AOS after separation

[LvivLovers 39]

I'm writing on behalf of someone I know who has an extremely complicated situation hoping someone here can provide advice on what he should do. This is a nasty, complicated case which should provide even VJ veterans some curveballs.

I don't know all the details, but here's what I think is the case. The one seeking the AOS has been in the U.S. illegally (to my knowledge) for the last 20 or so years. Approximately 10 years ago he married a USC...it was a bona fide marriage. As he wasn't getting married for a GC, he didn't file for AOS until a few years later. For one reason or another, the original AOS was denied. I think that at the time they were unable to show his wife made above the poverty line as she had recently become unemployed. In any case, it fell through. He may have tried AOS more than once even...I'm not sure. If it turns out to be relevant I can try to find out more details. Part of the problem is they didn't know what the hell they were doing so never could even explain at what exact steps they were at. In any case, they basically just dropped the ball on whatever stage of AOS they were at and so it never got completed.

Fast forward a few more years and he and his wife are no longer getting along so they physically separate. I don't believe they have taken any actual steps to legalize anything so as far as I know they are still technically married. Anyway, about 6 months ago, someone else accidentally wrecks into his truck and at that point it's discovered he doesn't have a driver's license and he's here illegally to boot. He ends up in jail until he could finally be bailed out. So now, he's finally realizing the only chance he has to avoid deportation, etc. is to get his GC...he's tired of trying to live below the radar. He talked to a lawyer who told him to file for AOS, but personally I don't know if he's getting any decent advice from this guy or not.

Ok...so on to the current situation...his wife, who he has kept in contact with over the last few years despite her living in another state, wants to help him finally get his AOS complete since they did have a true marriage. They have an AOS interview set for next month. I'm a firm believer that honest is the best policy, especially when dealing with the USCIS. That said, I want him to know what the situation is and what they are going to look at it so he knows what he is facing and how he should best present themselves.

Some extenuating circumstances:

1) first of all he lives in one state and she lives in another (I think it's been this way for at least a year, but I'm not exactly sure how long). Thus, they don't really have any current evidence...no co-mingling of finances, clearly different addresses, etc.

2) He has been in the country illegally for a couple decades.

3) He's been working illegally the whole time until his recent arrest when he was involved in an accident (which was someone else's fault).

4) He has 2 kids that have been here for several years attending public school.

5) He's had arrest or two stemming primarily from situations involving his wife. One of the reasons they ended up separating.

Circumstances that may help:

1) he had a bona fide marriage

2) technically married for more than a decade at this point, I would think.

At this point he's just filed AOS like they are a married couple and they both plan to attend the interview. If they just tell the truth is this going to be a bad thing? They ARE married. It was entered into in good faith. But they are not together at the moment. Is this a warning flag?

I know there's something about filing for a waiver or something like that if divorced as long as the marriage was entered into in good faith. Unfortunately, in this case, for whatever reason, they never got divorced, so I don't know if this would apply to him or not.

Well, hopefully that's enough of a start. I'm going to be speaking to this guy over the weekend so I can try to find out more details then if there is something else relevant. I appreciate any input VJers have to this in the mean time!

[belinda63 3,041]

Problem number one is you say he is here illegally. This will be a big monkey wrench in the works. There might be a way around it since he has been here so long but usually you cannot adjust status if you entered without inspection. Second problem will be the marriage issue since as you say at this point their marriage is only a technicality. I really believe this would be a big, big issue since he has waited until he got in trouble to file for the GC and he cannot provide any proof that this is still a real marriage.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Fast forward a few more years and he and his wife are no longer getting along so they physically separate. I don't believe they have taken any actual steps to legalize anything so as far as I know they are still technically married. They would not pass a Stokes interview would they? I really don't like their chances

Ok...so on to the current situation...his wife, who he has kept in contact with over the last few years despite her living in another state, wants to help him finally get his AOS complete since they did have a true marriage. "DID" is not good enough. HAVE is what is required. They have an AOS interview set for next month. I'm a firm believer that honest is the best policy, especially when dealing with the USCIS. That said, I want him to know what the situation is and what they are going to look at it so he knows what he is facing and how he should best present themselves.

Some extenuating circumstances:

1) first of all he lives in one state and she lives in another (I think it's been this way for at least a year, but I'm not exactly sure how long). Thus, they don't really have any current evidence...no co-mingling of finances, clearly different addresses, etc. They will need to explain why they're living apart. You said the reason is they're no longer together. He will be denied.

2) He has been in the country illegally for a couple decades.It is forgiven for a spouse of a USC who AOS's. If he gets his GC all that is forgiven.

3) He's been working illegally the whole time until his recent arrest when he was involved in an accident (which was someone else's fault).It is forgiven for a spouse of a USC who AOS's. If he gets his GC all that is forgiven.

4) He has 2 kids that have been here for several years attending public school. Irrelevant. While the kids could help a hardship waiver, the hardship is losing his wife, who he doesn't want to be with anyway so they're irrelevant

5) He's had arrest or two stemming primarily from situations involving his wife. One of the reasons they ended up separating. There would have been qn's on the forms about "have you ever been arrested" and abusing his wife isn't a good thing for AOS

Circumstances that may help:

1) he had a bona fide marriage "had" is not good enough. HAVE is what they need

2) technically married for more than a decade at this point, I would think.

At this point he's just filed AOS like they are a married couple and they both plan to attend the interview. If they just tell the truth is this going to be a bad thing? They ARE married. It was entered into in good faith. But they are not together at the moment. Is this a warning flag? It's not a warning flag to tell the truth that they're in the middle of separation and will divorce in the near future. it's an outright denial.

I know there's something about filing for a waiver or something like that if divorced as long as the marriage was entered into in good faith. Unfortunately, in this case, for whatever reason, they never got divorced, so I don't know if this would apply to him or not. As I say below. This is for ROC, not AOS

Well, hopefully that's enough of a start. I'm going to be speaking to this guy over the weekend so I can try to find out more details then if there is something else relevant. I appreciate any input VJers have to this in the mean time!

the "waiver" you're talking about is only during ROC. For AOS you MUST be married and STILL married and STILL legitimately together to get the GC. What your friends are doing is considered immigration fraud. While yes they WERE married they are now lying about still being together in order to gain immigration benefit. If they admit they're not together, he will not get a GC and will be in deportation proceedings (if he isn't already from the previous denials).

** moved from "Adjustment of Status (Green Card) from Family Based Visas" to Effects of Major Family Changes on Immigration Benefits as this is a more appropriate location**

Problem number one is you say he is here illegally. This will be a big monkey wrench in the works. There might be a way around it since he has been here so long but usually you cannot adjust status if you entered without inspection. Second problem will be the marriage issue since as you say at this point their marriage is only a technicality. I really believe this would be a big, big issue since he has waited until he got in trouble to file for the GC and he cannot provide any proof that this is still a real marriage.

The OP must mean "out of status" as the person she's talking about would have simply been denied without interview if he EWI'd.

Edited November 12, 2010 by Vanessa&Tony

[LvivLovers 39]

Thanks for all the information so far folks! I appreciate it. I'll admit, I thought marriage as considered by the USCIS would come down to the legal definition...something like not divorced...rather than to whether they were cohabitating or not. I'm curious...what happens in a case if two people have a rocky marriage and are prone to taking time off but possibly getting back together? How do you know when the marriage is really over?

Ok...another question...would the fact that they filed a previous AOS when they were living together have any bearing on the situation? Or is that fact completely irrelevant and this AOS seen as completely separate. It seems sort of odd to me that he was in a situation to get a GC (which I don't think would have been conditional at that time). For what it's worth, his wife was the one with some major issues (such as a drug problem) which caused him to leave home. There was no physical violence between them that I know of, but she was very manipulative of him and used the situation to control him. It's sort of a mystery to me that she is wanting to help him with his AOS now. In any case...I'll advise him NOT to commit any sort of fraud and just be honest. Is there any way he has a chance here?

I wish I could provide more details...he's someone I've known for a long time and a nice guy, but not someone that is a close friend. I've heard for years about the various problems when he was going through trying to get legal. He only recently started asking me for advice but it's a total different situation from my own experience and way out of my league. Thanks again for the help!

Edited November 12, 2010 by LvivLovers

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Thanks for all the information so far folks! I appreciate it. I'll admit, I thought marriage as considered by the USCIS would come down to the legal definition...something like not divorced...rather than to whether they were cohabitating or not. I'm curious...what happens in a case if two people have a rocky marriage and are prone to taking time off but possibly getting back together? How do you know when the marriage is really over?

Ok...another question...would the fact that they filed a previous AOS when they were living together have any bearing on the situation? Or is that fact completely irrelevant and this AOS seen as completely separate. It seems sort of odd to me that he was in a situation to get a GC (which I don't think would have been conditional at that time). For what it's worth, his wife was the one with some major issues (such as a drug problem) which caused him to leave home. There was no physical violence between them that I know of, but she was very manipulative of him and used the situation to control him. It's sort of a mystery to me that she is wanting to help him with his AOS now. In any case...I'll advise him NOT to commit any sort of fraud and just be honest. Is there any way he has a chance here?

I wish I could provide more details...he's someone I've known for a long time and a nice guy, but not someone that is a close friend. I've heard for years about the various problems when he was going through trying to get legal. He only recently started asking me for advice but it's a total different situation from my own experience and way out of my league. Thanks again for the help!

Read this thread: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/282437-help-plz/page__view__findpost__p__4287858 Jim discusses AOS and separation/divorce.

The previous AOS's have no effect on the current one, unless reasons for denial make them excludable (such as they thought marriage fraud) rather than just simply not filing the paperwork correctly.

There is VAWA. Using his status against him is considered a form of abuse and could be grounds for him getting the card on his own.

USCIS's definition of marriage isn't really cohabitating, it's.. co-mingling. Joining of lives, finances etc. Most couples live together so that's a good indicator of a good relationship, but some couples live apart for school etc and show proof of visits to each other that they're not separated, just not living together at the moment.

Honestly, if he's 100% honest and says they've been separated for a year and have no plans to reunite he WILL be denied. In my personal opinion he is much better off cancelling the joint AOS and trying for VAWA. Hopefully someone else can help out here...

[LvivLovers 39]

Thank you for the detailed information and the other thread. It sounds like VAWA might be his best option...I'll have to talk to him more about that this weekend to find out specifics.

I'm still not 100% sure what constitutes a relationship. This was posted in the other thread:

"If the petition is based on a marital relationship, question the party or parties sufficiently to satisfy yourself that the relationship continues to exist. If it has been terminated through annulment, divorce, or death, revoke the petition."

If they have not legally separated, would think they are still married, even if it is a crappy marriage and not very functional in all practicality...but if you don't have clear cut rules, I would think to much is just subject to opinion...there must be a way to know when a marital relationship is truly over or not...either a length of time that is specified or some other quantifiable criteria. That's why it seems to me that that criteria would be divorce or legal separation, etc. According to the above guidline, things that would terminate the marital relationship could be annulment (not applicable to this case), divorce (not applicable to this case), death (not applicable to this case). If they plan on divorce, that would be a good indicator that it's really over, but if not, who's to say?! I guess technically the USCIS is the one that determines it, but what is their guidline...so will they look for some legal separation/divorce or will they subjectively try to judge the quality of the marital relationship? I'm not trying to argue btw if it seems like that....just really trying to make sure I know what is his best bet so I can advise him appropriately.

At this point, if he is going to go for VAWA, what kind of proof what he need? Will it be a problem that he has filed this current AOS? If his wife was willing to testify on his behalf about VAWA in some way, would she be prosecuted?

Thanks again for helping me get down the the crux of this situation!

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Thank you for the detailed information and the other thread. It sounds like VAWA might be his best option...I'll have to talk to him more about that this weekend to find out specifics.

I'm still not 100% sure what constitutes a relationship. This was posted in the other thread:

"If the petition is based on a marital relationship, question the party or parties sufficiently to satisfy yourself that the relationship continues to exist. If it has been terminated through annulment, divorce, or death, revoke the petition."

If they have not legally separated, would think they are still married, even if it is a crappy marriage and not very functional in all practicality...but if you don't have clear cut rules, I would think to much is just subject to opinion...there must be a way to know when a marital relationship is truly over or not...either a length of time that is specified or some other quantifiable criteria. That's why it seems to me that that criteria would be divorce or legal separation, etc. According to the above guidline, things that would terminate the marital relationship could be annulment (not applicable to this case), divorce (not applicable to this case), death (not applicable to this case). If they plan on divorce, that would be a good indicator that it's really over, but if not, who's to say?! I guess technically the USCIS is the one that determines it, but what is their guidline...so will they look for some legal separation/divorce or will they subjectively try to judge the quality of the marital relationship? I'm not trying to argue btw if it seems like that....just really trying to make sure I know what is his best bet so I can advise him appropriately.

At this point, if he is going to go for VAWA, what kind of proof what he need? Will it be a problem that he has filed this current AOS? If his wife was willing to testify on his behalf about VAWA in some way, would she be prosecuted?

Thanks again for helping me get down the the crux of this situation!

I don't know enough about VAWA to properly assist you but the quote that you made I bolded the part that I think matter. Obviously if the parties are no longer married, that matters (except the death one now, there's new rules) but the whole point of GC interviews is to determine REAL relationships. People get asked about co-mingling. If you get a Stokes interview they'll wanna know the colour of the curtains, carpets, the last time you had sex, what was for breakfast.. relationshippy things because being in a relationship matters and from your post, your friends, while still married, aren't in a relationship... some people go for years without divorcing for many reasons. The benefit that being married gets them (such a joint health insurance, government benefits etc) and sometimes because they just can't afford it.

VAWA I'm not sure about, like I said, but your friend REALLY needs to talk to a qualified immigration attorney.. without the wife (soon to be ex) around.

And as for VAWA, his wife could not assist him with VAWA.. that's kinda the point. She COULD hand herself into police and admit the abuse... but I doubt it'll help any. Honestly, lawyer, a GOOD lawyer.. just see what s/he says.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

There are a whole lot of mitigating circumstances that could affect things here.

First, how exactly did he enter the US? Legally, or illegally? If he entered legally, then let's move on to the next step. If he entered illegally, then there's only three possible avenues to adjust status; asylum/refugee (what country is he from?), VAWA (we'll get into this in a moment), or INA section 245(i). Section 245(i), also called the LIFE Act, allows someone who entered illegally AND had an immigrant visa petition approved before April, 2001, to apply for AOS. You said he's been here illegally 20 years. When did he get married, and when EXACTLY was the first AOS petition submitted? If the I-130 was approved before April, 2001, but the I-485 was rejected, then he might be able to adjust based on 245(i), regardless of the marriage. There are additional sticking points below that could affect this, though.

From here on, let's presume he entered legally...

If they are still legally married, and have taken no steps toward divorce (legal separation, etc.) then he is probably eligible to submit an AOS petition, but there are numerous gotcha's that could bite him.

You said he's had previous run-ins with the law. If he has been convicted of any crime defined in INA section 212, then he can't adjust status. He's inadmissible, and deportable. It will be important to find out what crimes, if any, he's actually been convicted of.

You said he's been working illegally. Has he been paying taxes? At any point, did he ever claim to be a US citizen in order to get a job? If he ever claimed to be a US citizen on any document that was ever submitted to the US government then he's inadmissible for the rest of his life - no waiver is possible.

VAWA - Ok, he'd have to prove he was abused by his wife, and that he entered the marriage in good faith. If he's got any documents and photos left from the early years of his marriage then the "good faith" evidence shouldn't be too difficult. The abuse, on the other hand... Yes, withholding AOS is a form of abuse, but generally not enough on it's own. Further, it doesn't sound like his wife intentionally refused to help him adjust status. In fact, it sounds like she tried at least once, but failed. Finally, is he really willing to potentially ruin her life with accusations of abuse in order to get a green card? So far, I haven't heard any evidence that would lead me to believe a VAWA claim would succeed here.

Here's a biggie - What was the result of the first AOS petition? Ok, we know it was denied, but what did USCIS do after that? Did they order him removed from the US? Did he ever receive an order to appear before an immigration judge? Is it possible he was ordered deported in absentia?

[LvivLovers 39]

I don't know enough about VAWA to properly assist you but the quote that you made I bolded the part that I think matter. Obviously if the parties are no longer married, that matters (except the death one now, there's new rules) but the whole point of GC interviews is to determine REAL relationships. People get asked about co-mingling. If you get a Stokes interview they'll wanna know the colour of the curtains, carpets, the last time you had sex, what was for breakfast.. relationshippy things because being in a relationship matters and from your post, your friends, while still married, aren't in a relationship... some people go for years without divorcing for many reasons. The benefit that being married gets them (such a joint health insurance, government benefits etc) and sometimes because they just can't afford it.

VAWA I'm not sure about, like I said, but your friend REALLY needs to talk to a qualified immigration attorney.. without the wife (soon to be ex) around.

And as for VAWA, his wife could not assist him with VAWA.. that's kinda the point. She COULD hand herself into police and admit the abuse... but I doubt it'll help any. Honestly, lawyer, a GOOD lawyer.. just see what s/he says.

I talked to him this weekend and found out a few more details. Unfortunately, he can't tell me a lot about his past process as he had help with the paperwork and never really understood much what was going on. It's the same thing this time around as well...he has an immigration lawyer that is advising him on what to do and helping with the paperwork. I believe that his past AOS was just abandoned at whatever stage they realized he would have to have additional sponsors...he was unable to find anyone at the time and just didn't proceed further.

Although he probably could go the VAWA route, at this point his lawyer is just advising him to go through the normal process. I worry about his chances as there are lots of red flags due to his situation, but then again, there doesn't seem to be any option that's clearly better.

There are a whole lot of mitigating circumstances that could affect things here.

First, how exactly did he enter the US? Legally, or illegally? If he entered legally, then let's move on to the next step. If he entered illegally, then there's only three possible avenues to adjust status; asylum/refugee (what country is he from?), VAWA (we'll get into this in a moment), or INA section 245(i). Section 245(i), also called the LIFE Act, allows someone who entered illegally AND had an immigrant visa petition approved before April, 2001, to apply for AOS. You said he's been here illegally 20 years. When did he get married, and when EXACTLY was the first AOS petition submitted? If the I-130 was approved before April, 2001, but the I-485 was rejected, then he might be able to adjust based on 245(i), regardless of the marriage. There are additional sticking points below that could affect this, though.

He is Mexican and entered illegally. Somehow he was able to make it through our top-notch state of the art border security. He couldn't tell me about any of his previous paperwork...as far as I know he had filed a few different things...he might have had an approved I-130 before 2001...I'm not sure since he can't provide much in the way of details.

He was married 12 years ago. It sounds like from talking to him that he didn't apply for any type of Visa right in the beginning which would probably provide additional evidence he didn't marry for a GC. He had never seen it as an urgent thing until the last couple years when local govt. began cracking down a bit on illegals.

From here on, let's presume he entered legally...

If they are still legally married, and have taken no steps toward divorce (legal separation, etc.) then he is probably eligible to submit an AOS petition, but there are numerous gotcha's that could bite him.

So, unfortunately, he's here illegally as far as I know. After talking to him this weekend, whether he's still in a martial relationship or not will probably be the main sticking point. He's told me he just plans to answer things honestly, but here's his situation. He and his wife have always had an on-again/off-again marriage due to lots of arguing. For this reason, they've never gotten divorced. They still have feelings for each other and get back together until it blows up again. It's a crappy relationship but neither of them really considers it over. The first time they really were living apart was about 5 years ago, but even after that they went to Mexico together 2-3 times and he has proof of that. Even as recently as 6 months ago she went to visit his family in Mexico by herself. So I guess neither of them really wants to throw in the towel although they seem to have serious problems getting along. I guess it will be up to USCIS to sort that one out.

She's been living in NY and he'd like to go there but hasn't been able to for financial/legality reasons (no driver's license etc.). He's not going to try to lie in any way...this is why they don't have any evidence of co-mingling of finances. He can find some old leases, etc. showing co-mingling, but nothing current due the on-again/off-again relationship and her currently living apart. He's just going to tell it like it is. I don't know how they will react to it and whether they will judge the quality of their marriage. He was clear though that they didn't want to get divorced which is why they never have.

You said he's had previous run-ins with the law. If he has been convicted of any crime defined in INA section 212, then he can't adjust status. He's inadmissible, and deportable. It will be important to find out what crimes, if any, he's actually been convicted of.

I'm not really sure what all he was convicted of. I just remember one case where they were arguing and she called the cops on him and he spent the night in jail. I never heard the end result.

You said he's been working illegally. Has he been paying taxes? At any point, did he ever claim to be a US citizen in order to get a job? If he ever claimed to be a US citizen on any document that was ever submitted to the US government then he's inadmissible for the rest of his life - no waiver is possible.

I don't think he had been filing tax returns but recently did this for the last 10 years at the advice of his lawyer. He was self-employed as far as I know. I'm not sure if there would have been any documents where he lied.

VAWA - Ok, he'd have to prove he was abused by his wife, and that he entered the marriage in good faith. If he's got any documents and photos left from the early years of his marriage then the "good faith" evidence shouldn't be too difficult. The abuse, on the other hand... Yes, withholding AOS is a form of abuse, but generally not enough on it's own. Further, it doesn't sound like his wife intentionally refused to help him adjust status. In fact, it sounds like she tried at least once, but failed. Finally, is he really willing to potentially ruin her life with accusations of abuse in order to get a green card? So far, I haven't heard any evidence that would lead me to believe a VAWA claim would succeed here.

Yes, his wife tried to help him with AOS. Then at other times used it against him. It all depended on how smooth their relationship was going at the time. She had a drug problem and even after separated would come to his place and steal stuff at times knowing that he can't really do much about it. I'm guessing that also might be some grounds for VAWA. But in any case...doesn't look like he's trying to go that route since he thinks they are still married.

Here's a biggie - What was the result of the first AOS petition? Ok, we know it was denied, but what did USCIS do after that? Did they order him removed from the US? Did he ever receive an order to appear before an immigration judge? Is it possible he was ordered deported in absentia?

As I said up above, I think it just was abandoned due to inaction. I don't know if that happened after an interview or prior. As I said previously in this thread, he was arrested for driving without a license when someone else wrecked into him and also found to be illegal. He was going to be deported, but they cancelled it for whatever reason based on something his lawyer filed or some evidence...he didn't have a lot of details on it. After that, he did the current AOS filing.

In any case, I guess it's just a matter of waiting and seeing what happens at this point. I'll post again once I hear the results. He just said he plans to tell the truth of the situation and I agreed that that is what he should do since USCIS are trained to detect any lying. On one hand things look bad since they don't have much evidence, but on the other hand it looks pretty clear he wasn't trying hard to get a GC and they've been married 12 years. It'll be up to USCIS to figure it out!

Thanks a ton for all the input folks...I'll post back once I hear what happens...their interview is mid-Dec.

[milimelo 4,514]

I don't think there will be any AOS on any basis as your friend entered illegally.

[Fandango 1,439]

Hrmm, entered illegally, breaking immigration law for 20 years, not paying taxes until now when it benefits him to do so, multiple arrests...sounds like a winner.

Sorry, I know I probably should withhold comments like this, but it's really such an insult to those who choose to do this process the legal and right way.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Unless his lawyer is thinking 245(i), I really don't know what basis he thinks he has to adjust status. The illegal entry is a killer.

By the way, in my previous post I said he'd need an I-130 approved by April 30, 2001. The fact is that the I-130 would only need to have been filed by April 30, 2001 in order to be eligible for adjustment under 245(i). However, the I-130 would have to be approvable. A petition properly filed by a US citizen spouse would generally be approvable.

The only other obvious routes are asylum and VAWA. Asylum for a citizen of Mexico is a non-starter - it would never be approved. VAWA requires proof of abuse. His past record of spousal abuse would be a severe negative factor in a VAWA case.

There are a few other rare circumstances that could be used for someone who entered illegally. One requires that they would have had continuous presence in the US since the early 1970's - that's obviously not applicable. Another would be if he were a key witness cooperating with US law enforcement, then he could receive a government endorsement for a green card. I seriously doubt this applies in his case. Even if it did, federal law enforcement agencies are well known for reneging on promises to help alien witnesses adjust status. These key witnesses are usually criminals themselves, so law enforcement agencies don't feel a strong compulsion to help them.

It's possible his attorney's main goal might be emptying his pockets.

Unfortunately, your friend has a rather long history of showing total disregard for US laws. He's violated immigration laws. He's violated tax laws. Apparently, he's even violated criminal laws. He doesn't have a solid basis for adjustment of status, but there are a whole host of reasons USCIS could order his deportation and slap him into custody. I'm afraid it looks pretty bleak.

[sachinky 465]

Agree with the last three posts.

Why are you friends with this guy again?

[LvivLovers 39]

I appreciate the good advice, but could do without some of the personal disdain of some posters.

First off, this is someone I know...not a close friend...but I've heard off and on little details over they years as they struggled to get their visa stuff done...it's pretty hard for some people and they don't always know how to do things the right way. I've been through things the right way and they know that which is why they came to me for advice and why I came here for to try to pass on good advice to them since I don't know how to deal with such a complex case. It's out of compassion I'm trying to help this person even though my gut feeling was that things didn't look good to me. USCIS is going to do what they are going to do and justice will be done. So please relax a little bit people. VJ is supposed to be for advice, not judgement and condemnation. Of course if none of you have ever done anything wrong, then, by all means, preach on...

[LvivLovers 39]

Mods, you can go ahead and close this thread. I've advised this person based on the information received here and am no longer involved in the situation. Thank you very much to those of you that took the time to legitimately help!!!