HOW WE ENDED UP IN DEPORTATION PROCEEDINGS

[one...two...tree 2,762]

My husband originally came here LEGALLY on an H1b VISA to play professional Hockey, in Sep 1998. We have been married 5 years.

And then the story changes:

What happened in this case prior to our meeting was very well meaning friends of the team he was playing for filed a form with then INS which had to do with tourism and not employement. At the time he did not speak or write English. Forms were filed on his behalf without the proper fee's, signatures etc. I am sure none of this was malicious. For those who know and understand what happens when you accumulate over a year out of status it ends up being a 10 year bar to re-entry. There is no going back and filing the correct form now.

How exactly did that H1B that he came here on in September of 1998 turn into a tourist visa?

Ban on re-entry? That only applies if he left. As long as he stayed here upon marrying you, you guys still could have filed the I-130/I-485. He just could not have left until after he adjusted status. An overstay - even of a year or more - does not bar anyone from adjusting status upon marriage to a USC. Besides, if he came on an H1B (which is typically good for 3 years) in Sept 1998, then he would have been in status until Sept 2001. Seeing that you claim to be married to this guy for the past 5 years, you would have had to have gotten married in, well, 2001. How does one fit more than a year of unlawful presence into this time-span?

There's something still missing here...

From what she's explained, he came here as a professional athlete and those who represented him since he spoke no English at the time filed the paperwork.

Imagine this on the flip side - suppose an American athlete wanted to play professionally in China, but didn't speak any dialect of Chinese. Suppose he lives and plays professionally there for several years, meets a woman there, falls in love and gets married. Then somewhere along the process, he finds out that his representatives didn't file the proper paperwork with the Chinese Government and consequently he was considered a fugitive, facing jail time. Would we all be saying 'tough titty?'

I think the circumstances are unfortunate and I personally think a reasonable judge would consider all the mitigating circumstances before rendering a judgment.

[Savanphil 3]

Wow! You really must be pissed! How could they deport your WHITE husband?!?!?!?!?! You're a soldier for christ's sake!!! Preposterous! People as important as a white illegal and an ex-soldier just don't have time to adjust for status!!! Go to the supreme court!

:lol: :lol: :lol:

[Traviesa 0]

Nancy, as someone who has lived through the deportation of my (now) husband, I empathize with you. Not very many people on here have had that particular experience, and so many of them don't realize what it's really like. While I originally took offense to your "hispanic" comment (my husband is Mexican) I read your explanations and understand what you meant to say. The only advice I can give you is:

1. Stay on top of your husband's location. If he's in jail, it's better to deal with the jail itself than immigration.

2. When he has his deportation hearing, he will be told that he has a 10 year ban from entering the US-this is for the illegal presence of over 1 year. If he has the option to Voluntarily Depart, advise him to do so. Even though he might have to wait a little longer he will have no "ban" on re-entry. I only wish Javier had had the foresight to pick this option.

3. He may have to wait a little while before they'll return him to his country.

4. When he gets home, file the I-130 for him. When he goes to his interview, you should be prepared with waivers I-212 and I-601, accompanied by a hardship letter detailing that you, the USC, and your immediate relatives would face extreme hardship were your husband not given his Visa. If they are approved, he will be able to get his Visa before the ban is up. If he takes VD, the I-212 will not be necessary.

Good luck.

[Fandango 1,440]

My husband originally came here LEGALLY on an H1b VISA to play professional Hockey, in Sep 1998. We have been married 5 years.

And then the story changes:

What happened in this case prior to our meeting was very well meaning friends of the team he was playing for filed a form with then INS which had to do with tourism and not employement. At the time he did not speak or write English. Forms were filed on his behalf without the proper fee's, signatures etc. I am sure none of this was malicious. For those who know and understand what happens when you accumulate over a year out of status it ends up being a 10 year bar to re-entry. There is no going back and filing the correct form now.

How exactly did that H1B that he came here on in September of 1998 turn into a tourist visa?

Ban on re-entry? That only applies if he left. As long as he stayed here upon marrying you, you guys still could have filed the I-130/I-485. He just could not have left until after he adjusted status. An overstay - even of a year or more - does not bar anyone from adjusting status upon marriage to a USC. Besides, if he came on an H1B (which is typically good for 3 years) in Sept 1998, then he would have been in status until Sept 2001. Seeing that you claim to be married to this guy for the past 5 years, you would have had to have gotten married in, well, 2001. How does one fit more than a year of unlawful presence into this time-span?

There's something still missing here...

From what she's explained, he came here as a professional athlete and those who represented him since he spoke no English at the time filed the paperwork.

Imagine this on the flip side - suppose an American athlete wanted to play professionally in China, but didn't speak any dialect of Chinese. Suppose he lives and plays professionally there for several years, meets a woman there, falls in love and gets married. Then somewhere along the process, he finds out that his representatives didn't file the proper paperwork with the Chinese Government and consequently he was considered a fugitive, facing jail time. Would we all be saying 'tough titty?'

I think the circumstances are unfortunate and I personally think a reasonable judge would consider all the mitigating circumstances before rendering a judgment.

They obviously KNEW summat was wrong as evidenced by 'hey just fly under the radar' Would you be satisfied with that answer? I know I wouldn't. She wants to fix things now, but was unwilling to fix things then? No, I call bullsh!t.

And if she kept an eye on this place for a while, she shoulda put 2 on it and actually read some of what's on here. Not wait to post until they got CAUGHT. Every single one of us here found this place due to a need for a better understanding of Immigration law. Ignorance is no excuse under the law. It's unfortunate, but it's the truth.

There are loads of members here that are struggling with a waiver situation and struggling with a long separation. It is unfair to those members to be thinking that there should be some sort of exception made in this case. I'm reminded of a poster here (I won't name names just for an ancedotal story) whose fiance was barred due to summat really silly and wrong from his past. Did she sit and cry about it? No....they tried their best to legally overcome the situation and when that didn't work.....she followed the rules and moved to him. It wasn't all 'oh this is love...,..how dare the gov't do this...blah blah blah'

I also don't buy the 'oh I was being sarcastic with the non-white thing'......and if that were truly the intention, the failure is not on us members for misunderstanding, but is on her for misrepresenting. Text is so one-dimensional and sarcasm in posts from a stranger would be hard to discern....so especially with something so sensitive as race issues....it should have been wayyyy clearer if sarcasm was the intent.

[kaydee457 13]

NON-HISPANIC MAN BEING DEPORTED. America is Full of Opportunity for

all races!

Now MY WHITE NON-HISPANIC HUSBAND IS BEING DEPORTED.

This is an incredibly stupid thing to say, particulary here in these forums.

It is quite inconvenient that the government has a law on the books that prevents a married

couple from co-habiting. I wish that had given us another option.

Inconvenient? There is no such law "on the books"......

Yes his VISA overstay was "illegal" but what about a law on the books

that interferes with Gods command in regard to the marital bond between

a man and a woman not being interfered with? "What God has put together

let no man separate?"

Once again- no such "law on the books" exists.....

The law should allow husbands and wives to sleep in the same

country.

The law does allow for that. You can go and live with him in his country if you wish to break our immigration law....

Laws should be sensible, practical moral.

They are, and in this case apparently applied without prejudice.....

I don't advocate lawlessness but there is something GRAVELY wrong with

our system if a middle-aged man can get on the internet and order

himself a bride and our Government gives him a wink and nod.

Once again, an incredibly stupid comment that'll not earn you friends here.

my thoughts to you would be to sit back and learn as much as you can and realize that it's your own fault that you're in this mess, and no one else's....

Good luck!

Edited December 26, 2006 by kaydee457

[kitkat1 5]

According to our immigration laws... you are required to have your romatic life in order and file certain paperwork PRIOR to falling in love and getting married.

Huh? Lots of people get married and file the appropriate paperwork afterwards. Sometimes they do it in the US like you could have done, sometimes by returning home to their country and waiting for visa approval.

Guys, be nice now. As we all know, we're all anxiously awaiting legislative change that would allow a person in the United States of America to adjust from one sort of status (say....overstay on some sort of employment visa, or marriage, or something) to another. (let's call that one "conditional permanent resident.")

Huh? This already exists. He could have easily adjusted from the legal visa he entered on to the spouse of a USC

At this point we can file the I130 and although it should provide a Visa he is barred from re-entry for 10 years so it will do us little good.

Huh? 601 waivers overcome visa overstays in the case that the person has already left the US - the action of leaving is what triggers the ban. What prevents you from filing the waiver like thousands of other people? Of course you could wait and hope for immigration reform which may eliminate the need for the waiver, but why wait when it's not sure?

[diadromous mermaid 36]

According to our immigration laws... you are required to have your romatic life in order and file certain paperwork PRIOR to falling in love and getting married.

Huh? Lots of people get married and file the appropriate paperwork afterwards. Sometimes they do it in the US like you could have done, sometimes by returning home to their country and waiting for visa approval.

Guys, be nice now. As we all know, we're all anxiously awaiting legislative change that would allow a person in the United States of America to adjust from one sort of status (say....overstay on some sort of employment visa, or marriage, or something) to another. (let's call that one "conditional permanent resident.")

Huh? This already exists. He could have easily adjusted from the legal visa he entered on to the spouse of a USC

At this point we can file the I130 and although it should provide a Visa he is barred from re-entry for 10 years so it will do us little good.

Huh? 601 waivers overcome visa overstays in the case that the person has already left the US - the action of leaving is what triggers the ban. What prevents you from filing the waiver like thousands of other people? Of course you could wait and hope for immigration reform which may eliminate the need for the waiver, but why wait when it's not sure?

I'm just entering this discussion, and raced through the more than 8 pages of comments, so please excuse me if I haven't grasped all of the pertinent details (and in my opinion, nancy has failed to provide all, as far as I can see). That said, from my cursory review of the discussion it strikes me that this may not be an obvious 'fix" to the problem, kitkat.

I'm thinking that the OP's spouse was issued an order for removal before he married his now US citizen wife, and may have (sketchy info provided to confirm) violated a prior agreement to "voluntary departure".

What if I am granted voluntary departure but I don't leave the U.S. as instructed?

Any person who is granted voluntary departure is subject to civil penalties if he or she fails voluntarily to depart the United States within the time period specified INA §240B(d) (2003). The person may be subject to a monetary fine, and he or she is barred, for ten years, from being granted cancellation of removal, adjustment of status, change of status, registry, and voluntary departure.

While there is a cancellation of removal remedy available, there are certain requirements. INA § 240A allows certain permanent residents to make an application for the cancellation of removal proceedings. In order to qualify for this provision, an individual must establish that he or she is an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence for not less than five years, has resided in the USA for 7 years after having been admitted in any status, and has not been convicted of an aggravated felony. Also, under INA § 240A, cancellation of removal and adjustment of status for certain nonpermanent resident allows for an alien to become a permanent resident if he or she has been physically present in the USA for more than ten years immediately preceding the date of such application, has been a person of good moral character for such time, has not been convicted of an aggravated felony, and establish that removal would result in exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to the alien's spouse, parent, or child, who is a US citizen or a permanent resident.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

My husband originally came here LEGALLY on an H1b VISA to play professional Hockey, in Sep 1998. We have been married 5 years.

And then the story changes:

What happened in this case prior to our meeting was very well meaning friends of the team he was playing for filed a form with then INS which had to do with tourism and not employement. At the time he did not speak or write English. Forms were filed on his behalf without the proper fee's, signatures etc. I am sure none of this was malicious. For those who know and understand what happens when you accumulate over a year out of status it ends up being a 10 year bar to re-entry. There is no going back and filing the correct form now.

How exactly did that H1B that he came here on in September of 1998 turn into a tourist visa?

Ban on re-entry? That only applies if he left. As long as he stayed here upon marrying you, you guys still could have filed the I-130/I-485. He just could not have left until after he adjusted status. An overstay - even of a year or more - does not bar anyone from adjusting status upon marriage to a USC. Besides, if he came on an H1B (which is typically good for 3 years) in Sept 1998, then he would have been in status until Sept 2001. Seeing that you claim to be married to this guy for the past 5 years, you would have had to have gotten married in, well, 2001. How does one fit more than a year of unlawful presence into this time-span?

There's something still missing here...

From what she's explained, he came here as a professional athlete and those who represented him since he spoke no English at the time filed the paperwork.

Imagine this on the flip side - suppose an American athlete wanted to play professionally in China, but didn't speak any dialect of Chinese. Suppose he lives and plays professionally there for several years, meets a woman there, falls in love and gets married. Then somewhere along the process, he finds out that his representatives didn't file the proper paperwork with the Chinese Government and consequently he was considered a fugitive, facing jail time. Would we all be saying 'tough titty?'

You're missing something, too. If he came on an H1B visa as the OP claimed, then I don't care what paperwork someone allegedly misfiled. You don't get past the POE on an H1B you don't have. If he entered legally on an H1B then the paperwork was filed correctly for that one as he would otherwise not have had it to present to ther officer at the POE. Hence, he wouldn't have legally entered on it which he allegedly did.

But let's assume for a minute that the original H1B claim of the OP was bogus and the guy came on a tourist visa with some sort of "commitment" from his pals to get him an H1B down the road. Then he would have worked illegally and overstayed and yet, as long as he entered legally on any visa or even a visa waiver, he could have adjusted status based on a bona fide marriage to a USC. People do that all the time.

The story is BS. There is some significant piece of information missing here.

[kitkat1 5]

I also skimmed rather quickly because the tone of the OP was too negative for me . . . but my take was that the deporation just happened and perhaps you are right that this makes the situation much more difficult. That said, there were many options to make the situation right long before any deportation order was given. And there are no laws that contradict their love, as the OP went on and on about. Seems like getting a competent, experienced immigration lawyer is the right thing to do at this point.

[paisita411 0]

Nancy, I hope you enjoy the next 10 YEARS in NON-HISPANIC Belarussia with your WHITE, NON-HIPANIC husband. My HISPANIC husband and myself...also HISPANIC will enjoy ALL that UNCLE SAM has to offer right here in the ole good US of A because we mage to find the time and money to do things LEGALLY (despite being HISPANIC).

[ceriserose 1]

Guys, be nice now. As we all know, we're all anxiously awaiting legislative change that would allow a person in the United States of America to adjust from one sort of status (say....overstay on some sort of employment visa, or marriage, or something) to another. (let's call that one "conditional permanent resident.")

Huh? This already exists. He could have easily adjusted from the legal visa he entered on to the spouse of a USC

Correct. And that's his point. After that post's second paragraph, he mentions that he's being sarcastic.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

My husband originally came here LEGALLY on an H1b VISA to play professional Hockey, in Sep 1998. We have been married 5 years.

And then the story changes:

What happened in this case prior to our meeting was very well meaning friends of the team he was playing for filed a form with then INS which had to do with tourism and not employement. At the time he did not speak or write English. Forms were filed on his behalf without the proper fee's, signatures etc. I am sure none of this was malicious. For those who know and understand what happens when you accumulate over a year out of status it ends up being a 10 year bar to re-entry. There is no going back and filing the correct form now.

How exactly did that H1B that he came here on in September of 1998 turn into a tourist visa?

Ban on re-entry? That only applies if he left. As long as he stayed here upon marrying you, you guys still could have filed the I-130/I-485. He just could not have left until after he adjusted status. An overstay - even of a year or more - does not bar anyone from adjusting status upon marriage to a USC. Besides, if he came on an H1B (which is typically good for 3 years) in Sept 1998, then he would have been in status until Sept 2001. Seeing that you claim to be married to this guy for the past 5 years, you would have had to have gotten married in, well, 2001. How does one fit more than a year of unlawful presence into this time-span?

There's something still missing here...

From what she's explained, he came here as a professional athlete and those who represented him since he spoke no English at the time filed the paperwork.

Imagine this on the flip side - suppose an American athlete wanted to play professionally in China, but didn't speak any dialect of Chinese. Suppose he lives and plays professionally there for several years, meets a woman there, falls in love and gets married. Then somewhere along the process, he finds out that his representatives didn't file the proper paperwork with the Chinese Government and consequently he was considered a fugitive, facing jail time. Would we all be saying 'tough titty?'

You're missing something, too. If he came on an H1B visa as the OP claimed, then I don't care what paperwork someone allegedly misfiled. You don't get past the POE on an H1B you don't have. If he entered legally on an H1B then the paperwork was filed correctly for that one as he would otherwise not have had it to present to ther officer at the POE. Hence, he wouldn't have legally entered on it which he allegedly did.

But let's assume for a minute that the original H1B claim of the OP was bogus and the guy came on a tourist visa with some sort of "commitment" from his pals to get him an H1B down the road. Then he would have worked illegally and overstayed and yet, as long as he entered legally on any visa or even a visa waiver, he could have adjusted status based on a bona fide marriage to a USC. People do that all the time.

The story is BS. There is some significant piece of information missing here.

Perhaps, but since we're all speculating based on what she's told us, my contention still holds that if he spoke no English when he first arrived here and was dependent on others to act on his behalf, but they didn't, that should be taken into consideration with regard to whether a judge deports him or not.

[ceriserose 1]

My husband originally came here LEGALLY on an H1b VISA to play professional Hockey, in Sep 1998. We have been married 5 years.

And then the story changes:

What happened in this case prior to our meeting was very well meaning friends of the team he was playing for filed a form with then INS which had to do with tourism and not employement. At the time he did not speak or write English. Forms were filed on his behalf without the proper fee's, signatures etc. I am sure none of this was malicious. For those who know and understand what happens when you accumulate over a year out of status it ends up being a 10 year bar to re-entry. There is no going back and filing the correct form now.

How exactly did that H1B that he came here on in September of 1998 turn into a tourist visa?

Ban on re-entry? That only applies if he left. As long as he stayed here upon marrying you, you guys still could have filed the I-130/I-485. He just could not have left until after he adjusted status. An overstay - even of a year or more - does not bar anyone from adjusting status upon marriage to a USC. Besides, if he came on an H1B (which is typically good for 3 years) in Sept 1998, then he would have been in status until Sept 2001. Seeing that you claim to be married to this guy for the past 5 years, you would have had to have gotten married in, well, 2001. How does one fit more than a year of unlawful presence into this time-span?

There's something still missing here...

From what she's explained, he came here as a professional athlete and those who represented him since he spoke no English at the time filed the paperwork.

Imagine this on the flip side - suppose an American athlete wanted to play professionally in China, but didn't speak any dialect of Chinese. Suppose he lives and plays professionally there for several years, meets a woman there, falls in love and gets married. Then somewhere along the process, he finds out that his representatives didn't file the proper paperwork with the Chinese Government and consequently he was considered a fugitive, facing jail time. Would we all be saying 'tough titty?'

You're missing something, too. If he came on an H1B visa as the OP claimed, then I don't care what paperwork someone allegedly misfiled. You don't get past the POE on an H1B you don't have. If he entered legally on an H1B then the paperwork was filed correctly for that one as he would otherwise not have had it to present to ther officer at the POE. Hence, he wouldn't have legally entered on it which he allegedly did.

But let's assume for a minute that the original H1B claim of the OP was bogus and the guy came on a tourist visa with some sort of "commitment" from his pals to get him an H1B down the road. Then he would have worked illegally and overstayed and yet, as long as he entered legally on any visa or even a visa waiver, he could have adjusted status based on a bona fide marriage to a USC. People do that all the time.

The story is BS. There is some significant piece of information missing here.

Perhaps, but since we're all speculating based on what she's told us, my contention still holds that if he spoke no English when he first arrived here and was dependent on others to act on his behalf, but they didn't, that should be taken into consideration with regard to whether a judge deports him or not.

Living under the radar with an English-speaking wife who is a USC would probably also be taken into account, by a deportation judge I'd think. The dependance on others to act on his behalf would span not only the original paperwork mess, but the lack of action that went on subsequent to it.

I don't remember the exact phrasing but at one point in the OP's explanation, it seemed like they knew there might be a need for a separation to deal up the immigration paperwork correctly and they chose not to endure that. Personally, I'd have investigated all my options but it seems they didn't. At this point all they can do is try to get the legal help they need.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Perhaps, but since we're all speculating based on what she's told us, my contention still holds that if he spoke no English when he first arrived here and was dependent on others to act on his behalf, but they didn't, that should be taken into consideration with regard to whether a judge deports him or not.

How so? Ignorance of the law makes a defense now? Cool. I shall apply that logic at tax time claiming that I know nothing about the complicated US tax code. I'm afraid that this would backfire, though, as the IRS would have me know that being ignorant of the tax code doesn't exempt me from it.

I regards to the story at hand, you're right, the information provided is incomplete and inconsistent. Which may just be the reason that this dude is in deportation proceedings to begin with...

[one...two...tree 2,762]

My husband originally came here LEGALLY on an H1b VISA to play professional Hockey, in Sep 1998. We have been married 5 years.

And then the story changes:

What happened in this case prior to our meeting was very well meaning friends of the team he was playing for filed a form with then INS which had to do with tourism and not employement. At the time he did not speak or write English. Forms were filed on his behalf without the proper fee's, signatures etc. I am sure none of this was malicious. For those who know and understand what happens when you accumulate over a year out of status it ends up being a 10 year bar to re-entry. There is no going back and filing the correct form now.

How exactly did that H1B that he came here on in September of 1998 turn into a tourist visa?

Ban on re-entry? That only applies if he left. As long as he stayed here upon marrying you, you guys still could have filed the I-130/I-485. He just could not have left until after he adjusted status. An overstay - even of a year or more - does not bar anyone from adjusting status upon marriage to a USC. Besides, if he came on an H1B (which is typically good for 3 years) in Sept 1998, then he would have been in status until Sept 2001. Seeing that you claim to be married to this guy for the past 5 years, you would have had to have gotten married in, well, 2001. How does one fit more than a year of unlawful presence into this time-span?

There's something still missing here...

From what she's explained, he came here as a professional athlete and those who represented him since he spoke no English at the time filed the paperwork.

Imagine this on the flip side - suppose an American athlete wanted to play professionally in China, but didn't speak any dialect of Chinese. Suppose he lives and plays professionally there for several years, meets a woman there, falls in love and gets married. Then somewhere along the process, he finds out that his representatives didn't file the proper paperwork with the Chinese Government and consequently he was considered a fugitive, facing jail time. Would we all be saying 'tough titty?'

You're missing something, too. If he came on an H1B visa as the OP claimed, then I don't care what paperwork someone allegedly misfiled. You don't get past the POE on an H1B you don't have. If he entered legally on an H1B then the paperwork was filed correctly for that one as he would otherwise not have had it to present to ther officer at the POE. Hence, he wouldn't have legally entered on it which he allegedly did.

But let's assume for a minute that the original H1B claim of the OP was bogus and the guy came on a tourist visa with some sort of "commitment" from his pals to get him an H1B down the road. Then he would have worked illegally and overstayed and yet, as long as he entered legally on any visa or even a visa waiver, he could have adjusted status based on a bona fide marriage to a USC. People do that all the time.

The story is BS. There is some significant piece of information missing here.

Perhaps, but since we're all speculating based on what she's told us, my contention still holds that if he spoke no English when he first arrived here and was dependent on others to act on his behalf, but they didn't, that should be taken into consideration with regard to whether a judge deports him or not.

Living under the radar with an English-speaking wife who is a USC would probably also be taken into account, by a deportation judge I'd think. The dependance on others to act on his behalf would span not only the original paperwork mess, but the lack of action that went on subsequent to it.

I don't remember the exact phrasing but at one point in the OP's explanation, it seemed like they knew there might be a need for a separation to deal up the immigration paperwork correctly and they chose not to endure that. Personally, I'd have investigated all my options but it seems they didn't. At this point all they can do is try to get the legal help they need.

Good point.