Please help! =(

[aosquestion 1]

Hello. I have a few questions, but before asking I'll tell you the big picture. I'll type a brief summary for those of you who need no details, but after I ask my questions, I'll write more details about out situation.

To summarize: I am a USC, my husband is "out of status" from overstaying a tourist visa in 2009, he has worked with a made up SSN, he is up to date with his taxes, he had some problems paying rent in 2 occasions and broke a lease contract but we do not know if nay legal action was taken against him, he will be co-sponsored by a friend who meets the 125% poverty line because I am a student and couldn't support him financially, we got married yesterday.

Now the questions:

1. Being the spouse of a USC, will his overstay (being out of status) be forgiven when we apply for AOS (adjustment of status)?

2. Being the spouse of a USC, will working unauthorized be forgiven when we apply for AOS (adjustment of status)?

3. Will the fact that while working unauthorized he used a made up SSN be a big problem? He is up to date with taxes as he has used his ITIN to file taxes, but we do not know what a made up SSN entails through the process of AOS.

4. Should we simply OMIT that he has been working? That would mean also omitting that he has used a made up SSN BUT also we couldn't show he is up to date with taxes. I have read that being spouse of a USC means he will be forgiven for working unauthorized, but I think working unauthorized is one thing and using a made up SSN is a separate matter, and I am unsure as to what will happen regarding the made up SSN even after he is forgiven for working unauthorized.

5. Will the issues with the apartment complexes and broken leases be a problem? I looked at our county's Court House records online and he does not appear in any cases as a defendant or as guilty by trial, so I assume no legal action was taken against him but we have no way to make sure of it.

6. Will the fact that he was a police officer in his country (outside USA) before he came affect the application? In one of the forms, they ask if he was ever part of an organization like the military, police, militia, paramiltary, etc, if he was part of an organization that kept people locked up (like a jail or prison), and if he had received military weapon training. He DID work for the police in his country, he underwent police training (bot sure if this means military weapon training), and obviously part of the police does deal with prisons and jails. He is no longer a police officer, since when he came to the US he stopped working there and cannot re-join. But we don't know if this will be an issue for immigration officers or affect our application at all.

7. Should we hire an immigration lawyer? They are pretty expensive and from my understanding they are not allowed to speak during interviews, so I am not sure what the real use of hiring one is.

Here are further details about us:

I am a naturalized USC. We had been in a relationship for 15 months before we got married, but we actually have been living together for 13 months. He does not appear on my lease because as you will learn below, he had a problem with the same apartment complex that I live in, and we were afraid he would be rejected and could not live with me any longer. We never thought he NEEDED to be on my lease, and figured that would be fine. In 2 motnhs we will be moving out of state, and are planning on making sure his name and mine are both on the new lease contract. My husband (we got married yesterday) entered the US with a tourist visa in 2009, but overstayed so that makes him "out of status". Since he entered, he has been working unauthorized, obviously, using a made up social security number. He does have a ITIN number which he has used to file taxes yearly, so he is up to date with that. The thing is when he has filed his taxes, he has used the ITIN but obviously always put the made up SSN as it came with the W-2 forms from his employer, so I guess inevitably his ITIN is linked somehow to the made up SSN. One last thing to mention, in 2 occasions when he had no job he couldn't pay rent. He had been living in an apartment complex where they had asked for his passport as ID. In 1 of those occasions he actually did pay rent, but for some reason the company said they did not receive the payment and were demanding he paid, which he couldn't do so he just left this place. In the other occasion, he was out of a job, couldn't pay, and afraid that if they called the police to evict him he would get deported, he left the place and went to stay with a friend. Since he had no SSN, no other address, and no phone number, we do NOT know if the companies took legal action against him for breaking his lease contracts, and it has been over 1-2 years since the last time he broke the lease. Without a valid SSN we cannot obtain a credit report that would tell us if he is in debt or anything of the sort.

We are both very anxious about all this, which we did NOT anticipate. We got married and started finding out all these things when we began filling out the forms for AOS (I-130, I-485, I-863, G-325A). Any and all help would be GREATLY appreciated. We have been saving up for the paperwork, but hiring a lawyer is costly and we aren't exactly in a position where we can afford it, otherwise, without a doubt, we would hire one. We are desperate to find out the answers to these questions, we love each other very much and can't imagine the possibility of being separated if things didn't go through or he got deported. We are trying to do everything right and legally, we just need help sorting these things out.

Thank you all in advance for your help!

[VanessaTony 3,567]

1. Being the spouse of a USC, will his overstay (being out of status) be forgiven when we apply for AOS (adjustment of status)?

2. Being the spouse of a USC, will working unauthorized be forgiven when we apply for AOS (adjustment of status)?

3. Will the fact that while working unauthorized he used a made up SSN be a big problem? He is up to date with taxes as he has used his ITIN to file taxes, but we do not know what a made up SSN entails through the process of AOS.

4. Should we simply OMIT that he has been working? That would mean also omitting that he has used a made up SSN BUT also we couldn't show he is up to date with taxes. I have read that being spouse of a USC means he will be forgiven for working unauthorized, but I think working unauthorized is one thing and using a made up SSN is a separate matter, and I am unsure as to what will happen regarding the made up SSN even after he is forgiven for working unauthorized.

5. Will the issues with the apartment complexes and broken leases be a problem? I looked at our county's Court House records online and he does not appear in any cases as a defendant or as guilty by trial, so I assume no legal action was taken against him but we have no way to make sure of it.

6. Will the fact that he was a police officer in his country (outside USA) before he came affect the application? In one of the forms, they ask if he was ever part of an organization like the military, police, militia, paramiltary, etc, if he was part of an organization that kept people locked up (like a jail or prison), and if he had received military weapon training. He DID work for the police in his country, he underwent police training (bot sure if this means military weapon training), and obviously part of the police does deal with prisons and jails. He is no longer a police officer, since when he came to the US he stopped working there and cannot re-join. But we don't know if this will be an issue for immigration officers or affect our application at all.

7. Should we hire an immigration lawyer? They are pretty expensive and from my understanding they are not allowed to speak during interviews, so I am not sure what the real use of hiring one is.

1. Yes

2. Yes

3. No. It will be a problem if he's caught, for him AND the company he's working for

4. No. Doing so is very bad. Never lie to immigration

5. No.

6. Depends on which country he's from. Usually, no.

7. Up to you.

The biggest issue is the fake SSN. If the SSN turns out to belong to a USC they *could* conceivably, get him on false claim the US which is deportation, and a lifetime ban with no waiver.

He needs to stop working illegally as well. You can't file this paperwork and have him STILL be breaking the law... It will take about 2 months to get his work authorisation, then he can work legally. He will also then need to get a proper SSN.

[N-o-l-a 7,168]

The fact that he has overstayed will not be a problem with AOS. Do not lie or omit information during this process. Did he ever claim to be a US citizen while using that SSN?

[aosquestion 1]

1. Yes

2. Yes

3. No. It will be a problem if he's caught, for him AND the company he's working for

4. No. Doing so is very bad. Never lie to immigration

5. No.

6. Depends on which country he's from. Usually, no.

7. Up to you.

The biggest issue is the fake SSN. If the SSN turns out to belong to a USC they *could* conceivably, get him on false claim the US which is deportation, and a lifetime ban with no waiver.

He needs to stop working illegally as well. You can't file this paperwork and have him STILL be breaking the law... It will take about 2 months to get his work authorisation, then he can work legally. He will also then need to get a proper SSN.

Thank you for your reply. I spoke to a lawyer who mentioned that if this SSN belonged to a USC, the IRS would have notified him as 2 people cannot file 2 tax returns the same year and not be spotted. He said that if anything we would have to file a "waiver" for fraud, but that would not be an issue. I was also told that we should put that he HAS been working, even though it has been unauthorized (since it will be forgiven), but in the forms, where they ask for a SSN, to put "none" because apparently we should only put a legal SSN here. What do you think about this? We would not lie about him working, simply omit that he used a SSN, and to only provide copies of filed taxes of 2012 (which we will file next week) but making sure only his ITIN number appears and not the SSN. He said USCIS can NOT obtain information from IRS, so they only would have what we provide and we can be smart about what we do provide.

[Inky 1,111]

Moved from adjustment of status from family based visas to adjustment of status from work student tourist as the OP entered on a tourist visa and over stayed.

[aosquestion 1]

The fact that he has overstayed will not be a problem with AOS. Do not lie or omit information during this process. Did he ever claim to be a US citizen while using that SSN?

No, he never claimed to be a USC. He has been working small jobs. Like I replied above, I spoke to a lawyer who said to state that he DID work but to put "none" where the form asks for a SSN, according to the lawyer they only need to know SSN's that were legally assigned to him. He said USCIS can NOT obtain information from IRS, so as long as we file our 2012 taxes with ONLY the ITIN number and NOT the SSN, we can provide proof of being up-to-date with taxes without providing them proof of the made up SSN.

[N-o-l-a 7,168]

Thank you for your reply. I spoke to a lawyer who mentioned that if this SSN belonged to a USC, the IRS would have notified him as 2 people cannot file 2 tax returns the same year and not be spotted.

It didn't occur to your lawyer that that SSN might belong to a child or someone else who doesn't file taxes?

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Thank you for your reply. I spoke to a lawyer who mentioned that if this SSN belonged to a USC, the IRS would have notified him as 2 people cannot file 2 tax returns the same year and not be spotted.

He said that if anything we would have to file a "waiver" for fraud, but that would not be an issue.

I was also told that we should put that he HAS been working, even though it has been unauthorized (since it will be forgiven), but in the forms, where they ask for a SSN, to put "none" because apparently we should only put a legal SSN here. What do you think about this?

We would not lie about him working, simply omit that he used a SSN, and to only provide copies of filed taxes of 2012 (which we will file next week) but making sure only his ITIN number appears and not the SSN. He said USCIS can NOT obtain information from IRS, so they only would have what we provide and we can be smart about what we do provide.

About the IRS notifying him... no idea. It's still a fake SSN and that's not good. As stated above though.. could just not have been used yet (minor, someone who doesn't work etc etc).

An extreme hardship waiver for the fraud, yes. "not an issue" though depends on what country he's from etc. They're not super easy or cheap.

Correct. Do not list the illegal SSN because it's not the correct one.

You will need to list all the instances of him working. They WILL most likely ask if he's been filing taxes like he's supposed to so you may have to take his previous taxes showing he filed.

USCIS knows everything.. and can find out everything. They're the government.

Edited March 29, 2013 by Vanessa&Tony

[VanessaTony 3,567]

No, he never claimed to be a USC. He has been working small jobs. Like I replied above, I spoke to a lawyer who said to state that he DID work but to put "none" where the form asks for a SSN, according to the lawyer they only need to know SSN's that were legally assigned to him. He said USCIS can NOT obtain information from IRS, so as long as we file our 2012 taxes with ONLY the ITIN number and NOT the SSN, we can provide proof of being up-to-date with taxes without providing them proof of the made up SSN.

So basically you want to lie by omission? They may ask HOW he's been working and he will need to tell the truth that he made up a SSN.

Here's the thing. No matter what stage of the process you're at, if USCIS finds out you lied about a material matter, his status (whatever it is at that time, USC or greencard holder) will be revoked and he will be deported. You will live life wondering if and when it's going to come back to bite you.

I suggest you have a consultation with another attorney to ask about the fake SSN issue.

[aosquestion 1]

It didn't occur to your lawyer that that SSN might belong to a child or someone else who doesn't file taxes?

You birng up a good point. I guess it did not occur to him. Either way, he said we should NOT provide a SSN that was not legally assigned him. SInce the one he mad eup was not legally assigned to him, we should not provide it and supposedly USCIS has not means to find out. Do you think this is true?

[VanessaTony 3,567]

You birng up a good point. I guess it did not occur to him. Either way, he said we should NOT provide a SSN that was not legally assigned him. SInce the one he mad eup was not legally assigned to him, we should not provide it and supposedly USCIS has not means to find out. Do you think this is true?

No I don't. USCIS can find out if you ticked a box on your drivers license application to register to vote. As you stated, it's probably linked to his ITIN somewhere. Lying about it just causes more problems.

Find another lawyer.

[aosquestion 1]

So basically you want to lie by omission? They may ask HOW he's been working and he will need to tell the truth that he made up a SSN.

Here's the thing. No matter what stage of the process you're at, if USCIS finds out you lied about a material matter, his status (whatever it is at that time, USC or greencard holder) will be revoked and he will be deported. You will live life wondering if and when it's going to come back to bite you.

I suggest you have a consultation with another attorney to ask about the fake SSN issue.

Why does the waiver depend on the country he is from? He is from Uruguay, btw. I am a little confused, you said: "Do not list the illegal SSN because it's not the correct one" but then you said that if they ask how he managed to work, he would have to tell about his made up SSN.

I was told his finances shouldn't be a problem for filing for a green card, that they are a real issue for filing for citizenship. I was also told to only provide proof of filed taxes in 2012, which we will file next week and we will only do so with the ITIN so that the made up SSN will not appear, thus, when we provide a copy of his most recent filed taxes, there will be no SSN.

A question for you: could we say he HAS been filing taxes (which he has), and only provide proof of 2012 (which we will have and it won't have the made up SSN), and say we do not have copies of previous tax returns because we lost them or something? Or could we simply say he worked without a SSN, that he was never asked for one? I know a few times he worked at restaurants/bar where they paid him in cash so there was never paperwork involved.

Thank you soooo much for your responses! You are being very helpful.

[aosquestion 1]

No I don't. USCIS can find out if you ticked a box on your drivers license application to register to vote. As you stated, it's probably linked to his ITIN somewhere. Lying about it just causes more problems.

Find another lawyer.

Thank you, I will find another lawyer. I have only been consulting for now, mostly free consults.

I have a question to ask you, though. I have to imagine we are not the first couple with 1 USC and 1 out of status spouse who has worked unauthorized and with a fake SSN. SO someone must have gone through this and have the experience to say how it was done, right? We cannot be the only couple like this, I just have no clue where or who to go to, to figure this out =(

Moved from adjustment of status from family based visas to adjustment of status from work student tourist as the OP entered on a tourist visa and over stayed.

Thanks for moving the thread. I was not sure where to post it.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

1. Why does the waiver depend on the country he is from? He is from Uruguay, btw.

2. I am a little confused, you said: "Do not list the illegal SSN because it's not the correct one" but then you said that if they ask how he managed to work, he would have to tell about his made up SSN.

3. I was told his finances shouldn't be a problem for filing for a green card, that they are a real issue for filing for citizenship. I was also told to only provide proof of filed taxes in 2012, which we will file next week and we will only do so with the ITIN so that the made up SSN will not appear, thus, when we provide a copy of his most recent filed taxes, there will be no SSN.

4. A question for you: could we say he HAS been filing taxes (which he has), and only provide proof of 2012 (which we will have and it won't have the made up SSN), and say we do not have copies of previous tax returns because we lost them or something? Or could we simply say he worked without a SSN, that he was never asked for one? I know a few times he worked at restaurants/bar where they paid him in cash so there was never paperwork involved.

1. The waiver for extreme hardship would basically require YOU (not your husband) to show why you need him to live in the US with you, instead of you moving overseas. You need to show how moving overseas would cause extreme hardship. About how living apart would cause extreme hardship. The reason country matters (even though technically it doesn't) is because if he's from a first world country it's harder to prove why you couldn't move to their country. If he was from a war torn country and all those sorts of things, it would of course be easier.

2. If the IO asked him "okay so I see here you worked illegally, how did you manage to do that? Do you have a SSN?" he would have to tell the truth. He doesn't disclose the SSN on the forms, but he will need to if he's asked about it.

3. Maybe, maybe not. Honestly it's up the IO.

4. No. Again. Do not lie. You can obtain tax transcript from the IRS for free and quite quickly. Within 2 weeks if by mail, or immediately if in person or via fax. If they asked they will find out he lied. Do not lie. It's much worse than the truth.

[aosquestion 1]

1. The waiver for extreme hardship would basically require YOU (not your husband) to show why you need him to live in the US with you, instead of you moving overseas. You need to show how moving overseas would cause extreme hardship. About how living apart would cause extreme hardship. The reason country matters (even though technically it doesn't) is because if he's from a first world country it's harder to prove why you couldn't move to their country. If he was from a war torn country and all those sorts of things, it would of course be easier.

2. If the IO asked him "okay so I see here you worked illegally, how did you manage to do that? Do you have a SSN?" he would have to tell the truth. He doesn't disclose the SSN on the forms, but he will need to if he's asked about it.

3. Maybe, maybe not. Honestly it's up the IO.

4. No. Again. Do not lie. You can obtain tax transcript from the IRS for free and quite quickly. Within 2 weeks if by mail, or immediately if in person or via fax. If they asked they will find out he lied. Do not lie. It's much worse than the truth.

1. Well, given that I am soon to graduate and have a huge debt from government loans, moving to his country would never allow me to pay.

2. If he does disclose that he made up a SSN when asked about it, then we could file for the fraud waiver, and it would take care of this?

3. Ok, he is up to date on taxes anyway, so is his sponsor.

4. So we don't lie, disclose the made up SSN only IF asked about it, and request the waiver after that? As I posted above, I have to imagine we are not the first couple with 1 USC and 1 out of status spouse who has worked unauthorized and with a fake SSN. SO someone must have gone through this and have the experience to say how it was done, right? We cannot be the only couple like this, I just have no clue where or who to go to, to figure this out =(