can any one answer my questions with out an attorney cost

[Villanelle 4,122]

Its very hard to get stats from the USCIS. You can try your luck at google I suppose but like I said nothing much has changed in the percentages of approvals. Perhaps they have a few more adjudicators working, maybe they have less. But the overall stats havent changed. There have been no new policies since that audit so things are being processed the same way.

People here are trying to be realistic. Its a very long process with very low odds. There are a few threads in this section of the forum from others dealing with AWA. I believe at last count there have been--hmm I want to say 5 or 6 different posters that have reported approvals on the AWA. Each one of them have different situations but they all have been dealing with it for years. Not one of them would say it was easy or quick.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/200384-adam-walsh-act-was-beat/

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/543563-anyone-heard-of-a-k1-petition-filed-by-sex-offender-being-approved/

As Hypnos explained the waiver is going to come into play no matter what visa type you are trying for. Some people choose to marry because they feel it makes their case of "bonafide relationship" stronger but it really doesnt matter. Some people choose to purposely not get married and apply for the K visa because of all the uncertainty or they dont want to be married long distance. Choosing to get married or not is a personal/lifestyle choice. Since the waiver is going to apply either way it shouldnt make an impact on your decision besides taking into account the length of the process.

Many people do file initially with out attnys but when they get the notice to deny or RFEs they then decide the best course of action is to hire one since it is immensely complicated and as stated there is no rebuttal.

So your choices are somewhat limited. You can decide if marriage (long distance) makes sense for you- if it does then marry and file accordingly, or if you want to remain engaged and stay on the K route- do that. Your other choice it to move to be with her. You can choose to move permanently or hopefully just temporarily while the papers are being processed.

The issue with AWA is not proving the bonafides of the relationship. You shouldnt have any problem with that. Its the loosely worded yet specific 'poses no threat' that leaves it up to their discretion.

As stated before there is tons of info online about AWA but everyones situation is going to be different. You cant submit exactly what someone else did (that was approved) and expect to be approved. You really need a lawyer to review and prepare it for the best shot. If you can not afford one right now its worth saving up for.

[prs1man 0]

Something I would like to add here as far as the USCIS is concerned they should let the fiancees decide or not if their loved ones are a threat to them or not after all they are the ones getting married to them not anyone else it should be their final decision this is suppose to be a free country where is the freedom in that. That some one should dictate who you can or not marry my fiancee knows all about me I will ask her to write me a letter explaining to the USCIS she is quite aware of of my past offense. She loves me very much and she will do whatever it takes to get this all said and done. I will research and get all the documents I need to prove I am no threat I will get State police letters and reports. I will get letters written from my friends stating I am no threat what ever I can get I will get it done. yes I will have to track down the facts and the pruff I am zero threat. I will beat this AWA thing and I will pray to my God I have done too many good things to not be rewarded. Thanks

[Hypnos 6,576]

Something I would like to add here as far as the USCIS is concerned they should let the fiancees decide or not if their loved ones are a threat to them or not after all they are the ones getting married to them not anyone else it should be their final decision

No.

The state has an interest in preventing people who have done some quite appalling and depraved things to the most vulnerable members of society - children - from continuing to do so with the federal government's blessing (by issuing an alien with a visa).

I have no idea whether or not you are one of these people, or what the exact nature of your crime was. If you can demonstrate to USCIS' satisfaction that you pose no threat to your fiancée then maybe you'll be one of the lucky few able to obtain a visa even with AWA issues. In general terms though, you won't find much support for those who commit sexual offences against minors, both on these forums or in the United States in general.

There is also (presumably) nothing stopping you from moving to the Philippines and marrying and living together there. And honestly, that may be your best/only long-term solution when it comes down to it.

Edited November 4, 2015 by Hypnos

[Jojo92122 1,924]

Something I would like to add here as far as the USCIS is concerned they should let the fiancees decide or not if their loved ones are a threat to them or not after all they are the ones getting married to them not anyone else it should be their final decision this is suppose to be a free country where is the freedom in that. That some one should dictate who you can or not marry my fiancee knows all about me I will ask her to write me a letter explaining to the USCIS she is quite aware of of my past offense. She loves me very much and she will do whatever it takes to get this all said and done. I will research and get all the documents I need to prove I am no threat I will get State police letters and reports. I will get letters written from my friends stating I am no threat what ever I can get I will get it done. yes I will have to track down the facts and the pruff I am zero threat. I will beat this AWA thing and I will pray to my God I have done too many good things to not be rewarded. Thanks

Fortunately, we do not let people who may be in desperate situations to get out of poverty put themselves and others in dangerous situations. I am from Vietnam. Plenty of people there would take the risk of putting themselves and their children in danger by marrying and moving in with a pedophile for the chance at a better life.

If you want to bring a poor woman and her child from a third world economy, then it's not unreasonable for the rest of us to demand that you prove you are not a danger to them.

You are free to marry whoever you want. You do not have the right to bring someone to live in the US without safeguards.

Best of luck in your life. I just don't agree with your assessment that you should be the one to decide if you are a danger to your love ones when asking for an immigration benefit.

[Mike-eeh and Odie 193]

question my fiancee does have a son but she is not bringing him at this time. So I am not including him on the petition it will only be her so I pose no risk to her whatsoever as it says in a lot of threads I have read as far as the USCIS is concerned. We do plan on bringing him here but this would be after she got here and had her green card and her 2 year fulfillment has been done so we could file a petition for him and she could fly back and get him this seems to make more sense to us so there are no complications. She is all good and fine with this as well. So I am thinking with no children involved in the petition our chances of getting it approved would be greatly improved.

Regardless if you include children on the petition or not, it still does not rebuke AWA procedure. You have to prove you will not be a danger to:

1. Your future wife

2. Your future wife's current children

3. Your own future children

4. Other people's children (RSO or not).

You need an experienced immigration lawyer that specializes in AWA. When you do, get ready for years of heart ache and thousands of dollars wasted on attorney fees in order to achieve a nearly impossible approval. To my own knowledge, I only ever heard of maybe 2 people that ever were approved for K-1/CR-1 visas regarding AWA cases.

[Mike-eeh and Odie 193]

Thank you for your input Damara the post you pointed me to about the info and stats at the VSC how old is that post is it from 2013 is there more recent updates and stats we can look at ? I was wondering I need to look in to it is there a visa she could apply for other then a K-1 so she can get here we would just get married then is there a work around possible I am wondering like an immigration visa perhaps or something she suggested I fly there and we get married there but for me that would be tough I would have to borrow money and I don't think my employer would approve me to be gone 2 to 3 weeks or could I file for a marriage license from here and us get married VIA skype which I read somewhere just an idea I had any input ??

AWA act still applies to CR-1/spousal visas. Until you overcome AWA, she will never be allowed to live here with you.

[evli1966 88]

OP - I am in similar situation

We applied 6/2009

NOA 5/2010

RFE 10/2011

NOID 2012

Appealed 2012

Received "Appeal Sustained" 11-10-15

We now move forward.

Do not allow your personal Hubris and lack of knowledge condemn your petition.

Pay for an attorney that has successfully won AWA cases.

On a personal note - if you are unable to personally afford travel to visit your fiance or pay for attorneys bringing her here may not be the best option.

I wish you both the best in your lives.

[Mike-eeh and Odie 193]

I know this is not going to be an easy road I am not saying that child molestation is not a serious offense I know it is. I can say there are different degrees of felonys my sentence was very light compared to some more serious like a class A or a class B which could have been 8 to 20 years imprisonment. I wasn't convicted as well I did a plea agreement I admitted to my crime I accepted the punishment. As per domestic violence I was referring to something more serious then just some argueing like wife beating her to the point she has to have medical attention. The USCIS doe's look at these degrees of charges they know the law and some are more serious then others. They will look at the fact my crime was a sentence of 6 months as compared to a 8 year sentence and the fact it has been 23 years since this has happened. I am not a repeat offender as others are is on my side I was very cooperative with my arrest. I just feel if I submit my court documents as I have them certified explaining my plea agreement and my sentence they will look at these facts.

Dude a person with a DUI conviction coupled with manslaughter or a convicted heroin smuggler can get a K-1 visa approved with no issues in comparison to your "one-time" sex offense. To the USCIS, AWA offenses are practically zero tolerance. There are people who did "stupid" things when they were younger and it now shadows them in their maturity, AWA offenses not withstanding.

It doesn't matter is your sentence was 6 weeks, 6 months or six years. If your crime falls under AWA, regardless how severe your sex offense was on record, be it simple sex-ting or full blown child molestation, it is treated all the same. In addition, your 23 years of non-offense has to be proven. It's not like USCIS was following you around with a camera or monitoring your PC activity assuming you'd be petitioning an alien fiance one day.

As others have said, you need to find a good immigration lawyer who has won many AWA cases. Stock up on Ramen, cut your energy costs, sell your car, and take out a loan, because you will have a very long and expensive battle to be with your loved one.

[prs1man 0]

I will be hiring an attorney and probably one with experience (Marc Ellis) I haven't spoken with one yet should I just go ahead and just file the K-1 for now and just wait for the NOID so in the mean time I can gather up the documents I need and then hire my attorney to save a little or just hire an attorney from the beginning. I know I should talk with an attorney any one with this experience.

[TBoneTX 45,297]

hire an attorney from the beginning

^^ ^^ ^^ ^^

[evli1966 88]

From the beginning

Also start a notebook dating back to when you were first arrested.

Timeline this forward to include arrests, court, probatio, doctors etc.

You need it all

Schedule testing by a certified psychologist regarding relapse and threat assessment.

You can do the lie detector some have but I didn't (ran out of time)

Letters from friends, family, coworkers, church aquintences etc.

Know that it is a long ride

A very long ride.

Also if any minors are being petitioned you will not even win on an appeal.

If you want kids wait until AOS of your fiancee.