What does intent to immigrate really mean?

[JustMeHere 0]

Hi All,

This place is a treasure trove of useful and hard earned experience!

Little about my situation.

Jan 1997 - Wife and Family moved to Mexico (from South Africa) as legal residents (FM-3) for ministry work.

Jan 1998 - I met wife through only singles pages (yeah, family and friends gave me a lot of grief on that one).

Apr 1998 - Married in religious ceremony (not registered legally)

Jan 2003 - Wife and her family obtained B1/B2 Visas from Tijuana Consulate.

Apr 2003 - Wife and I went to Public records building and filed a legal marriage cert. to make things official.

Nov 2003 - First child, girl, born in San Diego, California.

Jan 1998 to Feb 2006 - Continuously lived with wife and family in Mexico doing volunteer ministry work.

Jan 2006 - Second child, boy, born in San Diego, California.

Jan 2006 - We had a falling out with money grubbing relatives that ran the ministry in Mexico.

Feb 2006 - Facing homelessness in Mexico, we moved in with my Mother in Southern California while figuring out what to do.

May 2006 - Wife's I-94 expires.

Sept 2006 - Wife's Mexican Residency (FM-3) expires.

Feb 2006 to Aug 2007 - I was looking for employment.

Aug 2007 - Found Sr. Systems Engineer position with Fortune 500 company. ($68k annual + health and 401k) very secure employment

Oct 2007 - Company fully paid for a relocation to Georgia.

Aug 2007 to Present - Worked at the same company.

Jan 2008 - Wife's US B1/B2 visa expired.

~May 2009 - Third child, boy, due to be born here in Georgia.

With that all said, I have a couple of questions.

What is meant by entry with intent to immigrate? Is this referring to your reason for obtaining a B1/B2 visa, or for each entry into the US?

Does this mean we entered with the intent to immigrate? We entered with the intent not to be homeless in a third-world country. We didn't go through the process of obtaining the B1/B2 visa with the intent to immigrate. Largely it was because I wanted my "Mexi-phobic" family to meet my wife. We lived in Mexico for another 3 years, with numerous I-94 renewals along the way. I have all the utility bills and home lease papers/receipts to back that up.

When processing the Affidavit of Support, how should I handle not having 3 years of past W-2s to prove sufficient income? I currently have a job that puts us somewhere in the 400% of the poverty line. Well above the requirements, but I've only been employed there for about a year and a half.

Is my understanding correct that the overstay won't be an issue?

TIA for any insight any of y'all can provide.

[pushbrk 12,884]

Hi All,

This place is a treasure trove of useful and hard earned experience!

Little about my situation.

Jan 1997 - Wife and Family moved to Mexico (from South Africa) as legal residents (FM-3) for ministry work.

Jan 1998 - I met wife through only singles pages (yeah, family and friends gave me a lot of grief on that one).

Apr 1998 - Married in religious ceremony (not registered legally)

Jan 2003 - Wife and her family obtained B1/B2 Visas from Tijuana Consulate.

Apr 2003 - Wife and I went to Public records building and filed a legal marriage cert. to make things official.

Nov 2003 - First child, girl, born in San Diego, California.

Jan 1998 to Feb 2006 - Continuously lived with wife and family in Mexico doing volunteer ministry work.

Jan 2006 - Second child, boy, born in San Diego, California.

Jan 2006 - We had a falling out with money grubbing relatives that ran the ministry in Mexico.

Feb 2006 - Facing homelessness in Mexico, we moved in with my Mother in Southern California while figuring out what to do.

May 2006 - Wife's I-94 expires.

Sept 2006 - Wife's Mexican Residency (FM-3) expires.

Feb 2006 to Aug 2007 - I was looking for employment.

Aug 2007 - Found Sr. Systems Engineer position with Fortune 500 company. ($68k annual + health and 401k) very secure employment

Oct 2007 - Company fully paid for a relocation to Georgia.

Aug 2007 to Present - Worked at the same company.

Jan 2008 - Wife's US B1/B2 visa expired.

~May 2009 - Third child, boy, due to be born here in Georgia.

With that all said, I have a couple of questions.

What is meant by entry with intent to immigrate? Is this referring to your reason for obtaining a B1/B2 visa, or for each entry into the US?

Does this mean we entered with the intent to immigrate? We entered with the intent not to be homeless in a third-world country. We didn't go through the process of obtaining the B1/B2 visa with the intent to immigrate. Largely it was because I wanted my "Mexi-phobic" family to meet my wife. We lived in Mexico for another 3 years, with numerous I-94 renewals along the way. I have all the utility bills and home lease papers/receipts to back that up.

When processing the Affidavit of Support, how should I handle not having 3 years of past W-2s to prove sufficient income? I currently have a job that puts us somewhere in the 400% of the poverty line. Well above the requirements, but I've only been employed there for about a year and a half.

Is my understanding correct that the overstay won't be an issue?

TIA for any insight any of y'all can provide.

Intent is based on the most recent entry. Sounds like your intent in February was to visit while contemplating your next move and that the decision to remain in the USA occured later. As such, there is no fraud or illegal intent, provided your wife has remained in the USA all this time. Under the circumstances described any overstay would be forgiven but it would be calculated from the expiration of the I-94, not the visa.

You would provide tax returns or a copy of the IRS regulation that exempted you from filing. Check with a tax professional. Chances are, even if you were required to file, there would be no tax liability. Filing back tax returns is easy.

[Eric-Pris 1,606]

"Intent to immigrate" means whether you had intentions to stay permanently in the U.S. the last time you entered the United States from abroad on a visa that is meant to be used for a temporary visit.

It doesn't matter if your wife came here numerous times and went back in the past. If you both came to the US this last time to live here, she had intent to immigrate in my opinion, you basically moved to the US. This is my opinion, so it doesn't mean much and doesn't mean the USCIS will feel the same way.

You should definitely speak to an immigration attorney about your case and the possibility that this can be successful. Since your wife has overstayed by what looks like 2.5+ years (May 2006-now). If your AOS is denied, she will get a long ban from the US.

Edited January 19, 2009 by Eric-Pris

[carmie and aldo 0]

Does this mean we entered with the intent to immigrate? We entered with the intent not to be homeless in a third-world country. We didn't go through the process of obtaining the B1/B2 visa with the intent to immigrate. Largely it was because I wanted my "Mexi-phobic" family to meet my wife.

Let me ask you this... If you knew that Mexico was a third world country?? why would you move to it... and accept employment... unless excuse me.. you were doing some kind of volunteer work.. which i doubt..

and about your question... i don't think there's going to be a problem... im adjusting from a b1/b2 tourist visa.. and everything ,thank god is going smooth..

Edited January 19, 2009 by carmie and aldo

[KasAla 0]

You guys can apply for the green card there should not bee any problem. About intenet you can read this BIA ruling.

Matter of Cavazos, 17 I. & N. Dec. 215 (BIA 1980)

According to Matter of Cavazos, in the absence of other adverse factors, an application for adjustment of status as an immediate relative should generally be granted in the exercise of discretion notwithstanding the fact that the applicant entered the United States as a nonimmigrant with a preconceived intention to remain.

[DI&JR 1]

Does this mean we entered with the intent to immigrate? We entered with the intent not to be homeless in a third-world country. We didn't go through the process of obtaining the B1/B2 visa with the intent to immigrate. Largely it was because I wanted my "Mexi-phobic" family to meet my wife.

Let me ask you this... If you knew that Mexico was a third world country?? why would you move to it... and accept employment... unless excuse me.. you were doing some kind of volunteer work.. which i doubt..

The original poster says "Jan 1998 to Feb 2006 - Continuously lived with wife and family in Mexico doing volunteer ministry work." Why would you doubt it? Various religious organizations send missionaries to other countries (and even to the US, for that matter, my mother had missionaries from, hm, Brazil? - don't recall- living on her street in Virginia).

and about your question... i don't think there's going to be a problem... im adjusting from a b1/b2 tourist visa.. and everything ,thank god is going smooth..

[carmie and aldo 0]

who would survive doing volunteer work in mexico...??

the OP seems to be complaining about the country.. then again.. why would you accept... if you knew it was going to be a 3 world country..

[JustMeHere 0]

Firstly, let me give thanks to those of you that gave thoughtful and considerate feedback to my question. I really do appreciate it.

Let me ask you this... If you knew that Mexico was a third world country?? why would you move to it... and accept employment... unless excuse me.. you were doing some kind of volunteer work.. which i doubt..

and

who would survive doing volunteer work in mexico...??

the OP seems to be complaining about the country.. then again.. why would you accept... if you knew it was going to be a 3 world country..

Umm, where did I complain about Mexico in my OP?

Why so cynical, it doesn't have to be that way. It's hard to imagine that you have such an ignorant view of the world, given that you're here on an immigration forum seeking to sift through the similar ordeals. There are ministry minded groups of people all over the world that form non-profit charities that pay for the accommodations and bare necessities for volunteers to go out into the mission field to just plain and simply help people that need help, food, clothing, clean water systems, safe housing, etc.

Big business donates billions of dollars to these kinds of charities.. okay not because they are just so good hearted. We're talking tax deductions, positive PR, whatever else serves the corporate interest. For instance, Ford runs an little know operation out of Florida where they give away new vehicles to qualified non-profit organizations by the truck load. Starbucks, JC Penny, Amazon.com, and many more companies do similar things.

Like I already said, the non-profit organizations then use this money to fund workers (some paid, others not) to go out and accomplish the stated goals of the organization. Believe it or not, there are actually people out there that are willing to give up things from their own life to help less fortunate people out.

Why does Mexico being a dirt-hole have any bearing on this thread, when the stated goal of going there isn't for me to live in paradise and become a billionaire, but to help people out that are currently living in this aforementioned dirt-hole. Maybe I just have a whole other orientation in life other than saving up money for myself to leave to the wind when I die.

I'm a Christian, and moved to Mexico to participate in volunteer (read: non-employment, no pay) ministry work there. I was helping build an organization that was helping out people there that literally have 4 sheets of plywood with a corrugated aluminum roof. Yes, I did do it for nothing. Ok, I was given a warm place to sleep and didn't lack for meals. But other than that, there was zero remuneration. We had no money sent our way personally.

If you can't take me at face value and at my word, then there is nothing left to discuss.

I have a Masters in Computer Science and Information Systems as well as a Masters in Business Administration. Again, believe it or not, there are actually people out there that are willing to sacrifice their time and livelihoods for others. Most of my work down there was either helping bring food and supplies to the "shacks", public speaking engagements, or building administrative support systems and software. Yes it was real work, and NO I wasn't paid a dime for any of it, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time there. Do you know what it's like to bring life saving aid to a dirt-poor family? Think of Extreme Makover: Home Edition, but with people that are literally within a week of starvation, dehydration, and ultimately death.

It doesn't matter if your wife came here numerous times and went back in the past. If you both came to the US this last time to live here, she had intent to immigrate in my opinion, you basically moved to the US. This is my opinion, so it doesn't mean much and doesn't mean the USCIS will feel the same way.

When it comes to our last entry to the US, our intent was to stay with my mother until I could get some real work close enough to the border for us to rent a house in Mexico, where I could then commute from daily. I have a Sentry pass, as well as an LLave card for mexican toll roads, which makes a daily commute to and through the border of no consequence. Our intent wasn't to immigrate, but to have a place to stay until I could find work. Our preference was, in fact, to live in Mexico as the cost of living is so much more affordable there, and the people are more friendly. Where we were hoping to live is the second largest settlement of American's in Baja California Norte.

For the same cost of renting a studio apartment in the bad part of town in San Diego, I could rent a 4000 square foot home in a gated community 5 miles south of Tijuana. The problem came when finding work didn't pan out. Without work, we couldn't just simply drive to Mexico and hope for the best. You have to have money to live, and I had no work authorization in Mexico.

I literally applied to more than a thousand positions over the course of 18 months. Towards the end of that 18 months (Jun/Jul 2007), in desperation to remove the burden on my mother (retired on a fixed income) I began broadening my search for work to the entire US. Finally, I was flown out to Georgia for an interview where I could get a shot to present my capabilities to the company. After the interview with me, they canceled the other pending interviews and made me an offer before I flew back the next day.

The company subsequently paid for a full relocation package and a $20k signing bonus, which allowed us to get settled and pay my Mom back for all of her help.

With all of that said, my intent when posting this wasn't to ask what you all personally think of me or my situation. I was interested in getting a feel for the way this sort of thing is interpreted by USCIS, and how they handle extenuating circumstances.

I can say in complete honesty that at no point surrounding our time of entry did we plan on immigrating. Quite the contrary actually, I had to practically drag my wife kicking and screaming (figuratively, not literally). Leaving her family in Mexico wasn't exactly her lifelong aspiration. It was a hard time.

As time progressed, I would say that the thought came up about how we could possibly resolve the situation, but were completely unaware of the road to take. Certainly you, as a person that is currently "in the know" as to the statutes and methods of immigration today, can't just make a bland assumption based on your own current 20/20 hindsight and cynicism, that every person that gets into this kind of situation is purposely just using AOS to "cut in line" as I see so frequently mentioned.

We lived in constant fear of immigration problems and had no idea what the rules and procedures were in relation to this situation. I'm only now more informed after doing hundreds of hours of research over the last year, and buying a couple of Nolo Press books on immigration law. I'm now at or near the point of getting the paperwork together or hiring a lawyer (haven't quite decided).

I'm trying to get things taken care of the legal way, and want to determine whether or not it's worth plunking down $2500 for a lawyer to handle the stuff. It's a lot of money and I don't exactly relish parting with that amount of money if I don't have to.

I'm not exactly the most eloquent writer, but I'm hoping I've shed some light on our situation.

[carmie and aldo 0]

1.- Are u a mexican citizen ??...... Im asking this ... because if u think you can get a job here in california... and then cross everyday with a tourist visa... to your " MANSION " in Tj... (lmao)... you are in a huge mistake..

2.- "Why does Mexico being a dirt-hole have any bearing on this thread, when the stated goal of going there isn't for me to live in paradise and become a billionaire, but to help people out that are currently living in this aforementioned dirt-hole"

.......are you serious?????? -big words coming from a holy man......

i dont know what parts of mexico you know... but if you are referring to TIJUANA as your dirthole.. u might be rite.. because where i come from.. is no dirt hole at all..

and i still think that on your first post.. you were complaining that you were gonna go homeless on mexico??... if your suchhhhhh a giving person.. and u like helping other people... why not go homeless with them... thats what ur preaching..

but anyways... good luck ... instead of filling for AOS... u might as well ask for asylum or something like that

[Old Dominion 26]

What prompts this criticism of an idealistic man? Religious workers of all faiths are working in Mexico to help improve the lot of the ordinary families. Not because of the ordinary people, but because of the government, Mexico IS a dirt-hole by American standards.

[pushbrk 12,884]

I'm not exactly the most eloquent writer, but I'm hoping I've shed some light on our situation.

You've done so quite well. If I were you, I'd go ahead and follow the AOS guides here, file as soon as you're settled in Georgia and simply ignore the responses of those who missed your earlier declaration of intention at the last border crossing. There doesn't seem to be anything about your case complicated enough to need an attorney.

[carmie and aldo 0]

What prompts this criticism of an idealistic man? Religious workers of all faiths are working in Mexico to help improve the lot of the ordinary families. Not because of the ordinary people, but because of the government, Mexico IS a dirt-hole by American standards.

and I just found out that you are the nosiest poster on this forum...

so.. if Mexico is a dirt hole??... what is Africa then??

paradise..

give me a break..

[Old Dominion 26]

What prompts this criticism of an idealistic man? Religious workers of all faiths are working in Mexico to help improve the lot of the ordinary families. Not because of the ordinary people, but because of the government, Mexico IS a dirt-hole by American standards.

and I just found out that you are the nosiest poster on this forum...

so.. if Mexico is a dirt hole??... what is Africa then??

paradise..

give me a break..

The OP wasn't writing about Africa, to my knowledge. But most of it, too, is third-world and riddled with poverty and disease. So?

[JustMeHere 0]

What prompts this criticism of an idealistic man? Religious workers of all faiths are working in Mexico to help improve the lot of the ordinary families. Not because of the ordinary people, but because of the government, Mexico IS a dirt-hole by American standards.

and I just found out that you are the nosiest poster on this forum...

so.. if Mexico is a dirt hole??... what is Africa then??

paradise..

give me a break..

Yes, most of Africa is a dirt hole too. Indigenous people that live there have told me exactly that same thing.

Who am I, Ghandi? Mr. HolyMan? What is that? Suddenly when someone makes a groundless, ignorant, and uninformed statements as you did, I'm suddenly just supposed to be a patsy and roll over? Do you even know what you're speaking about, or are you just thinking in emotionally dominated mental imagery?

Sure most countries have their golden spots. There are places here in the states that are dirt holes too. And so what if I call Mexico a dirt hole. Am I perfect, did I claim to be perfect? There is nothing inherently wrong about calling a country a dirt hole. Unless of course you're overworked by political correctness. Did I say I hate the people there? No..I didn't. In my opinion, what makes a country a dirt hole is not dirt. I'm speaking metaphorically about corruption on the lowest levels (as opposed to the highest levels, which nearly all countries have).

How about you go homeless in Mexico, and if you have kids, take them with you. See how you like it. You seem to think it's okay there and no problems with it. I wouldn't want to go homeless in Mexico, even if we were eligible for public assistance, which we weren't.

As for being Mexican, no, I'm not. Just your average Anglo-white male US citizen that speaks a sufficient amount of Spanish to get by. My wife is a anglo-white African. We both loved helping

I can tell you are absolutely clueless about commuting across the border, which it speaks directly to your willingness to not back down when you're wrong. Many thousands of people cross the border every morning (upwards of 65000 total per day including tourism) in their cars on their way to work in San Diego. I've even had conversations and seen regulars in border traffic on the really slow days before I signed up for the Sentry Pass.

Why don't you just admit you were wrong and get over it. I'm wrong plenty of times, in fact, several times per day probably. Being free to admit it and move on really helps you not be so angry and bitter all the time, like the world owes you an apology. Am I angry at you, no, I'm just trying to find out as much information as I can to help out my family as anyone in my situation would.

Do you enjoy attacking someone that is looking for help and information. Would you enjoy it if the same happened to you? Probably not. VJ, from I have seen is for building a community of people to help others in the process. But then again, maybe like many communities you're going to have that neighbor that is frustrated by life and snarling at every passerby.

I'm not one of the types, as you were so quick to accuse, of using AOS to bypass the correct means. We've gotten ourselves into this situation (right or wrong) and are trying to find the light of day, please at least be constructive. Ok, I will give you the benefit that at least in your original post you did mention that you don't think it would be a problem, and well, you at least thanked God that your process is going smoothly. See you're not that bad after all

[carmie and aldo 0]

amen!