Adjustment of Status - I-485

I believe its high time I wrote about my experiences because all I have been doing so far is commenting on other people’s experiences. BALTIMORE, MD FIELD OFFICE

I got married to my wife in April 2013 thinking I had married a good woman, however, little did I know that I got married to cruelty. Our marriage was going well until 3 months into the marriage when she started misbehaving and acting up. She refused to look for work, became lazy, and lax. I tried looking for jobs for her, but she showed no enthusiasm. Things became worse that she refused to allow me file for my GC application by refusing to make photocopies of her birth certificate and other supporting documents to filing my 485. She would also take monies from our account without informing me and give to her families. At a time, I got fed up of the marriage and thought about ending it. I went to the divorce court in my city and was told we needed to be separated for one year—which we did. In 2015, I filed for divorce and was given a date for our hearing; however, we were able to resolve our differences and I canceled it. If I had known I would have gone ahead with the divorce because she had other plans to trap me. When we came back together in 2015, she allowed me to file for my 485 (2 years later) and thought she had changed; however, it was a trap for her to become controlling because she knew I wouldn’t have no choice since I needed her to getting my GC. It didn’t take long after we filed for the 485 before my wife started being cruel again.

This time, she would constantly threaten me with deportation statements, saying she would call immigration and let them know our marriage was a fraud so I could be deported. In fact, she told me her goal was for me to be deported, and she would do all it took to make it happen. I initially brushed it off without thinking she meant it, but I was wrong. Our interview was set for January 2016, and the moment she got the notice, she disappeared. I didn’t hear from her, and I will call her phone severally. When she picked up, she would insult me and tell me never to call her back. There was a snow that fell for 3 days continuously in MD in 2016, and our interview was canceled due to the snow. The interview got scheduled for March 2016 but was canceled again for unforeseen contingencies. By April 2016, I told my friend what I was going through and he told me if I heard of VAWA. I was lost as to what VAWA was. I looked it up and found out that it was for foreign petitioners whose spouses were abusing and cruel to them because of their dependence on the USA citizen for their GCs. I read much about it, and I finally took a stance to file VAWA—the best decision I ever made. What made me to fully go with VAWA was when my wife said the most annoying statements of all, that my destiny in America was in her hands because I needed her for the interview. I immediately set her straight by saying, “As long as we human beings are in planet Earth, every power we think we have, has an expiry date and her expiry date will surely come by.”

My friend took me to a lawyer who handles VAWA cases. My interview was set for September 2016, and my lawyer had to send the VAWA two weeks before the interview. I went for the interview by myself and told the officer my wife was not coming, and I am converting the case to VAWA. The officer looked on her system and saw that my VAWA application had been received in Vermont office. I gave the officer a written request to hold my 485 application in abeyance (which means temporarily holding the application until the VAWA got approved). On January 2018, my VAWA was approved, and I divorced my wife with immediate effect. On August 2018, I had my interview in the Baltimore Field Office and was given the white paper that says within 120 days I would hear from USCIS. However, another long journey again. 120 days went past, and I didn’t hear anything from USCIS. I contacted late Congressman Elijah Cummings which to me was a waste of time because they didn’t do anything on my case other than giving me general information that I already knew. I did 6 info passes with the last one on August 2019 where I spoke with the supervisor and let her know that I will be forced to sue them if they kept on wasting my time. I was willing to wait for 1 year before I sued USCIS. After 13 months and no response, I got in touch with a lawyer , and he told me how much it would cost. I was already working towards the money. On Wednesday, October 16, 2019, while brushing my teeth early in the morning, I decided to just check the USCIS app on my phone, and behold, I saw “CASE WAS APPROVED." I was so happy and jumped up that finally my journey is over, and most importantly, my ex-wife’s expiry date has finally come to past—like it is written on the labels of products “BEST BEFORE 10/15/2019.” I know there are so many people in this forum that would have challenges like mine, and I am willing to answer any questions. For those of you still waiting on your GC, I pray and hope you all get it soonest. Try as much as possible to get yourself doing things like going to school, learning a skill, etc., because the GC is just a document and gateway to opportunities; however, when the opportunity finally comes, the real question will be what do you posses to making the opportunity fruitful?