So I've been getting an unusual amount of questions regarding marriages of U.S. citizens to foreigners and what happens should the marriage end. One of the most popular questions I've been receiving lately actually relates to the following case file.

Suspect:
Mrs. Valentine Angry

Assignment:
To find out what would happen if Mrs. Angry, a national of Macedonia, were to divorce her U.S. citizen husband. Can she lose her green card?

History:
Mrs. Angry married her U.S. citizen husband three years ago. Since that time, he has become lazy, ignores her, and spends all of his time on his book about extraterrestrial beings and the end of the world. This has caused a lot of problems in their marriage and now they fight every night. Mrs. Angry is fed up and wants to divorce her husband. The problem is, every time they have a big fight, her husband always wins the argument by threatening her, saying, "I'll get your green card taken away!"

Mrs. Angry received her permanent green card (without conditions) one year before via marriage to her husband and hasn't thought of applying for naturalization. She wants to stay in the U.S. if the marriage doesn't work out. But, she is now scared about her husband's threats and doesn't know what to do.

Resolved:
Since Mrs. Angry has already received a green card without conditions, a divorce will not invalidate her green card or status, granted that the marriage was not entered into fraudulently. Unless she is later indicted of or has already been accused of a felony or crime that would warrant the loss of her green card, Mrs. Angry can divorce her husband and keep her permanent residence status. The only thing different in this case is that Mrs. Angry will have to wait a full 5 years before she will be eligible to apply for naturalization, providing she meets the other requirements. Typically when a foreigner marries a U.S. citizen, there is only a 3 year wait period, instead of the normal 5 years, to become eligible for applying for naturalization due to a deference to the U.S. citizen. In Mrs. Angry's case, since she will no longer be tied to the marriage that gave rise to her permanent residency, she will be subject to the usual 5 year wait period.

Question:
I am a 32 year old U.S. citizen but have been living in Paris for the last 7 years. I am married to a French national and wish to apply for a green card for her from Paris and undergo consular processing. Because we have been living in Paris, I have not filed any U.S. tax returns for the time I've been gone. Can my father co-sponsor the affidavit of support for my wife?

Response:
First of all, if you are a US citizen living abroad, you should still always file a U.S. tax return if you have any income, even if you qualify for the foreign earned income exclusion. Not only does this help you avoid any potential penalties later on in life should you return to the U.S., but it could potentially help in future immigration matters.

That being said, the general rule is that a sponsor for a financial sponsor for a green card must:

• Be at least 18 years old;
• Be a U.S. Citizen or a Legal Permanent Resident; and
• Have a domicile in the U.S.

All three conditions MUST be met by the person who is sponsoring the I-864 Affidavit of Support before a co-sponsor can be applicable.

In this situation, as long as you can prove that you have domicile in the U.S., either through IRS tax returns filed, bank statements, or other documents, then your father cannot co-sponsor the affidavit, and more than likely, neither can you.

As seen on Examiner.com.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled, last Wednesday, in a case titled Kawashima v. Holder, that filing a false tax return is a deportable offense.

The petitioners (the Kawashimas), husband and wife, in the case had been lawful U.S. permanent residents (i.e. green card holders) since 1984. In 1997, the husband was convicted of filing a false corporate tax return that understated the couples’ income thus depriving the U.S. of owed tax revenue. The wife was convicted of assisting the husband in filing the false corporate tax return.