Hey friends in this video, we're gonna talk about how you can get your green card without
your spouse's help. This is for those of you who may have started a process with your spouse,
but it didn't work out. Or you may have gotten the two year green card
and then the relationship didn't work out and you're thinking, well, what do I do
next? I'm Latoya Macee POY and immigration lawyer in New York, helping clients all over the
world on complex family and business immigration matters. Reach out to us at McBean law at 5 16, 8,
6, 6 3900 or@mcbeanlaw.com, where you can book your consultation and get started with us.
Also, guys do me the favor of subscribing into my channel before you go today, hit the notification
bell. So that you'll be the first to get notice of my videos each week. Let's talk
about this and I have my notes in front of me. Firstly, did your spouse already file for you,
but perhaps they withdrew the petition because the marriage is over or
they lost con fit in the process. It was very hard and very long, they just gave up. And don't wanna
be part of your process anymore, or is there some other reason why they withdrew, maybe an attorney
advised them to withdraw or did they, was your case denied? It could have been denied because
maybe the government, um, didn't receive all of, of the evidence that they needed to receive to
prove bonafide marriage or the government may have accused you of fraud or misrepresentation,
or the government concluded that your marriage lacks validity. It's not a valid marriage because
perhaps you're still married, uh, to someone back in your home country and you didn't give them
the proper authentic divorce decree. And it could have very well been denied for other reasons.
Like, you know, maybe you need a waiver. Maybe the government said you need the I 6 0 1 waiver,
or you need a J one waiver or there's been misrepresentation or any other grounds of
inadmissibility. They're saying you need to address those issues before we could prove
your case. Now the big question is this, are you guys still together? Are you still in a bonafide
marriage? Because if you are, you can maybe try again, uh, using professional help because if
your case was denied to begin with, and you wanna do a refiling, you know, I always recommend that
people get professional will help for the second filing. You're gonna need to address
the issues that the government had with the first filing. So it has to be approached. The
second filing has to be approached very, very carefully. If you're still together
and you perhaps don't need to refile, maybe you just need to appeal the decision and fight it.
If you have grounds to fight it, if you're in removal, there are other things that you can
consider as well, like prosecutorial discretion, um, an adjournment or a motion to terminate your
case, uh, work with a lawyer to strategize, to figure out what the next step is. So what now,
if you're not together, what can you do? And this is the meat of it, right? The meat of
what I wanna share with you, what can you do if you're no longer together with your spouse?
I would firstly wanna know, well, what is the reason for a separation? Because that does make a
difference in terms of what you can do next. What was the reason for the separation?
Was there abuse in the marriage? Was there extreme cruelty? What happened in the marriage?
Because if so, then you can consider doing the 10 year green card filing and on your own under Vala,
the violence against women act, which is, uh, a opportunity
for those who have been abused in their marriage to file for their green card on their own.
If the reason for the separation has nothing to do with abuse or, um, extreme cruelty, then
it's over. You can't really take another step with filing. You can't do anything because if a person,
if your partner just ups and leaves you and abandons you, and that's it, the marriage is over.
They don't like you or love you anymore. Um, but there was no abuse, no cruelty in the marriage.
Then you cannot rely on that marriage to get a green card. What can you do if you,
your spouse did file for you. And it did result in a green card and you have the two year green card,
conditional residency, and it's about to expire or perhaps it has already expired. And the marriage
is over. Marriage is over because of divorce or abuse or cruelty, or maybe the death of a
spouse. The marriage is over while the good news is there is a way for you to get your green card
through a process that allows you to explain to the government what the reason is.
One, it has to be one of those reasons that I just mentioned, but you could explain that and
ask that the go government consider your, your I 7 51 petition as a, like a waiver, um, and have them
consider it without the spouse. We do those. We help clients in those scenarios, uh, all the time.
So you may reach out to McBean law or the lawyer of your choosing. If your I 7 51 petition had been
denied after your spouse was gone, uh, it's been denied. What can you do while you could either do
a refiling in a, by getting professional help and building a stronger case, refile it. But if you're
in removal, you know, you have to bring that petition before the judge. It gets very tricky.
Sometimes U S C I S still has jurisdiction are the times the judge has jurisdiction. So definitely
get professional help if you're in removal. And you are thinking about the I 7 51 process, you
could also argue, and we've done this successfully for some of our clients. You could also argue that
you will suffer extreme hardship if you have to go back to your country. Um, and that could be a
basis for you self petitioning to get your green card. As you can see, there are so many things
to consider. Um, there are opportunities for some people to do it on their own,
and then there may not be an opportunity for others to do it on their own. It really
depends on your facts and your situation reach out to us so that we could talk more about it
and see, uh, what we can do to assist you. And, um, I hope you found this video helpful, share
it with other people. And guys, I, I will see you in the next one. Thanks so much. Bye-bye.