Obamacare and pending AOS

[Boiler 46,282]

does she have evidence of being admitted at the PoE?

[f&c 50]

does she have evidence of being admitted at the PoE?

No. We sent an affidavit with her entry details with a brief citing Matter of Areguillin. We rightfully received an RFE for proof of lawful admission. We re-sent what we sent originally and now our case is in Testing and Interview. We also have a pending FOIA request with CBP for her entry record, but that could take a long time. Despite both being under DHS, I suppose USCIS and CBP don't communicate well enough to verify. Sorry if this question wasn't meant for me.

[Boiler 46,282]

Do you have a Lawyer?

There were witnesses to her inspected entry?

[f&c 50]

Do you have a Lawyer?

There were witnesses to her inspected entry?

We anticipated this issue, so we hired a lawyer.

She entered years ago with her ex-boyfriend, who is a Canadian citizen. They are not on good terms, so we cannot obtain an affidavit from him. This wouldn't have been as big of an issue if she were a Canadian citizen. She is (was) a Canadian LPR and techinically needed a visa to enter the US, but the CBP officer granted her entry anyway. Under the law, she was inspected and admitted into the US, however the burden of proof is on us. In addition to what I mentioned earlier, we also sent several documents and IDs showing her Canadian status.

My wife is very clear and regretful of her past mistakes. All she had to do was go back to Canada years ago. We had a stern and honest conversation when I learned of her status a few years ago. I even had a hard time deciding what country to use when I joined VJ. I went with Canada at first, before changing it to Haiti...lol

[f&c 50]

Her ex also stole all of her papers, except for her Ontario DL. We had to file police reports and hunt down copies of all of her other papers. This entire experience has been tedious and very stressful thanks to the added complications.

[cocomaya 2]

Late to the party here but...

My wife and I sent in our application for Obamacare (by mail because god only knows that our 1234234 tries to use the website didn't work) but I spoke to someone who said I can be added to the application as my wife's spouse for the purpose of the coverage, even if I didn't have my SSN, I have my I-94 number. It said you could use your passport number as well. I haven't filed for AOS yet (soon) and they told me it shouldn't be an issue.

I assumed all Canadians got an I-94, even if they cross the border via car? and if it wasn't stamped, it was available online?

Canadians that enter the US by land often do not receive I-94s or stamps. My wife did not receive one. As a Canadian LPR she was supposed to get a visa first (which she didn't know) and show her home country's passport, but the CBP officer let her in the US anyway. It earned us an RFE and hopefully will not be an issue at the interview.

Canadians do not receive I-94 and hardly ever receive a stamp in the passport. I've been to the US probably around 20 times in the last 10 years and only got a stamp once. From what I know, it's completely random and discretionary. Btw I travelled by air and by land and I got the stamp at the airport. I also checked online and it showed no record.

The last time I came to the US, I came by car. When submitting my AOS, I provided an Affidavit and attached a hotel receipt for a few nights in Detroit and a boarding pass from Detroit. Hopefully it will be enough. Trust me, if I suspected that I will be staying in the US for good, I would have been flying to have the boarding pass in hand from a Canadian city but at that time, I was just coming for a summer holiday. Life happens when you are making plans

[cocomaya 2]

Her ex also stole all of her papers, except for her Ontario DL. We had to file police reports and hunt down copies of all of her other papers. This entire experience has been tedious and very stressful thanks to the added complications.

I just noticed your timeline. Crazy! I also sent my documents in November and had my biometrics appointment on December 19, 2013 as well!

I noticed that you got RFE re: lawful entry shortly after NOA. I haven't received anything, so hopefully they were satisfied with my affidavit mentioned above. Fingers crossed! I did have to repeat my biometrics appointment in January though, so we both had a little hiccups Good luck to you two!

[Boiler 46,282]

Her ex also stole all of her papers, except for her Ontario DL. We had to file police reports and hunt down copies of all of her other papers. This entire experience has been tedious and very stressful thanks to the added complications.

I am not a Lawyer and this is definitely a good Lawyer case:

Just some thoughts:

Immigrate2US has some cases and recommended lawyers.

I have not seen one yet where they did not have witnesses to being waived through, which seems to have been the norm on the Mexican border. The USC's waive their passports and the ones in the back keep quiet.

Actually I do not remember one involving Canada.

If you have not obtained second opinions, do so. See I2US for recommended lawyers.

The one thing I do not get is that there is actually a procedure for them to have used to give status to someone without the appropriate visa, forget the number off hand. They charge you for it as well.

[f&c 50]

I just noticed your timeline. Crazy! I also sent my documents in November and had my biometrics appointment on December 19, 2013 as well!

I noticed that you got RFE re: lawful entry shortly after NOA. I haven't received anything, so hopefully they were satisfied with my affidavit mentioned above. Fingers crossed! I did have to repeat my biometrics appointment in January though, so we both had a little hiccups Good luck to you two!

Always good to see someone with a similar timeline. I'm sure you guys will be fine, especially if you are Canadian citizen. I think USCIS sees this a lot from Canadians. I think ours is only an issue, because my wife is a Canadian permenant resident and required a visa, because Haiti is not a VWP country. Our AOS went into testing and interview after being in RFE for nearly a month. Hopefully, that is a good sign. She is kicking herself for not obtaining Canadian citizenship. She said it's easy.

Cocomaya, did you receive your EAD and interview date? Let's keep each other posted. There is a November AOS thread in the progress section as well. Good luck!

[f&c 50]

I am not a Lawyer and this is definitely a good Lawyer case:

Just some thoughts:

Immigrate2US has some cases and recommended lawyers.

I have not seen one yet where they did not have witnesses to being waived through, which seems to have been the norm on the Mexican border. The USC's waive their passports and the ones in the back keep quiet.

Actually I do not remember one involving Canada.

If you have not obtained second opinions, do so. See I2US for recommended lawyers.

The one thing I do not get is that there is actually a procedure for them to have used to give status to someone without the appropriate visa, forget the number off hand. They charge you for it as well.

You got that right, Boiler. I've read a lot of interesting case law on this issue. They basically set the definition of "inspected and admitted", however the burden of proof is on the applicant.

I have a lot of confidence in our lawyer. He is well known, but they still get back with us in a timely manner and charges a fair flat rate for AOS. At the consultation, he walked us through the process and provided us with all of the applicable case law. I met with one before I hired him, who did not seem to understand everything he should. I have been on I2US and it is a good site for waiver and not so straightforward cases such as ours. I like VJs format much better though.

I would gladly pay any penalties even though it was CBP's mistake. I'm sure she would have paid at her time of entry as well for the proper visa. My guess is that CBP assumed she was a Canadian citizen. She was actually the driver when she came through Niagra Falls. The CBP officer took her documents, went to the computer, and admitted her. I'm sure there is a record of entry, but FOIA requests take forever. I've definitely learned a lot from this.

[Boiler 46,282]

It is not that you have the option at the Border, but they do. If they decide to exercise that option then they offer to do so and charge you if you accept.

I have no idea how it works on the Canadian Border for Canadians, do they run a check only or do they record details? Do they ask you Citizenship of what? Never been to Canada.

Edited January 26, 2014 by Boiler

[f&c 50]

It is not that you have the option at the Border, but they do. If they decide to exercise that option then they offer to do so and charge you if you accept.

I have no idea how it works on the Canadian Border for Canadians, do they run a check only or do they record details? Do they ask you Citizenship of what? Never been to Canada.

Ah, I gotcha now. I did not know that.

My wife said they did not ask about her citizenship. The CBP officer brought her DL and health card and her ex's birth certificate and ID to a computer. He returned and asked the purpose of the visit and let them through. It was around midnight when she entered, so maybe CBP was not as thorough. This happened in 2008 just before Canadians had to show a passport when entering by land. I'm sure it's much different now.

[Boiler 46,282]

Has the Lawyer raised the possible misrepresentation issue?

[cocomaya 2]

Always good to see someone with a similar timeline. I'm sure you guys will be fine, especially if you are Canadian citizen. I think USCIS sees this a lot from Canadians. I think ours is only an issue, because my wife is a Canadian permenant resident and required a visa, because Haiti is not a VWP country. Our AOS went into testing and interview after being in RFE for nearly a month. Hopefully, that is a good sign. She is kicking herself for not obtaining Canadian citizenship. She said it's easy.

Cocomaya, did you receive your EAD and interview date? Let's keep each other posted. There is a November AOS thread in the progress section as well. Good luck!

I did not apply for EAD. Now I realize it was a mistake. I just thought that since I'm pregnant and won't be working for a while, it was a waste of time. Only after submitting my AOS, I realized that I need SSN for example to get a driver's license and EAD would give me SSN. Ugh. Some people on here suggested that I send the EAD form now and this is what I think I'm going to do.

No interview scheduled yet. I think my repeated biometrics delayed it. My second biometrics appointment was on January 14, so hopefully in a couple of weeks I will get something in the mail.

[f&c 50]

No, but I have thought about it. I'm sure we'll go over more things when we get an interview date. She did not knowingly misrepresent herself to the CBP officer. She did what he asked of her and made no false claims of Canadian or US citizenship. As far as overstaying, she did not intend to stay in the US. She was young and followed her loser ex-boyfriend for what was supposed to be a vacation. He is fairly older than her and should have known better. I will not be surprised if an IO goes down that line of questioning. She has no option other than answering honestly.