This week, our family lawyers discuss marriage fraud for a green card.
The Question: What can I do if I was used for a green card? I just want out of the marriage.
Hi everyone I made a previous post about how my husband abandoned me after 2 years of marriage. He neglected me emotionally for a year then finally left the end of last year. I didn’t want a divorce to begin with. But after everything he has put me through I just want it to be over with. He left 2 weeks after his greencard was approved. Which makes me suspicious he stayed for that long only for it to pass…I had to ask for him to even tell me it was approved. It just seemed very off to me. It has been 5 months and he still hasn’t filed for divorce. I have been waiting for him to file, but still he hasn’t sating it is expensive. But really I don’t think it is that expensive to merit 5 months of complacency. I’m worried it could be financially not in my favor as time goes on and he still isn’t filing and telling me he is talking with a lawyer to help him file. I don’t want anything from him, or to make his life harder even if he made mine difficult. I just want to move on with my life with no issues. The maximum if I would asks is for him to pay his half of the rent because when he abandoned me he left me with close to a year of rent to scramble and pay by myself. It was a high rent that we both paid half and half together. I had to quit college to pay for it. It really hurt my bear future in all honesty…Thank you for reading.
The Answer: Contact Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE, about your issue. This is an immigration concern since it involves defrauding the government to obtain a green card.
You are handling this situation with grace and dignity. Many ex’s feel jilted and betrayed when used, but you are ready to move on towards a new future as quickly as possible.
To begin, don’t wait for him to file for divorce, go ahead and file yourself. In Maryland, either party can file for divorce. You don’t have to wait on him to get the process started. Plus, desertion is a legal grounds for divorce.
Because you are suspicious your ex used you for a green card, you should contact Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE. Getting a green card based on a fraudulent marriage is a federal offense. It could result in the deportation of your ex. Also, there could be punishment for yourself if you willingly participated in the fraud for the immigrant to obtain a green card. Since you were not a willing participant from the sound of it, then you should be in the clear.
But, because you don’t want to make your ex’s life harder, your best course of action is to file for the divorce yourself. As both of you want a divorce, you can seek a mutual consent divorce, which is cheaper and faster than contesting a divorce.
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Our automatic disclaimer: We’re lawyers, but not necessarily your lawyer, and do not represent the individual who asked this question. We’re providing this information for general educational purposes based on the publicly available information provided by the anonymous Internet user. Any number of details may change how this individual’s attorney may pursue this legal situation, differently from how we suppose above. If you have a similar question, then you should consult with a lawyer about your specific situation to get a “real” response!