What do I do now?

[Shane H 0]

Boy, I wish I had found this a lot sooner. Anyway, I'll try and arrange a timeline here to maybe help out anybody who can maybe help me out (it would be greatly appreciated).

Background info: my wife (US citizen) and I (Canadian citizen) met in 2004 and decided to get married at the end of 2005. Neither of us has a criminal background of any kind. We both live in the UP of MI. If any other information is needed, please don't hesitate to ask.

May 25, 2006

-Admission to the US as a visitor (my wife and I didn't get the fiance stuff completed in time to go that route) through Portal, ND.

June 10, 2006

-My wife and I are married in the US.

November 7, 2006 (I know, we're HORRIBLE procrastinators, which is probably working against us and always will)

-I-130 Petition, G-325A forms and I-102 form (since I wasn't issued an I-94) are mailed off.

January 8, 2007

-Request for evidence for I-102 form. They're asking for proof that I legally entered the country. I passed through a border checkpoint so I figured that this should be on their computer records somewhere. The 3 options for this request are: 1) Submit all evidence requested. 2) Submit some or none of the evidence. 3) Withdraw petition. Since I don't have any evidence, we submit without any evidence.

June 21, 2007

-Denied I-94 (I-102 form). They won't approve of it because there's no evidence of my legal entry into the country. This is required for the I-130 to be approved.

My wife and I have no idea what do now. We're both living off of her income and barely scraping by. We've thought about getting a lawyer to help out with things but that's really not in the budget. I figured I would try posting here to see if anything can be done ourselves. Maybe we've gone about this all wrong from the start but we've read through a lot of different stuff on the USCIS website and this seemed to be the way to go for us. please, anybody!

[Shane H 0]

I'm not sure if it matters but my wife and I both have an apartment lease agreement together, I obtained a tax ID number when she filed for her taxes this year (last year I guess) and I've been issued a driver's license.

[ApprovalPlease 0]

Are you currently in US. Did your tourist visa expire? if so, you should contact a lawyer.

[Shane H 0]

Yes, I'm currently in the US. I did not apply for a tourist visa.

[Rings 10]

Read this link here. It may help you some

Link

If you are already married, and your spouse came to the US on a tourist visa with the intent of immigration and marriage, then he/she should return to his/her home abroad, and the I-130 should be filed with the relative outside of the U.S to avoid deportation or denial. (Better safe than sorry)

My fiance/fiancee came to the U.S on a tourist visa and we intended to get married and for him/her to return home afterwards and then immigrate from outside the US. Does this mean our petition will be denied, and is what we did illegal??

No. It is perfectly ok to marry in the US on a tourist visa as long as the intending immigrant returns to his/her home country to file the I-130, and does not try to adjust his/her status and remain in the US during the I-130 process, as that is illegal.

[pushbrk 13,011]

Boy, I wish I had found this a lot sooner. Anyway, I'll try and arrange a timeline here to maybe help out anybody who can maybe help me out (it would be greatly appreciated).

Background info: my wife (US citizen) and I (Canadian citizen) met in 2004 and decided to get married at the end of 2005. Neither of us has a criminal background of any kind. We both live in the UP of MI. If any other information is needed, please don't hesitate to ask.

May 25, 2006

-Admission to the US as a visitor (my wife and I didn't get the fiance stuff completed in time to go that route) through Portal, ND.

June 10, 2006

-My wife and I are married in the US.

November 7, 2006 (I know, we're HORRIBLE procrastinators, which is probably working against us and always will)

-I-130 Petition, G-325A forms and I-102 form (since I wasn't issued an I-94) are mailed off.

January 8, 2007

-Request for evidence for I-102 form. They're asking for proof that I legally entered the country. I passed through a border checkpoint so I figured that this should be on their computer records somewhere. The 3 options for this request are: 1) Submit all evidence requested. 2) Submit some or none of the evidence. 3) Withdraw petition. Since I don't have any evidence, we submit without any evidence.

June 21, 2007

-Denied I-94 (I-102 form). They won't approve of it because there's no evidence of my legal entry into the country. This is required for the I-130 to be approved.

My wife and I have no idea what do now. We're both living off of her income and barely scraping by. We've thought about getting a lawyer to help out with things but that's really not in the budget. I figured I would try posting here to see if anything can be done ourselves. Maybe we've gone about this all wrong from the start but we've read through a lot of different stuff on the USCIS website and this seemed to be the way to go for us. please, anybody!

Wow, I think you could be in more trouble than you thought. You have attempted visa fraud. See a lawyer.

[ApprovalPlease 0]

Oh yeaa, You are from canada, visa waiver program !!! Well, I don't know how to help, I guess since they rejected your application due to lack of evidence of your legal entry, may be you can get that evidance some how and ask them to restart on your application. The best option for you is to contact a lawyer, they deal with this kind of stuff and they know what to do.

[Shane H 0]

Uh oh.

[S & J 0]

Uh oh.

Yup. I think you need to see a good immigration lawyer asap. It looks like you are also past the 180 days we Canadians get to visit the US without a visa...that will need to be addressed as well.

Good luck.

-S

On a side note, I totally understand your pain, my husband and I were very naive about the immigration process as well.

[Urge To Race 2]

I'm not sure if it matters but my wife and I both have an apartment lease agreement together, I obtained a tax ID number when she filed for her taxes this year (last year I guess) and I've been issued a driver's license.

Nope, makes no difference. You are in the US, meet the substantial presence test to be a US resident for tax purposes, so the IRS will give you a tax id. Doesn't mean anything for your immigration situation, nor does a lease or a driver's license.

As others have advised, find a good immigration attorney...

[Shane H 0]

I guess my question now is if anybody knows a good lawyer in Wisconsin or Michigan. I've only dealt with a lawyer once in my life (house purchase) and that was in Canada so that does me no good now.

[bowflex 0]

I guess my question now is if anybody knows a good lawyer in Wisconsin or Michigan. I've only dealt with a lawyer once in my life (house purchase) and that was in Canada so that does me no good now.

Shane, I have sent you a personal message on a lawyer that is based in Southeast Michigan. My wife and I used him, and we even had a more complicated case than yours, and he helped out greatly and she came to the States back on June 5 of this year.

[misa 2]

Shane, definitelky get a consultation with an immigration lawyer and DO NOT leave the U.S. until this is all resolved.

[Shane H 0]

Shane, I have sent you a personal message on a lawyer that is based in Southeast Michigan. My wife and I used him, and we even had a more complicated case than yours, and he helped out greatly and she came to the States back on June 5 of this year.

Thanks for the advice. Muchly appreciated. Thanks to everyone else as well.

Shane, definitelky get a consultation with an immigration lawyer and DO NOT leave the U.S. until this is all resolved.

I don't plan on it unless I absolutely have to. I don't think that could help matters where they stand right now.

[pushbrk 13,011]

I guess my question now is if anybody knows a good lawyer in Wisconsin or Michigan. I've only dealt with a lawyer once in my life (house purchase) and that was in Canada so that does me no good now.

I don't have a recommendation for an attorney but I think I should elaborate on my earlier brief post. My wife was calling me for lunch, quite insistently. I'm sure you didn't intend to attempt visa fraud but unfortunately ignorance is no excuse in these matters.

From what I understand, your husband entered the US with the intention of marrying you and later adjusting status and you've now attempted to do so. This is a big no no. If the two of you decided during his visit that, you wanted to get married that's a different story. Based on your dates, it appears the marriage was planned before he crossed the border. Now that you've filed the I-130 and been denied, its a bit too late to be claiming a spur of the moment marriage occured. Even if you could truthfully claim that, your husband has overstayed his leave to enter.

An attorney may be able to assist you in clearing up these matters, as overstays tend to be forgiven when one marries a USC. Attempted visa fraud isn't so simple. You may end up wishing you spoke to the Attorney before you filed any petition.

Edited June 21, 2007 by pushbrk