Other Green Card Issue Is it legal to sell or profit from a green card?

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catcondo

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I am looking for help in finding immigration laws that either allow or prohibit citizens (naturalized or other wise) from profiting money by signing a green card for their spouse. In a woman's post-nup it states that because she signed for her husband to get a green card she is entitled to 42% of his earnings for life. She has 2 master's degrees and so does her husband.

Background: The woman immigrated from India and became a naturalized citizen in 1995. During college in 1998 she met an Indian man that was here on a student visa. They dated and then married within a year. It was a legitimate marriage, no fraud indicated. Five years after being married he applied for medical school and was accepted. Upon his acceptance into medical school, his wife immediatly went to a lawyers office and had a post-nup drafted indicating that since she signed for the green card she is entitled to 42% of his earnings for life. (He did obtained his citizenship in 2005.)

I am looking for any laws that either allows or prohibits a person from profiting for signing or selling a green card.
And since the green card was used as a means to profit in the event of a separation or divorce, is the post-nup even legal?
And if it is illegal to profit from a green card, what are the penalities involved?

Thank you.
 
And is this agreement actually a court order?

Did both have independent legal counsel?

Besides - he naturalized in 2005; the boat has long since set sail in terms of a legal course of action.
 
She had the legal counsel, he did not. He was not informed that he needed an attorney to read it over nor was he told there was a statute of limitations.

I don't want to get into the divorce hearing. This IS NOT about the divorce. I don't advice about the divorce. I just want the LAWS that either support her right to collect alimony by signing the green card OR laws that prohibit from profiting from a green card, please. Nothing else. Just the laws, please!
 
Please tell us, word for word (minus names) EXACTLY how the post-nup is worded.

And seriously - the divorce IS important, whether or not you agree with it.
 
This is just the part that regards the green card:
"The husband acknowledges that because of the wife's unfailing support, encouragement, and backing, he was able to receive his green card, obtain his MBA, take the medical college admission test, and apply to medical schools nationwide."

There are many medical schools that accept non-citizens or don't require a green card. It's just where he was accepted he needed a green card or be a citizen. Now the wife did not support him in any way. In fact she failed on her part to live with him or financially support him before he gained his citizenship. So she failed to uphold her promise. And the judge is considering that she is in breach of contract since she didn't even bother to live with him or financially support him during any of his education.

Like I said, they were already married for 5 years before he applied and was accepted into medical school so he didn't use her for the green card.
 
That is not the same as actually saying "she profited from his green card".

Breach of which contract, exactly? (I'm asking for a reason) :)
 
She is using the green card to receive 42% of his income for life.
I will not get into details about the post-nup, or the divorce.

Look if you don't know of any laws that explain the legalities of using a green card for profit, then just leave it alone please.

I need LAWS that are on the books, nothing more. I've been saying that since the beginning.
 
I'm TRYING to get you to help yourself. You see, depending on the conditions of the post-nup - which we cannot read from here - it could be void, voidable, completely invalid or enforceable.

From what you've said so far, she has not used the green card for profit. She has simply been savvy enough to have her ex concede that because of A, B & C, she deserves X, Y and Z.

If you want to search yourself, Lexis, Google Scholar, Westlaw - all good sources.
 
He really needs to be speaking to his attorney.

Without knowing the details of the prenup, there's really not much anyone can say here. It would be wrong for us to second guess his attorney, who does have the prenup and all of the details.

Hopefully he's still within the time limit to appeal. (One can only appeal for a relatively short period of time - after that, it's reopening the entire divorce and that's going to get expensive really quickly)
 
He's already spent over $27 K in attorney's fees. He's going broke because of the judicial system and a judge that's being wishy-washy. The judge wants to uphold a post-nup that's one sided and against NC public policy, plus the part about the wife breaching parts of the post-nup contract. And going into appeals could cost him nearly $50 grand. He doesn't have that kind of money.

As far as using the law library, I have to know what I'm looking for. Believe me, I've been researching this for him for over 5 months and I keep hitting dead ends.
 
The judge actually wants the post-nup to stand?

Okay - a quick question. Which part of the post-nup is the wife breaching?

(Can you see how difficult it can be to offer solutions to third parties who can't give us important details?)

With that said, I personally feel that it's wrong to screw one's spouse - so I'm willing to dig around if you can be patient.
 
The wife promised to emotionally support, financially support, and help him during his 4 years in medical school. She didn't do any of that. He had to take out additional student loans to live in the dorm and for food and additional books. She didn't even live with him even though her place of employment was 10 miles from his university. IT's like as soon as she had that post-nup in hand, she physically left the marriage. Plus her lawyer had drafted a few different versions, but can't remember drafting any of them.

They never even consummated the marriage and that too makes the post-nup void in NC. Apparently she was molested by her father and she never wanted to have sex. He even has an email proving this.

This is what his ex wants and is in the post-nup:
That he provides her with 42% of his annual income for life. And if she remarries, he still pays her 35%. And that if she's ever unemployed (remarried or not) he pays her 47%. And that he pays her 35% of his income tax returns as well.
That woman is the epitome of why men in America think that women are only out for money. In total, she wants over $3 million dollars because she signed the green card.
I hope that puts some clarity on the situation.
 
I am not affiliated with or recommending this attorney's website, but it DOES clarify many post-nup issues.

http://www.wnhplaw.com/business-own...s/premarital-and-post-nuptial-agreements.html

In particular, your friend needs to read this:

Post Nuptial Agreements
While parties are not permitted to waive alimony after marriage and prior to separation, and while agreements after marriage are subject to higher scrutiny and more risk than premarital agreements, nevertheless it is possible for spouses to agree on property matters after marriage and before separation. The agreement must be in writing and, especially if it involves an interest in real property, should be notarized. A spouse should be represented and advised by separate counsel. Obviously, these agreements are much more difficult to reach after marriage. Because there is a fiduciary relationship between husband and wife, these agreements are at risk if they are not negotiated at arms length with both parties having independent counsel. Even so, there is a substantial risk of litigation concerning their validity.
Click to expand...

(Emphasis mine)

Next, about the green card.

The way the clause is worded, it honestly doesn't come across as "I got him his greencard so he owes me X, Y, Z". Rather, it's justification - an explanation of why she's wanting the money.

So it's probably wise to forget the green card issue and focus more on the enforceability aspect.

And finally - when was the divorce finalized?
 
The divorce is still in the works. Their next hearing is in December. But the judge is supposed to make her decision about enforcing the post nup in the next few weeks.

It amazes me that this judge would even consider the post-nup as being legal. Like I said, there were several that were drafted. In one post-nup his ex required that he continue paying her parents 20% of his income in the event of her death. Then in another version paying the parents is missing and then the income tax is more structured. I question the validity of the post-nup as a whole. And the lawyer that drafted them doesn't remember too much since it's been 9 years ago and didn't keep any copies.
 
It's actually surprising me, too. That would surely be an appealable decision.

It's GOOD that the divorce isn't finalized though - that gives him that little bit more power.

Paying her PARENTS? Oh HELL no.

Please, please, please do what you can to encourage him to stick with an attorney. Even legal fees will be better than her ending up with $3m.

Unfortunately, I don't think you're going to find a straight Yes/No answer to the basic question. Keep looking for case law. While statute is important, it's often case law that makes or breaks the decision.
 
In all seriousness, do judges get some kind of financial kick back when their cases go into appeals? Because this judge has had other cases go into appeals as well. And I question if she's even qualified to make a ruling. There are laws on the books that she's supposed to use to weigh her decisions on.
The judge knows either way she rules one party or the other will appeal it. However, the wife is not utilizing either of her 2 master's degrees and works part time in a bank to ensure the judge would rule in her favor. And I think it's financially irresponsible and reckless for the judge to rule in the wife's favor knowing neither party can afford the appeals court.

Even on the stand the wife admitted that she in no way helped him during his time in medical school. However he did her homework for her so that she could get her masters in health administration.
 
No, they don't get kickbacks.

But you can have lousy judges. They're like any other segment of the population...most are decent, but a few are dreadful.
 
Sure he should get it all on record so he can be deported for obtaining residency through a fraudulent marriage.:dgrin
 
He was already in the US getting a degree in chemistry and was already accepted into the MBA program. She is trying to take credit for his education where as he was the one that helped her to get her second master's degree.
In the Indian culture the families are the ones pushing for marriage more so than the couple. It's really not any different that parents that push for their kids to get married due to an unwanted pregnancy.
Now had his wife told him that she was sexually dysfunctional, that she didn't want a career oriented man, and that she always wanted to remain living with her parents, he wouldn't have married her.
And I'm pretty sure when they interviewed with immigration about their marriage and getting a green card, if the agent felt there was deception involved he/she would have disapproved of the green card.
 
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