harbouring an overstayed alien

[crb3 0]

Hello,

I have a question on behalf of my now-husband, a US citizen. I came on a k-1 visa and married a man in the US, but our marriage did not work out. When I realized that, I left him and stayed with friends for some time, then with the man that is my husband now. I was living with him while I was waiting for the divorce from my first husband to be finalized. I filed for the divorce myself, and I didn't care if I had to leave the country because living in the US wasn't my goal, but I stayed there until the divorce was finalized, then I married my new husband and then promptly left the US. We are now planning to go through the CR-1 process, and I have this question:

I know there's a law concerning US citizens who harbour/help/employ illegal aliens, and it's pretty severe. My husband and I are wondering if this law will apply to him, because I lived with him for 8 months while I was out of status. (My K-1 visa ran out, and my ex-husband never filed AOS for me, so I was in that grey area. I was out of status for almost a year.) When I was filling out g-325a I saw that I need to state where I lived in the past 5 years, and one of the addresses is my husband's current address. Is it going to mean a bad thing for my husband - i.e. that he was harbouring me or something - if the INS sees that our addresses match and i was out of status then? Mind you, I did not work at all and had no troubles with the law. Could he be potentially charged with harbouring or are we worried unnecessarily? Are there any known cases that would be similar to that? A lawyer that we saw a long time ago didn't seem to think it was a problem, but I don't know if he could be trusted. It does seem like the INS would have a bigger fish to fry if they wanted to, what with all the illegal workers...

Thank you for your insight!

[diadromous mermaid 36]

Hello,

I have a question on behalf of my now-husband, a US citizen. I came on a k-1 visa and married a man in the US, but our marriage did not work out. When I realized that, I left him and stayed with friends for some time, then with the man that is my husband now. I was living with him while I was waiting for the divorce from my first husband to be finalized. I filed for the divorce myself, and I didn't care if I had to leave the country because living in the US wasn't my goal, but I stayed there until the divorce was finalized, then I married my new husband and then promptly left the US. We are now planning to go through the CR-1 process, and I have this question:

I know there's a law concerning US citizens who harbour/help/employ illegal aliens, and it's pretty severe. My husband and I are wondering if this law will apply to him, because I lived with him for 8 months while I was out of status. (My K-1 visa ran out, and my ex-husband never filed AOS for me, so I was in that grey area. I was out of status for almost a year.) When I was filling out g-325a I saw that I need to state where I lived in the past 5 years, and one of the addresses is my husband's current address. Is it going to mean a bad thing for my husband - i.e. that he was harbouring me or something - if the INS sees that our addresses match and i was out of status then? Mind you, I did not work at all and had no troubles with the law. Could he be potentially charged with harbouring or are we worried unnecessarily? Are there any known cases that would be similar to that? A lawyer that we saw a long time ago didn't seem to think it was a problem, but I don't know if he could be trusted. It does seem like the INS would have a bigger fish to fry if they wanted to, what with all the illegal workers...

Thank you for your insight!

Well, if this were an issue, most US citizens that marry overstayers would be in the same boat, no? Seriously, harbouring an illegal alien and living with or dating a non-immigrant that overstayed her I-94 are not the same...

[crb3 0]

This is my thinking too, but we just wanted to make sure my husband won't have to serve time or be fined for me having lived with him for a while.

[tiberonsuave 0]

I doubt,

That your husband had anything to worry about. However, your time out of status may have triggered a three or ten year ban on returning. Typically if over six months and less than a year you get a three year ban. If you were out of status for over a year it is a ten year ban.

You may have to file for a waiver depending on the fact specifics about your case.

An attorney experienced it waivers would be highly advised.

t

Hello,

I have a question on behalf of my now-husband, a US citizen. I came on a k-1 visa and married a man in the US, but our marriage did not work out. When I realized that, I left him and stayed with friends for some time, then with the man that is my husband now. I was living with him while I was waiting for the divorce from my first husband to be finalized. I filed for the divorce myself, and I didn't care if I had to leave the country because living in the US wasn't my goal, but I stayed there until the divorce was finalized, then I married my new husband and then promptly left the US. We are now planning to go through the CR-1 process, and I have this question:

I know there's a law concerning US citizens who harbour/help/employ illegal aliens, and it's pretty severe. My husband and I are wondering if this law will apply to him, because I lived with him for 8 months while I was out of status. (My K-1 visa ran out, and my ex-husband never filed AOS for me, so I was in that grey area. I was out of status for almost a year.) When I was filling out g-325a I saw that I need to state where I lived in the past 5 years, and one of the addresses is my husband's current address. Is it going to mean a bad thing for my husband - i.e. that he was harbouring me or something - if the INS sees that our addresses match and i was out of status then? Mind you, I did not work at all and had no troubles with the law. Could he be potentially charged with harbouring or are we worried unnecessarily? Are there any known cases that would be similar to that? A lawyer that we saw a long time ago didn't seem to think it was a problem, but I don't know if he could be trusted. It does seem like the INS would have a bigger fish to fry if they wanted to, what with all the illegal workers...

Thank you for your insight!

[Jasman0717 9]

You are probably going to get a ban. You might consider seeking legal counsel.

[Boiler 45,168]

Just tell him to say that he never knowingly dates Undocumented Americans.

Seems to work for US Business's.

[mawilson 2,133]

(My K-1 visa ran out, and my ex-husband never filed AOS for me, so I was in that grey area. I was out of status for almost a year.)

Big mistake. It wasn't your husband's responsibility to file AOS, it's yours.

Unlike petitions for alien relatives (which are filed by US citizens), AOS is *your* application, not your husband's.

[diadromous mermaid 36]

(My K-1 visa ran out, and my ex-husband never filed AOS for me, so I was in that grey area. I was out of status for almost a year.)

Big mistake. It wasn't your husband's responsibility to file AOS, it's yours.

Unlike petitions for alien relatives (which are filed by US citizens), AOS is *your* application, not your husband's.

Well, in all due respect to the poster, if the US citizen spouse is unwilling to participate, the alien has little choice. An AOS, for a marriage-based benefit, cannot be filed by the alien alone. Now, what is to be pointed out is that in cases where a USC is deliberately refusing to cooperate, then the alien might have just right to file alone, claiming emotional abuse. But even so, the alien must have documentation of this abuse. Sometimes that is not only hard to come by, but also few aliens are aware of their rights.

[kitkat1 5]

This is my thinking too, but we just wanted to make sure my husband won't have to serve time or be fined for me having lived with him for a while.

Think about all of the US Citizens whose spouses are illegal in the US. They file spousal visa petitions to start the process to legalize them. They include on their G-325A the information about where the person lives/lived. Their petitions are processed just like anyone else and they continue on to consular visa processing and waiver submission if they are eligible. And nothing ever happens to the USC. I would not give it a second thought.

[mawilson 2,133]

Well, in all due respect to the poster, if the US citizen spouse is unwilling to participate, the alien has little choice. An AOS, for a marriage-based benefit, cannot be filed by the alien alone. Now, what is to be pointed out is that in cases where a USC is deliberately refusing to cooperate, then the alien might have just right to file alone, claiming emotional abuse. But even so, the alien must have documentation of this abuse. Sometimes that is not only hard to come by, but also few aliens are aware of their rights.

The only thing you need from the US citizen spouse to file AOS is the Affidavit of Support,

even if you have a co-sponsor.

[diadromous mermaid 36]

Well, in all due respect to the poster, if the US citizen spouse is unwilling to participate, the alien has little choice. An AOS, for a marriage-based benefit, cannot be filed by the alien alone. Now, what is to be pointed out is that in cases where a USC is deliberately refusing to cooperate, then the alien might have just right to file alone, claiming emotional abuse. But even so, the alien must have documentation of this abuse. Sometimes that is not only hard to come by, but also few aliens are aware of their rights.

The only thing you need from the US citizen spouse to file AOS is the Affidavit of Support,

even if you have a co-sponsor.

Not true at all. You need an Affidavit of Support, agreed, at the very least, but then you need fees, a permanent mailing address for correspondence to be mailed to, evidence of the bonafides of marriage and, if called for an interview, a willing and cooperative attendant. To simply say the AOS is the alien's is just not true. The applicant is the alien, the form is signed by the alien, but there's more to the process than just that.

[mawilson 2,133]

Well, in all due respect to the poster, if the US citizen spouse is unwilling to participate, the alien has little choice. An AOS, for a marriage-based benefit, cannot be filed by the alien alone. Now, what is to be pointed out is that in cases where a USC is deliberately refusing to cooperate, then the alien might have just right to file alone, claiming emotional abuse. But even so, the alien must have documentation of this abuse. Sometimes that is not only hard to come by, but also few aliens are aware of their rights.

The only thing you need from the US citizen spouse to file AOS is the Affidavit of Support,

even if you have a co-sponsor.

Not true at all. You need an Affidavit of Support, agreed, at the very least, but then you need

- fees

Fees? The alien can pay the fees.

a permanent mailing address for correspondence to be mailed to

The alien's address - not a problem.

evidence of the bonafides of marriage

You don't need to present any evidence at the time of filing.

if called for an interview, a willing and cooperative attendant.

Yes, of course. The process assumes the marriage is bona-fide, but the alien could

and should have filed her AOS application regardless to remain legal until the divorce

was finalized.