Many people who attain residency through marriage, often wonder about their status in terms of permanent green card and divorce. There is the question of whether a divorce would change things in terms of your status. A divorce can be very draining both emotionally, and financially. It can also introduce a new set of issues from immigration services. Before you apply for a petition or for citizenship, you may want to understand just where you stand and what your options are as per permanent green card and divorce.
Usually, for a lawful permanent resident to renew their green card after a divorce, it is uneventful. You can even opt to fill out the change of name form when filling out the renewal form without hassle; if you can provide legal proof.
You would, however, be faced with issues if you obtained your green card on the grounds of marriage. In this case, what you would be granted is a conditional 2-year green card pending a 2-year probation period during which immigration would investigate the marriage and prove credibility. After this probation period, you and your spouse can apply for a joint petition to remove the conditions on residency. This petition is supported with legal documents to prove the authenticity of the marriage. However, in the case of applying for a permanent green card and divorce, there is a way to waive the joint petition form. However, this invites extra scrutiny on your application and your status. The immigration would want to make sure that your marriage was not a means of getting past the immigration law and because of this, a wealth of proof would be required to show that the marriage was indeed genuine and that things simply did not work out.
Having a divorce with a conditional green card can be damaging to your application, but it should not stop you. With the right immigration lawyer and immigration counselor, you can still put in your application and even while waiving the joint petition. When faced with applying for a permanent green card and divorce, it is something that you can do on your own, but it is highly recommended that you get the necessary help that you need because, at this point, there is a lot at stake. With the right guidance, you can still apply for your permanent green card despite the divorce.
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