3 interviews later.... HELP!!!

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

But you said he had a work card from before you met? Now you say he only started working when he got the work card based off of marriage to you?

I can;t say anything meaningful when things are so muddled. Good luck to you.

Edited July 29, 2014 by Harpa Timsah

[KayDeeCee 4,895]

~ Moved from AOS from Family Based Visas to AOS from Work, Student & Tourist Visas ~

[Brit Abroad 166]

I see where Harpa's coming from.

You laid out your timeline of events:-

Yes we work together, I create the websites and do the marketing for the garage door company he owns. As for lying, there was a great deal of that coming from the IO trying to catch us saying something wrong, which we didn't.

Timeline: Met in July 2009.

Married Jan 2010. Which to some people seems like a short time, but we've been together for almost 5 years so that shouldn't be a problem.

Filed for I-845 Novemember 2011

Initial interview Feb 2012

House inspection Aug 2012

Second interview May 2014

Third Interview July 25th, 2014

no approval or denial

However, you later said that he had his employment card since you met. A visitor's visa specifically excludes employment. A person holding an employment visa would have no need of a visitor visa. An employment authorization document based on marriage is not issued until the AoS is actually applied for. So, there is no clear picture of how/when your husband was authorized for employment.

So, it leaves a few questions for you to consider:-

1. Where did your husband get his employment card from?
2. Was it in any way related to the former friend who was deported?
3. Did he have it before or after he opened the business, which you claim he's had for 4 years.
4. Was this before or after your marriage?
5. Was the deported person involved in the business in any way?
6. Is the friend who lived with you temporarily in any way connected to the deported person or your husband's employment card?

Obviously USCIS are not happy with the answers they are getting and can't reconcile the inconsistencies they have before them. It sounds like there is some kind of scam going on that you may be unaware of and have unwittingly been caught up in. If your lawyer knows all the facts from your perspective then s/he should be giving you advice for handling the interviews and post-interview communication with USCIS.

[MUXAGIRL 69]

I am sorry you are going through this, but there could be more to this than just the poison pen letter. The reason USCIS is investigating a person who has already left the US and knows you and your husband hints there is more to this. May be the person who left is a person of interest for one reason or another. I am sorry to speculate, but we definitely don't have answers here, neither do we know what's going on in their minds.

[MUXAGIRL 69]

There are many inconsistencies in your timeline and the story of your husband's EAD and owning of business for FOUR plus years.

From your timeline it's clear that he has his USCIS approved EAD from early 2012, that is less than 2.5 years.

Seems obvious that he overstayed his visitors visa and was out of status with ZERO authorization to either work or own business in the United States. He only came back to status after marrying you and applying for I-485.

Overstaying is generally forgiven when someone marries an USC. However, working without USCIS authorization is generally not forgiven and people in such situation need to leave the US and go for consular processing with a waver. Has he disclosed to USCIS that he was working without permit for years before he AOS?

But your husband somehow has his business going since he met you. How? Was this person who left some sort of financier for your husband? Just seems very strange situation and I am sorry but you seem clueless as to the dubious legal status of your husband in the US before you met him.

There is definitely more to the story and Harpa is right, we can't help you with many facts left out.

[sachin1 42]

This makes me mad when millions and millions are coming and staying without proper process and people like us wait for years in line with this kind of BS

[kzielu 1,149]

Overstaying is generally forgiven when someone marries an USC. However, working without USCIS authorization is generally not forgiven and people in such situation need to leave the US and go for consular processing with a waver.

Not true.

[southcoast 27]

This forum is great for a quick question, but there is obviously some complexity to your case. You have a lawyer and you should really direct these questions to him or her. If you think your lawyer is inadequate, then fire him and retain a new one. But asking questions and receiving answers based on scanty information is never a good idea.

[Boiler 45,875]

I am also having a hard time making sense of what you have posted.

You have confused everybody here, does sound like there is material information that you have chosen not to share.

No problem with that, but my assumption is that information provides the answer.

[BMW4me 12]

i first thought it has something to do with what is going in Israel today but naah, a false letter stating something doens't mean anything. It's an allegation with no proof. Anybody can say something against somebody doesn't mean shite.

Overstaying is generally forgiven when someone marries an USC. However, working without USCIS authorization is generally not forgiven and people in such situation need to leave the US and go for consular processing with a waver. Has he disclosed to USCIS that he was working without permit for years before he AOS?

not true, I didn't overstay and I also did work at companies (in my field, not mcd or kfc lol) and even stated that in my Bio info (i think g115 form..) form, using my social. but what I never did was that I never filled a form saying I was a citizen or gc holder. Working is also forgiven. I paid taxes surely.

Edited July 29, 2014 by Subaru4Me

[Mollie09 1,543]

Everyone is forgetting there's more than one way to get a EAD.

OP, did your husband ever have a student visa? F-1 holders can get EADs for OPT for up to 29 months.

Edited July 29, 2014 by F1H1I130

[Boiler 45,875]

F1 in Garage door repair?

[Mollie09 1,543]

F1 in Garage door repair?

I don't think you need a degree in garage door repair to open a garage door repair shop. He could have gone to school for something else (electrical engineering?) then applied for OPT and gotten an EAD. You don't have to have a job offer to have an OPT-based EAD, there's just a limit on how long you can stay unemployed.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Everyone is forgetting there's more than one way to get a EAD.

OP, did your husband ever have a student visa? F-1 holders can get EADs for OPT for up to 29 months.

OP said the husband came on a work visa or a tourist visa. You'd think she would know if he had attended university in the US.

OPT has to be done in your field, no?

Edited July 29, 2014 by Harpa Timsah

[Mollie09 1,543]

OP said the husband came on a work visa or a tourist visa. You'd think she would know if he had attended university in the US.

OPT has to be done in your field, no?

Well, the OP went from work visa (which wouldn't require an EAD) to tourist visa (which wouldn't provide an EAD), figures she might as well add in student visa.

It does, but maybe he was working in another field and then opened his business. It would be a violation of EAD rules, but when I got my EAD there were no restrictions on it, just an expiration date, and I hadn't gotten a job yet. Theoretically yes, it's only meant to be used for "practical training" in the field in which you obtained a degree (my first job title was "Chemical Engineer" because the lawyer wanted to make it very obvious that I was working in my field). For renewal past the first year, you have to be in a STEM field, working for an employer using E-Verify, and still in your field.

I'm not saying that's what happened, just wanted to point out there's another (improbable) explanation.