RFE requesting Spouse's divorce decree

[TroublesNeverEnd]

Hello Guru's,

This site has always provided ome valuable suggesstions to immigration issues and I wanted to share my case hoping someone will share their expertise. My case is a bit unique. I seperated my spouse after going through some acute physical and mental torture in Nov 2000 and managed to come to USA in 2003 on F1, filed for my H1B in 2004 and after a few setbacks finally got my priority date in EB2 in 02/09. My then-spouse has veeb living in India since and never visited USA. He never provided any support to me or our daughter and we didnt co-inhabit since I seperated from him in 2000. Once in a while he communicated with his daughter over phone and no matter how many times I asked for his residential address he never shared it with me. Also, he refused to sign the divorce papers incase I sent them nor did he agree to initiate a divorce in India. After continuous pleading to no effect I filed for a divorce in VA via "Publication" and used the last known address that I had of him to send him the notification. After 4 months of not hearing from him my divorce was granted here in VA and I submitted it in my 485 application. Now, I recieved an RFE asking for the copy of official divorce decree from the spouse. I know for sure he will not help me with it in any which way as he never was willing to divorce me. Even if I file a divorce in India via Unilateral Divorce procedure it will still be the decree where I am seeking divorce and will not be rom him. I am at a bind and do not know how to answer this RFE. Any help or suggestion is appreciated.

God Bless !

[JoeF]

Well, seems the USCIS examiner doesn't know what the divorce via publication means.

I suggest you discuss the situation with a good immigration lawyer and submit a letter explaining the divorce process, and that there may be no document from the spouse available in this process.

[catx]

You need to consult with a qualified, experienced immigration attorney to help you respond to the RFE. (They maybe able to put together supporting documentation that is sufficient evidence of the divorce.) In addition, I would think a government issued "unilateral divorce" decree would suffice, but again that is a matter to discuss with an immigration attorney.

[TroublesNeverEnd]

Thank you for your responses. I do have an experienced immigration attorney and I am going to discuss this with him today. I agree that the immigration officer is unaware of Divorce via Publication process and hence the RFE. I will document the circumstances with the evidence and put together a response andupdate the forum once I have had the conversation with my attorney.

[t75]

Are you sure you understand what he is asking for? Check with the attorney that handled your divorce as well as an immigration attorney.

[Attorney_15]

If USCIS issues an RFE questioning whether someone is divorced, consultation with one's own or another experienced divorce lawyer who can advise on the legality of the divorce is usually advisable. One may wish to obtain an expert opinion of letter of some kind from a divorce lawyer to explain the process that one has followed to obtain a particular divorce as well as the reason(s) one's divorce is / was legally effective. One may also wish to consult with an experienced immigration lawyer to verify the particulars of what USCIS is requesting and the legal basis for such request - as the Service does sometimes raise questions that should not impact one's eligibility for a benefit sought.