Frightened, frustrated, not sure what to do...

[Inova 0]

Hello Visa Journey,

I am a US citizen now married to a citizen of the UK. I met my husband a few years ago online. He made 3 visits here the first year (this was a few years ago) then didn't visit for over a year due to changes in his life situation and also in mine. We remained friends and talked online and off, emailed back and forth. Last fall he came to visit and stayed 8 weeks, was due to fly out. Two weeks before he flew out, to my shock he proposed in a restaurant when we were with friends celebrating birthdays. He got up in front of everyone in the restaurant, took me up to the piano bar, and said everything out loud, while on bended knee. I said yes. With in 10 days we were married, about 10 weeks after the day he entered on Visa waiver. None of this was planned.

After that we settled into married life. I have worked for the same company the past 4 years, with an income over 24K. My husband has some pretty major medical issues so we started addressing these issues.

Neither of us had any concept we needed to file anything legally. When I asked friends if I needed to do anything they said, he's married a US citizen, he can stay because of that, and you don't have to do anything else. Then one day someone who had married someone from Portugal told me differently. Stating we needed to file papers, told us that my husband was at risk of being deported. By this point my husband was past his 90 days on VWP.

I started to save money in March with intent to hire a lawyer and file the necessary papers to get my hubby a green card; when I got injured on the job. My injury is quite serious and I have been off work since then a total of 5 months, we are now living on 60% income and barely surviving. I can't fix a car that needs breaks, and won't pass inspection, each time I drive it I run the risk of getting ticketed for not having the inspection sticker. We are behind on rent, continually making payments for rent. After rent is paid, with what I get on workers compensation we are lucky to have $200 to pay for medications/prescriptions, food, gas, co pays, etc. So needless to say things are at the moment terrible and there's no money to consider paying for filing for green card.

Worker's compensation cases can take a long time to resolve. Right now I am battling to get seen by a specialist and for possibly surgery. My job is still on hold, but I am still considered employed.

So now here's my question. If we can't file paper work for the green card for another several months (hopefully) and it goes over a year and we file, will they deport my husband based on the over stay? I read on this forum about over staying but its fairly confusing.

I read about income requirements, and the past 4 years up until I got injured I had more than enough income to support my husband and be a sponsor. If I had had enough income when taking into consideration the workers compensation and combined income from early part of the year, but am below the level required, will they require us to get a sponsor? Worker's compensation temporary disability employment money is non taxable, and considered the same as net pay if taxes were taken out.

I don't have family, or other sources for raising the green card filing fee. I simply have to wait to return to work, or another new job, and/or settlement of my worker's comp case before there's going to be any money for the green card filing fee.

I read some where on here about bans for over stay. How does that effect us since we can't file yet, and am not sure when we can?

Any help anyone can provide would be much appreciated.

thank you

[payxibka 10,047]

Your husband is currently deportable... because his authorized stay is expired and you have not been able to do anything to protect his status. It is likely that no one will come looking for him but if he gets "caught" then his problems will then begin. If your husband leaves the country for any reason without his status adjusted (ie green card) he will incur a 10 year re-entry ban automatically upon departure.

To protect his status you need to file the I-485 and I-130 will will set you back about $1465. A medical exam will also be needed and that price varies but could be another $300.

Edited August 23, 2009 by payxibka

[sasaqlain 24]

I would like to add a bit more to payxibka's response. His over-stay will be forgiven but its best to apply as soon as possible to avoid risk of being deported if caught under current conditions where he has no status. Secondly, you will will need a co-sponsor to sponsor your husband, since you have to prove eligibility that you can take care of your spouse and he wont be a burden on Tax-payers money. Also, I would not bring up his medical conditions, since I know for a fact that UK provides free medical to its citizens whereas your husband is paying for the same while in the US. So, that is one reasoning USCIS may not absorb. Best Of Luck!

[radacos 0]

I am so sorry about your troubles and I hope that you find some resolution soon!

While your husband is technically out of status right now, this is not likely to be a big problem in the long run. However, if he is caught (that is, if he is found working illegally or he gets in trouble with the law), he could be deported. Also, as the previous posters have noted, if he leaves the US he will incur an automatic 10-year ban.

I understand that your financial situation is extremely difficult right now, but I strongly urge you to file for the Green Card as soon as possible. The USCIS unfortunately makes no exceptions for financial difficulty... Is there anyone that you could borrow the filing fee from -- a religious/community association, a co-op, etc.? Could you borrow from your husband's relatives or friends back home? Aside from resolving his immigration status, your husband could file for an Employment Auhorization (EAD) along with AOS, and thus be able to work while you're getting over your injury.

Hope things start looking up for you soon!

[trillium13 84]

Hello Visa Journey,

After that we settled into married life. I have worked for the same company the past 4 years, with an income over 24K. My husband has some pretty major medical issues so we started addressing these issues.

Does this mean you're the only one working?

Neither of us had any concept we needed to file anything legally. When I asked friends if I needed to do anything they said, he's married a US citizen, he can stay because of that, and you don't have to do anything else.

So now here's my question. If we can't file paper work for the green card for another several months (hopefully) and it goes over a year and we file, will they deport my husband based on the over stay? I read on this forum about over staying but its fairly confusing.

I believe that technically they can, but they generally don't. I have only heard of one case where someone was deported simply because of overstay. My husband overstayed his VWP, a lot longer than your husband has. We were never asked about it. Typically, any overstay is forgiven at time of adjustment, unless there are other circumstances.

I read some where on here about bans for over stay. How does that effect us since we can't file yet, and am not sure when we can?

USCIS really doesn't care about your circumstances. It's not their fault or concern that you waited this long to adjust. They assume you knew the rules from the beginning and that you should have followed them. Your situation sucks for sure, but that's not of interest to them. If your husband is for some reason "found out" he can be deported and banned for 10 years(if he has overstayed more than 180 days, otherwise, it's 3 years).

Ask anyone you can for the money to help you get this filed. It's a little confusing, but sounds like you will probably need a co-sponsor. People go a lot longer than you guys have without being discovered, but it can happen at any time. That's a really nerve racking feeling, I know.

Edited August 24, 2009 by trillium13

[MNCouple 3]

I would like to add a bit more to payxibka's response. His over-stay will be forgiven but its best to apply as soon as possible to avoid risk of being deported if caught under current conditions where he has no status. Secondly, you will will need a co-sponsor to sponsor your husband, since you have to prove eligibility that you can take care of your spouse and he wont be a burden on Tax-payers money. Also, I would not bring up his medical conditions, since I know for a fact that UK provides free medical to its citizens whereas your husband is paying for the same while in the US. So, that is one reasoning USCIS may not absorb. Best Of Luck!

I wanted to add to this... are you currently insured under group insurance through your employer? My husband has a fairly major illness (MS), though his case is mild compared to others. He is a UK citizen, but has been a legal resident of New Zealand for the past 8 years. NZ also insures all of its residents. I am employed and have group insurance and my group insurance happens to have an exclusionary clause, meaning, it will exclude illnesses if they have not been covered by insurance during the previous 12 months. I simply had to show the insurance company that he was a citizen and resident of countries that insured their residents and that he married me and they have covered him under my group insurance.

So, you may want to investigate, should you have insurance. If he is covered, then it wouldn't be quite of an issue if you are not insured.

Good luck to you. As a side note, my husband came in on the VWP and we married. I'm happy to answer any questions you might have.

MN Couple