How screwed am I if I want to leave my spouse who has a Green Card?

[tomsmith1]

I’ll try to keep it short.

My wife has a green card without restrictions. After she received it she started treating me worse and worse, always complaining, fighting with me about everything, hitting me, and has slept with other men.

I can’t take it anymore and want to divorce, but am worried about the financial situation. She has paid for our life since I met her, always getting money from her parents (neither of us has had any usa income really). My grandparents cosponsored.

if I were to leave her, would she be able to sue my grandparents to take care of her? I don’t want to put them in that kind of financial stress.

She is close to the point of getting her citizenship depending on her interview dates, but I can’t stay with her anymore for my own sanity.

I think she just married me for a green card, but I am afraid if I report her to USCIS, they may just deny her citizenship now, but keep her on the green card, based on other situations I have read about (it being very difficult to have a spouse deported).

[Guest]

I think USCIS just published a new proposed rule about sponsors/cosponsors, or published a new policy or something. Apologies, I'm not recalling exactly what it was but you can probably find it easily by Googling it.

Basically, it seems that the Trump administration is planning on coming down harder on sponsors/cosponsors and will actually be enforcing the commitment (until now it's hardly ever been enforced).

I know the sponsors are responsible for the immigrant up to 150% of the federal poverty line until citizenship, 40 quarters of work (10 years), or loss of green card. So in theory a sponsor could be on the hook forever if the immigrant maintains the GC and does not want to work.

But it seems like she has no reason to? If she's been paying for everything and getting money from her parents, that seems like the better option to continue...

Anyway, I'd suggest taking a look at what USCIS / DHS just published (in the last month or so) about the sponsors. Sorry I don't remember more about it!

[Chris Tina]

File a divorce and look for a decent job. Be a man.

[tomsmith1]

File a divorce and look for a decent job. Be a man.

Thank you for your unhelpful comment. I do not want to pay for a woman for some unspecified amount of time who has deceived me and abused me.

Thankfully, with a bit more research, I found out that domestic violence is actually a deportable offense (which I have video evidence of). That along with a few small lies on her greencard application such as the university she went to might get her deported.

I am physically attacked weekly by her because she is a woman and knows I can't hit her back.


I-864 is a barbaric agreement for someone in my position. Americans should come first. Deportation should be easier. I have met quite a few men in Asia who had their wife leave them soon after becoming citizens or getting their green card with no limitations.

[longee94]

While you may have legal grounds to deport her, actually getting the government to agree and file deportation proceedings against her is very difficult. You need to also remember that immigration courts are backlogged at the moment, meaning it might be years of stress and emotional damage. While you could report her to USCIS, I think you need to ask yourself is it just easier to get divorced and go your separate ways? Only you know the answer to that, but it might save you a lot of money and further heartache.

[newacct]

If the marriage isn't working out, just divorce and move on. If she is violent towards you, report it to the appropriate authorities just like you would with a violent spouse who is a citizen. Leave her immigration status out of it. Whether she stays in the US or not after or is deported or not is between the government and her. Trying to "get someone deported" sounds like you think you "own" her immigration status or something, and you are trying to take advantage that someone is a foreigner to take revenge on them or something. That leaves a really bad impression about your purpose. If you guys can divorce and she will leave you alone afterwards, then just leave her alone.

As for the I-864s, both you and your grandparent read and understood (I hope) what you were signing up for when you signed it, and there is a risk that you take in signing it that you shouldn't have done if you weren't willing to face the risk of continuing to be under the obligations even after divorce. Technically, if her income doesn't reach 125% of poverty level and you don't supplement her to that level, she could sue you and/or your grandparent for money. In practice, this is very unlikely, as (I believe) she would have to sue in federal court, and that is expensive; and if her parents are giving her money, then chances are that she already has 125% of poverty level of income. If you want the I-864 obligations to be over, then you should encourage her to become a US citizen as soon as possible.

[tomsmith1]

If the marriage isn't working out, just divorce and move on. If she is violent towards you, report it to the appropriate authorities just like you would with a violent spouse who is a citizen. Leave her immigration status out of it. Whether she stays in the US or not after or is deported or not is between the government and her. Trying to "get someone deported" sounds like you think you "own" her immigration status or something, and you are trying to take advantage that someone is a foreigner to take revenge on them or something. That leaves a really bad impression about your purpose. If you guys can divorce and she will leave you alone afterwards, then just leave her alone.

As for the I-864s, both you and your grandparent read and understood (I hope) what you were signing up for when you signed it, and there is a risk that you take in signing it that you shouldn't have done if you weren't willing to face the risk of continuing to be under the obligations even after divorce. Technically, if her income doesn't reach 125% of poverty level and you don't supplement her to that level, she could sue you and/or your grandparent for money. In practice, this is very unlikely, as (I believe) she would have to sue in federal court, and that is expensive; and if her parents are giving her money, then chances are that she already has 125% of poverty level of income. If you want the I-864 obligations to be over, then you should encourage her to become a US citizen as soon as possible.

I will not leave her immigration status out of it, because I don’t believe she is fit to wear the badge of being an American citizen. I found out that she lied on her green card application, she started treating me bad after receiving her full green card, and she has already stated many times she does not want to become an American citizen because she is more loyal to her home country (which doesn’t allow dual citizenship).

[Fortunes]

You just don't have to be antagonist. Just file a divorce and leave her. I know you guys must have had good times before these bad times. Reconcile the situations. She has been helpful to you too. You said she spends almost all the money you both needed. Don't you know that it's always trouble when a woman feeds a man? She may be feeling used too. She may be feeling you left all the expenses to her simply because you are helping her get the green card.
Do you have the time and strength and the money to fight your wife when you don't even work to cater for the family?
I advise you let go. Get a job. Wish you good luck