For undocumented immigrants who may be facing a divorce, it is important to understand how some of the divorce and immigration rules work together.
Being a “resident” for purposes of getting a divorce is not the same as for immigration
Most people wanting to know how to get a divorce in Florida come across the requirement that they must be a resident of Florida for at least six (6) months before filing the petition for divorce. Under the Florida laws for divorce, all that this means is that you must be living in Florida for at least six months.
This has nothing to do with your immigration status in the United States.
However, that doesn’t mean that you should go ahead and get a divorce if you are about to begin proceedings related to your immigration status, or are in the middle of adjusting your residency status.
Because I don’t know much about immigration, I asked fellow attorney Viviana Medina, Esq., an immigration attorney in Hollywood, Florida, to provide me some examples where getting a divorce will have an impact on a person’s immigration proceedings. As she explained, sometimes non-citizens must obtain a divorce judgment quickly for a variety of reasons.
Divorce and Immigration – Conditional Green card
A person who obtained conditional resident status through marriage must apply for permanent residence. Thee official immigration term is “petition to remove conditions on residence” – three (3) months prior to expiration of his/her conditional resident status.
If the non-citizen is no longer living with his/her spouse, and there hasn’t been extreme cruelty in the relationship, the non-citizen must have a divorce decree in order to apply for permanent residence.
Being separated or in the process of getting a divorce Is not enough because the divorce decree, the final judgment of dissolution of marriage, must be filed with the immigration petition.
Divorce in country of origin
Another situation arises when a couple obtains a divorce in their home country even though both spouses are living in the United States. They do it because they think it would be faster or cheaper to get divorced in their country of origin. They may have remarried in the U.S. and petition for his/her new spouse. That’s when they find out that the current marriage is not valid because the divorce was not valid. When this happens, a divorce must be obtained in the U.S. as soon as possible before the immigration service starts removal (deportation) proceedings against the applicant.
These are only some examples of the many situations in which obtaining a divorce quickly may make the difference in a person’s ability to remain in the United States or obtain legal status.
How long does it take for a Florida divorce?
Once you know the time frames related to immigration proceedings that may be affected by a divorce, you need to take into consideration how long does it take for a divorce in Florida.
The fastest divorce is an uncontested divorce. These are the ones where you and your spouse agree that you will get divorced, and also agree on all other things that need to be resolved: property, debt and issues related to children (if there are any of the marriage).
It is not necessary for a spouse to agree to the divorce because Florida is a no-fault divorce; no consent or agreement is needed. But you want to know if they agree and will sign all required documents because otherwise you would have to serve them with the divorce papers. A divorce in which you have to serve the divorce papers to your spouse will take longer because it is a contested divorce in the legal system.
If you have questions about immigration status or immigration proceedings in general, I invite you to contact immigration attorney Viviana Medina, Esq. or call her at 754-703-4066.
If you want information for your divorce, you are welcome to call me at 305-710-9419 or contact me through this link; either way, I call you within 1 business day.