Legal Question in Immigration Law in Massachusetts

Re: Procedure to annul a green card marriage

In MA, an annulment is hard to get granted, but you would have to prove that there was fraud going to the essence of the marriage contract. In terms of the deportation process, this person now has a conditional residency and, even if you get divorced or the marriage gets annulled, your spouse will still have certain rights. Your spouse will have to show when the time comes to remove the conditions on the residency that the marriage was entered into "good faith" but then terminated through no fault of the alien's own. Your spouse will have to seek a waiver of the joint filing requirement because, from the facts, it seems that you obviously will not be filing the petition jointly with your spouse. Even if you withdraw support, your spouse will have due process rights when it comes to the deportation proceedings. Even if her case gets denied by immigration, your spouse will still have a the right of a hearing to present his/her with the immigration court and, ultimately, the judge will make the final decision. This process can take months, even years in some instances. If you need help with the annulment/divorce process and need more information regarding your rights and the deportation process, feel free to contact me so we can discuss further in private or schedule a consultation, as these can be rather complex issues. Our office handles both Divorce and Immigration Law matters. Good luck!

Re: Procedure to annul a green card marriage

Oh, you are in a for a fun ride.

Annulment may or may not be possible, and isn't necessary. The green card is "provisional." If the divorce starts now, she will likely lose the status.

Far more important: move out NOW. Do this before you are accused of marital violence and/or forced sex, because that accusation may well follow. Why, you ask? Because it's an exception to the Green-Card Spouse's rule of "Divorce too soon, you must leave."

Mind you, I'm assuming that this is a genuine post, and that you are a nice guy who was lured. Unfortunately, the other favorite Green Card Spouse threat is, "If you don't do as I say, I'll start a divorce and you'll LOSE your green card." This comes from the spouse whose legal residence/citizenship is assured, and who ha a controlling attitude. This seems more often to be men, I should note.

There is enough ugliness in divorce, with the hurt feelings and dysfunction. Green card cases are uglier, because the stakes -- residence in the U.S. -- are high for one of the parties.

Re: Procedure to annul a green card marriage

These are very good responses; pay attention.

Re: Procedure to annul a green card marriage

To annul the marriage, you must go through the regular legal process in court. So get a divorce lawyer to advise you on that. If you are not in love with your spouse now (b/c you found out about her intent, which was fraudulent), you can simply write a letter to the USCIS local office that granted the conditional green card and advise that you have no intention of pursuing the case because you have learned, subsequent to your interview, that she has married solely for the purposes of obtaining immmigration benefits. Be very careful, however. Once you file, you must be specific, okay. They are going to wonder why you married in the first place, but I doubt there will be any penalty to you. Once they receive your letter, they will most likely serve her with a notice to go before the immigration judge. If she has no other relief, puff, she will be given an order of removal. If she has a good immigration lawyer, and she raises issues concerning your intentions to marry her, well, I have seen cases like this go the other way. Good luck!