Will a mistake made to keep a struggling family from hitting rock bottom, ruin my sisters life?

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

He should go get a "great" immigration attorney, not good... "great" immigration attorney, BEFORE he files any forms or contacts USCIS etc. If it were me, I would listen to him/her and solely him/her regarding how to proceed, what to say etc. It is imperative he finds the right "great" attorney. DOn't just go look someone up in the yellow pages. I would not put my future in the hands of random folks on this board. This board is great and serves it's purpose. This is an issue no one here can help him with.

I think pushbrk, Jim, and San Diego have all mentioned reputable immigration attorneys on this board in the past. I would do a search looking for one of those names. Honestly, it's the only thing I would do. After consulting with one of those attorneys he will know his "real" options as this is fairly common. It's also extremely common that a bad attorney takes a lot of money from an illegal and ruins their life for good. He needs a "great" immigration attorney. Do a search on this board for one of the names recommended by the folks I listed above. Good luck.

I've only recommended two immigration attorneys on this board. Marc Ellis, because I've met him and spoken with him numerous times, and Laurel Scott because of her reputation with waivers. Both of these attorneys have specific areas where they excel. I'm not sure either of them would be the best choice for the OP's situation.

Also, I would never recommend someone blindly follow whatever their attorney tells them to do, regardless how good the attorney is or what area of the law is involved. Anyone who hires an attorney should be willing to do a lot of research on their own, understand why the attorney is recommending something and confirm what they're suggesting in the relevant law, and double check every document the attorney prepares before it's submitted. An educated client and well qualified attorney are the combination that provides the best chance of success.

[Ready to do it 101]

I recommended it because a lot of advice on this board can furthur ruin the individual at hands chances at ever having a shot to become legal or even continue living illegally in the US. Many have said go back and then work on the process, be upfront with USCIS, etc. Either of those options and the individual is toast. I would never recommend lieing. I would recommend hiring an attorney and the attorney will answer any questions they need and give them as little info as they really need in order to accomplish the goal at hand.

If the individual goes into this and upfront lays his story out he is toast. Only a very skilled immigration attorney is going to set him free. It's similar to a murderer. Would people here be telling the murderer to go to the police and incriminate everything about himself to make sure he is convicted... or should the murderer go get an attorney?

I've only recommended two immigration attorneys on this board. Marc Ellis, because I've met him and spoken with him numerous times, and Laurel Scott because of her reputation with waivers. Both of these attorneys have specific areas where they excel. I'm not sure either of them would be the best choice for the OP's situation.

Also, I would never recommend someone blindly follow whatever their attorney tells them to do, regardless how good the attorney is or what area of the law is involved. Anyone who hires an attorney should be willing to do a lot of research on their own, understand why the attorney is recommending something and confirm what they're suggesting in the relevant law, and double check every document the attorney prepares before it's submitted. An educated client and well qualified attorney are the combination that provides the best chance of success.

[Rebecca Jo 1,962]

Thank you so much to everyone who replied, I have linked my sister to this topic and she is slowly taking it all in. All one can do is try... try to make a living, try to support a family, and try to make things work. Striving so hard for happiness is heartache. She would go to the ends of the Earth for this man, so she is now considering taking the money earned and just packing up and leaving with him. Nobody should have to struggle so much... America may be the "land of the free and the home of the brave," but it's still destroying the hopes and dreams of a better life for people day after day.

Bless all of you for replying to this topic. It means a lot to our family.

Take care everyone and good luck on your journey's!

There's nothing at all wrong with moving to another country so you can be happy.

I understand how you feel but I must take exception to the bolded part of your statement.

America, USCIS, you, your sister etc are not responsible for destroying the hopes & dreams of your brother-in-law. His actions and the actions of his parents are what have caused his current situation.

Have you asked them if he ever falsely claimed to be a US Citizen? If he did only on the old I-9 form then he's safe but if he made a documented claim of US Citizenship anywhere else or on the NEW I-9 form then he's toast unless they can qualify for the Hardship Waiver which is the most difficult to get because False Claim to USC is considered the worst transgression by USCIS.

Honestly they probably won't even bother with Aggravated Felony Identity Theft charges as it would require them to prove that he actually knew the SSN belonged to a real person. I would recommend that he stop using it now that he does know it's history though (especially since it has been posted on a public forum).

Some how, some way they need to get an Immigration Lawyer to look at his case.

I took the OP's comment not to be about her family's situation, but about the US in general.

[Deputy Purple 1,294]

I took the OP's comment not to be about her family's situation, but about the US in general.

If that's the case then I can say that I disagree even more...

Granted US Immigration isn't nearly as easy as many other countries but the US is the country with the biggest Illegal Immigrant problem and it is reasonable that in light of it the US would have a more through vetting process.

In some ways the US is overly permissive. For example the ability to adjust status within country from any entry on a non-immigrant Visa. Why not limit it to only being possible from Dual Intent Visas (and expand the definition of Dual Intent to include H1-B and E Visas)?

My wife is from a country rife with fraud and known for Visa Fraud but the process to bring her here only took 7 months from filing to POE!

I'm grateful that I had the ability to bring my wife here to be with me. The process isn't perfect but only becomes really impossible when someone does something wrong.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

I recommended it because a lot of advice on this board can furthur ruin the individual at hands chances at ever having a shot to become legal or even continue living illegally in the US. Many have said go back and then work on the process, be upfront with USCIS, etc. Either of those options and the individual is toast. I would never recommend lieing. I would recommend hiring an attorney and the attorney will answer any questions they need and give them as little info as they really need in order to accomplish the goal at hand.

If the individual goes into this and upfront lays his story out he is toast. Only a very skilled immigration attorney is going to set him free. It's similar to a murderer. Would people here be telling the murderer to go to the police and incriminate everything about himself to make sure he is convicted... or should the murderer go get an attorney?

You're right, and you're wrong. There is a thread, which for some reason I can't find, where the girl obtained her GC without issue in 2007 after overstaying. She JUST received a letter on Sept 12 of this year stating that in the year 2000 she claimed to be a USC for work purposes. Her status is being revoked and she will probably be deported (unless theres' a miracle). The reason I bring this up is she never admitted it, probably never knew it, and now it's coming back to bite her. Can you imagine the KNOWING you broke the law and waiting for the shoe to drop and being deported? I would rather deal with it now, but that's me of course.

Yes a lawyer will tell you where you stand, and that's DEFINITELY a good idea, but some lawyers lie about hope just to get the money and "ohh well we tried!". The OP should see a lawyer BUT tell the lawyer that they have every intention of admitting their transgressions and dealing with the consequences because living in fear is no life.

[Ready to do it 101]

I'd get a good attorney and hear him out. Living in fear is no life? Tell that to 30 million illegals, many of them like their life just fine. No all, not the majority... but many.

You're right, and you're wrong. There is a thread, which for some reason I can't find, where the girl obtained her GC without issue in 2007 after overstaying. She JUST received a letter on Sept 12 of this year stating that in the year 2000 she claimed to be a USC for work purposes. Her status is being revoked and she will probably be deported (unless theres' a miracle). The reason I bring this up is she never admitted it, probably never knew it, and now it's coming back to bite her. Can you imagine the KNOWING you broke the law and waiting for the shoe to drop and being deported? I would rather deal with it now, but that's me of course.

Yes a lawyer will tell you where you stand, and that's DEFINITELY a good idea, but some lawyers lie about hope just to get the money and "ohh well we tried!". The OP should see a lawyer BUT tell the lawyer that they have every intention of admitting their transgressions and dealing with the consequences because living in fear is no life.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

I'd get a good attorney and hear him out. Living in fear is no life? Tell that to 30 million illegals, many of them like their life just fine. No all, not the majority... but many.

I said living in FEAR is no life. If the "many" 30 million illegals like their life just fine they're not "living in fear" are they? And therefore exempt from my statement of "living in fear is no life".

The OP wants legal status so the lack thereof isn't exactly fabulous for THEM and they WOULD be affected by living in fear and obviously currently are. For that reason attempting to undo what they've done is the best course of action, which requires full disclosure to USCIS. Of course get an attorney's advice (I'd see several for their "free consultation" to see what they think and get a general consensus) but I would still have the ultimate goal of fixing the wrong doing.

[Ready to do it 101]

What happens when one of the best attys there is tells him he has no shot? If that is the case, why fill the paperwork out in the first place. At that time, they will have all the time in the world to make the decision to move to Argentina or continuing living in the US illegally. Once he sends the paperwork in, he may have just shot himself in the foot at option 2 and perhaps has a chance at being behind bars. The poster is smart to come on here and ask the questions. I think the best answers are "consult with the best atty possible, perhaps more than one." If everyone says there is no hope, why even fill out the paperwork? Just go back to Argentina when you want to. On the otherhand, fill out the paperwork and open up that can of worms and then you might not be going back to Argentina on your own timeframe and living illegally may seem much better than some of the potential outcomes... such as months after months in an immigration facility or behind bars. I'm not saying that would happen, I'm just trying to get it across that "Filling out paperwork to send to USCIS and filling it out being completely honest, without an attorney is probably the most foolish thing he could do." Actually the most foolish thing he could do would be to fill it out and lie. At the end of the day, both are bad ideas.

The OP wants legal status so the lack thereof isn't exactly fabulous for THEM and they WOULD be affected by living in fear and obviously currently are. For that reason attempting to undo what they've done is the best course of action, which requires full disclosure to USCIS. Of course get an attorney's advice (I'd see several for their "free consultation" to see what they think and get a general consensus) but I would still have the ultimate goal of fixing the wrong doing.

Edited October 1, 2011 by Ready to do it

[I_like_rhomboids 0]

I'd get a good attorney and hear him out. Living in fear is no life? Tell that to 30 million illegals, many of them like their life just fine. No all, not the majority... but many.

30 million? What's that based on? I've never seen any estimate showing such a large undocumented immigrant population.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

30 million? What's that based on? I've never seen any estimate showing such a large undocumented immigrant population.

The INA defines an "immigrant" as an alien who has been admitted to the US for immigrant status. An "undocumented immigrant" is a lawful permanent resident who lost their green card. Someone who walked across the border can be referred to as many things - illegal alien, EWI, etc. - but not "undocumented immigrant". That's a euphemism invented to make them sound less like law breakers and more like innocent people who misplaced their papers.

Anyway, you're correct about the numbers. The last US census counted over 12 million illegal aliens. Estimates I've seen range as high as 20 million. I've never heard anyone cite a number as high as 30 million. With the economy in the tank, and anti-immigrant sentiment growing, I'd guess the numbers have either stabilized or are declining.

[SaraDee 9]

If they can prove that he knew the Social Security number belonged to someone else then they can find him guilty of aggravated identity theft, which is a deportable crime. A 2009 Supreme Court decision determined that they must actually KNOW that the number belonged to someone else before they can find them guilty of aggravated identity theft, and not simply using false documents. Since the card was given to him by his parents then he isn't guilty of counterfeiting (a CIMT), and if he can make a viable claim that he didn't know the card was fake or that the number belonged to someone else, then he's not guilty of fraud (also a CIMT).

If he ever signed an I-9 claiming to be a US citizen then he's toast.

I don't know much about this, but I did meet someone once that had been living in the US since childhood and was illegal. She said she used a dead persons SSN to go to school and work for years. She got married and was able to do AOS though. I'm not condoning this in any way, but it does happen that some people can adjust status successfully with this issue. A lawyer is the best thing they can do for themselves.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

While in a perfect world a top-notch immigration attorney specialized in such cases would be ideal, I don't think the couple involved here has that kind of money. It would cost thousands of dollars in attorney fees alone.

So let's inspect this case from up close from what we know.

Since he entered with his parents with inspection, he's not an illegal alien. Since the U.S. government does not hold children responsible for the actions of their parents, he did not start to accrue unlawful presence until he turned 18.

If he's the spouse of a U.S. citizen, he's prima facie eligible for AoS.

Working without authorization alone will not be used as a reason to deny the AoS petition.

So what we are dealing with is the SSN of a deceased person.

My first question would be: "who was that person? Do you know? Do you know if he was a U.S. citizen?"

My second question is: "Did you ever fill out an I-9 form claiming to be a U.S. citizen?

My third question would be connected to the answer of the second one: "when was the last time you filled out an I-9 form?"

Only after I have the answers to those 3 questions, I could move on.

[I_like_rhomboids 0]

The INA defines an "immigrant" as an alien who has been admitted to the US for immigrant status. An "undocumented immigrant" is a lawful permanent resident who lost their green card. Someone who walked across the border can be referred to as many things - illegal alien, EWI, etc. - but not "undocumented immigrant". That's a euphemism invented to make them sound less like law breakers and more like innocent people who misplaced their papers.

Anyway, you're correct about the numbers. The last US census counted over 12 million illegal aliens. Estimates I've seen range as high as 20 million. I've never heard anyone cite a number as high as 30 million. With the economy in the tank, and anti-immigrant sentiment growing, I'd guess the numbers have either stabilized or are declining.

I don't think the INA are the arbiters of the English language, as I understand it an immigrant is just someone who moves to another country. I don't really want to derail things with a political discussion though, so I'll leave it at that.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

I don't think the INA are the arbiters of the English language, as I understand it an immigrant is just someone who moves to another country. I don't really want to derail things with a political discussion though, so I'll leave it at that.

Ok, I shot from the hip and I'm going to admit that I was actually wrong.

The INA defines an "immigrant" as any alien who isn't one of a long list of non-immigrants. Someone who entered without inspection is not in that long list, so technically an EWI is an "immigrant". For that matter, according to the INA, someone living in a another country who had never ever been to the US is also an "immigrant" since the INA defines "alien" as anyone who isn't a citizen or national of the United States. Neither definition actually requires the person described to actually be in the United States. What I was describing was "immigrant status", which is not exactly the same thing.

BTW, the INA is not an association or group of people. The INA is the law - Immigration and Nationality Act.