Overstaying a tourist visa

[Stephen + Elisha 92]

First of all, you probably need a lawyer. Waivers are serious business.

Second, the good news for you is that USCIS has an expedited waiver process in place at CDJ. Quoting from http://www.scottimmigration.net/content/i601memo :

Waiver Pilot Program in Ciudad Juarez Since March 6, 2007, I-601 waiver applicants in Mexico have benefitted from the Waiver Pilot Program in which they may be able to obtain waiver approval a few days from the time of filing. This is a very exciting program as it makes the process much more practical for many applicants who normally would be unwilling or unable to leave their families, especially small children, for an extended period of time in order to go through the waiver process voluntarily.

At the K or immigrant visa interview, once the alien is found inadmissible, he/she will be able to file the I-601 at a waiver appointment at the consulate about 5-8 weeks following the interview. If it is clearly approvable, the alien will be able to get his/her K or immigrant visa relatively quickly – in about a week. If it is not approved it will neither be denied. Rather, it will be referred and placed into the normal, longer process.

Waiver appointments must be made by phone by calling 1-800-919-1754 from the US or 01-477-788-70-70 from Mexico. Have a credit card handy because they will charge you $7 for the call. Currently one must wait until after the consular interview before scheduling the waiver appointment.

At the waiver appointment, the waiver must be clearly approvable, which means it is now more important than ever to prepare a quality waiver packet for Mexican cases with plenty of supporting documentation. If the packet is not clearly approvable, it will not be denied, but it will be referred to the normal waiver process, which could take 12 months or more. If your case gets referred, this should be an indication to you that you need to amend the packet to make it stronger. Some cases, no matter how well you prepare, may not be clearly approvable due to the facts of the case. For example, if your client has two DUI convictions then regardless of the hardships and the evidence, it will be referred.

[Boiler 45,399]

That is old news and no longer current practice.

basically you do not do a lot, all down to your Fiancee.

http://www.scottimmigration.net/ This site covers it all in detail, Laurel Scott is highly recommended for these cases.

[Stephen + Elisha 92]

That is old news and no longer current practice.

basically you do not do a lot, all down to your Fiancee.

http://www.scottimmigration.net/ This site covers it all in detail, Laurel Scott is highly recommended for these cases.

My quote came from that site. If it's "old news," I guess they need to update their content.

[Boiler 45,399]

Chat Transcript February 8, 2012

Moderation starts.

Laurel(P) Good morning everyone.

Laurel(P) I've posted last week's chat. On it I made several comments about what's happening in CDJ and how we, the attorneys, aren't really sure what's going on or what to expect next. I have no meaningful updates to what I wrote last week in that regard. We are still confused and don't know what to expect. I am getting reports from other attorneys that they are doing many consultations for people who had a different attorney and got referred and, based on the language of the referral notice, believe their prior attorney was incompetent. Please do not put too much faith in the language of the referral notice. The notices ALWAYS say that the case was not proven and not enough evidence was submitted. The truth is, they probably didn't even look at it. I'm not saying that you should not update your case; I am only saying that the statements made in the referral noticfe may be false.

Laurel(P) It does appear at least that CDJ is making strides in resolving the bubble of cases created during the staffing shortage that occurred in CDJ in the latter half of 2011. That's not to say they are approving all the cases; merely that they are finally communicating with the applicants, letting them know that the case is referred and that it is in the system.

Laurel(P) Generally speaking, attorneys are reporting across-the-board referrals. But when it gets to the new locations, sometimes we are seeing fast approvals. So we're not really sure what's happening.

[Kevin&crystal 0]

Ok. Well thank you both but now I'm confused. Is there a chance that the waiver might not even be required? And if it is I should DEFINITELY contact a lawyer right? I shouldn't attempt to process a waiver on my own?

[Stephen + Elisha 92]

He's definitely going to need a waiver, and you definitely don't want to try to handle that on your own. Get a good lawyer. Laurel Scott specializes in waivers, and she's very highly regarded for her work in that area.

[Boiler 45,399]

Ok. Well thank you both but now I'm confused. Is there a chance that the waiver might not even be required? And if it is I should DEFINITELY contact a lawyer right? I shouldn't attempt to process a waiver on my own?

I agree with the above and would add:

Definitely required.

Some DIY but you have little time to do the research.

[summersurf 10]

Hey guys. So I saw something about if you overstayed your visa you will not be eligible for a K1 visa. Here's the scenario: When I was 7 years old, my parents took me to the US on a tourist visa and I did not return to Mexico until the age of 22. Will this cause my k1 visa to get rejected? =[

Hi Kevin and Crystal,

I just read your post and i think your case pretty similar with mine. If i may ask how old are you now since you said you returned to Mexico when you were 22?

Okay so your K-1 (I-129F) already approved and your interview is coming up, if you still within the 10 years ban range (unless you now 32 years old or older), your visa would be denied and you will need to file for waiver.

I'm sorry that the answers you got kind of confusing, i'm gonna try to help you a little bit based on my experience since i have gotten through this, it was almost 5 years ago though when i filed for the K1 and the waiver but hopefully i could still remember it.

I also had 10 years ban because i overstayed my tourist visa for 1,5 years. I returned to Indonesia voluntarily, NOT being deported, there is a huge different between these two, because if you leave the US voluntarily then you will only need to file I-601 but if you were deported then you will need to file both I-601 and I-212. So I met my american boyfriend then, now husband, and we started the whole process. Our K1 also approved, just like yours, but at the interview the visa was denied, of course because of my overstaying status. At the interview after they denied my visa, they handed me a paper stating how to file for the waiver.

So i went home and get all the papers done for my waiver petition, i only needed to apply for the I-601 since i wasnt deported. You can find the form on uscis.gov and read the instruction carefully. 2 things that you MUST have to accompany your waiver petitions are your own statements and the extreme hardship from your fiance/e.

This statement you're going to write would be your apology to the US government for violating their laws by overstaying the visa. It's like a personal letter. Mine was 6 pages long and hand written because i wanted to make it very personal, i told them EVERYTHING about what i was doing in the US while i was overstaying the visa. From the very beginning i entered the US until i left the country, i didn't leave one single thing out, you need to be really honest in your statements. About how you get into the country, whether you work illegally or not, why you overstay your visa when you already know that would cause you problem, everything.

And the extreme hardship would be the one your fiance/e write. It also like a statement, apologizing and that you guys are meant to be together and can't leave without each other. But also telling them the reason why he/she needs to remain in the US as his/her homecountry and need to get you to the US with him/her.

My husband's (then fiance) extreme hardship was only one page, but he got to the point.

Oh and also the story you tell them in your statement and in your fiance/e extreme hardship MUST BE submitted with the supporting documents, like in my husband's extreme hardship says that he needs to be in the US since his dad has some health problems, so we submiitted all his health records from his doctors. This is just to give you ideas.

We also have the family members write letters for us, and that would help a lot, i only had my parents in law write for us.

We did not hire a lawyer at all, it seems hard but you can do it, we waited for another 7 months for the waiver to be approved, and NO you won't bee needing to do the K1 process all over again, once they approved your waiver they will issue you the visa.

It takes time but i think it depends on which embassy you file it with, hopefully your embassy works quicker.

Please feel free to write me a personal message if you want to ask more questions, i'll be more than happy to help you.

Say prayers along the way.. hope this helps, good luck

[Boiler 45,399]

If that is what you did you were very lucky.

[KayDeeCee 4,893]

Look into this forum: http://immigrate2us.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?6-I-601-Mexico

They specifically deal with situations like yours.

[bigdog 376]

I don't know if this apply s to your case, http://immigrate2us.net/forum/showthread.php?5710-EWI-%28Entering-Without-Inspection%29-Bans-and-more-%28Spanish-Version-Included%29 You might go back to your attorney for this.

[Kevin&crystal 0]

Hey guys thanks for all the help. @boiler- since you insist on me getting a lawyer, how much would one run me? (ballpark price) @jay-Kay- I checked out that site but it's not user friendly. =\ but special thanks to summersurf- I think that's what I'ma do. No lawyer for now

[LIFE'SJOURNEY 970]

As to price, do you want a good, fair, ok, or poor lawyer. Prices can ranged from $6,000 to $1,000. A fairly good lawyer , could start anywhere between $6,000 to $ 4000. It all depends on the amount of work your case will take.

Edited February 21, 2012 by LIFE'SJOURNEY

[skiptex 225]

lawyers are not cheap.. and this is something you don't want to do cheaply..

[Boiler 45,399]

Hey guys thanks for all the help. @boiler- since you insist on me getting a lawyer, how much would one run me? (ballpark price) @jay-Kay- I checked out that site but it's not user friendly. =\ but special thanks to summersurf- I think that's what I'ma do. No lawyer for now

I do not insist that you get a Lawyer.

From what you have posted you do not seem to understand the process, your life, your call.