immigration / marriage / green card

[Chuck in Ohio]

I have a friend who came to the US from the Czech Republic in April 2005 on a fiancee visa. She was married in July 2005 in Arizona, and still lives there. Unfortunately, she trusted her husband to file for green card for her, since he knew English better, etc. About 6 months ago when she asked him about it she found out he didn't file anything. She got him to finally file for it, I think about 4-5 months ago. They both met with immigration a couple of months later, and everything seemed to go fine. Now she is just waiting for the green card to come through.

Well, her husband is not exactly being the greatest of husbands. I will note that he is not physically abusing her as far as I know. But she has been doing work for him in his tiling business and not getting paid. Anything she does on her own to make money is going to him as well. From time to time he is not letting her see her friends. He basically treats her like a slave, and has been for the last year or so. She is tired of it and wants to leave him (get a divorce) as soon as possible. But she fears that if she files for divorce prior to receiving the green card, he will somehow be able to stop it.

Does she have any recourse here ? Can she file for divorce and still receive green card ? I'd appreciate any help anyone can supply. Thanks to all.

[Chuck in Ohio]

I have a friend who came to the US from the Czech Republic in April 2005 on a fiancee visa. She was married in July 2005 in Arizona, and still lives there. Unfortunately, she trusted her husband to file for green card for her, since he knew English better, etc. About 6 months ago when she asked him about it she found out he didn't file anything. She got him to finally file for it, I think about 4-5 months ago. They both met with immigration a couple of months later, and everything seemed to go fine. Now she is just waiting for the green card to come through.

Well, her husband is not exactly being the greatest of husbands. I will note that he is not physically abusing her as far as I know. But she has been doing work for him in his tiling business and not getting paid. Anything she does on her own to make money is going to him as well. From time to time he is not letting her see her friends. He basically treats her like a slave, and has been for the last year or so. She is tired of it and wants to leave him (get a divorce) as soon as possible. But she fears that if she files for divorce prior to receiving the green card, he will somehow be able to stop it.

Does she have any recourse here ? Can she file for divorce and still receive green card ? I'd appreciate any help anyone can supply. Thanks to all.

[Jake01]

if they were married in July 0f 2005, she will most probably get a 10 year greencard, which is a good thing as she wont have to lift conditions in 2 years, she needs to stay put till she has her greencard,

after that, if she files for divorce, and the husband gets nasty he can contact immigration, altho he can not have her deported, it will be up to INS (DHS) IF they look into it, provided she can prove she entered the marriage in good faith and not for just the greencard, she will probably be ok,

Perhaps some of the more senior members can give there opinions on this matter better than me.

[Chuck in Ohio]

uh, no. Not the 'boyfriend in waiting'. Just a friend.

[Chuck in Ohio]

Obviously I don't want to give out too much information here, but she doesn't live near Yuma.

[Hudson]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Chuck in Ohio:
I have a friend who came to the US from the Czech Republic in April 2005 on a fiancee visa. She was married in July 2005 in Arizona, and still lives there. Unfortunately, she trusted her husband to file for green card for her, since he knew English better, etc. About 6 months ago when she asked him about it she found out he didn't file anything. She got him to finally file for it, I think about 4-5 months ago. They both met with immigration a couple of months later, and everything seemed to go fine. Now she is just waiting for the green card to come through.

Well, her husband is not exactly being the greatest of husbands. I will note that he is not physically abusing her as far as I know. But she has been doing work for him in his tiling business and not getting paid. Anything she does on her own to make money is going to him as well. From time to time he is not letting her see her friends. He basically treats her like a slave, and has been for the last year or so. She is tired of it and wants to leave him (get a divorce) as soon as possible. But she fears that if she files for divorce prior to receiving the green card, he will somehow be able to stop it.

Does she have any recourse here ? Can she file for divorce and still receive green card ? I'd appreciate any help anyone can supply. Thanks to all. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
It would be best if she filed for divorce after the Green card comes through. If the husband is as controlling as you describe, and the fact that the I-485 was filed very late, she needs to wait.