not2cleverRed
Obvious Observer
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NY
My husband was granted permanent residency in 2004. I sponsored him. Part of the green card application is an Affidavit of Support. He has worked nowhere near 40 quarters (10 years), doubtful that he'll ever become a US citizen. So legally, I'm on the hook if he doesn't want to work according to what I've read.
(1) What are some of the consequences that are most likely because of this as I proceed to divorce? For example, he currently has a legal aid lawyer (Family Court). Because legal aid is means tested, does this mean that at some point the State of New York could/will come after me to reimburse them for legal expenses.
(2) When looking for a lawyer, what should I look for/ask for to help determine whether they will be knowledgable enough about these issues?
Additional details - not sure if they are relevant.
He has not been employed since Sept. 2005 (unless he has gotten a job recently).
I have an Order of Protection again him (stay away - me and our daughter) as of April. CPS has filed a report as "indicated" because of the domestic violence that our 2 1/2 year old daughter has witnessed (no, I wasn't the one who contacted CPS). I had pressed charges against him in Dec 2006 after he put his hands around my neck to choke me - while our then 10 month old daughter was in my arms - but I dropped them in April 2007, so I don't think that would be counted against him by USCIS. Not that I want him deported - I'd rather if he returns to his home country that it's his decision. Which, but for our daughter, he may yet do. He's talked about it enough.
We used his income at the time as the evidence of adequate assets - he had a math post doc at an emminent university, and based on credentials at that time might have qualified for a merit based green card. I pushed for the marriage based application because they're usually quicker. I was not working at the time. He has since become disenchanted with academia in the US as being too political, and simply did not apply for jobs.
And here I'd only been trying to battle my concerns about unsupervised visitation
given that in addition to being a foreign national, he's unemployed, moved out of state, driving an unknown vehicle (rented each time), has tried to conceal where he's living (wouldn't tell the judge what state he'd even been living in at first hearing, took over 2 months to send me a residential address and tel #, was a no show at last court date probably because he hadn't given them his current address), etc.
But that's not the issue I'm asking about here.
I'm just concerned that I could end up in a situation where not only I'll have no child support, but additionally I'll have to support him! Granted, that's what I signed on to in sponsoring him. So I need to be armed with information on what to look for in a lawyer, and what I have to be prepared for.
My husband was granted permanent residency in 2004. I sponsored him. Part of the green card application is an Affidavit of Support. He has worked nowhere near 40 quarters (10 years), doubtful that he'll ever become a US citizen. So legally, I'm on the hook if he doesn't want to work according to what I've read.
(1) What are some of the consequences that are most likely because of this as I proceed to divorce? For example, he currently has a legal aid lawyer (Family Court). Because legal aid is means tested, does this mean that at some point the State of New York could/will come after me to reimburse them for legal expenses.
(2) When looking for a lawyer, what should I look for/ask for to help determine whether they will be knowledgable enough about these issues?
Additional details - not sure if they are relevant.
He has not been employed since Sept. 2005 (unless he has gotten a job recently).
I have an Order of Protection again him (stay away - me and our daughter) as of April. CPS has filed a report as "indicated" because of the domestic violence that our 2 1/2 year old daughter has witnessed (no, I wasn't the one who contacted CPS). I had pressed charges against him in Dec 2006 after he put his hands around my neck to choke me - while our then 10 month old daughter was in my arms - but I dropped them in April 2007, so I don't think that would be counted against him by USCIS. Not that I want him deported - I'd rather if he returns to his home country that it's his decision. Which, but for our daughter, he may yet do. He's talked about it enough.
We used his income at the time as the evidence of adequate assets - he had a math post doc at an emminent university, and based on credentials at that time might have qualified for a merit based green card. I pushed for the marriage based application because they're usually quicker. I was not working at the time. He has since become disenchanted with academia in the US as being too political, and simply did not apply for jobs.
And here I'd only been trying to battle my concerns about unsupervised visitation
given that in addition to being a foreign national, he's unemployed, moved out of state, driving an unknown vehicle (rented each time), has tried to conceal where he's living (wouldn't tell the judge what state he'd even been living in at first hearing, took over 2 months to send me a residential address and tel #, was a no show at last court date probably because he hadn't given them his current address), etc. But that's not the issue I'm asking about here.
I'm just concerned that I could end up in a situation where not only I'll have no child support, but additionally I'll have to support him! Granted, that's what I signed on to in sponsoring him. So I need to be armed with information on what to look for in a lawyer, and what I have to be prepared for.