US deportation row: woman, son granted permanent residency

[Ali G. 37]

US deportation row: Melbourne woman, son granted permanent residency

MEGAN LEVY

April 23, 2010 - 12:28PM

A Melbourne, AUS woman and her 13-year-old son who were set to be deported from the US after the child stole 46 cents from a classmate have now been granted permanent residency in the country.

Tracey Washington and her son, who has not been identified, learned yesterday that immigration authorities had approved their applications for US green cards.

US immigrants' rights advocates took up the Washingtons' case earlier this year, saying it highlighted the human consequences of San Francisco's harsh deportation policy.

Mrs Washington said was elated to learn she was now a legal US resident and could remain in San Francisco with her American husband, Charles Washington.

"At the same time, my heart goes out to the many other families who were harmed by the ... policy and have not been as fortunate to receive a reprieve," Mrs Washington said.

The pair, who moved to the US in April last year, were set to be deported back to Australia after Mrs Washington's son hit another student during an after-school program in January and took 46 cents from him.

Angela Chan of the Asian Law Caucus - which provided immigration legal services to the family - said the punch was a joke, the other boy was unhurt and the 13-year-old apologised.

However, the other boy's parents contacted police, who charged the 13-year-old with assault, extortion and robbery.

Ms Chan said a juvenile court judge normally would reduce the charges for a first-time offender in such an incident and place the youth on probation.

But the case never reached court because juvenile authorities referred the boy to immigration authorities, as required under San Francisco's deportation crackdown.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities then ordered the deportation of Mrs Washington and her son on March 5, which was later pushed back until May 4.

Also accompanying the pair would have been Mrs Washington's other son, aged five.

Mrs Washington and her children arrived in the US in February 2009 on a 90-day visa-waiver.

The Washingtons, who had met six years earlier, were married in April that year.

However, they missed a 90-day deadline to apply for legal residency, after Mr Washington said a federal immigration office told them there was no filing deadline.

[Darnell 8,478]

silly stuff:

Mrs Washington and her children arrived in the US in February 2009 on a 90-day visa-waiver

However, they missed a 90-day deadline to apply for legal residency,

Wankers from Australia, without a clue.

THEY PUT THE CHILDREN INTO SCHOOL in SanFran.

How stupid. Come On BooYah! is this one of yer countrymen? Time for you to send a postcard, ya?

Edited April 23, 2010 by Darnell

[Ali G. 37]

I am wondering if it's someone on here.

[Obama 2012 1,714]

Yet another example of how way too lax our immigration system is....

She stayed here illegally, and then gets rewarded for it...

[SMR 368]

Yet another example of how way too lax our immigration system is....

She stayed here illegally, and then gets rewarded for it...

Well, the article is unclear, at least it seems to me. Perhaps the 90 day visa waiver spoken of is a K-1 visa. I wouldn't really call it a waiver, but the media isn't really accurate about these sorts of things.

If it is a K-1, then it's true that she should be able to file for AOS after the 90 days is up, as long as they married in the 90 days, which it seems they did.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

That's an older story, and we discussed it here not too long ago.

Aussi woman marries USC, travels back and forth to US many times but never files for AOS. Last time she enters, as before, as VWP participant, already married.

Kid gets in trouble in school, sh*t hits the fan.

Outcome: although we . . . uhh . . . YOU guys tell everybody on this board that entering with VWP or B2, already married, is visa fraud, plain and simple, here's another example of how the written rules and its application differ in real life.

Therefore I say to anybody who wants to enter the US in order to get married and then adjust that it is against the rules, but in real life it will work without a hiccup.

Nuttin' you or I or we or anybody can do about it, but the President.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Aussi woman marries USC, travels back and forth to US many times but never files for AOS. Last time she enters, as before, as VWP participant, already married.

If that's the case, the article's got it all wrong as it states that they arrived on a VW in Feb '09 and she married in Apr '09. Hence, she would have entered on VWP as a single person and then married her US spouse. Then, of course, there's no 90 day filing window as the article suggests. And one wonders why America is so unaware of how immigration works. The media can't even keep simple things straight...