Husband is an Inmate..What do we do?

[Palawan 131]

On 8/30/2022 at 5:07 PM, 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. 

Charles Scwhabb you can do it online, even if you go the bank they will direct you to a computer to set up and account, they want to offer their customers privacy.

 

This is all you need:  You can have a zero balance :

What do you need to open a brokerage account?

• Your Social Security or Tax Identification Number
• Your employer’s name and mailing address (if applicable)
• Your email address and mobile phone number
•  

Open a Schwab account online | Charles Schwab

 

 

 

Edited September 6, 2022 by Palawan

[Stranger Things 7]

On 8/29/2022 at 10:27 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.

@veronicabiondi you can immigrate to the US with a husband in prison , it has been done by a few people on this site and others who are not. There was a women from France who immigranted to the US with her husband on death row so it's not impossible. As for the interview ,USCIS policy Manuel chapter 5 - interview guidelines clearly stated the interview can be waived for incarcerated petitioners. If you look up @Mattelo on this site you will see she successfully received her green card with a  husband who has a life sentence. If you can prove your marriage is valid , you obviously can because you have the evidence to show , you can prove you will not need government assistance and or have joint sponsor who meets the requirements there is NO reason for your green card to be denied. @Jill Mackie mentioned on this post , uploaded 400+ pages of evidence of an 7 year relationship. That's longer most people who have a "normal marriage" stay married for . You could easily complete the application yourself without wasting money on an attorney , most of them are clueless when it comes to cases that are out of the norm. It can be done , it has been done , so you should be just fine. Good luck and don't listen to those who judge , it's nobody's business but yours. 

Edited September 6, 2022 by Stranger Things

[Angela & Paul 12]

13 minutes ago, Palawan said:

Charles Scwhabb you can do it online, even if you go the bank they will direct you to a computer to set up and account, they want to offer their customers privacy.

 

This is all you need:  You can have a zero balance :

What do you need to open a brokerage account?

• Your Social Security or Tax Identification Number
• Your employer’s name and mailing address (if applicable)
• Your email address and mobile phone number
•  

Open a Schwab account online | Charles Schwab

 

 

 

Trust me, you don’t see what’s happening behind the scenes and one of the thing they do is check your credit report and credit score. I’m pretty sure the OP spouse situation would be visible to them and they can flatly deny, rightfully or wrongfully but that’s beyond the point. 

As to the OP, she is not a citizen or permanent resident - hence the post -, so she won’t be able to open the account in the US.

Why do people think everything is easy in this country? It’s not, actually pretty hard compared to other countries… and I have experience with a few others. 

[Angela & Paul 12]

20 minutes ago, Stranger Things said:

@veronicabiondi you can immigrate to the US with a husband in prison , it has been done by a few people on this site and others who are not. There was a women from France who immigranted to the US with her husband on death row so it's not impossible. As for the interview ,USCIS policy Manuel chapter 5 - interview guidelines clearly stated the interview can be waived for incarcerated petitioners. If you look up @Mattelo on this site you will see she successfully received her green card with a  husband who has a life sentence. If you can prove your marriage is valid , you obviously can because you have the evidence to show , you can prove you will not need government assistance and or have joint sponsor who meets the requirements there is NO reason for your green card to be denied. @Jill Mackie mentioned on this post , uploaded 400+ pages of evidence of an 7 year relationship. That's longer most people who have a "normal marriage" stay married for . You could easily complete the application yourself without wasting money on an attorney , most of them are clueless when it comes to cases that are out of the norm. It can be done , it has been done , so you should be just fine. Good luck and don't listen to those who judge , it's nobody's business but yours. 

Our experience with immigration was far from easy and there was a point in the process - we used all the resources on this Amazon forum - when the officer at the interview told us to get an attorney which we did. 
Reading through the OP post and some other issues raised by others, I’d recommend getting an attorney from the get go. The hard part apparently is to find one that is knowledgeable enough and maybe has done it before. Not sure if the attorney has to be from Ohio. 
I admire her courage and I wish her good luck

[SalishSea 17,856]

1 hour ago, Angela & Paul said:

The hard part apparently is to find one that is knowledgeable enough and maybe has done it before. Not sure if the attorney has to be from Ohio. 

That's one of the main issues, IMHO.  Very few immigration attorneys will have had direct experience with cases involving incarcerated individuals.  The fact that there are so few stories here on VJ (and even fewer follow-ups after initial posts) is also telling.

[Dal816 3]

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.

My advice is wait to add him to any properties. Given his charges now that he has assets the victims family may file a wrongful death suit and get a judgement against everything he owns. Not to mention his court fines. Don't mix finances and talk to an account about filing separate but married. That's just my 2 cents

[devoted72 1]

2 hours ago, Stranger Things said:

@veronicabiondi you can immigrate to the US with a husband in prison , it has been done by a few people on this site and others who are not. There was a women from France who immigranted to the US with her husband on death row so it's not impossible. As for the interview ,USCIS policy Manuel chapter 5 - interview guidelines clearly stated the interview can be waived for incarcerated petitioners. If you look up @Mattelo on this site you will see she successfully received her green card with a  husband who has a life sentence. If you can prove your marriage is valid , you obviously can because you have the evidence to show , you can prove you will not need government assistance and or have joint sponsor who meets the requirements there is NO reason for your green card to be denied. @Jill Mackie mentioned on this post , uploaded 400+ pages of evidence of an 7 year relationship. That's longer most people who have a "normal marriage" stay married for . You could easily complete the application yourself without wasting money on an attorney , most of them are clueless when it comes to cases that are out of the norm. It can be done , it has been done , so you should be just fine. Good luck and don't listen to those who judge , it's nobody's business but yours. 

Finally a high vibe answer, I also have asked a couple of questions and marginally found help. Most of all are always judgmental cause do not believe in the bona fide of the marriage. Only women like us, married to an inmate, can understand. We are here in this forum to ask for help, cause, even the best attorney can make mistake. Thus, God bless you for your " it can be done, it has to be done", in addition, the reason why women with our situation don't share the final result of the journey might be because,  regarding our specific case, we always find a lot of ostracysm and no willing to help. That's for my experience. God bless all of you who try to support us, no matter what

[edwardvasquez23 0]

Wow, 2034, your lawyer better be on point and no games.  That's going to be a very tough case, but I seen crazier cases.  Good Luck 

[Palawan 131]

8 hours ago, Angela & Paul said:

Trust me, you don’t see what’s happening behind the scenes and one of the thing they do is check your credit report and credit score. I’m pretty sure the OP spouse situation would be visible to them and they can flatly deny, rightfully or wrongfully but that’s beyond the point. 

As to the OP, she is not a citizen or permanent resident - hence the post -, so she won’t be able to open the account in the US.

Why do people think everything is easy in this country? It’s not, actually pretty hard compared to other countries… and I have experience with a few others. 

I was talking about opening an account for a US citizen inmate.

 

Who said it was hard to open an bank account in the USA if you are a permanent resident? That's a incorrect statement, my fiance at the time was able to open 2 bank accounts, one at Chase and one inside a Wal-Mart with just her Philippines passport, A Texas Hunting licenses, and some mail from my house with her name on it, She had no greencard or EAD/AP, all she had was her K1 Visa.

 

It's very easy to open an bank account in the USA compared to other countries, from my perspective.

[veronicabiondi 17]

@Palawan That's right. I suppose it won't add any value to this thread if I start debating with various people and their "knowledgeable" answers. I can tell you that I have a bank account in the US and I'm nothing more than a foreigner that travels on ESTA, so...! Well, little more than that I hope since I'm about to pay the first tax this year..and I also have SSN?

 

 

Edited September 6, 2022 by veronicabiondi

[JamieCO1 1]

I actually think that your husband's criminal record will be more of an issue than the financial support. This is where you need legal guidance.  I would expect his case to get intense scrutinity.  Several people in online groups write for advice on how to explain past offenses, however, your husband is still incarcerated, so he isn't been able to show that he changed. This will be a very difficult case to get approval.

[chicago_23 90]

Regarding on his case, manslaughter and armed robbery you said, did any of this involved a minor under age of 18? There's one major exception for a US citizen/ greencard holder to petition is due to  2006 Adam Walsh Act. If his crimes didn't involve any minor then disregard first part of my comment.

 

My next question is, when did you meet? Before he went to prison or while he's serving it? 

 

Few assumptions might rise a few questions but what you really need to prove is the bona fide marriage. It's the intent and the actual relationship. These can be challenging to prove, since many limitations are involved. But that doesn't stop someone on marrying someone obviously.

 

I humbly think, in your case, look at it in different perspective. Build your case by asking what makes this not to pass? Then, provide strong evidences that will support bona fide relationship and intent to marry. Your husband's incarceration is his circumstances, but the immigration proceedings is your circumstances. You need to prove that above all, you are not coming in the States under false pretense of marriage and in good faith, just happen to be married to him.

 

I hope you find your "aha" moment. Best of luck. Kindly update us in the future.

[Palawan 131]

2 hours ago, JamieCO1 said:

I actually think that your husband's criminal record will be more of an issue than the financial support. This is where you need legal guidance.  I would expect his case to get intense scrutinity.  Several people in online groups write for advice on how to explain past offenses, however, your husband is still incarcerated, so he isn't been able to show that he changed. This will be a very difficult case to get approval.

From looking at the I-130 they don't even ask about your criminal history, that is the beauty of doing a Spousal vs K1, you dont have to disclose you criminal history.

 

I see this case as a easy approval

[JamieCO1 1]

All visa sponsors go through background checks as part of the application. Certain crimes make you ineligible to be a sponser,  usually sex offenses, however, anything with violence is going to get greater scrutiny.

 

[veronicabiondi 17]

@JamieCO1 I believe I mentioned the crimes of husband. It was the first message I posted so your comment is really "redundant" (to put in a nice way).

 

I must say, that some really good people have reached out and they have helped a lot but then you get the other category that is either rude and insensitive (not that it affects me) or their comments are completely irrelevant. I'm not saying that because I welcome only "convenient" truths but you observe human nature. I would personally never comment on someone's story just for the shake of saying something--anything, its just "dummy" (there are other names too).

 

For those that judge me because of my man, know that I wouldn't change him for the best richest free man out there. I see a lot of couples in the free world where they have/enjoy all the freedoms that we don't, but they are miserable and pathetique. They are all around us, you see them in the pub, on your way to work, on your way home, on the station. You can "smell" an unhealthy couple from miles away.

 

Those people that will eventually get my application when the time comes, will scrutinize me, that's for sure. But I trust that they have they experience to detect what's real and what's not, beyond the prejudice and the silent "thoughts" of "what is she doing with an inmate", they will be able to see that we are just one more married couple.

 

For those nice people that had something positive to say either here or on PMs, when we got married, same day 3 more couples got married. Our pastor stopped, he looked at us and said to me and my husband "for some reason, I have a very good feeling about you two". That's all I have to say. I usually, don't bother replying to irrelevant messages but it happened that a lady PM'ed and confessed how ostracised she feels because her husband is an inmate. That there annoyed me. You have no right to judge and jump on forums making unnecessary comments. It's just..useless.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 6, 2022 by veronicabiondi