Big Mistake

[Hornetking 0]

Ok here is the situation.

I came here from the UK on a K-1 - got married, everything was fine. Appied for Greencard, got it and so started my life with my wife over here - bought a house, had a baby and basically just beig a husband and father to my child.

Long story short - I forgot to file before my 2 years were up. I know it was stupid, but with moving and having a child I guess things just got blown away. The next thing I know in October I get a letter saying my status is terminated (letter was dated August but didn't get to me until October). I then hand in my notice at work (I thought working whilst out of status would go against me) and go and talk to a couple of laywers. They want over 2k to help me. Due to the economy and trying ot feed my child, I decided to sell my car to pay for it. Unfortunately, no one is buying.....

So we try other means to get the money - they will not give us a loan anywhere as my wife doesnt earn enough and I am not working, wife does not get on with her family so they will not loan the money and my parents in UK are both on disability. Any money we do get now is going on food/bills.

I now have a notice come through saying I need to go to court, the date has not been set but I have to go and get some biometrics done. There was a list of free attorneys, but NONE of them are getting back to me. So I have a few questions.

1) Would I be able to go to court by myself and have a good chance at them showing mercy on me for making ONE mistake. Are they literally going to pull apart my family or do we have a shot of getting this waived? We have been together 10 years, married for almost 5. Everything is legit as far as our relationship goes.

2) The biometrics appointment is for a walk in during hours - will I have to pay for this? There is no price listed on it. If so does anyone know how much so I can try and borrow the cash to get it done.

3) Would it be possible fo rme to fly back home, work and get some money to get this situation fixed whilst at the same time helping out my wife and child financially? And if I do this, can I come back to visit whilst getting it fixed?

Please, I know people are going to say "you need a good lawyer" but a Lawyer is really not an option. We really cannot afford it. It came down to getting a lawyer or putting food on my kids plate at the end of the day, and that was not a hard choice.

Thanks guys.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Oooo, honestly you're not in a good position but I think you know that.

Here are the direct answers to your qns:

1) Would I be able to go to court by myself and have a good chance at them showing mercy on me for making ONE mistake. Possibly Are they literally going to pull apart my family or do we have a shot of getting this waived? There is always a chance, but they asked you to do ONE thing in the last 2 years, and that was file on time. They don't accept that "you forgot" unless there was something specific (like illness in the family etc) but even then it's difficult because you didn't obey the rules. We have been together 10 years, married for almost 5. Everything is legit as far as our relationship goes.

2) The biometrics appointment is for a walk in during hours - will I have to pay for this? There is no price listed on it. If so does anyone know how much so I can try and borrow the cash to get it done. Normally it's included in the ROC fee. In the AOS (for us now) it's $80, probably the same for ROC but whether they make you pay because of your situation, I don't know

3) Would it be possible fo rme to fly back home, work and get some money to get this situation fixed whilst at the same time helping out my wife and child financially? And if I do this, can I come back to visit whilst getting it fixed? See below.

There are several things I'm thinking, like:

What happens when you move back? Does it count against you? Though you could work and earn money, you would have to file again I think, and apply for a waiver I think too and I don't know how long that would take. Because of the "kicking" you out, you might NOT be allowed to visit while it's pending, they would have to visit you. Would you even have the money for that? Is that fair to spend the money on that (visits) when as you said, "food on the table for your kids"?

If you go to court, only a lawyer I believe can truly prepare you for what you need to take with you and what you need and fight your case because I feel like by leaving you're putting yourself in a much worse position.

Much as I hate to say it when you asked us not to (sort of ), but as you stated there were 3 free lawyers on the list, call the court, call around and see if there are more free lawyers. See if there's a lawyer that will let you pay it off. You need a lawyer to protect your status. I don't know if your wife works but if she doesn't she will probably need to go out and get a job while you be a stay-at-home dad.

This sounds like an uphill battle. Good luck! I hope it all works out!

Edited February 4, 2010 by Vanessa&Tony

[Hornetking 0]

Yeah, see we filed everything ourselves and because we were together for so long, we had a bunch of evidence. So other than the long waits in getting everything approved, that part was easy.

I guess if we had someone file for us they would have drilled home the need to renew after 2 years. It honestly just slipped our minds with having a child and moving etc. It was a stupid, but honest mistake. Did not file one form and now its spiralled out of control.

I am going to try and contact a couple more low cost/free lawyers today. But if anyone has any suggestions for any services like this in North Carolina, I would appreciate it. I am finding it hard to sleep at night now knowing that time is ticking quickly.

In regards to them visiting - the pound is still a lot stronger than the dollar, and you can book flights from American flight companies online using your card. I've done that for my wife before we got married and saved a ton of money. This is of course the last resort, but it is one of the options I could think of that I wasn't sure if anyone else did here.

Thank you for the reply V&T.

[rika60607 215]

So, find a lawer who takes credit cards, or take a cash advance!

Seriously, you would better of getting a lawyer, but you may as well go without one if your other best option is to leave and work in the UK.

You need to educate yourself on the options available to you. I think either filing late I-751 if judge permits (bring your spouse, kids and lots of evidence to court) or filing new I-130 and adjusting your status anew, if judge permits (bring same to court).

Both cost money, so you can try looking into fee waivers by USCIS.

Consider getting your senator involved.

and you can book flights from American flight companies online using your card. I've done that for my wife before we got married and saved a ton of money. This is of course the last resort, but it is one of the options I could think of that I wasn't sure if anyone else did here.

Thank you for the reply V&T.

[TracyTN 237]

Ok here is the situation.

I came here from the UK on a K-1 - got married, everything was fine. Appied for Greencard, got it and so started my life with my wife over here - bought a house, had a baby and basically just beig a husband and father to my child.

Long story short - I forgot to file before my 2 years were up. I know it was stupid, but with moving and having a child I guess things just got blown away. The next thing I know in October I get a letter saying my status is terminated (letter was dated August but didn't get to me until October). I then hand in my notice at work (I thought working whilst out of status would go against me) and go and talk to a couple of laywers. They want over 2k to help me. Due to the economy and trying ot feed my child, I decided to sell my car to pay for it. Unfortunately, no one is buying.....

So we try other means to get the money - they will not give us a loan anywhere as my wife doesnt earn enough and I am not working, wife does not get on with her family so they will not loan the money and my parents in UK are both on disability. Any money we do get now is going on food/bills.

I now have a notice come through saying I need to go to court, the date has not been set but I have to go and get some biometrics done. There was a list of free attorneys, but NONE of them are getting back to me. So I have a few questions.

1) Would I be able to go to court by myself and have a good chance at them showing mercy on me for making ONE mistake. Are they literally going to pull apart my family or do we have a shot of getting this waived? We have been together 10 years, married for almost 5. Everything is legit as far as our relationship goes. I would NOT want to go to court on this occasion on my own. Catholic Charities offers free (or little cost) immigration assistance - contact the one near you if you can't find another attorney that will be reasonable with you about payment.

2) The biometrics appointment is for a walk in during hours - will I have to pay for this? There is no price listed on it. If so does anyone know how much so I can try and borrow the cash to get it done. Normally it is $80 when you pay the fee along with a ROC application. I would assume it is the same but can't be sure.

3) Would it be possible fo rme to fly back home, work and get some money to get this situation fixed whilst at the same time helping out my wife and child financially? And if I do this, can I come back to visit whilst getting it fixed?

I'm not sure what leaving would gain you (other than some money). Technically you are an LPR until an immigration judge says you're not - but honestly I'm not sure what CBP would do to someone who is essentially in removal proceedings if they tried to re-enter. if a CBP officer decides not to let you in, then where would you be? My gut tells me do not leave the US until you have this sorted out. But I would be curious to hear what an attorney would think about that.

Please, I know people are going to say "you need a good lawyer" but a Lawyer is really not an option. We really cannot afford it. It came down to getting a lawyer or putting food on my kids plate at the end of the day, and that was not a hard choice.

Honestly I don't think you can afford NOT to have one - not if you want to stay living here anyway. I'd start with Catholic Charities and go from there. At the very least, try to have a free phone consultation with one - normally they do those pretty routinely.

Thanks guys.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

You need a response from Jim. Nobody can beat his advise (except, perhaps, Kathrin), but I'll try to give you the baseline from my point of view.

1) You'll need to deal with the court appearance. I personally wouldn't want to attend without a lawyer, and I'm pretty good in representing myself. Find one that takes credit cards and for once worry about paying it off later.

2) You'll need to file a new AOS, which cost you a notch over $1K. Since you've been married for over 2 years now, the end result will be the same as it would have been had you filed the I-751 for Removal of Conditions properly: an unrestricted, 10-year Green Card that can be renewed indefinitely without fuss.

I'm not sure how both motions would have to be timed, but I'm sure Jim will clear this up. Perhaps you'll have to submit the new AOS again, then in court point out the open application and ask the judge to postpone the case until it has been decided upon. Common sense tells me that it should be easily decided in your favor, based on your long time marriage. The termination of your residency is an automatic trigger, performed with the help of human drones. They finally found out you didn't apply for ROC, so they concluded you abondoned your residency.

Let us know what city you're in, so that people can give you some advice regarding a lawyer.

Addendum: do not leave the country!

Edited February 4, 2010 by Just Bob

[Hornetking 0]

Thanks for the replies.

I am about an hour away from Charlotte.

I will look into these catholic charities over the weekend - thank you for that suggestion.