Real Love, but Real Problems?

[EAbbas 213]

On the bright side, if it's true that she can live on a cruise ship for $7/day as his family member - it's cheaper than any rent and they could be together. Not sure where it leaves her daughter though.

LOL I work for a bank and I have some older retired members that actually sold thier houses and live on a cruise ship... its like living in a retirement home of sorts except you can travel and see new places, they food is included in the cost, so no cooking needed... I didnt even know ppl did this until recently but it does happen.

As long as they have valid proof of the relationship being genuine even if she left her husband to marry him it wont matter....as long as her address at the time she files is different from her ex husband then it should be ok... still a lot of red flags but that would be a biggie if she wasnt livng somehwere else at the time she filed. There was recently someone who was denied at the interview because her divorce was final but she was still listed on the deed to her house with her ex so the embassy thought she was still married. They were able to get another interview but it took about another 8 or 9 months to get it.

And of cos the issue of income is a huge obstacle but she can still overcome this... either by finding a job she can do with her health issues or getting a good co sponsor.

Good luck

[brettdresseur 0]

As far as the crew visa I have some insight into that since my husband works as an officer on a ship. His options are sign off the ship and leave the country. Crew members can't adjust status here. They are only allowed to come to the us to work on the ship and then leave. (I just spoke to my husband and he said that even if you have a C1/B1 visa, it is still difficult to switch it from a crew visa even though he was successful.) Crew visas don't let anyone do much and be wary of someone that says that their crew visa will allow them to stay for a while after they sign off, it is not true.

My husband changed contracts so he could work on a ship that stopped in the US. While we were going through the spousal visa he had to interview with customs (which is common) and even there they did not hold back punches. He said that it was the toughest interview he has ever had to do as long as he has been working on board and he has been all over the place.

I have heard so stories of crew members jumping ship, but they are illegal and you can't adjust status by leaving the ship. Crew visa allows you to come here, work on the ship and leave as soon as your contract is up. If you want to come back, get a tourist visa or choose another contract that comes here.

As far as evidence, traveling with her bf is good. For evidence we just pulled off the ship's log which had me listed as a passenger. She will definitely need a cosponsor because this process is not cheap by far.

Everyone on here has been spot on with their assessments and I would try to tell your friend about everything that you have read here. PM me if you have any more questions regarding what a crew visa entitles him to do.

[TBoneTX 44,673]

she goes to court [...] On those documents, she does indeed have listed a different separation date than is true.

This disturbed me from the start. She's committing a crime.

She keeps telling me that they are trying to find him a job

She's contemplating the commission of ANOTHER crime.

once immigration starts to look at her background information [...] it might be obvious to them that the divorce was obtained through fraud and that the matter could come back to haunt her in her quest to have her new love living on U.S. soil.

Not just haunt the relationship, but herself, too -- the penalties for lying on immigration forms are 5 years's imprisonment or a fine of $250,000.

If USCIS doesn't flag this, any consul with half a brain at even the easiest embassy would absolutely barbecue them.

[Susie4 1]

Now I know that he has both a crewman's visa (the C1/D) and a B2 visa, I presume he is here at the moment on the B2 visa... but I am not sure how that process works. She is now officially, legally divorced and in a state with no cooling off period. She is legally free to marry, immediately.

Is it possible to apply for AOS with the B2? Even though I suspect there may be at least some problem there because he entered the US with what appears to me to be the intent to stay and not as a true "tourist". Is that a problem that is real or I'm I overthinking that one?

Between two of them they have seem to have NO idea what they are doing. And neither of them seems to be capable of thinking clearly. I asked her today if she knew that he couldn't legally work here and she says "all he has to have is a letter from an employer that they want to hire him and he can get what he needs." When I asked where she got that information she said "just based on how he did it in the past, with the cruise line". I have done some reading and I don't think that is anywhere close to what is necessary for him to be legally employed.

And another question...can someone give me a rough idea of at what point in the process he CAN be legally employed? Does that happen when you start the process somehow or only after you are "approved" to be a resident?

[Susie4 1]

This disturbed me from the start. She's committing a crime.She's contemplating the commission of ANOTHER crime.Not just haunt the relationship, but herself, too -- the penalties for lying on immigration forms are 5 years's imprisonment or a fine of $250,000.

If USCIS doesn't flag this, any consul with half a brain at even the easiest embassy would absolutely barbecue them.

She won't be lying on the immigration form, just did on the divorce paperwork. I feel like the state won't bother with her the divorce paperwork because it has now been granted and filed. I just included that bit of information because I was worried about how far immigration officers go in research if they suspect something isn't right and I feel like, at least on the surface, this LOOKS like a case where someone may be trying to commit fraud. When, really, it's just two people ignorant and oblivious to what they have to do to make things legal. They just assume if they get married, he gets to stay.

[Ravens 8]

What is with all the 3rd person talk?

I find it hard to believe this is just a friend. Some answers coming too quickly.

If this is just a friend why then can they not come here and ask the questions themselves? It is their situation and being so would always know more answers then anyone else.

This is one extremely odd situation. Screams fraud to me with a person who seems to have a history of doing so already.

[Susie4 1]

What is with all the 3rd person talk?

I find it hard to believe this is just a friend. Some answers coming too quickly.

If this is just a friend why then can they not come here and ask the questions themselves? It is their situation and being so would always know more answers then anyone else.

This is one extremely odd situation. Screams fraud to me with a person who seems to have a history of doing so already.

My friend doesn't have access to a computer and is too caught up in her own lovestory to see that her situation might be something that will be difficult to make legal. She's not thinking clearly, and I am trying to think a little for her and help prepare her for what she thinks is going to be a piece of cake. She honestly doesn't know enough to know that there is any more to this than she just hast to get him a job offer and get a letter form someone saying they have a job fof him and then "voila! he can stay". I'm pretty sure it doesn't work that way, so I've been trying to figure out how it DOES work so I can tell her what she needs to know.

When I have a question for her I just ask her and she tells me what she knows, or what he's able to tell her. And you'd be surprised how much she does NOT know about her own situation because she trusts what he says completely and she doesn't have a CLUE yet how difficult a process this can be for him to work here (I am a busines owner, and I know there is a good bit I have to do to verify someone's legal status to work before I can hire them). He doesn't know very much because he's not American and has spent very little time in our country. While he has a working English vocabulary, I think there is a lot he doesn't understand either because of the language barrier or because of his frame of reference due to the differences in how he's used to seeing things work (his mother, for instance, works in Italy despite being a Romanian citizen but I think rules are very different for members of EU countries than they are in the U.S.) They both seem very uninformed about the process and I'm just trying to help her gain perspective because I'm afraid the generosity of friends who have given them a place to live temporarily won't last forever and I think she will end up on the street. I don't want to see that for my friend and I think she just has herself in a nearly impossible situation -- especially because she doesn't even have the money they need to pay fees to file certain applications. I want to help her avoid making mis-steps due to her ignorant bliss that will end up making her situation more difficult than it already is.

[TBoneTX 44,673]

Y'know, you could telephone ICE and ask to speak with a visa expert (get a name, rank, & location). An ICE agent like that would be able to tell you exactly what the requirements and limitations are, and what the penalties are for violations. The information might get your friend to wake up.

[rika60607 215]

Even if he is currently on B2 visa, they still will need to find a co-sponsor for adjustment of status. And no, he can't just take a job while he is in the US. He has to either find a job, leave and get a work visa (not really feasible after marriage to a USC) or he has to wait for EAD card to be sent to him (once they apply for AOS) or he has to leave and come back with CR-1 and be eligible for work almost immediately (he has to get SSN).

However, it is not illegal for him to look for a job. If he is looking for an offer letter from a company, then he is not trying to get a cash/ under table kind of job. So he is not trying to break the law, he's just not well informed about how it works.

As far as intent goes, it is, just like separation date, a grey area. As she was married at the time when he entered the US, he can argue that he could not possibly plan on marrying and staying.

If they find a co-sponsor for I864, they just might pull it off.

They just assume if they get married, he gets to stay.

[Susie4 1]

Y'know, you could telephone ICE and ask to speak with a visa expert (get a name, rank, & location). An ICE agent like that would be able to tell you exactly what the requirements and limitations are, and what the penalties are for violations. The information might get your friend to wake up.

That is an excellent idea that hadn't even ocurred to me. I may do that today -- but with her in the room so she can also hear it for herself. Thank you for that suggestion!

[rika60607 215]

You seem to think that their relationship is genuine and you seem to wish your friend the best and willing to go quite far with your involvement... yet it also looks like you are trying to find a way to convince her that it will never work.

Why?

Is it because you say their relationship is genuine, but you really think it is not?

That is an excellent idea that hadn't even ocurred to me. I may do that today -- but with her in the room so she can also hear it for herself. Thank you for that suggestion!