Question:
Ok, let me briefly set up the scenario
for all: The situation involves
a married couple who are in the
process of applying for a green
card for the foreign born spouse
in the state of FL. The couple has
been married for 3 years, and they
have an interview date TENTATIVELY
slated for the beginning of next
year. If the green card is granted,
it would not be a "conditional"
one b/c they have been married for
more than 2 years at the time of
the interview...so, really my question
is :
How long should
the foreign born spouse wait before
divorcing the current US spouse
and possibly remarrying (in the
US) to ensure that he keeps his
PR and immigration doesn't see any
"red flags" regarding the first
marriage?
Answer:
You have let the cat out of the
bag. Whatever the original reasons
where for getting married, it has
turned into a marriage of convenience.
If there is no intention of continuing
with the marriage then there is
fraud taking place.
Sorry to be
the bearer of bad news, but you
should not have asked this question
on a public newsgroup. Youave put
honest, law abiding people,in an
awkward situation. Well, if you
get a "non-conditional" green card,
they won't know or care if you get
divorced after that. So the short
answer is, it's generally OK to
divorce after you get your ten-year
green card. However, to get there
you would first have to attend the
interview, and you would need to
tell the truth about your marriage
at the interview. So whether you
get a green card at all, is a question.
If it were
me, I would bring my attorney with
me to the interview. Well, if you're
in "definite need of sound legal
advice", then by all means post
your question in an open forum populated
by laypersons who, by and large,
know little about the law, and who
have no emotional or financial stake
in you getting what you want. You
sound reasonably intelligent...
pony up the bucks, consult an experienced
immigration attorney, and get some
"sound legal advice".
