immigration question, what if she leaves

[mudd]

If you remember a post about a friend I know a few months ago, to recap, she is 24, speaks good English, marred a guy 55 years old, why, I have no idea. Told her she was just arm candy for him, and she didn’t know him well enough to marry him, but she is part to blame, because she said yes, and now see things a whole lot different now that she has been living with him for the last 6 weeks.

To sum it up, after two weeks in the USA, he took her to a strip club, to see if she wanted to work there, yep, you got it, actually took her to a strip club. Now what idiot would do that??? Apparently this guy. She said, “Are you kidding?”  This is normal for a wife, to work in a strip club?”  He dropped it, but he seems very weird.  So she tells me last week, he was taking a nap, she was on the computer, and the door slammed shut by the wind, apparently he went off the deep end and ripped the door off the hinges. Now, I know this seems pretty far out there, im guessing the door was already lose and probably hanging by a thread, and he slammed it pretty hard, and it fell off. But still, taking your wife to a strip club, so she can look for a job, that’s pretty far out there.

She did get a job in a doctor’s office and at a local restaurant, so she is not lazy, but thinks her husband is unstable and is a little afraid of him. So, the question is, and maybe Willian3rd can answer this, if her marriage goes more south than it is now, what can she do? She came on a spousal visa, was married in Colombia, and has her SSC #and permanent resident card. So if she moves out of his house, what happens, and if he goes nuts and she has to get a divorce, then what?

[william3rd]

She came in on an immigrant visa. Probably two year card. Absent a VAWA claim, the 751 will come up at the two year mark and, in the 90 days prior to the second anniversary, she can file it with her husband jointly, without her husband and prove up that it was a good faith marriage, or without her husband and argue extreme hardship.

Without her husband means that a divorce is already final, not pending.

Either way, the 864 is still binding under its terms.

She has the right to remain here as a resident alien until status is either extended or denied.

If he hits her, she should call the police and have it documented.

I hate to advise on potential VAWA claims because, although I have done a couple dozen VAWA, I prefer that the client be consulting me AFTER an incident and not in the run-up.

She should keep a diary of events and make sure that her passport and marriage cerrtificate, etc are in a safe place.

[mudd]

thanks
i will send her the info

[Ray]

She is legal for two years whether she leaves him or not.

Like William said, she can petition for Removal of Conditions (I-751) without him if she is legally divorced but she will need to submit solid evidence that she married in good faith and that the marriage was legitimate. Typical evidence would include evidence of living together at the same address, joint bank accounts, affidavits from friends or neighbors, etc. The Form I-751 instructions are the best place to study up on this.

If she leaves him after only 6 weeks, or even a few months, it sure makes it look like some kind of visa fraud scam and I am guessing that she will likely have a hard time getting her petition approved. If she stays married long enough to get her I-751 approved (2-3 years?), then she can do whatever she wants and will keep her permanent residence regardless.

From what you said, it seems that she is trying to find any justification for dumping the guy and that she wants to stay here. Is that your take on it? Is she REALLY afraid for her physical well being, or is she just having second thoughts?

Why don’t you suggest to her that they give it more time and actually try to make the marriage work. As long as she isn’t being terrorized or mistreated, what’s the harm? She did take a vow after all, if it meant anything to her.

[mudd]

yeh, thsts kind of what i have been telling her, you made the decision to marry the guy, stick by it.try to talk out your problems and so forth, but he seems pretty weird, how many guys bring their new wife up here,  take her to a strip club, looking for work, and then to Hooters,???  but hey, not my life.

[jm21-2]

Maybe look for some sort of women's activist group in the area? Having known a few girls who are in those groups myself, if a foreign girl came to them with a story like that, they'd raise a ruckus and might be able to figure something out for her. Or a female public sector attorney.

I know that goes against the spirit of this board quite a bit, but taking your wife to a strip club? Come on, that's way the [snip] out there. I know guys pursuing this route legitimately would suffer from any publicity resulting from a story like this, but ignoring the problem may make her a sacrificial lamb.

She should balance how threatened she feels with how much she wants citizenship. If she feels the threats weigh heavier, I'd try to help her out. Especially if things worsen, I would get her in touch with a women's group or public sector attorney.

Just my 2 cents.

EDIT: Actually, if a guy who supported this style of meeting women introduced her to a women's group, and explained how bad the guy was, it could potentially look good for the whole international marriage scene. Paint the guy as a rarity that blemishes the whole scene and needs to be taken care of. Especially in comparison with if she goes off by herself and meets the press or some scamming latin girl friend or something.