Implications on 485 if divorced

[techie.dude]

Need your opinion on this.. filed for I-485 on EB2 in July 07. I am the primary applicant. I have been married since May '04. Need to apply for a divorce. My wife, a derivative in my application, is holding up the process as it may affect her chances of getting a GC without any sweat. She has an parallel GC process running solely in her name, which I believe hasnt cleared PERM yet (some sort of audit). She is on H1B, extendable for another 3 years, and has EAD from my GC application. Will there be any implications on her application if the divorce goes through? And also, can I out of spite do anything to get her derivative application out of the queue ?

[riva2005]

Originally Posted by techie.dude

Need your opinion on this.. filed for I-485 on EB2 in July 07. I am the primary applicant. I have been married since May '04. Need to apply for a divorce. My wife, a derivative in my application, is holding up the process as it may affect her chances of getting a GC without any sweat. She has an parallel GC process running solely in her name, which I believe hasnt cleared PERM yet (some sort of audit). She is on H1B, extendable for another 3 years, and has EAD from my GC application. Will there be any implications on her application if the divorce goes through? And also, can I out of spite do anything to get her derivative application out of the queue ?

If your wife is using EAD based on a 485 that was filed as your dependent, then her 485 and her EAD will be lost if you withdraw her 485. I dont think you need to get a divorce for that. However, I think if you get her 485 withdrawn, then something tells me that your divorce process will accelerate.

If she is not using the EAD that came out of 485 filed with your 485, and if she is using H1 that is getting extended based on her own separate labor/GC process, then she may be unaffected by whatever you do - divorce her, withdraw her 485, or do both.

Also, if you divorce her, then there is no way that the 485 that was filed along with your 485 will be useful. That dependent 485 is no good to her if you are divorced.

I think your whole mixing of immigration and marital situation is complicating things. If you want to get divorced, get divorced. There is going to be enough pain on both sides during and after the divorce. Dont add to your work by engaging immigration issues with it.

Also, in most states, in order get a divorce, you have to have lived in that state for minimum of 6 months. And you need to wait 90 - 180 days between filing for divorce and actually getting that divorce. If there are custody battles, battles over property, money then it could be longer. If you own a house, then the house may be considered marital property and she and you would have equal right to the equity in the house, even if its only your name on the title and even if you are the only one making payments. It , of course, depends on your state. In some states, if the house is in your name, then its yours even if you are married.

Even amicable divorces are messy, painful and tiring. So if you have time and energy after going thru all that, then you may think about screwing your spouse out of immigration benefits that she got by being married to you.

By the way, no one can stop or "HOLD UP" your divorce. If you want to start the divorce process, you can start it at any time. I dont think any state allows one spouse to "HOLD UP" divorce if the other one wants to get out of a marriage. It can be prolonged by fighting over money, custody, visitation rights etc. But to start the process, you have to file a petition in your county and get your spouse "served" the petition.

[chnaveen]

Originally Posted by techie.dude

Need your opinion on this.. filed for I-485 on EB2 in July 07. I am the primary applicant. I have been married since May '04. Need to apply for a divorce. My wife, a derivative in my application, is holding up the process as it may affect her chances of getting a GC without any sweat. She has an parallel GC process running solely in her name, which I believe hasnt cleared PERM yet (some sort of audit). She is on H1B, extendable for another 3 years, and has EAD from my GC application. Will there be any implications on her application if the divorce goes through? And also, can I out of spite do anything to get her derivative application out of the queue ?

Any 485 application based on a dependent status to the Primary will be decided based on the relationship. If the relationship breaks legally (through Divorce) before the final decision on the pending 485, the dependent's 485 application will be denied. But as you said, she is on H1 and has another GC processing solely in her name, that would not be affected at all with your divorce and also her H1 status too not affected.
Dependent's current EAD based on your GC will also be revoked, but I am not sure whether EAD will be valid until 485 is denied.
You may have to send your Divorce decree to USCIS mentionig about the Change of Status in your maritial Status and referring to your pending 485 Application receipt numbers including her application's receipt numbers.

[techie.dude]

thanks guys.. thats informative riva2005.. The intention is not to screw with her application, but understanding the intricacies so that I can expedite my seperation. It is indeed a pain, with no kid, us both being independent, however with a townhome, with both our names on it. I am hoping and planning for an amicable settlement and one of the things that was debated as the gray area was this whole immigration - GC/485 derivative status that I had to reply - "please verify with an attorney" . The hold up is because of the want for an amicable settlement and agreement of terms, which I guess I will never have in entirerity.

[joydiptac]

I had a friend who was in the same situation as you. Being a nice guy, he waited till they got GC. Then divorced.
Poor fellow then remarried to a Desi girl after being pressurized by parents on a trip to India.
He soon realized that he had no hope of being able to get her here anytime soon. He tried to get her on a H1. That did not work out I don't know the exact detail how that got rejected(she is also an engineer). He then got really creative he brought her to Canada then worked the week in US and spent the weekend in Canada. After doing this for some time the Canadian Authorities figured it out and cancelled his Canadian work visa. Long story short, now he stays 6 months in US the other 6 in India with his wife. He has applied for GC for her. Unless President Obama does something he will keep living half life for a long time.

So the point is, if you are decided then waiting might increase your pain in the long run... On the other hand if you are not so sure, then give yourself some time and see if the issues that you may be having sort out. It is sometimes worth going to a marriage counsellor when you weigh in the loss that you both are about to incur, not to mention the mental trauma. All the best buddy.

B'Informed... B'Entertained...B'Khush
www.bkhush.com

[ramaonline]

You can take an infopass appt at the local office and speak to an immigration officer. I know of a similar case where the USCIS officer said that the derivative 485 application is no longer valid after divorce, and the derivative application will be denied. He sent some email to the service center asking them to deny the derivative 485. The primary 485 was still approved - I don't know what happened to the spouse's application.

In any case as long as you are the primary applicant, and spouse is a derivative applicant- your 485 application will not be affected.

[gc_bucs]

You & your wife should talk to a good attorney about the possibility of using "interfiling" in case of a divorce. I was in the same situation as you couple of years ago & Shiela Murthy's office recommended "interfiling". If you need more information send me a PM

Originally Posted by techie.dude

Need your opinion on this.. filed for I-485 on EB2 in July 07. I am the primary applicant. I have been married since May '04. Need to apply for a divorce. My wife, a derivative in my application, is holding up the process as it may affect her chances of getting a GC without any sweat. She has an parallel GC process running solely in her name, which I believe hasnt cleared PERM yet (some sort of audit). She is on H1B, extendable for another 3 years, and has EAD from my GC application. Will there be any implications on her application if the divorce goes through? And also, can I out of spite do anything to get her derivative application out of the queue ?