My husband overstayed his visa in South Korea can he still be approved for a CR-1?

[Maam1819 7]

1 hour ago, JeanneAdil said:

people try to help

and some of us,  like me, will be brutally honest

not to be cruel but to tell u the ups and downs of this process 

u need to be fully aware of how the case will look to the CO

so, i will wish u  good luck but please take heed to what our experienced VJ members say to get thru the process and receive a visa for your husband

 

and yes,  all  his travel and all his stays in other countries are relevant

and travel to a country that produces 70% of the world's cocaine and is known for its illegal drug trade is going to affect his application too

he will have to fill out the ds 260 and all travel is on the form

 

now,  for Korea,  get the report in full form the country

submit the copy with your petition

if Co is concerned ,  they will tell u if u can submit a waiver 

the CO probably does not care about the overstay but will be concerned with the jail sentence which can be overcome with a waiver (if CO mentions u can apply for one)  

 

U don't have to live in Moroc forever but your spouse visa process will take a few years (normal is 2 and with waiver u r looking at 3 or more)

 

file your US taxes

keep a US residency with a state DL license,  US bank account ,  owning property or mail going to relative where u would live if here

have income needed to support the visa according 125% of poverty guidelines and a joint sponsor if needed 

 

hope all the above helps / really we do try to help

incha yekbel

It really feels like everyone is nitpicking at what I’m saying instead of focusing on what it is that I’m asking maybe I wasn’t being clear but I just wanted to know if anyone has overcame the situation. Now that I know why Columbia was mentioned it makes sense but I’m specifically just asking about this Korea situation because I want to know the likelihood of the approval based on the mistake that was made. We went to Columbia because the plane tickets are less expensive for me to travel to than morocco and I have three children and it was the cost of one ticket to morocco to go for four people to Columbia but I didn’t realize I needed to even explain all of that. Furthermore we saw it was easier to marry in Colombia or at least we thought. When we got there we had too many language barriers to get married and decided to just come back to Morocco. Colombia was also a place where he didn’t need permission to go. An attorney advised us to travel together to other countries to help out our CR-1 application as well. I really am frustrated with this entire situation  

[MarJhi 968]

23 minutes ago, Maam1819 said:

His visa was valid for much longer than 6 or 12 months. He was there LEGALLY for 3 years.

Exactly the point. The formatting of the dates doesn't matter, what matters is he knew he had 3 years and he stayed longer than he should have.

 

And I don't think anyone is nitpicking, they are just taking into consideration all factors. Overstaying in Korea might not be a big deal, but serving jail time for ANY crime might be, who knows? You have a lot of different factors going on so you have to expect people who are trying to help you will come at it from different angles. 

[JeanneAdil 6,651]

11 minutes ago, Maam1819 said:

It really feels like everyone is nitpicking at what I’m saying instead of focusing on what it is that I’m asking maybe I wasn’t being clear but I just wanted to know if anyone has overcame the situation. Now that I know why Columbia was mentioned it makes sense but I’m specifically just asking about this Korea situation because I want to know the likelihood of the approval based on the mistake that was made. We went to Columbia because the plane tickets are less expensive for me to travel to than morocco and I have three children and it was the cost of one ticket to morocco to go for four people to Columbia but I didn’t realize I needed to even explain all of that. Furthermore we saw it was easier to marry in Colombia or at least we thought. When we got there we had too many language barriers to get married and decided to just come back to Morocco. Colombia was also a place where he didn’t need permission to go. An attorney advised us to travel together to other countries to help out our CR-1 application as well. I really am frustrated with this entire situation  

when we respond ,  we will cover the entire situation so, please do not get offended 

 

 

Nitpicking?  

sorry just trying to help

and nitpicking is what the CO will do at interview 

 

read the info given 

look up any references like for the 601 waiver 

knowing all this will help u /no one here knows your entire situation but traveling to several countries does not really help a CR1 / the embassy will have to review your packet when it comes to the embassy / the CO decides and when a person puts travel history on the ds 260 ,  it triggers extra security checks for all countries visited making for a long AP  (administrative processing ) after an interview

 

even hiring an attorney is not helpful / they don't represent the person at an interview 

 

 

Edited May 5, 2022 by JeanneAdil

[Maam1819 7]

7 minutes ago, MarJhi said:

Exactly the point. The formatting of the dates doesn't matter, what matters is he knew he had 3 years and he stayed longer than he should have.

 

And I don't think anyone is nitpicking, they are just taking into consideration all factors. Overstaying in Korea might not be a big deal, but serving jail time for ANY crime might be, who knows? You have a lot of different factors going on so you have to expect people who are trying to help you will come at it from different angles. 

He was detained for over staying. Not for a crime… 

[MarJhi 968]

3 minutes ago, Maam1819 said:

He was detained for over staying. Not for a crime… 

Well if he did jail time for it I made the leap that it must have been a crime of some sort in Korea. 

[JeanneAdil 6,651]

Just now, MarJhi said:

Well if he did jail time for it I made the leap that it must have been a crime of some sort in Korea. 

What happens if I overstay my visa in South Korea?

 

Travelers who overstay a South Korean visa may be fined for each day spent in the country beyond the expiration date. The amount of the daily fine can vary considerably and will accumulate every day until the fine has been paid and the visa validation resolved. In most cases, this can be done upon exiting South Korea.

 

Under no circumstances will travelers be able to leave South Korea without paying the fine and refusing to pay any fines could lead to further sanctions such as detainment.

 

 

[Rocio0010 5,635]

43 minutes ago, Maam1819 said:

Not for a crime

The way it is worded on @JeanneAdilposts makes it seem like an overstay is a crime

[Maam1819 7]

37 minutes ago, MarJhi said:

Exactly the point. The formatting of the dates doesn't matter, what matters is he knew he had 3 years and he stayed longer than he should have.

 

And I don't think anyone is nitpicking, they are just taking into consideration all factors. Overstaying in Korea might not be a big deal, but serving jail time for ANY crime might be, who knows? You have a lot of different factors going on so you have to expect people who are trying to help you will come at it from different angles. 

It was in between the 3 years when he over stayed and no he did not realize he overstayed he’s not lying. He told me the story of what happened- he said when the police asked to see his travel documents he gave it over very confident and then was very shocked when the arrested him for it being expired because he didn’t realize it was expired… He said it’s different from doing time for a crime it was time for just the travel documents expiring. Do you understand?

[Maam1819 7]

12 minutes ago, Rocio0010 said:

The way it is worded on @JeanneAdilposts makes it seem like an overstay is a crime

14 minutes ago, Rocio0010 said:

The way it is worded on @JeanneAdilposts makes it seem like an overstay is a crime

yes but i already stayed he did time for overstaying so I thought we all understood that. What I was trying to say is there was not an additional issue on top of him overstaying! Omg

[JeanneAdil 6,651]

OP

u want a yes or no answer which does not exist in this case

 

overstay in a foreign country- not a big deal

jail time -is

mental illness of intending immigrant- is and u will need to explain the illness and show the treatment and show he is not harmfull to himself or others

travel to Columbia-  means extended AP after an interview

 

BUT in short this offense is not one that automatically disqualifies him for a visa

 

Not every criminal offense will negatively affect your green card application. Under U.S. immigration law, three types of criminal convictions make you “inadmissible.” This means if you have a conviction for any of these three types of crimes, you can’t get a green card: 

• Aggravated felonies
• Illegal drug involvement
• Crimes involving moral turpitude

In your case all factors will be viewed by the CO at interview and that person makes the decision 

CO looks at totality of circumstances

together 8 years -is in your favor

crime is not a felony- in your favor

income

mental illness- get it diagnosed and treatment to help your case

education

job history

US residency

all these are considered  

and CO could approve after the necessary background checks

 

we actually have no way to give a yes or no

 

 

but read the 601 waiver and understand what happens if case is returned to the US

Edited May 5, 2022 by JeanneAdil

[carmel34 3,655]

All you can do is be completely honest on all the forms, including the visa overstay in Korea, attach a letter explaining his misunderstanding.  The DS-260 will ask for all of his details so include the overstay information as others have pointed out.  Also at the NVC stage he will need a police report from Korea, and the jail time will likely show up on that, so he should be prepared to explain everything.  It is good that you are spending lots of in-person time together, if you document all of that time and submit it with the I-130 petition or later at the NVC stage it will help.  No one here can predict exactly will happen at the eventual visa interview, but preparation and knowledge will be the key.  Hopefully everything will go smoothly in your case.  Good luck!

[Maam1819 7]

1 hour ago, MarJhi said:

Exactly the point. The formatting of the dates doesn't matter, what matters is he knew he had 3 years and he stayed longer than he should have.

 

And I don't think anyone is nitpicking, they are just taking into consideration all factors. Overstaying in Korea might not be a big deal, but serving jail time for ANY crime might be, who knows? You have a lot of different factors going on so you have to expect people who are trying to help you will come at it from different angles. 

There’s a different way of helping in my mind. Trying to tell me he’s lying and that he knew he was there illegally isn’t helping me at ALL. Does that make sense? He didn’t know I know my husband VERY WELL he does not like legal problems. He will not move the car with my seatbelt on he is very much a person who likes to avoid trouble with the law. He would not have intentionally stayed PERIOD. I HOPE EVERYONE GETS THAT! Now if you wanted to explain kindly that in the interview this may be their approach that’s very much different than what has been done in this thread. I need support not whatever we call this 

[Maam1819 7]

3 minutes ago, JeanneAdil said:

OP

u want a yes or no answer which does not exist in this case

 

overstay in a foreign country- not a big deal

jail time -is

mental illness of intending immigrant- is and u will need to explain the illness and show the treatment and show he is not harmfull to himself or others

travel to Columbia-  means extended AP after an interview

 

BUT in short this offense is not one that automatically disqualifies him for a visa

 

Not every criminal offense will negatively affect your green card application. Under U.S. immigration law, three types of criminal convictions make you “inadmissible.” This means if you have a conviction for any of these three types of crimes, you can’t get a green card: 

• Aggravated felonies
• Illegal drug involvement
• Crimes involving moral turpitude

In your case all factors will be viewed by the CO at interview and that person makes the decision 

CO looks at totality of circumstances

together 8 years -is in your favor

crime is not a felony- in your favor

income

mental illness- get it diagnosed and treatment to help your case

education

job history

US residency

all these are considered  

and CO could approve after the necessary background checks

 

we actually have no way to give a yes or no

 

 

but read the 601 waiver and understand what happens if case is returned to the US

This is exactly what I was looking to hear. Wasn’t looking for a yes/ no   Like i repeated several time was I wanted to know if this is something someone has ever overcame successfully or is it something that’s a for sure disqualification. You have finally shed some light in the actual problem at hand thank you. 

[JeanneAdil 6,651]

20 minutes ago, Rocio0010 said:

The way it is worded on @JeanneAdilposts makes it seem like an overstay is a crime

not paying the fine can be detainment the way Korean site states it/ doesn't say a crime

and they notify (or can notify ) the person's country of residence thru the embassy

[Maam1819 7]

1 minute ago, JeanneAdil said:

not paying the fine can be detainment the way Korean site states it/ doesn't say a crime

and they notify (or can notify ) the person's country of residence thru the embassy

He is telling me it was not a crime it wasn’t a criminal jail it was a detainment for strictly immigration as I understand   Whether it’s a crime or not we ALLL UNDERSTAND that he overstayed and that’s not ok. I said this in the subject and the initial post. So I think that was the question in the first place. Not whether it’s a crime or not. Because had I found someone that had this experience in the first place as I was looking for they would be able to tell me from their experience whether it’s a crime or not. Knowing if it is a crime us t important to me as it is to everyone else on this thread. I just want to know if overstaying is a reason for not being approved. I could care lesssss if it’s a crime I just was looking for the answer