Sub-Saharan cyber cafe # 2

[Ban Hammer 13,548]

it's time to get up, sleepyheads!

[Simply_Uno 1]

idocare, quit bumping threads!

she was on a roll

good morning all y'all

[Zee Bee 61]

Good morning ?

{sigh}

Well, I just got out of the hospital on Tuesday and was on bed rest until yesterday. I'm hoping to go back to work half day tomorrow. Got in a huge fight with Bassi though and now we're not speaking. Great! Sorry, I stopped by here for this stupid #######! Sometimes VJ is such a bloody let down.

Happy whatever you celebrate.

Z

Let me know if you need to talk

Edited December 8, 2008 by Zee Bee

[Ta Ta 1]

{sigh}

Well, I just got out of the hospital on Tuesday and was on bed rest until yesterday. I'm hoping to go back to work half day tomorrow. Got in a huge fight with Bassi though and now we're not speaking. Great! Sorry, I stopped by here for this stupid #######! Sometimes VJ is such a bloody let down.

Happy whatever you celebrate.

Z

I apologize that this thread has been disrupted from the flow of enjoyment. Truly sorry you guys had to wake up to this.

Hope everything is ok Z.

[Ta Ta 1]

Icy roads and side walks here this morning, my dogs ran out and slipped

[reeses16 8]

kk mine,

Thats cool your mom surprised you, sorry she's leaving. I decide to surprise my family. I took me FOREVER to make the decision (so much stuff going on and $$$). But I found a great price using www.kayak.com (its just a search engine...tickets were purchased through Delta). It might be worth a try if anyone is looking at a last minute trip.

Z,

Glad you're up and out of bed. Sorry you an Bassi had a fight.

[reeses16 8]

Omoba,

I'm taking a flight with a connection in St. Louis next week. Do you think travel insurance is worth it? I typically don't buy travel insurance, but I'm wondering if I need to be concerned about a snow/ice storm interruption my trip.

Anyone else feel free to chime in too.

[Zee Bee 61]

Omoba,

I'm taking a flight with a connection in St. Louis next week. Do you think travel insurance is worth it? I typically don't buy travel insurance, but I'm wondering if I need to be concerned about a snow/ice storm interruption my trip.

Anyone else feel free to chime in too.

With the unpredictable winter, I would

[Ta Ta 1]

Omoba,

I'm taking a flight with a connection in St. Louis next week. Do you think travel insurance is worth it? I typically don't buy travel insurance, but I'm wondering if I need to be concerned about a snow/ice storm interruption my trip.

Anyone else feel free to chime in too.

I would advise it. I see too many cancelled flights out of Lambert airport here. Does the plan you are looking at include health

insurance ? I paid about $ 80 for flight insurance incl. an airlift out of Sierra Leone in case of sickness or injury.

It covered a lot of things.

I can give you a weather update a day before you leave if you remind me

Edited December 8, 2008 by Omoba

[Ta Ta 1]

If you get stuck in STL call me and you can wait it out here at my house. I am one hour away.from the airport. If you need my phone number pm me.

The metro can take you here to a station 15 min from my house.

But hopefully the flight will go out without delay. I will put in an order of sunshine for you

Have a great trip !

[LovinLiberia 0]

Hey everyone! I missed all of my cyber cafe friends. How is everyone?

Zainab, I truly hope all is well with your health and I'm sure you and Bassi will move past this little spat soon. If it makes you feel any better, Booker and I aren't speaking either, lol.

Stevi, I hope you had a nice time in London.

Boaz, Zee Bee, Nagi..how are y'all?

[reeses16 8]

LL! Guess what I saw the other day. Obama cupcakes! A local bakery is taking orders for inauguration day. They said the sold 2000 of them on election day. And the crazy thing is they're selling them for $4.50 each.

[LovinLiberia 0]

Haha, omg I'd so buy one of those, rofl. I'm about to google them. Reeses, I was just talking about you the other day to Booker. We were discussing the medical field and I remember when you gave some very useful advise regarding that. I was telling him that he should talk to you about it. Would that be okay with you?

[Simply_Uno 1]

this is just some random information I found.

might be helpful to some looking for waivers or who have hit road blocks.

dont remember the link...

1. What is a fraud waiver?

A fraud waiver is a benefit which allows certain persons who have committed an immigration fraud or material misrepresentation to obtain a visa or green card despite their transgression.

Specifically, it can waive the ground of excludability or inadmissibility for fraud or material misrepresentation. This ground applies to people who, by fraud or by willfully misrepresenting a material fact, have sought to procure, seek to procure, or have procured a visa, other documentation or entry (admission) into the U.S., or other benefit under the immigration laws.

The following are examples of fraud or misrepresentation:

1. Using a false name, birth date, marital status to obtain a visa, an extension or change of status or adjustment of status.
2. Falsely claiming to be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident on an I-9 form to obtain employment.

2. How could someone qualify for the waiver before the new law?

There were two ways to qualify for the waiver before the new law changed this section on September 30, 1996:

1. If the intending immigrant or immigrant who was the spouse, parent, or son or daughter of a United States citizen (USC) or lawful permanent resident (LPR);

   or

2. If the fraud or misrepresentation occurred at least 10 years before the date of the immigrant's application for a visa, entry or adjustment of status, and admission of the immigrant would not be contrary to the interests of the United States.

3. Is the fraud waiver still available under the new law?

Yes, but it has been greatly restricted.

4. How does the new law restrict the availability of the fraud waiver?

A section in the new law (section 349) changed the availability of the waiver in three ways:

1. It eliminated the 10-year "statute of limitations" option. Thus, the only way to obtain a fraud waiver is through a family relationship;
2. It eliminates the word "parent" from the list of people who can qualify for a fraud waiver. This means that only spouses or sons or daughters of USCs or LPRs are eligible for the waiver. Parents of a USC or LPR no longer can obtain this waiver (perhaps Congress did not want people to "benefit" from giving birth to a child in the U.S.);

   and

3. The applicant must establish that the qualifying relative would suffer "extreme hardship" if the applicant were denied admission or forced to leave the U.S.

5. So, in summary, under the new law, who can obtain a fraud waiver?

Under the new law, the only people who can obtain a fraud waiver are spouses and sons and daughters of USCs or LPRs, and only if they show that the qualifying relative would suffer extreme hardship if the waiver is not granted.

6. What does "extreme hardship" mean in this context?

The statute does not define the term, but presumably it means the same as it did in the suspension of deportation context.

7. Are there any other restrictions in the new law about this waiver?

Yes. The new law also states that "no court shall have jurisdiction to review a decision or action of the Attorney General regarding this waiver."

If this preclusion is valid -- and it may be subject to challenge in the courts -- it means that there is no court review. It does not limit or restrict administrative review by the Board of Immigration Appeals.

8. When are these changes effective and do they apply to pending cases?

The new law does not include an effective date and does not indicate that Congress intended it to apply to pending cases. It is often said that where a statute does not express an effective date, it is effective upon enactment. However, even if this is true, that does not answer the second question: whether the changes made apply to pending cases or applications.

Under Supreme Court law, a new statute that restricts relief or has other negative consequences should not apply to pending cases unless Congress clearly indicated its intent that it should.

Here, where Congress did not communicate an intent that the new law restrictions apply to pending cases and applications, arguably they should not.

9. Does that mean my application for the fraud waiver may go ahead under the old law without the "hardship" requirement?

Arguably, yes. However, we can anticipate that the INS will not agree with this interpretation, but will argue that the statute is effective immediately and applies to all pending cases and applications.

Edited December 8, 2008 by UNO...

[reeses16 8]

LL,

Absolutely! I'd be happy to talk with him.

Omoba,

Thanks for the offer! Yeah, I'm definitely gonna ad trip insurance for minimum drama.