Fresh out of Detention Center

[brlukath 1]

This is late but in case you see it... all this advice about filing for AOS ASAP/now is wrong. You are in removal proceedings already, so all of your paperwork needs to be given to the judge. You can ask about it at your hearing, including where and how to pay the fees, and you can tell the judge how much time you need to prepare. It is not like the first time you go there they decide your case. Also, proceeding without a lawyer to immigration court is not a good idea. First, you will actually be fighting against a government lawyer who does this every day AND whose job is to get you removed. Second, if you had a lawyer, even a ####### one, you would not be here asking for advice that really goes beyond the scope of a forum like this (as great as some of the info here is).

[Elghazi2008 4]

Hello everybody,

I've been through a bit of an ordeal in the past month or so, and I thought I'd share my story and also gather whatever advice I could.

I'm an Australian citizen who came to the US on a B1/B2 visa in 2007. I lived in Colorado where I began snowboarding and hence overstayed my visa. I also met my now wife out there, and have since moved to upstate New York where we are at present. We were married in July of this year, but me, being the uninformed person that I am thought that having an expired visa would be o.k seeing that we were married.

Last month when I was getting on a bus to go to NYC I was stopped by border patrol and after failing to produce a valid visa they called my name into their office and in front of my United States citizen wife, proceeded to apprehend me. They told me not to worry, as I would surely see a judge either that day or the following day, where I would probably be cleared to stay in the US due to me being married to a USC.

1 Jail, 1 Federal Detention Facility, $25,000 and 16 days later I was released on bail from the Buffalo federal detention facility until my court date in January. My crime was not filing the I-130 upon being married...

So now we are in the process of doing all of our paperwork, trying to get the wheels in motion to give us the best chance come the court date. Because technically, I am in removal proceedings. We have almost completed the paperwork, which to my knowledge is the following...

I-130, with a G-325 for both myself and my wife.

I-485

I-864

I-765

My major concern right now is that my medical exam, which is scheduled for wednesday will take a long time to come back, the doctors office which I am going to have perform this is telling me that it will more than likely take at least two weeks before I receive the documents which I need to include with my application.

I was wondering, (maybe someone could help me out here) if I can just send in part of my application, or is it best to wait and send everything together?

Thanks for any advice..

J.Rose

Wow, after a hefty fine like that, I guess you'd wish you'd read up a little more.... would've paid for your I-130 AND your AOS 9 or ten times!!!

Seriously though, Just get everything you have right now sent in ASAP! PLEASE keep copies of EVERYTHING you send and receive to/from USCIS!! You do not need originals for the judge except the marriage certificate!! As a matter of fact, presenting originals to the judge is just proof that you haven't begun trying to resolve the issue yet!!! Send your medical afterwards, do NOT wait for it to come back!! Like most everybody else said, you'll get an RFE for your medical, but your file will already be there and all they will have to do is add your medical to your file rather than having to open the entire file. You would also receive an NOA as proof that you are filing... that should buy you a little bit of time and look better in court than just papers you're PLANNING to send to USCIS.....

Edited December 9, 2009 by Elghazi2008