I need some help

[phernandez318 0]

Hi guys i need some help, i am new to this forum and i heard that the people here are very helpful

here is the situation:

My friends mom is trying to file for her residency, she has been living here for 20 years but arrived to this country ilegally, she is married to a us citizen and has three kids, all born in the united state, she also has been granted here workers permit before by this country but it has expired, so she is now talking to here lawyers in order for here to get her green card, but her lawyer is kinda dumb dumb so this is why i am asking for help from this place.

She has three dependents and from what i have read she will need to make just over $27,000.00, she has not made that money over the past three years in order to meet the poverty guildlines, she will undoubtably have to get one or more co sponsers, one sponser make $21,000.00 which i know is still not enough will she be able to get one or two more co-sponsers in order to make this work (Example, co-sponsor A makes $20,000.00- co-sponsor B makes $15,000.00 that will equal $35,000.00) will this senario be able to work?

thank you all very much in advance for this help

[Darnell 8,479]

have the mom and the USC spouse sit down together, pore over http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide2

Come back with their questions, after they've run through the paperwork and instructions.

HOWEVER, most ppl that are here illegally are not allowed to adjust status (they can file, but high percentage of denial)

Good Luck !

[JordanP 0]

Hi guys i need some help, i am new to this forum and i heard that the people here are very helpful

here is the situation:

My friends mom is trying to file for her residency, she has been living here for 20 years but arrived to this country ilegally, she is married to a us citizen and has three kids, all born in the united state, she also has been granted here workers permit before by this country but it has expired, so she is now talking to here lawyers in order for here to get her green card, but her lawyer is kinda dumb dumb so this is why i am asking for help from this place.

She has three dependents and from what i have read she will need to make just over $27,000.00, she has not made that money over the past three years in order to meet the poverty guildlines, she will undoubtably have to get one or more co sponsers, one sponser make $21,000.00 which i know is still not enough will she be able to get one or two more co-sponsers in order to make this work (Example, co-sponsor A makes $20,000.00- co-sponsor B makes $15,000.00 that will equal $35,000.00) will this senario be able to work?

thank you all very much in advance for this help

Hello,

I'm not an expert but have heard of some people in this situation. As the other reply indicates, it is very possible the applicant will be denied based on remaining in the country unlawfully. By all rights, according to the law, those who continue to stay in the U.S. without legal presence for longer than 1 year are subject to a 10 year ban. However, the applicant may be able to obtain a waiver if the U.S. citizen spouse will endure extreme hardship based on the deportation of illegal spouse, and then file an application to adjust status. From what I have learned, this declaration of extreme hardship must be more substantial than the usual emototional and general inconveniences the U.S. would face by losing a spouse; it is held to a much higher standard. If the children are U.S. citizens also, and the US Citizen spouse is dependent on the child care of the illegal spouse, this may work (but also may still not be enough). I'm not sure of the form number for the waiver, but the attorney should know and will help determine if extreme hardship would exist for the US Citizen spouse.

As far as the attorney being a "dumb dumb," the applicant should find a more knowledgable attorney. Many on us who provide answeres on these forums have experience through their own research, yet that cannot take the place of a real immigration attorney who has up to date information on the laws and experience with a varity of circumstances. The information I've provided is by no means legal advice and may not even be entirely accurate, so take it at face value. Good luck to your friend.

[Deputy Purple 1,294]

Don't assume the lawyer is "dumb dumb" just because the answers you are getting aren't what you want to hear...

If she really arrived illegally (Entered Without Inspection) then she is not eligible to adjust status from within the US. The means she'll have to return to her home country to Embassy Processing. The catch is that 20 years of illegal presence means she'll be banned from entry for 10 years.

[phernandez318 0]

i did not say the lawyer was "dumb dumb" because he said things that they didn't want to hear, but because he said things that have not been correct based on the information that i have researched, for example, he said that what she needed to make was $18,000 a year for the poverty guideline line but in reality she needs to make 23,000 because she has three dependents, he also said that since she has been here over ten years they will show mercy on her since she has worked in the US and paid tax's alone with some other things there that by twenty mins of research i have discoverd to be incorrect..

One of the posters said something in the lines of "if the US spouse will endure hardship if the wife is deported" The ladies husband is clinicaly insane he suffers from bi-polar and some other things there, he condition has been well documented by the courts and doctors and a nurse comes once a week to check up on him to make sure he is taking his medication and stuff, this is something else her lawyer failed to mention.

[Darnell 8,479]

just to be clear-

HER income is not taken into consideration, usually.

For an AOS case, it's the USC spouse's income that is evaluated first (her USC husband)

then it's a co-sponser / joint-sponser . Rarely the foreign person's income, but there are, of course, exceptions to this.

[Deputy Purple 1,294]

i did not say the lawyer was "dumb dumb" because he said things that they didn't want to hear, but because he said things that have not been correct based on the information that i have researched, for example, he said that what she needed to make was $18,000 a year for the poverty guideline line but in reality she needs to make 23,000 because she has three dependents, he also said that since she has been here over ten years they will show mercy on her since she has worked in the US and paid tax's alone with some other things there that by twenty mins of research i have discoverd to be incorrect..

Well you didn't specify that earlier.

One of the posters said something in the lines of "if the US spouse will endure hardship if the wife is deported" The ladies husband is clinicaly insane he suffers from bi-polar and some other things there, he condition has been well documented by the courts and doctors and a nurse comes once a week to check up on him to make sure he is taking his medication and stuff, this is something else her lawyer failed to mention.

Her illegal entry into the US makes her ineligible to adjust while in the US, she must leave for Consular Processing in her home country. The hardship waiver would happen after the Visa is denied because she is inadmissible due to the 10 year ban. What country is she from? For the hardship she'll have to demonstrate why the family can't live in her (or some other) country.

If his condition is manageable with medications then it will be difficult to base a hardship on that as he can take his meds without his wife there especially since he has so much outside support already.

The hardship waivers are an uphill battle. They'll probably find better info at www.imigrate2us.net where they have a lot of info on EWI & Hardship Waivers.

[Boiler 46,084]

Immigrate2us.net is a much better source for information than this site.

She will need to leave, go through Consular processing and then file a waiver.

Much depends on which country, Mexico is pretty easy, some are much harder.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

i did not say the lawyer was "dumb dumb" because he said things that they didn't want to hear, but because he said things that have not been correct based on the information that i have researched, for example, he said that what she needed to make was $18,000 a year for the poverty guideline line but in reality she needs to make 23,000 because she has three dependents, he also said that since she has been here over ten years they will show mercy on her since she has worked in the US and paid tax's alone with some other things there that by twenty mins of research i have discoverd to be incorrect..

One of the posters said something in the lines of "if the US spouse will endure hardship if the wife is deported" The ladies husband is clinicaly insane he suffers from bi-polar and some other things there, he condition has been well documented by the courts and doctors and a nurse comes once a week to check up on him to make sure he is taking his medication and stuff, this is something else her lawyer failed to mention.

How much is the lawyer charging for this advice? If he told her the truth, he wouldn't be able to make any money from her. On the other hand, he can collect a tidy fee for filing her application, which will ultimately be denied and result in her deportation.

There is no "mercy". USCIS follows the law. It's that simple. She would not be eligible for amnesty, and have her illegal entry forgiven, unless she'd been continuously resident in the US since 1972. She's not eligible to adjust status because of her illegal entry, regardless of her marriage to a US citizen. Her previous employment authorization could not have been legally obtained, and if she's currently working then she's doing so illegally.

If she leaves the US and has her husband petition for a visa, she will be denied at the consulate because she will be banned from the US for at least 10 years because of the length of her illegal stay. If they determine there was any material misrepresentation involved in her previously obtaining a work permit (did she use somebody else's Social Security number?) then she could be banned for life.

She faces an uphill battle. She might be better to sit it out and hope that Obama comes through with some new sort of amnesty program. Many people on this site (myself included) are strongly opposed to this ever happening.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

** moved from "Adjustment of Status (Green Card) from Family Based Visas" to "Adjustment of Status from Work, Student, & Tourist Visas" as you are adjusting from a visa other than a K1, K2, K3 & K4 which the other visa is for**

[VanessaTony 3,567]

i did not say the lawyer was "dumb dumb" because he said things that they didn't want to hear, but because he said things that have not been correct based on the information that i have researched, for example, he said that what she needed to make was $18,000 a year for the poverty guideline line but in reality she needs to make 23,000 because she has three dependents, he also said that since she has been here over ten years they will show mercy on her since she has worked in the US and paid tax's alone with some other things there that by twenty mins of research i have discoverd to be incorrect..

Unless I'm completely wrong, her children are USC's and therefore do not need to be sponsored by the I-864 so the lawyer was correct, the sponsor (not the woman immigrating) will need to show income for their household size plus 1 more person (the immigrant).

In either event, entering illegally is bad and she's unlikely to be able to AOS.

Also, as stated by Jim, if she arrived illegally she's likely working illegally which means her income is inadmissible to "help" her immigrate. How did she get a SSN? If she got a SSN illegally (i.e. using someone elses) this is also illegal and carries a LIFETIME ban.

So I think we need a bit more clarification on some of the other details. When you say "entered illegally" what do you mean? Stowed away? Fake passport?

Edited May 24, 2010 by Vanessa&Tony

[Deputy Purple 1,294]

Unless I'm completely wrong, her children are USC's and therefore do not need to be sponsored by the I-864 so the lawyer was correct, the sponsor (not the woman immigrating) will need to show income for their household size plus 1 more person (the immigrant).

The children would be counted in the household size so even though they don't need to be sponsored they will raise the income requirement.

In either event, entering illegally is bad and she's unlikely to be able to AOS.

Which makes the whole income amount a moot point

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

Jim said it perfectly; everything else is completely irrelevant. The EWI is the ultimate killer of any AOS petition, as one cannot adjust status when one has no status. Simple as that.

Where I disagree with Jim is that your friend's mom is one of the cases I would give amnesty (for lack of a better term) give to. Somebody who lives in the USA for over 20 years, has 3 children who are US citizens, and has shown that she can provide for herself without draining the US taxpayers' money, deserves one good thing happening to her.

Whether or not any pending immigration reform will enclose EWI cases is anybody's guess. It's her only chance, however, to get out of the shadow and to continue a life in the US with her children who most likely don't know any other country than the US of A.

[EmVee 4]

Jim said it perfectly; everything else is completely irrelevant. The EWI is the ultimate killer of any AOS petition, as one cannot adjust status when one has no status. Simple as that.

Is this new or has it always been the law? I'm just curious. My friend entered the US illegally from Mexico 8 years ago and she got married and adjusted status a year later. Maybe it's because she wasn't here as long? Once again, USCIS mystifies me. LOL!

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Is this new or has it always been the law? I'm just curious. My friend entered the US illegally from Mexico 8 years ago and she got married and adjusted status a year later. Maybe it's because she wasn't here as long? Once again, USCIS mystifies me. LOL!

No, it's not new, and it doesn't matter how long they've been here. You must enter the US legally in order to be eligible to adjust status. Either there is more to the story then your friend is telling you, or she didn't really adjust status.