Public Charge Thanks To Hubby / Good "Piecemeal" Lawyer? [merged threads]

[Chancy 6,241]

19 hours ago, Tomell said:

I want to do the I-130 application ASAP and am wondering, if I do the initial application and happen to pass right after, what comes of my wifes chances to stay?

 

The I-130 petition, even if approved, will not grant your wife authorization to stay in the US beyond the duration of her I-94.  To be able to legally reside in the US, she would need to file I-485 (along with your I-130) to adjust status while in the US, or return to the Philippines and apply for a spouse visa at the US embassy after your I-130 is approved.

 

[Ontarkie 14,217]

~~Related threads merged and Moved to AOS from Work, Student and Tourist Visas, from the PI forum - as the OP's wife is in the US.~~

[Ben & Katy 168]

On 3/11/2023 at 2:40 PM, Tomell said:

My wife is here on a B-2 tourist visa, if we were to apply for a spousal visa, Is there any shot that it could be completed before her September return date?

I have a friend in Phoenix that went this route.  Arrived in January 2021 pregnant on the border crossing card with a permission to travel outside the 100 mile zone.  They were married in February 2021 and applied for the spousal visa (adjustment of status) September 2022.  They are still currently waiting for an approval/denial/RFE.  His wife stayed here because of the baby and now they are having another one this year.  This should give you an idea on how long Adjustment of status inside the states is currently taking. 

[Tomell 8]

I am an American here in Indiana US and my lovely Filipina wife is here with me on a 6 month tourist visa (It was granted so she could be my caretaker after a super grueling heart operation which I am recovering from now) The officials from the get-go were told that we would be filing an I-130 at some point, so no big fears of her being called a "tourist visa fibber", just fyi...

 

My question (s) are:

 

These health challenges are quite bad, and have taken my income down to around 20K per year, I am on Medicaid and other public assistance programs (I do have a friend worth about 400K USD who will "co sponsor" though. My wife is not and has not collected any US benefits of any Kind, so my first question is, Is ME being  a public charge a problem?

 

Second question: My wife has a HS diploma, and decent minimum wage work experience in the Philippines, but no savings, she can likely get a $15 per hour or so job offer for once her change of status takes effect from the hospital we go to though. How worried of public charge does she need to be personally?

 

Third question: We are scraping together the $1600+ for the I-130 and I-485 petition , but don't have it yet, I read somewhere that if I go apply in person, there might be a "fee waiver" program A: Is there? and B, would THAT complicate the Public Charge rulings?

 

Last question (and THANKS for reading this far) Any recommendations on a good lawyer versed in these topics who is willing to work one hour at a time?

 

Thanks Much everyone.

 

Tom

 

P.S. One more question, sorry about that. Shes 4 months in on her 6 month visa, when is the :latest" we should do the I-130 / I-485 thing to avoid risk of her having to leave (With my heart operation recovery, this would be a VERY bad thing)

[SteveInBostonI130 3,432]

Filing the I-130 is not an issue.  There is no bar on filing a family based immigration petition.

 

Filing the I-485 could be an issue depending on what CBP asked and what she told CBP about her intent to adjust status.

 

You being a public charge will require a well qualified joint sponsor, and that is about it.

 

She will need work authorization, EAD, to work.  This can take up to 8 months to process.

 

You cannot "apply in person".  I-130 is filed by you.  I-485 is filed by your wife (along with I-765 and I-131), and I-864 by you and another I-864 by her joint sponsor.  There is a fee waiver form, but it's based on certain specifics, like asylum or country specific Acts.  More information here:

 

https://www.uscis.gov/i-912

 

I don't know of any lawyer that would take this case for less than $thousand(s).  There are community resources from churches and such, but they mostly help with asylum and similar cases.

 

You can file anytime.  The risk is if you file after her I-94 expires, she can be deported or held in immigration enforcement at anytime (there was a poster who was jailed after a traffic accident when police checked her status - she was only a week or so "late" in filing the I-485 and was planning to do so that week).

Edited June 28, 2023 by SteveInBostonI130

[Crazy Cat 41,812]

I suppose your public benefits could affect her application if USCIS knew it.  USCIS looks at the totality of every case. Did she specifically tell CBPO that she would be returning to PI after the visit?  I know that you said she would definitively be returning in a previous post. 

 

 

Edited June 28, 2023 by Crazy Cat

[Tomell 8]

6 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

I suppose your public benefits could affect her application if USCIS knew it.  USCIS looks at the totality of every case. Did she specifically tell CBPO that she would be returning to PI after the visit?  I know that you said she would definitively be returning in a previous post. 

 

 

By the time she did her interview, we had the doctors and the State department saying to let them know she would be applying for I-130

 

[Boiler 45,445]

 

[Tomell 8]

3 minutes ago, Boiler said:

 

I just went back and read this, for some reason I had it in my head that we needed to do an I-130 AND AOS, so simply AOS and shes good to go?

[Boiler 45,445]

1 minute ago, Tomell said:

I just went back and read this, for some reason I had it in my head that we needed to do an I-130 AND AOS, so simply AOS and shes good to go?

If you have filed an I 130 you do not need a second one.

[SteveInBostonI130 3,432]

8 minutes ago, Tomell said:

By the time she did her interview, we had the doctors and the State department saying to let them know she would be applying for I-130

 

Applying for the I-130 means petitioning her for a spouse visa, which would mean consular visa processing in your case, as you described previously.

 

I-485 is for adjusting status.  Did the State department tell you to tell CBP that she will attempt to adjust status?

 

[Tomell 8]

6 minutes ago, Boiler said:

If you have filed an I 130 you do not need a second one.

We havent filed it yet, just the Tourist visa so far.

[Boiler 45,445]

There is a whole package if you intend to adjust.

[jan22 3,049]

1 hour ago, SteveInBostonI130 said:

Applying for the I-130 means petitioning her for a spouse visa, which would mean consular visa processing in your case, as you described previously.

 

I-485 is for adjusting status.  Did the State department tell you to tell CBP that she will attempt to adjust status?

 

To be precise, the I-130 is not a petition for a spouse visa.  It is petitioning for approval to bring a spouse (or other qualifying family member) into the US to live once the proper process is completed.   Once the I-130 is approved, it allows the beneficiary of the approved petition to apply for either an immigrant visa or adjustment of status. 

 

[EmilyW 1,434]

I'm glad she was honest at the point of entry that she was acting as a caregiver.  That, at least, won't come back to bite her.  They record everything, so she is covered, from what you've said.

 

Get that co-sponsor in place, and adjust status.  As for fee waivers, not sure how that works, but - either way - both you and her are in for a wait when it comes to processing and her getting approved to work in the US.

 

You'll have plenty of time to save up.

Edited June 28, 2023 by EmilyW