Hello,
A few years ago my ex husband then hispanic girlfriend used my ID and my name to get a job at a Red Lobster in Provo, Utah. They have since married and my assumptions is she has become a citizen because of the marriage. Is there anything I can do to pursue any sort of grievance? I found this out when I tried to refi my house.
Call the police and report the theft of your identity. You could be held liable for many things, a lot of them bad, if you don’t. Marriage does not mean automatic citizenship anymore.
Irregardless of whether it will result in any repercussions for her, I would file a police report. It makes getting items removed from your credit report much easier.
Send a copy of the police report to the reporting agency along with a copy of your credit report with disputed items highlighted.
Another thing to check is the chex-systems report. If used your ID for anything banking related (bad checks/accounts) then it will end up here NOT in the reports of the “big three” agencies.
What does her being Hispanic have to do with anything?
So she got this job under your name and ID number? Does that mean that there’s a string of bank accounts, leases, car loans, etc, etc, with your name on them, that you never made? Even if everything’s paid up and all, that could get very confusing if you need to, say, apply for a passport or pass a security clearance for a new job or anything else that needs a background check.
It explains why she used the ID with minimum of backstory. Would you have been happier with…
You might want to dial your "I’m offended’ meter down a touch.
Your girlfriend is an ex-Hispanic?
Well no, it doesn’t actually explain it at all.
You are aware that Hispanic doesn’t mean illegal or undocumented alien, and that the vast majority of persons in the US that self identify as Hispanic are perfectly capable of satisfying employers of the legality of hiring them using their own completely legitimate credentials…right? Or to put it more bluntly, Hispanic is not just a polite way of saying “wetback”, and the fact that you have used it that context strikes this 6th generation US citizen of Anglo-Saxon descent as offensive indeed.
Would you have preferred the OP come out and say “wetback” then? In view of the piece of work she’s talking about, “Hispanic” probably counts as an effort to be polite.
She was not a citizen of the US. This is a fact.
That’s all that was necessary.
BTW, welcome to the boards hausermh, and sorry you’re getting such a reception as a newcomer. If you can put up with the various chips on various shoulders among some posters, for the most part I think you’ll find this is the best place on the Internet to get informed & helpful advice on stuff like this.
[Moderator Note]
If you want to take offense at a post where none evidently was met, then take it to the Pit. GQ isn’t the place for it.
And I don’t think we need to get into a general discussion over the equivalency or not of “Hispanic” and “wetback.”
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
In any case, legal advice is best dealt with in IMHO rather than GQ. Moved.
I really didn’t mean to offend anyone. I am just trying to figure out where to start, it was also brought to my attention that I had a PO box and that I actually lived in Provo, UT, all of which is news to me. As much as I can’t stand the individual, I didn’t think it was really worth my effort to even do anything. But now it seems it does effect me, and I would like to move forward on this to the extent that the law allows. So, any help in guiding me that way would be greatly appreciated.
You don’t automatically become a citizen with marriage. You get a temporary visa for three years, and at the end of those three years you can get a green card, provided you are still married. You get your citizenship after you’ve had the green card for a few years.
I’m sorry if I’m being slow, but what does her citizenship have to do with her crime?
Being a noncitizen makes it difficult or impossible to find work legally, so her noncitizen status would explain why she might use a fake or stolen social security number. (To pretend she’s a citizen and legally allowed to work in the US.)
Does she have to present a fake ID every time she cashes her checks? I assume she wouldn’t have a bank account with a false ID, right? Wouldn’t that be a new crime every time she presented the ID for a fraudulent purpose, and a felony at that?
I would consult a lawyer immediately in your position. If you can’t afford a lawyer, the LEAST you should do is call law enforcement. Wouldn’t the FBI be the agency responsible for handling this type of crime?
You can get a state driver’s license as a noncitizen, which you can then use to cash your checks.
ETA: Not saying necessarily that’s what happened, just that it’s possible. Also, that’s assuming that a person is a noncitizen but in the country legally. What a straight out illegal alien would do, I don’t know.
I’m sorry this happened to you and hope everything turns out well. Just make sure you do what people say and file that police report. It will take a while for her not to show up on your credit if she did anything but you will have the police to back you up.