My girlfriend is an Iranian immigrant. Her wife wants a divorce and I am spiraling trying to figure out how to keep her from being sent back to Iran.

The backstory here is extremely complicated. My girlfriend married her wife over 3 years ago and is on a conditional green card. They were wanting to divorce long before I came into the picture, and her wife does know about me and has since the beginning so my issue here is not the ethics of our relationship and that is not why I am seeking advice.

Her wife is going to divorce her. Her wife was going to divorce her before she and I even met. She has until November of next year until her conditional green card becomes a permanent 10-year green card. Now that Trump is going to become president, her wife is now stating she wants a divorce as soon as possible. We are not sure where the sudden shift came from when originally, she was open to staying married until my partner could obtain her permanent green card. They did not originally enter into the marriage fraudulently, and there is plenty of proof of that (joint credit cards, bank accounts, health insurance, a house in both of their names). This will absolutely ruin her chances of staying here in the United States. If she gets sent back to Iran, they will execute her because she is a lesbian.

I am in a downward spiral as I watch the election results come in. What happens if her wife divorces her right away like she says and she becomes illegal? Do I need to marry her? Is it legal to marry her so soon after she was divorced from her wife? Will there be a gap in the legality of it and is there a chance she will get sent back until she and I can finalize a marriage? Will marrying her after she’s been married to her wife flag her with ICE? I am desperate and have no idea what to do. I cannot let her go back. Please help me. I have no idea what to do or how to make it so she can stay here with me. She is the love of my life, and the idea that she will get sent back and executed……I will not survive it. It will kill me too.

Advice? Should a lawyer be involved? What do we do?