Questions...trying to avoid overstay, worried.

[Gruntswife 0]

I have a couple questions. I am a canadian citizen, came down to the united states and ended up getting married. was here as a visitor, no 1-94 and all that. I came may 2nd 2008, we got married july 21 2008, my husband is a US citizen and United States Marine. We didnt want to start the immigration process right away since my husband was in the middle of reenlisting and then awaiting orders to another state, and we didnt want to have to change addresses over and over again, originally we were just staying at a friends place since we didnt have our own place, so didnt want to complicate things. i also needed to get my long form birth certificate, since i didnt have it.

anyways, now that im looking at the forms to fill out i see a question about prior charges/ convictions. 5 years ago i was arrested and charged for theft under 5000, i was given deversion in court, was not convicted, if you dont know what diversion is, its basically an agreement you come to that you will complete xxx that they ask, and its given to people on first offences sometimes. I did all that and everything was fine.. i have had no other legal issues whatsoever.. will this be a problem in getting my green card accepted?

my next question is, i spoke with the lawyer, and she told me to get certified true copy of all charges and disposition, and pretrial proof that all conditions of deversion were succccessfully complete. im not sure how to get this, but she wants me to submit it along with my adjustment of status form. my 6 months will be up november 2nd, and i will then be considered an overstay right? what happens if i cant get this proof that the lawyer wants before november to have it to send in with my forms? should i go ahead and file without it or am i best to wait and have a small overstay and file it with my forms?

some advice please, would be greatly appreciated

[canadian_wife 1,829]

Someone will correct me if I am wrong but overstays are generally forgiven for those who enter on a VWP. You will need to get all records of your arrest and aftermath. Where are you from? Was the arrest by provincial or municipal authorities? Try contacting the municipal/provincial police where your arrest took place to get the full records.

If your husband is re-enlisting will he become active military then? I think that qualifies for an expidite so you might want to consider that.

Oh P.S., when you came in 2008, did you intend to get married and stay in the US and adjust your status?

Edited October 15, 2008 by canadian_wife

[Gruntswife 0]

i am from ontario canada, and trial was at ontario court of justice.

my husband has reenlisted now and he is active duty military, and was for the past 4 years. what would expidite do? ive never heard of this?

When i came here we had no plans on getting married i was just coming for a visit for a month, which lead to another month, to another month. thats why we enver really had our own place.

[Flames9_RN 358]

just being inthe military, i dont belives that justifies an expedite, if he was off to another country most likely!

[canadian_wife 1,829]

Talk to your lawyer as I am not sure what the conditions are if he is actually active, he may have to be being deployed soon

good luck

[trailmix 77]

Hi there,

As your Husband is in the military you have access to:

Military Help Line

USCIS has established a toll-free military help line, 1-877-CIS-4MIL (1-877-247-4645), exclusively for members of the military and their families. USCIS customer service specialists are available to answer calls Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. (CST), excluding federal holidays. After-hours callers will receive an email address that they can use to contact USCIS for assistance. Callers will receive assistance with immigration-related information, such as:

Tracking their application for naturalization (Form N-400);

Notifying USCIS of a new mailing address or duty station;

Checking the status of an application or petition;

Bringing a spouse, fiancé(e) or adopted child to the United States;

Obtaining posthumous citizenship for a deceased member of the Armed Services; and

Submitting an application for expedited processing.

Service members and their families stationed in the United States or overseas may access the help line using the toll-free number, through their base telephone operator or using the Defense Switched Network (DSN). Operators will ask members of the general public to call our main customer service line: 1-800-375-5283.

Edited October 15, 2008 by trailmix

[Gruntswife 0]

i just contacted the courthouse and they will send my certified copy that i need but they said it would take 8-12 weeks before i will get it. my 6 months runs out in november 2nd. should i file without it or just overstay and file late? im not sure what to do now

[canadian_wife 1,829]

I am not sure if you need the court documents at this stage of the filing process, but you WILL need them. If you don't need them at this point I'd say file now to protect yourself in the future (it'll look better if you filed before you overstay).

But find out if you need the court documents at this stage of filing.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Yes, you need the court documents when you file AOS so you need to wait until you have them available. If you file without them, they will then send you an RFE for them and that will probably delay your case anyway. Canada isn't party to the Visa Waiver Programme (VWP) - we have a unique agreement with the US in not requiring visas period, not that they are 'waived'. While your 6 month time frame for a visit will be over, technically, you stopped being a visitor when you got married. I don't know how they will address that with regards to overstay. Basically, you will want to file as soon as you can, but you will need the court documentation to include with the application unless you want to buy time by sending the application off without all of the documents and hoping that you will have the documents in time for the RFE. The downside is if you get the RFE and don't have the documents in time to send back by the deadline, your application will probably be denied, and trying to adjust as a visitor has no right of appeal - decisions are final so you would have to apply all over again. The best course is to run the risk of the overstay until you get the necessary documents together and submit a completed application. Any overstay is forgiven after the AOS is approved, but you may have to wait until you get the green card before you leave the US, even to visit Canada, if you do have an overstay. Having an AP (Advance Parole) is no guarantee the border would allow you back into the US. Good luck.

[Krikit 1,165]

Hi Gruntswife. Welcome to VJ. I wouldn't worry too much about the 8-12 week timeframe they gave you. Government bodies almost always leave lots of leeway so you don't panic and start calling. You'll probably receive the information much sooner than that. With that said, here are a couple of links you may find useful:

US Military Spouses Thread

Military Expedite Procedures

All the best.

[bradcanuck 1]

As a pick me up - I overstayed considerably and it was waved off and forgiven without a thought by the interviewing USCIS agent. He said it is bound to happen with the way the system is setup. He even forgave working without an SSN. While I wouldn't advise doing that, I am just passing on information that will help you feel a bit more at ease.

Don't worry about overstay... especially when you're married to a Marine.

[antda 13]

(Ok...this is my last post before I go on "VJ Vacation"....)

Hi Gruntswife,

No, it's not illegal what you did, that you came to the US and got married while you were down here for a visit from Canada. As long as you came here WITHOUT the intention to get married in the first place on your visit and not do this as to avoid and/or break immigration laws, then it's fine and legal to do.

I was in the same situation before too, as I came over to visit my boyfriend (now husband), on a tourist visa from Canada, and then ended up getting married here in the USA. And yes, I did get approved and got my green card afterwards. For more information on my sitation, see my VJ timeline (the link can be found on my signature).

The next steps for you are:

1) DO NOT LEAVE THE USA AND DO NOT RETURN TO CANADA until your case has been fully approved (unless you have Advance Parole), otherwise your case will be abandonded and you will run into the risk of never being able to come back to the ever USA again.

2) File the following paperwork: I-130 (Petiton for Family Member), I-485 (Adjustment of Status), I-864 (Affidavit of Support), I-765 and I-131 (Employment Authorization and Advanced Parole, both are optional), and the I-693 (Medical Forms.

3) Hire a good immigration lawyer, if you run into any more problems, and/or if you are totally unsure about your situation.

4)As for the immigration forms and how it relates to criminal charges, the instructions say:

"If you have ever been arrested or detained by any law enforcement officer for any reason, submit (any and/or all of these, as pertains to your situiation):

1) An original official statement by the arresting agency or applicable court order confirming that no charges ere filed.

2) An original or court-certified copy of the complete arrest record and/or disposition for each incident (dismissal order, conviction record or acquittal order)

3)An original or court-certified copy of your sentencing record for each incident, and evidence that you have completed your sentence, specifically: a)An original or certified copy of your probation or parole record or b)Evidence that you completed an alternative sentencing program, or rehabilitative program set aside, sealed, expiurged or otherwise removed from your record

4)An original or court-certified copy of the court order vacating, setting aside, sealing, expurging or otherwise removing the arrest or conviction

5)An original statement from the court that no record exists of your arrest or conviction."

Either way, for immigration purposes, you have to submit the above paperwork for this court related matter, and to tell the truth about it to immigration officials when asked on immigration forms and/or in-person interviews, as omitting and/or lying about such legal matters could be a cause for "denial".

Hope this helps. Good luck with your immigration journey.

Ant (Visited, Married, Immigrated, Living Happily Ever After In The USA...)

I have a couple questions. I am a canadian citizen, came down to the united states and ended up getting married. was here as a visitor, no 1-94 and all that. I came may 2nd 2008, we got married july 21 2008, my husband is a US citizen and United States Marine. We didnt want to start the immigration process right away since my husband was in the middle of reenlisting and then awaiting orders to another state, and we didnt want to have to change addresses over and over again, originally we were just staying at a friends place since we didnt have our own place, so didnt want to complicate things. i also needed to get my long form birth certificate, since i didnt have it.

anyways, now that im looking at the forms to fill out i see a question about prior charges/ convictions. 5 years ago i was arrested and charged for theft under 5000, i was given deversion in court, was not convicted, if you dont know what diversion is, its basically an agreement you come to that you will complete xxx that they ask, and its given to people on first offences sometimes. I did all that and everything was fine.. i have had no other legal issues whatsoever.. will this be a problem in getting my green card accepted?

my next question is, i spoke with the lawyer, and she told me to get certified true copy of all charges and disposition, and pretrial proof that all conditions of deversion were succccessfully complete. im not sure how to get this, but she wants me to submit it along with my adjustment of status form. my 6 months will be up november 2nd, and i will then be considered an overstay right? what happens if i cant get this proof that the lawyer wants before november to have it to send in with my forms? should i go ahead and file without it or am i best to wait and have a small overstay and file it with my forms?

some advice please, would be greatly appreciated

Edited October 17, 2008 by AntandD