Unique situation..illegal alien for 20 years

[Boiler 46,130]

20 million manage it.

[LIFE'SJOURNEY 970]

Not with the new system in place,many are losing their jobs because their status cannot be verified. The others who still have jobs, because the business owners are just dodging time.

[GVMack 9]

Denny's lawsuit

A group of temporary foreign workers hired by the Denny's restaurant chain in Vancouver is suing the company for $10 million.

Fifty workers from the Philippines say they were hired to work at Denny's as cooks and servers through the Canadian Temporary Foreign Worker Program last fall.

But they allege they were cheated out of wages and accuse Denny's of not paying back the recruitment and processing fees they were forced to provide in order to come to Canada.

Edited March 7, 2012 by GVMack

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Denny's lawsuit

A group of temporary foreign workers hired by the Denny's restaurant chain in Vancouver is suing the company for $10 million.

Fifty workers from the Philippines say they were hired to work at Denny's as cooks and servers through the Canadian Temporary Foreign Worker Program last fall.

But they allege they were cheated out of wages and accuse Denny's of not paying back the recruitment and processing fees they were forced to provide in order to come to Canada.

You post is not relevant to this thread, but several hotel and restaurant chains in Canada have been accused of recruitment violations resulting in investigations by the Canadian authorities over the years, yet nothing seems to come of it. I wonder why.

[Boiler 46,130]

Not with the new system in place,many are losing their jobs because their status cannot be verified. The others who still have jobs, because the business owners are just dodging time.

If the US Authorities were serious, maybe. They are not.

[Dakine10 5,452]

So, "illegal immigrant" applies equally to both EWI's and overstays[/b

Have you seen that officially Jim? I don't recall seeing that term used anywhere (by USCIS) for an out of status non-immigrant. AFAIK, the term has always been out of status alien.

[Dakine10 5,452]

So the 180 day forgiveness, 3/10 year bar, and extreme hardship waivers only apply when applying from outside the country?

3/10 year bars are relevant when trying to enter from outside the USA. Hardship waivers can apply both outside and inside the USA, depending on the reason for the inadmissibility.

[LIFE'SJOURNEY 970]

If the US Authorities were serious, maybe. They are not.

That's your opinion, you are entitled to it. The poster friend is now becoming alarmed about her illegal status here in the US.

[karin_brenig 18]

OK, let's get back to the original question.

Recap:

Woman from the Phillipines comes to the US on visitor (or maybe temporary worker?) visa.

After that visa expired, or maybe while it was still valid, she marries a man from the Phillipines who is a greencard holder at the time.

Now, 20 years later, the husband became a US citizen some time ago - but the woman is still out of status, has no legal right to be in the US, but is working a high-paying job.

She wants her (now US-citizen) husband to apply for her greencard - but the husband refuses to cooperate, because he is actually ready to get divorced.

Here's where the problems start - for the woman.

If she leaves now her 20 years of overstay will become apparent and she will be banned from entering the USA for 10 years.

If she stays she will have to wait until her mother (who is currently a greencard holder) becomes a US citizen and then petitions for her. That could take about 10 years too, or maybe less?

Also, the woman doesn't have a very comfortable life while she is in the US out of status, or call it illegal, or undocumented - because any minor stupid little mishap could mean deportation.

If that was me I'd do one (or both?) of two things:

1. work it out with the husband and get him to apply for my greencard

2. move back to the Phillipines and wait for mom to petition for my greencard

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

OK, let's get back to the original question.

Recap:

Woman from the Phillipines comes to the US on visitor (or maybe temporary worker?) visa.

After that visa expired, or maybe while it was still valid, she marries a man from the Phillipines who is a greencard holder at the time.

Now, 20 years later, the husband became a US citizen some time ago - but the woman is still out of status, has no legal right to be in the US, but is working a high-paying job.

She wants her (now US-citizen) husband to apply for her greencard - but the husband refuses to cooperate, because he is actually ready to get divorced.

Here's where the problems start - for the woman.

If she leaves now her 20 years of overstay will become apparent and she will be banned from entering the USA for 10 years.

If she stays she will have to wait until her mother (who is currently a greencard holder) becomes a US citizen and then petitions for her. That could take about 10 years too, or maybe less?

Also, the woman doesn't have a very comfortable life while she is in the US out of status, or call it illegal, or undocumented - because any minor stupid little mishap could mean deportation.

If that was me I'd do one (or both?) of two things:

1. work it out with the husband and get him to apply for my greencard

2. move back to the Phillipines and wait for mom to petition for my greencard

3. She could live in one of several sanctuary cities in the US, that will give her a resident identification card that she can use for all purposes in that community. I don't suppose the Philippines Consulate will provide anything like the Matrícula Consular de Alta Seguridad (MCAS) that California, and possibly some other states, honor for all purposes except driving a car. Of course, President Obama could put a stop to this policy any time he wants to enforce Federal immigration laws.

[Boiler 46,130]

The Mother thing is unlikely to work, so really it is staying or going.

[Deputy Purple 1,294]

The Mother thing is unlikely to work, so really it is staying or going.

Since she hasn't maintained her status since entering the US and unless you're the spouse of a US Citizen or MINOR Child of a US Citizen you must maintain legal status.

[Dakine10 5,452]

OK, let's get back to the original question.

Recap:

Woman from the Phillipines comes to the US on visitor (or maybe temporary worker?) visa.

After that visa expired, or maybe while it was still valid, she marries a man from the Phillipines who is a greencard holder at the time.

Now, 20 years later, the husband became a US citizen some time ago - but the woman is still out of status, has no legal right to be in the US, but is working a high-paying job.

She wants her (now US-citizen) husband to apply for her greencard - but the husband refuses to cooperate, because he is actually ready to get divorced.

Here's where the problems start - for the woman.

If she leaves now her 20 years of overstay will become apparent and she will be banned from entering the USA for 10 years.

If she stays she will have to wait until her mother (who is currently a greencard holder) becomes a US citizen and then petitions for her. That could take about 10 years too, or maybe less?

Also, the woman doesn't have a very comfortable life while she is in the US out of status, or call it illegal, or undocumented - because any minor stupid little mishap could mean deportation.

If that was me I'd do one (or both?) of two things:

1. work it out with the husband and get him to apply for my greencard

2. move back to the Phillipines and wait for mom to petition for my greencard

Since it's Philippines, visa through a USC parent is currently taking 15 years. I would be focusing on option 1.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

First,

twenty years ago, a B2 could easily get a SSN and card as well as a driver's license. I know that from first hand experience.

Secondly . . . if she managed to survive in the U.S. for two decades, it will be a hard decision to leave the U.S. now. If she does, she won't be coming back, not even after the 10-year bar is served, unless an immediate relative petitions for her.

I would suggest one of the two options:

1) see if she will get married again, eventually. She still will be eligible for AoS.

2) wait at least until late 2013 or early 2014 and see if besides the DREAM Act some form of immigration reform will take place that . . . um . . . dare I say that . . . has some form of amnesty as part of the package.

[Chris&Angel 5]

Check out the VAWA waiver and she'll have to do something she probably doesn't want to do, the only possible solution, it's suck doing it this way, but it is possble to file an AOS.