Complex questions regarding visa

[KSGJFD 0]

My wife arrived from Colombia in Aug 2001. She filed for political asylum here and was denied and did not make an appeal after it was judged to be frivilous. She stayed here illegally (with a deportation order) and we were married in FEB 2004. We spoke to several lawyers that were all willing to take our money but gave us no hope of ever getting her status legal here because after the case was closed it was permanent. We decided it would be best for her to stay illegally in the US for the time being since the possibility did not exist for her to be here legally.

After 2.5 years of marriage with no resolution in sight my wife and I decided it would be best for her to go back to Colombia and try and get her visa that way. She left voluntarily even though she had a deportation order. My question is where do I even begin the process?? Has anyone ever dealt with anything similar?

KSGJFD

[john_and_marlene 162]

Maybe it would be wise to go back for a consultation with an immigration attorney now that the circumstances have changed and she is back in her home country.

Here's a similar story:

http://www.bc.edu/schools/law/newsevents/2006-archive/91906/

I imagine you will need to petition for spouse I-130. It will be initially denied due to the previous illegal status and deportation, but you can then file a hardship waiver and hopefully have the denial reversed.

[YuAndDan 153]

To begin with you will have to start the petition for CR-1 or K-3 visa. See the guide for those visas. Then when the case gets to the consulate or embasy you will have to file for a waiver I-601 for the overstay.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...page=i130guide1 (CR-1/IR-1 guide)

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=319 (Waiver guide)

If the only violation is the overstay, one of that length is subject to a 10 year bar, which should be able to be overcome by waiver.

http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/ineligib...ities_1364.html

Good luck with your case, it sounds like you are going in the correct direction and handling it properly.

[meauxna 15]

www.immigrate2us.net

Look for the I-601 forum--and there is a great lawyer who posts there.

[KSGJFD 0]

Should I submit the I130 here in the US at on of the centers or file at the US Consulate in Bogota? If I file in Bogota do I have to be present or can I mail it to my wife and have her file it? I am going down to Colombia in a month but I want to get the process started right away.

RD

[Yodrak 7]

RD,

Submit your I-130 petition to the appropriate USCIS Service Center in the USA. You do not appear to qualify for submitting the petition to the US consular section in Bogota (the process called DCF).

Did you look at the web site of the embassy in Bogota to find the requirements for DCF?

Yodrak

Should I submit the I130 here in the US at on of the centers or file at the US Consulate in Bogota? If I file in Bogota do I have to be present or can I mail it to my wife and have her file it? I am going down to Colombia in a month but I want to get the process started right away.

RD

[meauxna 15]

Did you look at the web site of the embassy in Bogota to find the requirements for DCF?

Which, for the uninitiated, is not called 'DCF' on the website.

Read the DCF Guide here at VJ (http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?autocom=custom&page=dcf) for the right lingo, and check out Bogata's requirements for filing a petition for a spouse/Immigrant Visa.

[Yodrak 7]

meauxna,

True, which is why I defined the term for him in the preceeding paragraph. But it's good of you to explicitly make the point.

He should be able to find it easy enough - the web site has a good discussion on filing the I-130.

Yodrak

Did you look at the web site of the embassy in Bogota to find the requirements for DCF?

Which, for the uninitiated, is not called 'DCF' on the website.

Read the DCF Guide here at VJ (http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?autocom=custom&page=dcf) for the right lingo, and check out Bogata's requirements for filing a petition for a spouse/Immigrant Visa.

Edited November 16, 2006 by Yodrak