Legal Question in Immigration Law in New York

Hi there! i would like to inquire about my legal case , am in the process of my divorce now.i just received action for divorce with complaint from the lawyer of my husband. It is filed in Supreme court of the state of new york, county of queens. My husband and i got married last July 8, 2008, i am asian from Philippines. We met thru my relatives in new york when i visited early 2008. we fall in love with each other right away and we just had a short courtship, i know that i have to go back home because i am just on a tourist visa, but he told me that he doesnt want me to go back home so he decided that we should get married.

He introduced me to his family, but right away i felt that his mother doesnt like me. I told him that maybe we should not continue our plans to get married coz i dont want to cause problem with his family. so i started to keep distance with him and kinda push him away but he didnt stop pursuing me, he kept on calling me and one time he appeared at my relatives place and told me we ould still push thru with our plans to get married even if his parents were against it.

We got married July 8, 2008 in queens county court, his mother did not attend our wedding. Everything went smoothly at first in our marriage. i have fulltime time job as a secretary in a wine company and part time job in catering. My husband was working as supervisor in dietary in nursing home. It was not easy for me to adjust coz i started getting bit homesick then, also culture shock and i started gettin dizzy frequently because it was summer and its too hot that my body was not able to handle it well.

I had to commute to go to work in astoria,ny and we live in queens. I started havin problem travelling because i get always dizzy and am havin some panic attack. Also we just live in a basement of a house of his parent's friend. I am claustrophobic. especially the basement we live in is very small. I told him about my anxieties but he just ignored me , same thing with my travelling problem because am getting dizzy. But he would not listen and told me it was just mental problem. So we started having some arguments and then his parents started interfering with our relationship. Everytime i visit his parents house , his mother would always ask me when would i take my state board exam for nursing, because i am a nursing graduate in Philippines and i just have to take the state board exam to get the license to practice in the state. His mother always tells me not to get pregnant and just focus on my exam.

I started getting depressed and unhappy that i am visiting my relatives place most of the time and i decided to stop my job as secretary in the office because of my anxiety attack that i cannot handle. My husband did not support me at all emotionally and financially.

Then it become worst that it gets to the point that he told me that he doesnt want to be together anymore and he just suddenly brought boxes so i could pack my clothes and leave the place. I begged for him to stay because i really loved him , then one day i just could not go inside the apartment anymore because he suddenly change the key of our place. I still have my clothes and things inside, i hd no choice but to begged for my relatives if i could stay with them. I tried to get intouch with him but he would ignore my calls until ive decided to tell him to just give me my clothes and i will just stay at my relatives.

I am glad that my relatives were very nice to accept me but i was so embarrased to them. they know that my husband kicked me out of ourplace and i have no choice at all or else i will be staying in the street.

I am worried now coz my residency would expire this December 18, 2010. I dont know if i would still be able to renew it knowing that right now were in our divorce process.

I hope i would be able to get some guidance on what i have to do...i never expected all this to happen to me but i have to accept the reality that it is happening now to me....


Asked on 2/16/10, 8:08 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Alice Yardum-Hunter Alice M. Yardum-Hunter, a Law Corp.

As you already have your permanent residence, you can remove the conditions and extend the green card indefinitely in 10 year increments as long as you file during the three months which expire on December 18, 2010. You must either file together, be divorced or in the process of divorcing, and prove your marriage was real at the time you married. You should not have difficulty keeping permanent residence, but the application must be prepared correctly and supported by evidence of your relationship with documentation.

The above is not legal advice and does not form an attorney client relationship. It is general information. To learn more, feel free to contact me at [email protected] or 818 609 1953.

Sincerely,

Alice Yardum-Hunter, Attorney at Law, State Bar of CA, Bd. of Legal Specialization

Certified Specialist, Immigration & Nationality Law

Read more
Answered on 2/21/10, 11:34 am


Related Questions & Answers

More Immigration Law questions and answers in New York