Deported from the US (for a friend)

[Ezekiel Chester 3]

Hey guys!!

I'm writing this on behalf of a friend who needs some advice (I told her to sign up to VJ and post it, but she's asked me to do it for her).

She is American born and currently lives in Florida. Her (now) husband is from England, but his family moved to the US when he was 10, and he's now 26. Before they were together, when he turned 16 he was arrested and charged for DUI and possession of cannabis. Fast forward a few years - they both get together and have a son and then got engaged. Last year, I believe he applied for US citizenship and ended up being deported back to the UK in April after being detained for 2 months because of the crime he committed at the age of 16 - his fiancee and their son stayed in the US.

After he was deported, his fiancee came to England with their son for abour 4 months, and they ended up getting married before she returned back to the US with their son. Now he wants to move back to the US, where he was raised from age 10, to be with his wife and son, all of his family are in the US also - he just has one grandparent in the UK.

I believe they're currently trying to go through the process of the hardship waiver to have his deportation lifted, but they don't really know how reliable the outcome is, or what they need to be doing? She doesn't want to move to the UK because that means leaving all of her family behind too, and because economically it's so tough in the UK right now. Not to mention the unemployment rate is really high!

Does anyone have any advice I can pass on?

[Adriene H 89]

Hey guys!!

I'm writing this on behalf of a friend who needs some advice (I told her to sign up to VJ and post it, but she's asked me to do it for her).

She is American born and currently lives in Florida. Her (now) husband is from England, but his family moved to the US when he was 10, and he's now 26. Before they were together, when he turned 16 he was arrested and charged for DUI and possession of cannabis. Fast forward a few years - they both get together and have a son and then got engaged. Last year, I believe he applied for US citizenship and ended up being deported back to the UK in April after being detained for 2 months because of the crime he committed at the age of 16 - his fiancee and their son stayed in the US.

After he was deported, his fiancee came to England with their son for abour 4 months, and they ended up getting married before she returned back to the US with their son. Now he wants to move back to the US, where he was raised from age 10, to be with his wife and son, all of his family are in the US also - he just has one grandparent in the UK.

I believe they're currently trying to go through the process of the hardship waiver to have his deportation lifted, but they don't really know how reliable the outcome is, or what they need to be doing? She doesn't want to move to the UK because that means leaving all of her family behind too, and because economically it's so tough in the UK right now. Not to mention the unemployment rate is really high!

Does anyone have any advice I can pass on?

I'm afraid I don't have any advice to give.

But my husband's case sounds almost exactly like your

friend's husband's case, except my husband was 19 at

the time of his crime/deportation.

He lived in California from the age of 6 to 19.

All his immediate family is there still.

He went to American schools and has an American education.

He has an American daughter he hasn't been able

to see since she was 2.

Can they deny someone if they have an American child?

What if he never gets to see his daughter again?

[sulhaq 60]

Hmmm. I'm not that knowledgeable and could be wrong, but, since he was in the US from the age of 10 till 26, that is more than enough time to become a naturalized US Citizen, so why was he deported again? Did they really revoke his citizenship on grounds of the crime he committed or did he just not become a naturalized citizen?

[Ezekiel Chester 3]

Hmmm. I'm not that knowledgeable and could be wrong, but, since he was in the US from the age of 10 till 26, that is more than enough time to become a naturalized US Citizen, so why was he deported again? Did they really revoke his citizenship on grounds of the crime he committed or did he just not become a naturalized citizen?

I believe that you have to be either 18 or 21 before you can apply for naturalisation. I'm not sure why he never did it before - I think it maybe never occured to him. I think his parents did theirs, and a lot of immigrant children assume that they also received naturalisation with their parents which isn't always the case. I have asked that much - I only know as much as I put above.

[Inky 1,110]

Can they deny someone if they have an American child?

What if he never gets to see his daughter again?

Yes they can, they deny and deport people who have children in America all the time.

They don't really care if he/she never gets to see the child again.

Harsh but true.

[Adriene H 89]

Yes they can, they deny and deport people who have children in America all the time.

They don't really care if he/she never gets to see the child again.

Harsh but true.

That is really harsh and just not fair that they

can separate families like that.

And it's amazing they still expect him to pay

child support on a child they won't even let

him see.

Edited March 20, 2012 by Adriene H

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

It's not them that don;t let him see the child- the mother could visit him with the chold or, when child is old enough, have the child fly alone.

That being said, it has been 10 years since his conviction, I think his chance of a waiver is decent assuming it was just a simple posession/ use and not dealing.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Another question--did he actually have a greencard or was he an overstay because his parents brought him here but never got him a greencard? Maybe he was deported because he had no legal status. He needs a good immigration attorney specializing in waivers...not just one who knows how to fill out easy case paperwork. He could have a 10 year or lifetime ban and forum answers and speculation aren't going to do him much good. This requires all the facts and a trained legal person to tell him his chances of returning.

[Darnell 8,478]

he was given papers at the deportation hearing.

he needs to review those, study them, to learn about the length of the ban currently in place.

in the end, when the visa is approved in London, he'll still need to request a waiver of said ban (more forms, more money)

So, have yer buddy study up at http://immigrate2us.net soonish.

[Ezekiel Chester 3]

Thanks for all the advice people I'll pass on your comments to them and hopefully they will be of some help!

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

Looks like he didn't use common sense, more than once, or twice, or three times in his lifetime so far.

Applying for naturalization, where a comprehensive background check and a thorough database check and a good moral character clause is part of the process, when he had a conviction for illegal drugs and another conviction for a DUI -- at a time when he wasn't even allowed to buy a bottle of beer -- is kind of immigration suicide. So he stepped into the lions' den, and kicked the sleeping lions while challenging them and . . . voila . . . he got bitten!

Deportation carries usually a 10-year bar, but it can be a 20-year bar when having been convicted of a crime. I don't think that the pot possession made him inadmissible for life, assuming he had only a small quantity on him. Thus, the wife could apply for an I-212 waiver, for which she will have to prove that she is unable to move to the United Kingdom. I know they speak funny English there, but that's not reason enough. So she should consult with a waiver attorney who then will subpoena the husband's A-file and have a look what's inside. He will also advice her if there's a way to claim hardship at a degree that would warrant issuing a waiver.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

I believe they're currently trying to go through the process of the hardship waiver to have his deportation lifted, but they don't really know how reliable the outcome is, or what they need to be doing? She doesn't want to move to the UK because that means leaving all of her family behind too, and because economically it's so tough in the UK right now. Not to mention the unemployment rate is really high!

Does anyone have any advice I can pass on?

They need to find out what he was deported for. Was it the overstay? Was it the crime? Did he claim to be a USC at ANY stage of his life (and if so on what paperwork)?

Unfortunately the only advice we can give is he needs a GOOD immigration attorney because they won't want to screw this up or delay this more than necessary.

[aaron2020 11,651]

That is really harsh and just not fair that they

can separate families like that.

And it's amazing they still expect him to pay

child support on a child they won't even let

him see.

The daughter can always travel or move to the UK to be with dad. So, the only thing preventing dad from see his child is based on the criminality he committed in the US while being a foreign citizen. US laws are very explicit on the consequences when foreign nationals abuse their LPR status by committing certain crimes. While I can empathize with a 16 years old doing stupid things, LPRs are guests in this country and certain bad behaviors will result in the revocation of the privilege to live here.

[Mark + Melissa 49]

Hey guys!!

I'm writing this on behalf of a friend who needs some advice (I told her to sign up to VJ and post it, but she's asked me to do it for her).

Forgive me for being the pain here, but.. if it's important to them, shouldn't they be researching it for themselves?

[Ryan H 3,812]

Moved from IR-1/CR-1 Process & Procedures to Waivers forum.