Bringing Spouse to USA ... Need your suggestions !!

[M.A.C 1]

Hi all,

I've a friend who is a US Citizen and is planning to marry a guy from Pakistan ... There's an issue though and I'm hoping if you guys could give some suggestions about it ...

So my friends spouse is a doctor and lives in Pakistan ... He came to US in 2011 on visit visa and got married here and his American Citizen wife applied for his greencard (I-130 and I-485 Adjustment of Status) ... Because his Adjustment of Status was in process, he overstayed on his visa (technically there was no overstay as his I-485 was in process) ... But in the meanwhile, the marriage didn't work out, they got divorced and the girl's family stopped the process for greencard for the guy ... The guy received an email from USCIS informing him that he was out of status for greencard and that he should leave States as his ex wife had requested to stop the greencard process ... The guy then took 2 weeks to leave States and before leaving he sent a letter to USCIS and informed them that he is leaving and told them the details about his travel plans and flight ...

After the guy had left States and reached back to Pakistan, he received a call for residency from one of the hospitals who had sponsored him for J1 visa. When he went to the embassy for a visa interview, he told the visa officer about what had happened with him in States and about his overstay (which is not overstay considering his I-485 was in process) ... The visa officer appreciated him but his visa was rejected ...

Now, my friend, who's a US citizen, had married the guy and she wants to know before applying for greencard for his spouse, what are the chances the guy could get it? The guy has all the documentation of the previous greencard process, the divorce, the cancelation of greencard process and the overstay (2 weeks) justification and the letter he sent to USCIS before leaving for Pakistan ...

I would really appreciate if you guys can suggest what should be done and how much are the chances that the guy will get greencard considering he is not telling a lie and he had a solid reason for a 2 weeks overstay in 2011 ... Or do you know anyone who had a similar case? Your help in this regard will be much appreciated.

[Boiler 46,144]

2 week overstay unlikely to be an issue, might be other things that are.

[Penguin_ie 5,997]

I agree the two weeks overstay won;t be an issue.

But the totality of the circumstances may be; previous marriage to a USC, and attempt to adjust status from a tourist visa. Attempt to enter the USA on a work visa. Now second marriage to a USC (when was he divorced from no.1?), and trying to get into the USA again.

[Nynn 1]

Yes, unfortunately, sounds pretty bad for the guy. Just the fact that he came here as a tourist and suddenly decided to get married but soon after got divorced and kicked out speaks volumes to the officers. They know a desperate immigrant when they see one... However, he did try to stay truthful in the situations he went through. I believe the wife should consult a good lawyer who could be a great help in assembling a viable case. I believe he desperately needs to provide evidence that his first marriage was not a sham marriage, and more so now for his second marriage. If he has no good evidence for the first one, and it really was to evade the immigration laws, then he is lucky he is not in jail... Consult an experienced immigration attorney!

[aaron2020 11,651]

Once AOS was abandoned, days after the I-94 expired are days of unlawful presence. His overstay is probably more than 2 weeks.

How long did your friend overstay after his I-94 expired?

The overstay is unlikely to be a problem unless it was for more than a year.

Attempting to immigrate to the US with two different spouses within 5 years is more likely to be an issue. this will bring more scrutiny for a bona fide relationship.