Why would my lawyer not want me to file my own petition for hubby?

[colorfulx 1]

We talked to our lawyer and they don't want me to file my own petition for my husband right now. They want to learn more about the petition his brother filed for him. He wants to know the actual date it was filed, priority date and etc. why? not sure. I highly doubt it would of been filed within the timeframe for the life act, because I don't believe receipt notices take 2+ years to be received, correct?) Anyway, we did a FOIA request. (will take ages!)

How long does it normally take for you to receive your receipt number for a petition after you've filed an I-130 petition? One I am speaking about would be in the F4 category. My husband's brother filed a petition in which he received the "receipt number" ~ Starts out with SRC and it shows that it was processed in 2004 (first two numbers are 04), on the 081st computer day. (sometime at the end of January I assume.) Also, the lawyer looked online to check status and it said "On October 08,2009 we received your I-130 petition for relative, fiancé or orphan" and he said that was a bit confusing. His brother contacted USCIS and the lady he spoke to on the phone was rather confused herself and they are supposed to mail out a response to my husband's brother in 30 days (not holding my breath there.)

Not really sure what's going on with that and a tad bit confused as to why the lawyer doesn't want me filing my own petition yet, curious if anyone has any explanation or thoughts on any of this?

[melanieuk 19]

Your lawyer is probably just being extra careful and trying to find out what information the "government" has on your husband. I wouldn't hold my breath either, I've read that most south american countries have a 30 year wait time for brothers or sisters of US citizens. I'm sure that soon, you will be filling his AOS

[colorfulx 1]

Yeah he said he wanted to see what was in there, because my husband came over at such an young age and all of his relatives that came with him got their stuff.

His much older brother filed for Asylum in the 90's, became USC in 2001.
His dad married a USC and she petitioned for his dad only.
His uncle married a USC and his wife petitioned for him as well.

His mother had deferred action, but she left the country in 1995 and passed away.

^ They all adjusted status inside the US. Hubby can't, he had nothing.

[milimelo 4,562]

Your lawyer is probably just being extra careful and trying to find out what information the "government" has on your husband. I wouldn't hold my breath either, I've read that most south american countries have a 30 year wait time for brothers or sisters of US citizens. I'm sure that soon, you will be filling his AOS

Not quite true, except for Mexico (and OP's husband is not from there), all other South American countries have the usual 10-12 yr wait time.

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[melanieuk 19]

Yeah he said he wanted to see what was in there, because my husband came over at such an young age and all of his relatives that came with him got their stuff.

His much older brother filed for Asylum in the 90's, became USC in 2001.

His dad married a USC and she petitioned for his dad only.

His uncle married a USC and his wife petitioned for him as well.

His mother had deferred action, but she left the country in 1995 and passed away.

^ They all adjusted status inside the US. Hubby can't, he had nothing.

A very sad story indeed... but look at the bright side: he found you and everything will be alright!

Not quite true, except for Mexico (and OP's husband is not from there), all other South American countries have the usual 10-12 yr wait time.

Family-Sponsored All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed CHINA-mainland born INDIA MEXICO PHILIPPINES F4 15APR02 15APR02 15APR02 22APR97 08AUG91

My bad. I thought most would be like Mexico. But even if his priority date is current, wouldn't he need to wait for it outside the country?

[colorfulx 1]

A very sad story indeed... but look at the bright side: he found you and everything will be alright!

Yes I went to the appointment all ready to file my petition and get things going and the lawyer wanted us to do a FOIA request instead so alas that's what we did. Ugh lol

Do you happen to understand the receipt notice stuff?

[melanieuk 19]

Yes I went to the appointment all ready to file my petition and get things going and the lawyer wanted us to do a FOIA request instead so alas that's what we did. Ugh lol

Do you happen to understand the receipt notice stuff?

Sure. This forum exists to help you with your immigration process and share experiences.

[colorfulx 1]

Sure. This forum exists to help you with your immigration process and share experiences.

Do you know why it would say it was received on October 8th, 2009? When the receipt notice is from 2004? Any idea?

& Yeah, the F4 category is taking like 12-13 years. Just now on 2002 I think the lawyer said?

[Jawaree 718]

I would get the FOIA answer and file , as long as

there is no negative history like CIMT I say filr,

Theres no 30 yrs wait ....but 2004 or 2009 its still a

long wait in tis category that can run 10-14 yrs,

spousal petition will go faster

[colorfulx 1]

I would get the FOIA answer and file , as long as

there is no negative history like CIMT I say filr,

Theres no 30 yrs wait ....but 2004 or 2009 its still a

long wait in tis category that can run 10-14 yrs,

spousal petition will go faster

The CIMT I am unsure of.

Husband has a DUI from 2006 age 20. (Don't believe that is a CIMT, he had a valid licenses) At court he pled guilty: time served, $350 fine and 1 year probation and 1 year revoked licenses plus DUI school.

Husband also got a domestic assault in 2006, age 21. (Police report states he "during a physical altercation he choked his fiancés father and threatened to kill him") / Maximum punishment for that charge is 11mths & 29 days. At court he pled guilty and he received: No sentence, No Fine, No probation.

I saw things about petty offense exception, On another immi site I've been told from some it can only be applied if you only have 1 crime and my husband is ineligible because he has 2 crimes. Then I've been told it can be applied if only one of his crime is considered a CIMT. And at some point I was also told the domestic assault could be considered an aggravated felony, so I have no clue?

Our lawyer said he wanted to explore the convictions a little further (because they did happen in another state) I brought him the incident/police report from the arrest, everything from the court: court disposition/sentencing and judgement and the police report filed with the courts. So I guess I have to wait to see what they say, because both those crimes happened in another state and they needed to evaluate them a bit further because every state has different statues.

[Dohan 133]

The thing is, something that is not generally an aggravated felony, becomes one when it is processed through the immigration lens. Anything involving alcohol or domestic problems is a known sort of red flag for immigration authorities.

The reason why your lawyer wants to analyse the previous charges, and especially the DUI is because the DUI becomes a big problem if it was an aggravated DUI (for example the person knew he was driving drunk without a licence, or he was aware he could not drive but still drove, etc.) I am not saying your husband did this, but this is why the lawyer is taking this so seriously. Also, you mentioned he served time for the DUI, if it's more than a certain amount USCIS will also not like this.

Has your lawyer mentioned to you Provisional Waiver? This is a waiver that your husband can apply for because he does have a record. Even though he was not convicted and case was dismissed in the domestic issue, USCIS still takes this very seriously, especially because he pled guilty. What the Waiver does is allow the lawyer to write a legal brief explaining what happened and why this "record" should not prevent your husband from remaining in the US and being granted permanent residency.

I definitely, definitely would not file until your lawyer gives you the green light. But also yes, do the marriage to USC petition, they're actually trying to stop people petitioning siblings, so you don't want to go that route.

I am really not trying to scare you but I have seen many cases like this firsthand and I have seen people be denied for a variety of visas and even citizenship because of these issues in their past and they are all great people who simply made a mistake. When there is this kind of thing on the record, you need the lawyer to speak for you and write briefs and explanations and ask for waivers.

I wish you the best of luck!

PS If you find that the lawyer is getting too expensive find a local Legal Aid or Legal Assistance Group, they usually provide free legal advice and help with these kinds of situations.

[colorfulx 1]

I'm not going to do anything until we're given the green light by the lawyer, first step was getting the FOIA request back which takes forever so I'm basically a sitting duck who worries all the time now. And no, my husband's charges were neither one dismissed. My husband got the DUI first in September, his court date was for November. In November (a few days before his court date for the dui) he was arrested for domestic assault so at his court date for the DUI they added in the Domestic Assault and he pled guilty to both.

DUI shouldn't be an aggravated felony, he had a valid licenses at the time he received it (he got the licenses through his high school student id number in 2002. It wasn't set to expire until 12/27/2006. He was arrested 9/29/2006 and the licenses was revoked/suspended on 11/29/2006, the day he went to court.)

The Domestic Assault is what scares me. Afraid he wont be able to overcome it.

We've actually seen multiple lawyers and we're told to file the I-601A but I didn't really trust them, and the last lawyer barely listened to anything that we said so I made an consultation with the new lawyer that submitted the FOIA request. He didn't talk too much about waivers, and told me to wait on my own petition. So just kind of waiting at this point.