status process often takes several months, and many applicants’ tourist visas or fiancé visas expire before they receive their provisional green cards. In the old days, this was never a problem. If anyone asked, you could just show them your marriage certificate and proof of your adjustment of status petition.
The laws regarding divorce and marriage-based permanent residency have not changed. If you have a permanent green card, which you can get two years after receiving your provisional green card, then divorcing the spouse who sponsored your green card does not jeopardize your residency status or your eligibility for naturalization. If you get divorced while you have a provisional green card, or when you have applied for a provisional green card but it has not arrived yet, you risk losing your immigration status. The burden of proof is on you to persuade the court why you should keep your immigration status if it is based on a marriage that no longer exists; when this happens, it is usually because of domestic violence.
Contact Schwartz | White About Mixed Citizenship Divorce
A South Florida family law attorney can help you if you and your estranged spouse decided to divorce less than two years after you received your provisional green card. Contact Schwartz | White in Boca Raton, Florida about your case.
Source:
nbcnews.com/news/us-news/green-card-applicants-immigrants-removal-proceedings-uscis-rcna223099
