Marry Now or Keep Waiting and Hoping

[JERIII 8]

IF everything that has been said is true, and if the victim is willing to cooperate with the authorities, she may be eligible for a U-visa. If she is, the unlawful entry is waiverable, and she is eligible to adjust status three years after the Visa is issued. (Note that U-visas can be issued to people already in the US.) U-visas are a very complicated bit of immigration law, so consultation with a lawyer who has experience with them is vital.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

IF everything that has been said is true, and if the victim is willing to cooperate with the authorities, she may be eligible for a U-visa. If she is, the unlawful entry is waiverable, and she is eligible to adjust status three years after the Visa is issued. (Note that U-visas can be issued to people already in the US.) U-visas are a very complicated bit of immigration law, so consultation with a lawyer who has experience with them is vital.

A "T" visa is probably more appropriate, since it's specifically for victims of severe forms of human trafficking. The hard part about the "T" visa is that you have to prove extreme hardship and risk of harm if you are removed from the US. You don't have to prove hardship with a "U" visa application, but you do need a law enforcement agency that's willing to prosecute and to sign an I-918 Supplement B form on your behalf. The question is whether she's willing to send her aunt, and anyone else involved, to jail in order to get a shot at legal status without leaving the US, and does she have enough evidence to get the interest of a law enforcement officer and a prosecutor. People don't usually seek out "U" visa status. It's something that's usually offered by a law enforcement agency in the course of an investigation.

[Theunloved 0]

A "T" visa is probably more appropriate, since it's specifically for victims of severe forms of human trafficking. The hard part about the "T" visa is that you have to prove extreme hardship and risk of harm if you are removed from the US. You don't have to prove hardship with a "U" visa application, but you do need a law enforcement agency that's willing to prosecute and to sign an I-918 Supplement B form on your behalf. The question is whether she's willing to send her aunt, and anyone else involved, to jail in order to get a shot at legal status without leaving the US, and does she have enough evidence to get the interest of a law enforcement officer and a prosecutor. People don't usually seek out "U" visa status. It's something that's usually offered by a law enforcement agency in the course of an investigation.

From what I have read so far, the U visa is one of the most difficult to get. It was created by Congress in 2000, and guess what, DHS didn't issue their regulations until 2007 ((. They also set a cap of 10,000 as the total numbers of applicants who can receive the U visa on a year, consider that there was only about 60 who got their approval in 2008, and 1600 in 2009, it's really like a drop in a bucket. Furthermore, you need to have at least one government agency to show that the applicant has been the "victim" of the time, here comes the catch, since this process could last up to years, so to find a person to stick with you through thick and thin is extremely hard. Sometimes, your case could be lost somewhere because the officer who involves in your case could be transferred to another case or has not worked on your case anymore or is reluctant to sign on your form I918 for other personal reasons. I have read an article where there was this undocumented person, who decided to cooperate with the law agencies (FBI I believe so) working as an undercover to get more evident to prosecute this bad drug cartel in order to get his legal status here in the US. They were successful to send the big boss to prison, but after years of waiting for the process to be done, the case was dropped at some point due to the fact that the officer who was working in his case got transferred to another agency and didn't keep track of the paper work, the undocumented got a final deporting order. This is so not fair to him after what he had done so much to help prosecute the criminals, but rules are rules, he was packed and sent back to the South. Such a sad story to break my heart and as well as many, but it happens !

To the OP: I really do wish you luck and all of the best, may God be with you, keep you guys strong and guide you in this life.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

From what I have read so far, the U visa is one of the most difficult to get. It was created by Congress in 2000, and guess what, DHS didn't issue their regulations until 2007 ((. They also set a cap of 10,000 as the total numbers of applicants who can receive the U visa on a year, consider that there was only about 60 who got their approval in 2008, and 1600 in 2009, it's really like a drop in a bucket. Furthermore, you need to have at least one government agency to show that the applicant has been the "victim" of the time, here comes the catch, since this process could last up to years, so to find a person to stick with you through thick and thin is extremely hard. Sometimes, your case could be lost somewhere because the officer who involves in your case could be transferred to another case or has not worked on your case anymore or is reluctant to sign on your form I918 for other personal reasons. I have read an article where there was this undocumented person, who decided to cooperate with the law agencies (FBI I believe so) working as an undercover to get more evident to prosecute this bad drug cartel in order to get his legal status here in the US. They were successful to send the big boss to prison, but after years of waiting for the process to be done, the case was dropped at some point due to the fact that the officer who was working in his case got transferred to another agency and didn't keep track of the paper work, the undocumented got a final deporting order. This is so not fair to him after what he had done so much to help prosecute the criminals, but rules are rules, he was packed and sent back to the South. Such a sad story to break my heart and as well as many, but it happens !

To the OP: I really do wish you luck and all of the best, may God be with you, keep you guys strong and guide you in this life.

Yeah, I've read similar stories. The truth is that law enforcement officers often use the U visa as a carrot to get an insider to offer evidence and testimony against a criminal organization. They dangle the green card in front of the witness as an enticement to get them to cooperate. When it comes time to actually sign their U visa application they often back out. Turns out many U visa applicants are scumbags just as much as the people they are helping to send to jail, and law enforcement officers aren't sympathetic to them.

Anyway, as you say, U visas aren't granted often. I think a CR1 with a hardship waiver is much more feasible in this case.

[justashooter 430]

I'm thinking if she came in without inspection, then she can leave undetected. There's no paper trail on her since the Government has no idea she's here. Maybe she can leave and have you file a k-1 and bring her over and get married. That route usually takes anywhere from 6 months to a year. That will be better than just waiting and hoping for some kind of an amnesty someday. I'm sure she'll want to drive, get a job and be able to travel outside the U.S. someday. You simply can not get married here and adjust since she has no status to adjust from. Good luck on whatever decision you make.

oh, i see ghana advising to lie on application. this is violation of terms of service.

[katgrl 14]

First of all, I have never said she was from Nigeria, did I? (***Trying to maintain anonymity on this forum isn't working*** - Me thinking out loud)

Anyway, you asked for it so here goes:

My wife's aunt who lives here dangled the promise of a better life in America before her sister back in their home country and easily won the release of her niece. This aunt who needed cheap domestic labor, handed her niece a US passport (belonging to one of her children) and brought her niece to the US. And once she arrived, she was subjected to all kinds of abuse (physical, verbal, sexual, financial) including being a slave to her aunt's family and a nanny to her aunt's children until she was 19 when she ran away. My wife essentially was a victim of child-trafficking.

OP- I don't have any more information to add except that you can still maintain anonymity and give details on your case that will solicit more help rather than being very vague. In fact, you started by saying she EWI, when she did not. They are vastly different cases- One who EWI, one who enters with a visa, and one who enters with fraudulent documents. It's very difficult for other members to try to give information without correct details. Best of luck to you and your family, but just something to think about.