A friend of mine just got his green card last month and now his wife wants to file a divorce. They are both separated after two years of marriage. They both live in New York State.

I was wondering if it's possible to either get a divorce immediately after getting his green card or should he have the marriage annulled instead.

I'm not licensed in NY to discuss the family law issue, but your friend's green card (which is a federal issue) was probably issued due to his marriage to a resident (assumption). So to annul the marriage may adversly affect his green card status and he could risk deportation unless his has an H1B visa or assylum status.

I think your friend should go back to his immigration attorney and discuss before he goes to a divorce attorney. Based on my experience, he should make sure that his green card license will not be adversly affected by a divorce, then he can file for divorce. I would not get a judicial annulment, but rather a religious annulment. This could make a world of difference in his immigration matter.

Hope that helps.
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I agree with Samantha. A "finance' visa" is issed based on the the marriage of a US citizen to a non-citizen. If one party files an annullment, then its as if the marriage never happened and hence the green card should not have been issued.

So, protect the immigration rights first and file divorce later. The other issue, is that in order to get the green card the couple must declare that they have a valid marriage and that its not a sham. To file for divorce right after getting a green card willl trigger an investigation that the marriage was a sham.

I represented a client under similar facts and her attorney fees were over $20k. So, make sure they have the funds necessary to defend themselves!