90 Day Fiance star Mohamed Jbali seemed to be well on his way to living out his days in the United States after dodging ex-wife Danielle’s anullment bullet, but the Tunisian-born reality star’s US residency status may now be in jeopardy thanks to one of this country’s most famous institutions: the US Postal Service!
A very frustrated (and seemingly nervous) Mohamed shared the news in an Instagram video. Here is a screen shot and the transcript:
Since I came to the States three years ago — over three years ago, I used the Post Office services for, like, maybe over 50 times. Over, even, a lot — so many times. I never, ever used the insurance when I’m sending something. This time, I was trying to send an application to the Immigration so I can get the condition removed from my green card and get the ten-year green card. Guess what happened? They lost the file! I never sent anything with the post office and got lost. This time, when I used the insurance — and this was an overnight mail — they lost my application. Now they’ve started an investigation.
Mohamed responded to some fans in the comments section, and said that things are essentially out of his hands at this point. “All I can do now is to wait until they finish investigating,” he explained.
A couple commenters suggested that maybe it was because of Mohamed’s notoriety that his application was lost. “This wasnt bad luck!!!” one commenter exclaimed. “Wtf!!! some one must have seen the name Mohamed and Knew who you were!!!! this was done one purpouse!!!!!! I hope they find it if not get a lawyer.”
“Sometimes I think like that but and then I say no,” Mohamed responded. “We’ll see after they finish the investigation.”
The suspicions continued. “That’s pretty fishy. You think they are holding it back?” someone asked.
“Maybe because this is not the 1st time it happened to me,” Mohamed said, seemingly contradicting his comments above about never having a problem with the USPS, “before when they sent me the 1st a green card and they said it was lost in the mail.”
In case you are unaware of how the marital green card process works (like me 20 minutes ago), Mohamed received his conditional green card after going through the K-1 process and marrying Danielle. Two years after he received his green card, Mohamed had to apply to have the conditional status removed:
Your permanent residence status is conditional if it is based on a marriage that was less than 2 years old on the day you were given permanent residence. You are given conditional resident status on the day you are lawfully admitted to the United States on an immigrant visa or adjustment of your status to permanent residence.
Your status is conditional, because you must prove that you did not get married to evade the immigration laws of the United States. To remove these conditions you must file Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence.
Under “Eligibility Requirements” the website provides a list of requirements for being able to apply, including “if you…Entered into a marriage in good faith, but the marriage ended through divorce or annulment.”
Normally, the application requires the spouse to participate in the application process, but given that Mohamed and Danielle have divorced, he does not need Danielle’s assistance:
You can apply to waive the joint filing requirement if you are no longer married to your spouse, or if you have been battered or abused by your U.S.-citizen or lawful permanent-resident spouse or parent.
In such cases, you may apply to remove the conditions on your permanent residence at any time after you become a conditional resident, but before you are removed from the country. You must provide evidence that removal from the United States would cause you extreme hardship.
One thing that seems extremely cut and dry is the deadline:
If you fail to properly file Form I-751 within the 90-day period before your second anniversary as a conditional resident:
• Your conditional resident status will automatically be terminated and we will begin removal proceedings against you
• You will receive a notice from us telling you that you have failed to remove the conditions
• You will receive a Notice to Appear at a hearing. At the hearing you may review and rebut the evidence against you. You are responsible for proving that you complied with the requirements (we are not responsible for proving that you did not comply with the requirements)
The Form I-751 can be filed after the 90-day period if you can prove in writing to the director of the appropriate Service Center that there was good cause for failing to file the petition on time. The director has the discretion to approve the petition and restore your permanent resident status.
This all sounds VERY serious for Mohamed. I assume that he has his receipt from the post office, so if there is a package with the correct zip code that is actually missing, then perhaps that would be classified as a “good cause for failing to file the petition on time.” With Mohamed’s exposure on 90 Day Fiance (in which it does appear that he may not have gotten married to Danielle in good faith), I assume that he desperately wants to avoid any additional attention on his case.
Oh, and speaking of things getting lost in the mail — the summons sent by Danielle’s attorney in her $12,500 civil suit against Mohamed has been returned to sender after never being picked up at Mohamed’s Florida address. Many are speculating that Mohamed’s recent announcement that he is moving to Texas may be motivated by the fact that Texas laws are much more restrictive of wage garnishment when it comes to civil lawsuit settlements. Of course, all of that is moot if Mohamed’s US resident status is terminated and he is deported to Tunisia!
We will be sure to keep you updated.
