Despite some historic and current hiccups, our nation is still a jewel of democracy in a sea of conflict. People from all over the world still clamor to get into the United States, and many of those set their sights on settling in Virginia. Most people enter our country legally, and many of those apply for citizenship. A Virginia divorce can complicate the path to citizenship, while the process of becoming a citizen can complicate a divorce.

You Married a U.S. Citizen

If you have emigrated to the United States and married an American citizen, you started onto a path to citizenship by getting a Green Card. The two steps are clear:

  1. Gain permanent residency
  2. Gain naturalization (citizenship)

To become a citizen, you need to be naturalized. Before you can gain naturalization, you need a Green Card (Permanent Resident Card). If you are married but lack either naturalization or a Green Card, a divorce has no effect on you; you cannot become a U.S. citizen anyway.

If you have a Green Card obtained by marrying a U.S. citizen, so long as you remain married for three years, your status as a permanent resident is not affected by a subsequent divorce. If you divorce your U.S. citizen spouse before the three years, you then need to wait another two years before applying for naturalization.

Do You Have to Return to Your Home Country after Divorce?

For most immigrants, the burning question with divorce and citizenship is, “Do I have to return to my home country if I divorce my American wife?” Again, the stage of your path to citizenship affects that answer:

  1. Green Card (Permanent Residency) — Stay married three years and you can remain in the United States
  2. Naturalized citizen — You need to stay married until you get your U.S. citizenship

As confusing as the entire process is, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) does present all its information plainly, in plain language (admittedly, among numerous web pages). You can become naturalized — become a U.S. citizen — if you:

  • Have been a permanent resident (green card holder) for at least 3 years
  • Have been living in marital union with the same U.S. citizen spouse during such time
  • Meet all other eligibility requirements under this section

Once you have your U.S. citizenship, very few circumstances — certainly not divorce — can lead to revocation of your naturalization. You can kiss naturalization goodbye, says USCIS, if you:

  1. Lied your way into naturalization
  2. Misrepresented material facts on your application
  3. Are a member of or are affiliated with a terrorist, Communist or totalitarian organization
  4. Became naturalized by serving in the U.S. military and are then discharged from U.S. military service with other than an honorable discharge

You are the U.S. Citizen

Suppose the cardboard valise is in the other hand (the sabot is on the other foot; you get the idea). What if you are the U.S. citizen, your wife is an immigrant, and you two divorce. Do your children lose their mother to deportation?

Well, again, the situation is nuanced, as it was when you were the immigrant. If you and she were married three years after she acquired her Green Card and you remained married while she gained naturalization, she will not be deported.

Political Football

Depending on the ferocity with which immigration laws are enforced (and this is a political hot potato right now), she may not face deportation even if she, by law, should be. If she does something to draw attention to herself and her immigration status, she could face deportation if she is still in the process of getting citizenship.

If, however, she is naturalized and did nothing to subvert the process, she is free and clear to remain. Your property settlement agreement can proceed as it would for any other divorcing Virginia couple, including child custody, child visitation, and child support. Your kids will still have their mother.

Divorce and Citizenship

While the money-saving option may be to work only with a family law attorney in pursuit of a Virginia divorce, for anyone with citizenship concerns, you may be better off having two attorneys: one for the divorce, and one for the immigration status.

Even if all you get is an hour’s consultation with an immigration attorney, you will at least have the assurance you need to pursue or postpone the divorce.

Call Our Divorce Attorneys for Men

When you dial 757-383-9184, or contact us online, to speak to an attorney at The Firm For Men, you will speak with a real Virginia family law attorney, not a legal secretary, not a telephone operator who redirects your call to parts unknown. Whether your case is complicated by questions of citizenship or is a straightforward uncontested divorce, we are here to help Virginia’s men find accurate, correct legal advice.