HOW WE ENDED UP IN DEPORTATION PROCEEDINGS

[Fandango 1,440]

nm

Edited December 26, 2006 by LisaD

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

H1B, B2, Asylum, I-130. Not to pass any judgement here but can you truly blame whoever worked on this case at the USCIS not to see a guy that's desperate to find a way, any way, to live in the US?

Reinhard, in all due respect, the alien has a dilemma, and while you'd like to cast some sort of pallor on any attempt made to recover from a situation of either poor judgment and improper assistance, it could be said anyone facing such a situation would be well within his reason and right to try to avoid being ejected from the USA.

Sure. I understand that the individual has the right to try and avoid being ejected. All I am saying is that the filing for various benefits, including filing a presumably frivolous claim for asylum, does not make the applicant's case any stronger.

[diadromous mermaid 36]

H1B, B2, Asylum, I-130. Not to pass any judgement here but can you truly blame whoever worked on this case at the USCIS not to see a guy that's desperate to find a way, any way, to live in the US?

Reinhard, in all due respect, the alien has a dilemma, and while you'd like to cast some sort of pallor on any attempt made to recover from a situation of either poor judgment and improper assistance, it could be said anyone facing such a situation would be well within his reason and right to try to avoid being ejected from the USA.

Sure. I understand that the individual has the right to try and avoid being ejected. All I am saying is that the filing for various benefits, including filing a presumably frivolous claim for asylum, does not make the applicant's case any stronger.

Hmmm. How do you figure 'frivolous'? Unsuccessful is less inflammatory, by the way

[Fandango 1,440]

Thanks for a voice of reason.

Yes he originally came on an H1b and was injured in his tryouts. A friend of the team who was obviously not an attorney filled out some VISA extension request on his behalf. At this time he did not read or speak English and did not understand the documents he was signing. There was a discrepancy of his VISA time on his passport and the I94. He quickly got a different team than originally invited him to pick him up. Unfortunately the person who filed his paperwork sent in a tourist VISA request. Compounding it, it was sent without his signature and the appropriate fee etc. As you know quite a bit of time expires waiting on paperwork going back and forth. This is how he accumulated a year of bad time and is now subject to the 10 year bar.

Of course he moved from one team to the next. The team tried to repair the damage but smaller teams have little money to spend on this type of thing. A third team picked him up and the family who "sponsored" him at the Fayetteville Force actually "helped" him file Assylum paperwork. At the point we met he was waiting for his "Assylum" hearing. I quickly obtained competent counsel and of course since it was the wrong benefit application the attorney correctly advised requesting Voluntary Departure. Neither one of us anticipated a romance it just happened as a consequence of us spending an inordinate amount of time together due to his circumstances and my job change. We probably would have saved ourselves much heartache if we hadn't fallen for each other. But..we did. And when the time came for him to leave we decided to roll the dice and hope for an extension of the Life Act. 9/11 you know the rest.

At this point we can finally file the I130 which would brought the ICE folks to our door sooner. Then although I don't anticipate a problem with the I130 since we have been married almost 6 years the waiver will be required because of his bar to re-entry.

I understand this is a tough one and that unless you are in a wheel-chair or have an infant child its nearly impossible to get this.

Thanks

Nancy, here's where you went wrong....and just cos you're in love doesn't mean you can send a big F YOU to the system. All of us are in love. Many of us are not together yet....and there are some who are facing bans and whatnot yet they are going about changing it the legal way. I realize you fell in love & your feelings are strong, but 'we fell for each other what can we do?' cannot be a valid excuse for not following the law.

[mrc 0]

nm

I think this post sums up the whole thread.

nm

[nancyk 0]

Nancy,

It sounds as if there have been several applications submitted. I know you have a lot on your plate right now, but what is the timeline for the various submissions and status of each? There was an H1B, tourist, and asylum that I can see. When was the voluntary departure requested...and was this when your attorney advised your husband not to leave, after requesting it?

I don't quite understand the logic of the attorney's advice on requesting the voluntary departure, and then especially not following through (and worse, praying for the miracle of amnesty). Was that based on the tourist visa applied for, or the asylum? Even if throughout your husband's process there were incorrect forms submitted, once he was married to you and an I-130/I-485 filed his status would have been pending until the AOS adjudication.

Since he apparently entered the US on a valid visa and therefore inspected, what was the attorney's reasoning that an adjustment of status would have been prohibited? It doesn't sound as if there were any removal hearings before the voluntary departure request. Even for overstays, that is normally forgiven upon marriage to the US citizen and am a bit confused on the advice you have received.

An immigration attorney that I have seen recommended here is Laurel Scott. The URL I found is http://www.visacentral.net/

She has an open chat, I believe, on Wednesdays at 11:00am and she specializes in cases that require waivers. You might want to contact her and get her take on things as well. I don't know if you are still utilizing the same attorney but unless there is a really good reason for his/her advice thus far, I would certainly be looking for a different one.

I don't see what has occurred thus far as your husband trying anything to stay in the US...just limited by his language and having poor advice and action taken on his part, especially by the attorney. There are always extenuating circumstances and hopefully any deportation can be delayed and continued until the I-130/I-485 have been adjudicated.

PJ

I will sit down in the next day or two and try to go through the paperwork and create a time-line. Attorneys did not file incorrect paperwork on his behalf, well meaning but misguided friends did.

I do not mean to imply the Attorney advised not leaving after he got Voluntary Departure. That was our ####### decision. When the day came for him to fly we could not separate not knowing when we could be together again. We foolishly thought the Life Act might get extended. Of course if some legislation changed we wanted to know, so we had a local attorney review the file and they said the best course of action since he did not go back was stay out of trouble. In our case the 10 year bar applies, so a waiver is the only option. The minute he steps off US soil the clock starts ticking. Two attorneys who are well respected have looked at it, no one so far hs suggested being able to pull a rabbit out of a hat. I am all for miracles though.

[nancyk 0]

H1B, B2, Asylum, I-130. Not to pass any judgement here but can you truly blame whoever worked on this case at the USCIS not to see a guy that's desperate to find a way, any way, to live in the US?

Reinhard, in all due respect, the alien has a dilemma, and while you'd like to cast some sort of pallor on any attempt made to recover from a situation of either poor judgment and improper assistance, it could be said anyone facing such a situation would be well within his reason and right to try to avoid being ejected from the USA.

Sure. I understand that the individual has the right to try and avoid being ejected. All I am saying is that the filing for various benefits, including filing a presumably frivolous claim for asylum, does not make the applicant's case any stronger.

Hmmm. How do you figure 'frivolous'? Unsuccessful is less inflammatory, by the way

Vitali was desparate to play hockey. The invitation was a big break for him and in his mind getting a minor injury in the tryout he was invited to is fairly common in Hockey so he went ahead and found another team. Of course his opportunity to play here was important to him. His passport VISA gave him six months here. His family scraped up enough money to send him on this journey and all hoped he woud be successful. And yes I can see how a USCIS worker could percieve his applications and pettitions as "desparate". Keep in mind he wasn't writing them someone else was. He had no understanding of the "system" and no ability to read or write in English at the time. So he did put his trust in the "hockey fans" who should have made a call for him to an attorney not filled out any paperwork for him. Filing the Assylum application was not his idea either. The person who did this "for" him or "to" him depending on how you percieve it really wanted the best result for him but again wrong paperwork and no attorney was consulted.

[pj1959us 0]

I will sit down in the next day or two and try to go through the paperwork and create a time-line. Attorneys did not file incorrect paperwork on his behalf, well meaning but misguided friends did.

I do not mean to imply the Attorney advised not leaving after he got Voluntary Departure. That was our ####### decision. When the day came for him to fly we could not separate not knowing when we could be together again. We foolishly thought the Life Act might get extended. Of course if some legislation changed we wanted to know, so we had a local attorney review the file and they said the best course of action since he did not go back was stay out of trouble. In our case the 10 year bar applies, so a waiver is the only option. The minute he steps off US soil the clock starts ticking. Two attorneys who are well respected have looked at it, no one so far hs suggested being able to pull a rabbit out of a hat. I am all for miracles though.

I know that will be a pain, but will probably be important and necessary at some point soon anyway, if only for an attorney and/or a court for documentation purposes.

I see...but why was the VD even recommended by the attorney in the first place? It seems even if the incorrect paperwork had been filed and/or an overstay involved that the status of your husband still could have been adjusted due to his marriage to a US citizen (it is rare when overstays are not forgiven from what I have read). I wondered if there were some reasoning provided from your attorney for this step?

You might want to speak to Laurel Scott if at all possible...I don't know if she can pull a rabbit out of a hat but from what I've heard she at least won't saw you in half. She has been recommended numerous times and perhaps she can provide some insight/advice. With the holiday I don't know if she will still have a chat tomorrow but with your situation it could prove beneficial to contact her if at all possible and if you still have time. I don't know what kind of time crunch you are under with your husband's detainment but you never know until you try!

There are also some attorneys on another immigration site www.britishexpats.com that post often so should be easily found (Folyinski is one...not sure of how accurate my spelling is though!). I doubt of course they can give you much forum advice but from what I've read they are also very respected and helpful for their clients.

Best of luck to you. I know it seems a miracle is your only hope but sometimes matters can be ironed out once you are forced to deal with them.

[nancyk 0]

One can adjust status from an H1B upon marriage to a US citizen.

This story is hogwash. Some significant detail is missing...

That would be based on the assumption that there was not a very well meaning person who filed for the incorrect immigration

benefit on your behalf PRIOR to your marriage to US Citizen.

you could have still rectified the situation before he was forcibly deported

At risk of sounding like Bill Clinton, it depends on what you mean by "rectified". Our only option was for him to leave the

US and start letting the 10 year bar tick off and attempt to get perhaps a Canadian VISA for him and start over there. That is really still our only option now being forced on us quite uncomfortably but a bit more convenient for me now since I do not have a school age child to support. While it is easy to sit in the recliner and direct ..fill out the correct paperwork dummy..its not a one size fits all solution. Earning a living while this fight with INS or USCIS is going on still has to happen. I don't speak Russian so my job prospects are a bit limited there. Assuming he packed up and left on his Voluntary Departure date and went to play in the European league again he would have been traveling 7-8 months a year and I would have been in a country I couldn't read the street signs in. Still we would be facing the 10 year bar to return in any case.

[kitkat1 5]

At risk of sounding like Bill Clinton, it depends on what you mean by "rectified". Our only option was for him to leave the

US and start letting the 10 year bar tick off

Nope - filing the I-130 would have been the first step while he was in the country. It would not have "brought ICE to your door" as thousands of people do this every single day for illegal aliens since the proposed immigration reform clearly states that an I-130 must be in process in order to be covered by any potential reform.

I don't speak Russian so my job prospects are a bit limited there. Assuming he packed up and left on his Voluntary Departure date and went to play in the European league again he would have been traveling 7-8 months a year and I would have been in a country I couldn't read the street signs in. Still we would be facing the 10 year bar to return in any case.

More information for your hardship waiver. Can't imagine why you think the odds are so against getting a 601 approved. Perhaps you should start researching how USCIS defines "extreme hardship" - it doesn't mean you have to be in a wheelchair or anything of the sort.

[Fandango 1,440]

One can adjust status from an H1B upon marriage to a US citizen.

This story is hogwash. Some significant detail is missing...

That would be based on the assumption that there was not a very well meaning person who filed for the incorrect immigration

benefit on your behalf PRIOR to your marriage to US Citizen.

you could have still rectified the situation before he was forcibly deported

At risk of sounding like Bill Clinton, it depends on what you mean by "rectified". Our only option was for him to leave the

US and start letting the 10 year bar tick off and attempt to get perhaps a Canadian VISA for him and start over there. That is really still our only option now being forced on us quite uncomfortably but a bit more convenient for me now since I do not have a school age child to support. While it is easy to sit in the recliner and direct ..fill out the correct paperwork dummy..its not a one size fits all solution. Earning a living while this fight with INS or USCIS is going on still has to happen. I don't speak Russian so my job prospects are a bit limited there. Assuming he packed up and left on his Voluntary Departure date and went to play in the European league again he would have been traveling 7-8 months a year and I would have been in a country I couldn't read the street signs in. Still we would be facing the 10 year bar to return in any case.

Nancy, please try to change your sense of entitlement because you're in 'love'.....and see things from a black and white perspective. Your situation is grossly compounded by the fact that you two did not want to be apart. And love doesn't fix everything.

I don't have any answers for you other than to retain some competent counsel and try to follow the confines of the system. If this requires your being apart for an undetermined amount of time, then that's what has to happen. There is no magic rabbit going to be pulled out of a hat. I'm sorry to say this, but you sound TO ME like you want to have your cake and eat it too. Were that truly possible, none of us would ever be separated from our respective partners.

I watched Bad Santa the other night & there was a quote that had me in stitches but was so true....wish in one hand and sh!t in the other and see which one fills up quicker. Yes, it sucks to be separated....but you're preachin to a roomful of retired preachers here

Edited December 26, 2006 by LisaD

[nancyk 0]

At risk of sounding like Bill Clinton, it depends on what you mean by "rectified". Our only option was for him to leave the

US and start letting the 10 year bar tick off

Nope - filing the I-130 would have been the first step while he was in the country. It would not have "brought ICE to your door" as thousands of people do this every single day for illegal aliens since the proposed immigration reform clearly states that an I-130 must be in process in order to be covered by any potential reform.

I don't speak Russian so my job prospects are a bit limited there. Assuming he packed up and left on his Voluntary Departure date and went to play in the European league again he would have been traveling 7-8 months a year and I would have been in a country I couldn't read the street signs in. Still we would be facing the 10 year bar to return in any case.

More information for your hardship waiver. Can't imagine why you think the odds are so against getting a 601 approved. Perhaps you should start researching how USCIS defines "extreme hardship" - it doesn't mean you have to be in a wheelchair or anything of the sort.

The Attorney we had said that we should wait on the I130 until he left or that would bring Immigration to our door.

Moot point now... like you said now we need to get it done and start cracking on the Waiver research. I hope you are right about getting a 601 approved.

"Ironically, Nathan Lenna thinks his subsequent visit to an immigration official in Charlotte, where he filed a petition to have Sara recognized as the spouse of a U.S. citizen, may have tipped off Homeland Security officers to her whereabouts."

http://news-record.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artic...C0101/611050319

[nancyk 0]

I will sit down in the next day or two and try to go through the paperwork and create a time-line. Attorneys did not file incorrect paperwork on his behalf, well meaning but misguided friends did.

I do not mean to imply the Attorney advised not leaving after he got Voluntary Departure. That was our ####### decision. When the day came for him to fly we could not separate not knowing when we could be together again. We foolishly thought the Life Act might get extended. Of course if some legislation changed we wanted to know, so we had a local attorney review the file and they said the best course of action since he did not go back was stay out of trouble. In our case the 10 year bar applies, so a waiver is the only option. The minute he steps off US soil the clock starts ticking. Two attorneys who are well respected have looked at it, no one so far hs suggested being able to pull a rabbit out of a hat. I am all for miracles though.

I know that will be a pain, but will probably be important and necessary at some point soon anyway, if only for an attorney and/or a court for documentation purposes.

I see...but why was the VD even recommended by the attorney in the first place? It seems even if the incorrect paperwork had been filed and/or an overstay involved that the status of your husband still could have been adjusted due to his marriage to a US citizen (it is rare when overstays are not forgiven from what I have read). I wondered if there were some reasoning provided from your attorney for this step?

You might want to speak to Laurel Scott if at all possible...I don't know if she can pull a rabbit out of a hat but from what I've heard she at least won't saw you in half. She has been recommended numerous times and perhaps she can provide some insight/advice. With the holiday I don't know if she will still have a chat tomorrow but with your situation it could prove beneficial to contact her if at all possible and if you still have time. I don't know what kind of time crunch you are under with your husband's detainment but you never know until you try!

There are also some attorneys on another immigration site www.britishexpats.com that post often so should be easily found (Folyinski is one...not sure of how accurate my spelling is though!). I doubt of course they can give you much forum advice but from what I've read they are also very respected and helpful for their clients.

Best of luck to you. I know it seems a miracle is your only hope but sometimes matters can be ironed out once you are forced to deal with them.

I will contact a different attorney for piece of mind. We were not married before his Assylum hearing. He got Voluntary Departure and had a few months before his departure date. It was his intention on the day of the hearing to leave before his departure date. He still would have been subject to the 10 year bar. In any other universe our romance probably would not have happened.. we just as a result of both of our life circumstances fell in love no doubt due to the amount of time we spent together, and I am sure the intensity of the situation had some effect on both of us. We got married a couple of days before his departure date and when that date came we just weren't ready for the separation. Now we have to weather the storm.. and hopefully your are right maybe we can catch a break.

[nancyk 0]

One can adjust status from an H1B upon marriage to a US citizen.

This story is hogwash. Some significant detail is missing...

That would be based on the assumption that there was not a very well meaning person who filed for the incorrect immigration

benefit on your behalf PRIOR to your marriage to US Citizen.

you could have still rectified the situation before he was forcibly deported

At risk of sounding like Bill Clinton, it depends on what you mean by "rectified". Our only option was for him to leave the

US and start letting the 10 year bar tick off and attempt to get perhaps a Canadian VISA for him and start over there. That is really still our only option now being forced on us quite uncomfortably but a bit more convenient for me now since I do not have a school age child to support. While it is easy to sit in the recliner and direct ..fill out the correct paperwork dummy..its not a one size fits all solution. Earning a living while this fight with INS or USCIS is going on still has to happen. I don't speak Russian so my job prospects are a bit limited there. Assuming he packed up and left on his Voluntary Departure date and went to play in the European league again he would have been traveling 7-8 months a year and I would have been in a country I couldn't read the street signs in. Still we would be facing the 10 year bar to return in any case.

Nancy, please try to change your sense of entitlement because you're in 'love'.....and see things from a black and white perspective. Your situation is grossly compounded by the fact that you two did not want to be apart. And love doesn't fix everything.

I don't have any answers for you other than to retain some competent counsel and try to follow the confines of the system. If this requires your being apart for an undetermined amount of time, then that's what has to happen. There is no magic rabbit going to be pulled out of a hat. I'm sorry to say this, but you sound TO ME like you want to have your cake and eat it too. Were that truly possible, none of us would ever be separated from our respective partners.

I watched Bad Santa the other night & there was a quote that had me in stitches but was so true....wish in one hand and sh!t in the other and see which one fills up quicker. Yes, it sucks to be separated....but you're preachin to a roomful of retired preachers here

[Fandango 1,440]