Getting What Is Rightfully Yours

How Can Divorce Affect Your Immigration Status?

28 November 2016

Estelle Mathieu

Obtaining citizenship in the United States can be a lengthy and complicated process, but that process can become even more complicated if you're a foreign national married to a U.S. citizen. Whatever the reason for parting company with your significant other, a divorce can jeopardize your bid for permanent residency or citizenship in a variety of ways. The following illustrates how a divorce impacts your immigration status.

It Depends on Where You Are in the Immigration Process

The effects a divorce can have on your legal status may depend on how far you've gotten in the immigration process. If you've only gotten as far as filing for an immigrant visa petition on Form I-130 before filing for a divorce, then there's a good chance you won't be able to move forward with the immigration process.

Filling out and submitting Form I-130 is just the first step towards gaining permanent residency and eventually gaining U.S. citizenship. Until your visa petition is approved and your visa application is subsequently processed, reviewed via an interview, and approved, you won't have any rights to be admitted to or remain in the U.S.

After being approved for an immigrant visa or green card, however, the effects of a divorce on your immigration status are not as severe. Getting divorced won't make you immediately deportable if you've managed to receive a green card, but a divorce or annulment at this stage could reduce your chances of successfully earning U.S. citizenship.

It Also Depends on How Long You Were Married

In an effort to curtail instances where foreign nationals marry U.S. citizens to gain permanent residency, only to divorce a short time later, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) places marriages that are less than two years old under greater scrutiny than those that have lasted longer. Immigrants who fit this criterion are usually given conditional permanent residence for two years.

If you were to divorce your spouse before the two-year waiting period was over, it could put your citizenship chances in severe jeopardy. In many cases, you'll lose your immigration status and be subject to detention and eventual deportation. If you receive your green card at the end of the conditional period and file for divorce after two years, you won't lose your immigration benefits. However, there may be some roadblocks that could stall the immigration process.

For instance, you and your spouse are required to file Form I-751 (Petition to Remove Conditions of Residence) jointly within 90 days of your conditional green card's expiration date. If you've both divorced before then, you'll need to request a waiver for the requirement of a jointly-filed application. However, you'll need to have plenty of evidence and documentation that your marriage was genuine; otherwise you could be subject to deportation.  

A Divorce May Result in a Longer Wait for Naturalization

Being divorced from your significant other could also create a few speed bumps in the naturalization process. For starters, the USCIS may review all of your information and ask for further proof to verify the authenticity of your former marriage. This review process could lengthen the amount of time it takes to obtain U.S. citizenship.

Also keep in mind that permanent residents who are currently married to U.S. citizens only have to wait three years before being eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship, compared to five years for single permanent residents. If you're divorced before the three-year period is over, you'll have to wait out the full five-year period, instead.

What About Those Suffering from Domestic Abuse?

If you're a victim of domestic violence or other similar abuses, you'll be able to self-petition for permanent residence under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). This allows you to file your own petition without the help or knowledge of your spouse or said spouse's family members. You may also be eligible to apply for a U visa if the abuse is particularly severe and you're willing to aid law enforcement in investigating or prosecuting the crime.

Learn more by discussing your particular case with a divorce attorney. 

Share

Search