I am British and I married my American Husband in Jan 2007. Since marrying he has become verbally and emotionally abusive which thankfully is now for the most part being controlled by medication. He is still depressed, demotivated and at times (more often than not) suicidal.

We have been to therapy together, and individually to try to help the situation and in my case to get the encouragement and support I needed to work through my husbands issues.

I don't feel that my marriage is a healthy environment to be in and I am looking to divorce my husband. We have discussed it and he understands the situation.

Is there a way that we can divorce and for me to be able to keep my green card and residency status?

I would really appreciate your advice as I am scared and not really too sure what to do.

Would he be willing to help you? The key is you need to file I-751 to remove condition by 90 days before expiration date on your GC. If he is willing to help, you can file I-751 jointly which would be much easier.

If you are divorced prior to filing the I-751 you will have to file a waiver of the joint filing requirement. Your husband cannot sign that waiver, because the USCIS Adjudicating Officers are statutorily unable to adjudicate a jointly filed I-751 if the parties are already divorced.

As soon as you have a divorce decree (divorce is final) you can file the waiver form I-751. You will need to provide a copy of the divorce decree with your petition.

And if you have sufficient evidence to prove the marriage is bona fide, and send it along with the petition, using the reason that you are filing a waiver due to a bone fide marriage that terminated in divorce. Waivers with properly documented evidence of a genuine marriage are often approved without even a follow up interview.

The suggestion that one has to prove that the alien was subjected to abuse or a battered spouse by one member above only comes into play if the parties divorce before adjustment of status.

Anyway, divorce prior to 2 years is always a difficult path. The chance to get approval from USCIS is less than 70%.

Documents required to prove it's bona fide marriage


Auto insurance showing you as living in the marital home and second driver
Mortgage or lease with your name on it
Titles to autos with both names on them
Joint bank accounts
Joint credit card bills
Tax returns filed as married
Joint IRAs, 401Ks or annuities
Bills to the home address with alien's name on them
Driver's license with home (marital address) on it
Life insurance policies with each named beneficiary
Travel itinerary showing you both went together after marriage
Invitations to both of you after marriage for family events
Affidavits from friends to attest to the legitimacy of marriage... etc.

Lawanwadee (http://lawanwadee.com/)