Husband is an Inmate..What do we do?

[veronicabiondi 17]

Marriage has not been consummated.  Not sure why I have to feel like Catherine of Aragon at this moment....!!

Edited August 30, 2022 by veronicabiondi

[Family 4,011]

18 minutes ago, Boiler said:

She has visited and presumably can substantiate having done so.

Yes of course in the long run it’s a non issue with long standing precedent….but both USCIS and DOS don’t always make it easy according to some attorneys claims

 

Problems Dealing with the authorities

https://www.peerallylaw.com/is-a-marriage-valid-for-immigration-purposes-even-if-not-consummated/

[beloved_dingo 1,979]

I thought the marriage being "consummated" in terms of immigration just meant "meeting in person after marriage"? Which the OP has done, many many times. 

[Marieke H 2,512]

32 minutes ago, Family said:

I wonder if OP ‘s research w immigration attorneys or even the successful VJ posters encountered USCIS pushback on the issue of unconsummated marriage in the context of I-130, since OP stated OHIO does not allow such…..?

 

 

According to the I-130 instructions, the issue of consummation only matters if the couple were not both physically present at the marriage ceremony. I assume they were both present when they got married, so consummation does not matter. And even then, consummation would only mean being in each other's presence after the marriage ceremony, which they have done.

 

There is no requirement to prove that they slept together; they are not required to provide bed sheets as evidence. 🤣

[Boiler 45,558]

1 hour ago, beloved_dingo said:

I thought the marriage being "consummated" in terms of immigration just meant "meeting in person after marriage"? Which the OP has done, many many times. 

It does

[BLC 112]

On 8/29/2022 at 2:07 PM, Mike E said:

Or open a joint bank account. 

Just thinking, how would someone even be able to open a bank account while in prison? It’s always  something where both people have to be in person at the bank, in my experience anyway. I guess there’s probably a way… maybe assigning power of attorney. I am thinking  out loud now lol. 

[Boiler 45,558]

There are On Line Banks, suppose they do it by mail.

[BLC 112]

On 8/29/2022 at 2:38 PM, JeanneAdil said:

criminal  cases are often followed by civil suits seeking huge amounts of money from the felon for damages caused (in this case death )

i would do all to protect my money and in no way put a house in his name 

your attorney really needs to be on the ball / not only as to immigration issues but how to protect your money and assets 

 

usually a spouse will seek a lawyer (thinking of accidents and manslaughter cases) to get all property out of the name of an accused person before going to trial 

 

you may know the OJ Simpson case

Even though he was acquitted , her family sued and won a huge settlement

 

The civil jury found Simpson liable for the two deaths, ordering him to pay $33.5 million to the families.Jun 26, 2022

Again, I know not one of your immigration questions, but just wanted to include… In addition to this, something you may want to be wary of with asset transfers are the state laws that allow D.O.C. to collect funds from an inmate to pay back the cost of his/her incarceration -it is costly. 

[BLC 112]

7 minutes ago, Boiler said:

There are On Line Banks, suppose they do it by mail.

Yeah. I suppose it depends on the prison someone is in, too. Some don’t even allow an inmate to open an outside account. 

[Mike E 11,739]

4 hours ago, BLC said:

Just thinking, how would someone even be able to open a bank account while in prison? It’s always  something where both people have to be in person at the bank, in my experience anyway. I guess there’s probably a way… maybe assigning power of attorney. I am thinking  out loud now lol. 

Nah U.S. citizens open bank accounts online all the time. I’ve opened a joint brokerage account online (did it over a year before we filed I-751). 
 

There is no I-864 issue with this case. OP and her husband just need to get on with it.  

Edited August 31, 2022 by Mike E

[Mike E 11,739]

7 hours ago, veronicabiondi said:

Marriage has not been consummated.  Not sure why I have to feel like Catherine of Aragon at this moment....!!

TMI if you are talking about sexual intercourse. Plenty of couples get married and never have sex.  
 

The only requirement is that before your husband files I-130 / I-130A, you two have been in each other’s physical presence during the marriage service or after.  

[SalishSea 17,842]

10 hours ago, Family said:

I wonder if OP ‘s research w immigration attorneys or even the successful VJ posters encountered USCIS pushback on the issue of unconsummated marriage in the context of I-130, since OP stated OHIO does not allow such…..?

 

 

No.   Because “consummated” in the eyes of USCIS refers to being in each others’ presence after the marriage.  OP has stated she’s an approved visitor at the prison, and it was an in-person (not zoom) wedding.

 

Believe me, they do NOT want your photographic evidence.   And yes, there have been VJ posters who have insisted on sending such items with their petitions.

10 hours ago, veronicabiondi said:

Marriage has not been consummated.  Not sure why I have to feel like Catherine of Aragon at this moment....!!

It has, for US immigration purposes.

[Disteny 39]

On 8/29/2022 at 9:27 AM, veronicabiondi said:

Hello,

 

I'm a British/Greek national. I live in England but my husband is incarcerated in Ohio. He has been incarcerated for the last 20 years. We met in 2018 and we got married in 2019. We followed the process from the beginning until then end. We received the warden's approval, we went through the process and we got married .  I really need some advice from anyone who has experienced similar thing.

 

So far so good. Earlier this year, we decided to hire an Immigration attorney so that we can kick off the US Spouse Visa application process. They all discouraged me. Only 2 accepted to take my case and that with conditions.

 

His release date is 2034.  He was sentenced for armed robbery and involuntary manslaughter. He has been eligible for Judicial release but he hasn't filed yet. I hired one of the best attorneys in Ohio, to represent him for the judicial process. He's filing next year although we do anticipate that he will get rejected first time. Before I go into detail, I must say that I never had a problem hiring an immigrations attorney in the first place. They charge a lot of money but so be it, the problem we had with most of them is that they didn't know how to handle such a case. Mr.A would say this, Mr.B would say the other. To me that was/is a problem. If I was to pay 20k$ you better tell me where I stand and not "I will let you know". After chatting with more or less 8 different attorneys, I decided to pause and not to do anything. I had arguments with my husband(yes, he's my husband despite what people think), that we have to keep looking for another attorney or me trying to reach out online for help (so this is what I'm doing). He really does not understand why is it so difficult. I do (but that's because I'm the immigrant).

 

So here are some details for those who need context and think they can help. My husband has nobody, no financial support from anyone in his family. I'm the only one he has. Thankfully, I'm doing financially well. I'm a software architect and work as a contractor in the UK. I bought a property in Ohio and I managed to add my husband as an owner of that property. The property has a value of 300,000USD. Outside of that I have a property in the UK, cars plus a few bank accounts. I have business accounts and HMRC(uncle Sam) books that show taxes, payments etc (in other words I'm not a drug dealer). All my income is traceable and linked to the work I do.

 

I visit him every 4-5 months. I have also been supporting him financially since we got together. Phone calls via GTL, Commissaries, food/hygiene, recreation, Video Visits all in all, his expenses are roughly 10,000USD annually since 2019. Again, all that is traceable. I have met his step mother and my mother has also visited him.

 

I have been travelling on ESTA every time and I don't stay more than 7-8 days. I'm there just to visit him and then next day after the last visit day, I'm going home. One attorney said to me "You can try a working Visa". I'm not interested to migrate to the States to find work!! I have work. The reason I want to move is my husband, that's all!  If we file and I get rejected, we will have more problems. I prefer to visit him on ESTA rather than go a head to apply, get rejected and then never see him again for years.

 

I'm a 40 years old female professional. I don't have children, I don't have problems. I've always lived a very routine--professional-quiet life. I Went to university and then afterwards started working like a dog, as many of us have.

I married a US prisoner because when I saw his picture first time accidentally, the time stopped for me. I loved him very much and he loved me back. We made this choice, to walk this path no matter how hard it is and we don't regret it.

 

With this honest message, I call out anyone who had similar experience. What did they do? Also, did they hire an attorney or they file themselves? 

 

Thanks for reading.

As long as you have money, why don't apply as an investment ? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[erika86 6]

On 8/29/2022 at 10:51 AM, veronicabiondi said:

Thank you Rocio0010. If that's indeed the case and he needs to meet the financial requirements(I was literally told the opposite from attorneys that I paid for consultation), then we are in the process to add him as the main owner of the property that I purchased in Ohio. We have initiated that process so basically he will have assets. Would that count?

 

Thanks

It's possible that your husband will be charged for his time in prison.  If he has assets, the state may try to collect from him.  I have no personal experience, just read this NPR article.  FYI.

 https://www.npr.org/2022/03/04/1084452251/the-vast-majority-of-states-allow-people-to-be-charged-for-time-behind-bars

 

[thsmuan 4]

On 8/29/2022 at 11:27 AM, veronicabiondi said:

Hello,

 

I'm a British/Greek national. I live in England but my husband is incarcerated in Ohio. He has been incarcerated for the last 20 years. We met in 2018 and we got married in 2019. We followed the process from the beginning until then end. We received the warden's approval, we went through the process and we got married .  I really need some advice from anyone who has experienced similar thing.

 

So far so good. Earlier this year, we decided to hire an Immigration attorney so that we can kick off the US Spouse Visa application process. They all discouraged me. Only 2 accepted to take my case and that with conditions.

 

His release date is 2034.  He was sentenced for armed robbery and involuntary manslaughter. He has been eligible for Judicial release but he hasn't filed yet. I hired one of the best attorneys in Ohio, to represent him for the judicial process. He's filing next year although we do anticipate that he will get rejected first time. Before I go into detail, I must say that I never had a problem hiring an immigrations attorney in the first place. They charge a lot of money but so be it, the problem we had with most of them is that they didn't know how to handle such a case. Mr.A would say this, Mr.B would say the other. To me that was/is a problem. If I was to pay 20k$ you better tell me where I stand and not "I will let you know". After chatting with more or less 8 different attorneys, I decided to pause and not to do anything. I had arguments with my husband(yes, he's my husband despite what people think), that we have to keep looking for another attorney or me trying to reach out online for help (so this is what I'm doing). He really does not understand why is it so difficult. I do (but that's because I'm the immigrant).

 

So here are some details for those who need context and think they can help. My husband has nobody, no financial support from anyone in his family. I'm the only one he has. Thankfully, I'm doing financially well. I'm a software architect and work as a contractor in the UK. I bought a property in Ohio and I managed to add my husband as an owner of that property. The property has a value of 300,000USD. Outside of that I have a property in the UK, cars plus a few bank accounts. I have business accounts and HMRC(uncle Sam) books that show taxes, payments etc (in other words I'm not a drug dealer). All my income is traceable and linked to the work I do.

 

I visit him every 4-5 months. I have also been supporting him financially since we got together. Phone calls via GTL, Commissaries, food/hygiene, recreation, Video Visits all in all, his expenses are roughly 10,000USD annually since 2019. Again, all that is traceable. I have met his step mother and my mother has also visited him.

 

I have been travelling on ESTA every time and I don't stay more than 7-8 days. I'm there just to visit him and then next day after the last visit day, I'm going home. One attorney said to me "You can try a working Visa". I'm not interested to migrate to the States to find work!! I have work. The reason I want to move is my husband, that's all!  If we file and I get rejected, we will have more problems. I prefer to visit him on ESTA rather than go a head to apply, get rejected and then never see him again for years.

 

I'm a 40 years old female professional. I don't have children, I don't have problems. I've always lived a very routine--professional-quiet life. I Went to university and then afterwards started working like a dog, as many of us have.

I married a US prisoner because when I saw his picture first time accidentally, the time stopped for me. I loved him very much and he loved me back. We made this choice, to walk this path no matter how hard it is and we don't regret it.

 

With this honest message, I call out anyone who had similar experience. What did they do? Also, did they hire an attorney or they file themselves? 

 

Thanks for reading.

1.If you have that kind of money hire an immigrant lawyer.(don't use online chatting attorneys)

2.Come visit often to US and meet your husband since even you live here you can't stay together.Arrange video chat or communication easier.

Me and my wife married for five years now and we have one kid.But I only visited twice to her.We mostly communicate via social media.

If I have that kind of money and job as you do, I would rather leave the country.All our journey has been a lot with frustration and emotions.Still we are waiting.The counselor officer can ruin all your work in a minute.Our situation was simple and straight forward but still we are struggling.Comparing your situation and ours and considering how we've been through, I can just say good luck to you.