k3 approved, in the US, abandoned by husband

[kdkd 0]

Please help me,

I am married to a US citizen. He filed for a K3 visa, it got approved in 14 months. I arrived here to the US 4 months back. My husband's constant abuse has now forced me to a shelter. He never filed for my AOS. so I don't know what to do.. I just have my passport and no other document pertaining to my visa.I don't know what to do or go from here. Can anyone please help me with this..

[Dakine 26]

Please help me,

I am married to a US citizen. He filed for a K3 visa, it got approved in 14 months. I arrived here to the US 4 months back. My husband's constant abuse has now forced me to a shelter. He never filed for my AOS. so I don't know what to do.. I just have my passport and no other document pertaining to my visa.I don't know what to do or go from here. Can anyone please help me with this..

What country are you from?

[pushbrk 13,073]

Please help me,

I am married to a US citizen. He filed for a K3 visa, it got approved in 14 months. I arrived here to the US 4 months back. My husband's constant abuse has now forced me to a shelter. He never filed for my AOS. so I don't know what to do.. I just have my passport and no other document pertaining to my visa.I don't know what to do or go from here. Can anyone please help me with this..

Seek the advice of a qualified immigration attorney. People in the shelter can refer you to legal services. You may either secure a divorce and go home in either order or potentially, you may adjust status on your own.

[ninjarocket 1]

Sorry to hear it. If this is the case, you are covered by law and are encouraged to seek protection from the law. You sound like you might be eligible as a special immigrant, but you might want to read the instructions to see if you qualify: see form I-360 [http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis]

Please help me,

I am married to a US citizen. He filed for a K3 visa, it got approved in 14 months. I arrived here to the US 4 months back. My husband's constant abuse has now forced me to a shelter. He never filed for my AOS. so I don't know what to do.. I just have my passport and no other document pertaining to my visa.I don't know what to do or go from here. Can anyone please help me with this..

[Hollis 0]

Extremely sad to hear this. Did you file a complaint with the police. Ensure that you do and obtain a police report. I really hope the abuse was not severe but if you do have scars/marks on your skin - take pictures and keep it. There is another option/direction you can take from here. You can seek to granted permanent status w/o your husband through spousal abuse. This is actually a legidiment process. Seek advice from an immigration attorney quickly. It can be done. I know two people that has done it and was granted permanent residency. But I must tell you that is is a LENGHTY and COSTLY process.

Good Luck !

[Lovetoteach 53]

Hi Kdkd,

I just received a post from you asking for help and I'm so sorry you are going through this. I have been what you have been through and can certainly give you advice.

First you need to decide whether you want to stay or return to India. If you wish to return home then you can get divorced here and then go home. It is the simpler choice but not your only one.

If you wish to stay here, and it certainly seems like you have a case ,then you can file an I 360 for abused spouses under VAWA. As Hollis suggested it can be expensive. It was for me initially because I was unaware that I could get pro bono help from the Catholic Charities and spent and wasted several thousand dollars on attornies who dealt with VAWA but at the end of the day they were useless. My advice would be to seek a pro bono attorney through this organisation ( Catholic Charities) as my attorney was absolutely brilliant and it cost me absolutely nothing. The shelter you are staying at can help you find one.

You will need to gather various information pertaining to the abuse. This will include your own affadvit of every abusive incident that happened. It does not have to be just physical. I filed due to extreme mental cruelty which it seems like what has happened to you. Find anything you can to support your case. If you do have police reports this will be extremely helpful. Personally I did not have any . Get any witness statements from neighbours, councellors, doctors, the shelter where you are staying and I mean anything. It is so important that you have this evidence otherwise they may not see your case as credible. However, having said that when adjudicating the I 360 they use a standard of "any credible evidence".

You will also need the following:

Proof that you were married ie marriage certificate

Proof that you were living with your spouse ie joint bills

Proof that your spouse was US citizen ie copy of his birth certificate , passport

General proof that you are of good moral character . (This I just stated in my affadavit). You could also get a recent police certificate.

Since your husband has not filed AOS the you are probably out of status which also happened to me as my ex refused to go to the interview although he filed. You will really need to get the I 360 filed as soon as possible. Due to being in this situation I do not think you will be able to get work authorisation until the I360 is approved which could vary in time. For some it has only taken several months for me it was 15 months.

Once you have filed the I 360 you will receive a prima facie determination which basically means that if the evidence you have sent is found credible then you will most likely be approved but it is not the final decision. If approved then you can apply for work authorisation ( you can get a fee waiver as I did) and then you you will be able to work and also file a an I 485 for which you not need an affadavit of support ,as it is a self petition.

Once again I urge you , if you decide to stay, to get a pro bono attorney as soon as possible and would definately not recommend doing anything without legal advice. The advice I have given you is based on my own experience and every case is different.

Just a furter note although you can file within 2 years of being divorced it is far better to file the I 360 before any divorce is final.

I really hope this helps . If you need any further advice or just want to talk, PM me on here and I will support you any way I can. I truly am sorry you are having to deal with this. It is a very difficult and emotional process which takes time but you can get throughit . I did!!

Best Wishes

Shona

[ninjarocket 1]

In the meantime, since you're k3 visa is still valid (for at least another year and a half I guess), you can already apply for work authorization now with a stand alone I-765 application. Just put on the form that your current immigration status is k3. I don't know whether you would be able to waive the fee or not? Anyway, the form is fairly simple: just one page of basic information. That would help you out while you assemble the necessary evidence for the I-360.

[Lovetoteach 53]

In the meantime, since you're k3 visa is still valid (for at least another year and a half I guess), you can already apply for work authorization now with a stand alone I-765 application. Just put on the form that your current immigration status is k3. I don't know whether you would be able to waive the fee or not? Anyway, the form is fairly simple: just one page of basic information. That would help you out while you assemble the necessary evidence for the I-360.

Thanks for adding that. I came here on a K1 so I guess it's different. My attorney told me you can apply for a fee waiver if you earn less than the poverty level for one person, which she said was about $10,000. All I had to do is submit evidence / copies of any expenses that I had to pay each month.

[Elbereth 0]

So, you are in the US because you married a US citizen, but now you're not with him anymore? Go home!

[YGandMAT 0]

So, you are in the US because you married a US citizen, but now you're not with him anymore? Go home!

She doesn't need to go home just because she is not with him!!! She may have a better life in the US than in her country, maybe she doesn't want to go back. She has choices you know.

[Big Papa Zone 93]

So, you are in the US because you married a US citizen, but now you're not with him anymore? Go home!

LOL!! Don't sugar coat it, Elbereth, just tell her what you really think!

[kdkd 0]

Hi Ninja.

I read the I-765, but I would have to specify for the reason of change of address. And also, what about the SSN number, how would i go about it...

Thanks

In the meantime, since you're k3 visa is still valid (for at least another year and a half I guess), you can already apply for work authorization now with a stand alone I-765 application. Just put on the form that your current immigration status is k3. I don't know whether you would be able to waive the fee or not? Anyway, the form is fairly simple: just one page of basic information. That would help you out while you assemble the necessary evidence for the I-360.

[ninjarocket 1]

I think you have to register your change in address with form AR-11 if you have done that. Do that before filing the I-765. There is no place on that form about explaining your address.

They will expect you to have changed your address when you file the I-360.

Hi Ninja.

I read the I-765, but I would have to specify for the reason of change of address. And also, what about the SSN number, how would i go about it...

Thanks

In the meantime, since you're k3 visa is still valid (for at least another year and a half I guess), you can already apply for work authorization now with a stand alone I-765 application. Just put on the form that your current immigration status is k3. I don't know whether you would be able to waive the fee or not? Anyway, the form is fairly simple: just one page of basic information. That would help you out while you assemble the necessary evidence for the I-360.