belinda63

You are saying she has overstayed so based upon this she came here on some sort of visa and just never left? You can certainly marry her and file for AOS (adjustment of status). The problems you are looking at is from the time of marriage until you actually file for AOS she is subject to detainment and deportation same as she is now since she will still be out of status, just marrying a US citizen gives her no more rights to stay than not being married.
After the filing of AOS and receipt of the NOA it would be advisable for her to carry a copy of it just in case. Her status will then become pending and if something were to happen usually the deportation hearing would be delayed pending the outcome of the AOS application.
While she could file for AP (advance parole) for free with the AOS application in her case it would be useless since if she leaves the country prior to receiving her green card she will be subject to a 10 year ban even with her application pending.
Study the guides and walk softly.

You are saying she has overstayed so based upon this she came here on some sort of visa and just never left? You can certainly marry her and file for AOS (adjustment of status). The problems you are looking at is from the time of marriage until you actually file for AOS she is subject to detainment and deportation same as she is now since she will still be out of status, just marrying a US citizen gives her no more rights to stay than not being married.
After the filing of AOS and receipt of the NOA it would be advisable for her to carry a copy of it just in case. Her status will then become pending and if something were to happen usually the deportation hearing would be delayed pending the outcome of the AOS application.
While she could file for AP (advance parole) for free with the AOS application in her case it would be useless since if she leaves the country prior to receiving her green card she will be subject to a 10 year ban even with her application pending.
Study the guides and walk softly.

How can she be here and going to school in Russia? That is quite a commute. Perhaps you mean she has a domicile in the US which is not the same as her being physically present in the US.
For you to have a relationship with her you must show that the two of you are living as man and wife not just that you have a piece of paper saying you are married.
Since you still have a valid student visa I would recommend you simply continue your studies here and when your wife has completed her schooling in Russia and returns to the US to live that you then re-apply for AOS. To re-apply with the same circumstances as previously would not result in a different answer.

My understanding is that the J-1 with the home requirement is because the home country in some way provided financial aid to the student. (Please correct me if I am wrong). So a woman comes here paid in part or in total by her country (either the government or some private agency) with the understanding that she will take that knowledge and training back to her country to provide a needed skill in her country. She decides for whatever reason to get married and have a child while she is here, knowing that she is obligated to return to her country, and now you want to complain because you have to file some paperwork to obtain a waiver?
Maybe the answer would be to not give student visas and that would prevent situations such as yours. Then people couldn't complain how the US denied them the freedom to come here on a student visa and obtain citizenship.
Or to follow your argument we should give any person who married a US citizen immediate citizenship. Boy that would really work well (sarcasm).
I understand your frustration with the situation but it was caused initially by a lack of planning on your part. No one forced the woman to come here on a student visa (wife at the time or not). No one forced her to accept a student visa with a two year home requirement. No one forced her to have a child while she was here. These were all choices she made....she exercised her freedom in making these choices.
This situation is not the fault of the US government and I am sorry you do not agree with the laws but you still have to obey them.

Read Article 14 of the US Constitution. It can't be done.

You mention grand kids so I am kind of assuming they have been married for a number of years (at least 4 from the info in the post). Sometimes marriages fall apart after time but this is not fraud. If he had been caught with another woman say during the K-1 process or there were problems early on in the relationship then you might be able to call it fraud but too much time has passed and the relationship went on for too long, I mean come on 5 kids and three grand kids how are you going to say that at some time there was not a real relationship?
I think (soapbox time) you are looking at a co-dependent and/or abusive relationship in regards to your sister and instead of seeing it as it is you simply want to lash out and attack the man (not to say he is not at fault). What I would suggest is that you gently suggest to sis that maybe she needs to talk to someone about her decisions and the affect they will have on the entire family. I mean Dad living with Mom and his new wife all in the same house is going to be a bit confusing.
Your sister is an adult, support her as best you can and be there if she needs you.

Actually so long as they are legally married the military spouse is required by the military to provide for his spouse. He is receiving a housing allowance or free housing for the purpose of his dependent. I am not referring to some sort of spousal support from family court I am referring to his obligation under the military to provide for his dependents. If he fails to do so for as long as they are legally married she can call his commanding officer and he will be in deep pookey. Once they are divorced the obligation ends as well as all additional money (housing allowance, family separation pay, etc.) that he is receiving now because he is married.

Actually so long as they are legally married the military spouse is required by the military to provide for his spouse. He is receiving a housing allowance or free housing for the purpose of his dependent. I am not referring to some sort of spousal support from family court I am referring to his obligation under the military to provide for his dependents. If he fails to do so for as long as they are legally married she can call his commanding officer and he will be in deep pookey. Once they are divorced the obligation ends as well as all additional money (housing allowance, family separation pay, etc.) that he is receiving now because he is married.

Well reading all the articles and cases that I have in the last few days, trying to live in another country and maintain LPR status in the US is tricky at best.
But first, as a US citizen you do not have a right to bring family here, even for a visit. I see no where in the constitution a mention of this "right". If a person decides to live in the US and is allowed to do so prior to making that decision they should considered all the factors involved including the possibility of their family not being permitted to visit. My mother, as an immigrant, did this as well as my spouse and both made a decision that they would make the trips to their home country because their family cannot, for various reasons, come to the US to visit.
Some of the factors that are considered when a person is found to have abandoned LPR status are as follows:
1. Permanent residence in the US such as owning a home or having a long term lease
2. Filing taxes in the US as an immigrant.
3. Family ties to the US
4. Temporary absences for a specific purpose with a definite return date.
5. Maintaining employment, bank accounts, credit cards (and actually using them) in the US.
6. Length of absence from the US
7 A pattern of coming to the US for short periods of time and then leaving.
Yes each case is individual and will, if placed before an immigration judge, be determined upon it's individual facts, but trying to maintain LPR status while having a residence in another country, receiving income from another country, and only coming to the US for a month or so a year most likely will result finding that the person has not met the requirements of being an Immigrant.

Jim I agree with what you are saying about the spousal support and awards in family court. BUT google Cheshire v. Cheshire, 2006 U.S. Dist and read about it. It deals with contract law and breach of contract and has nothing to do with spousal support. It essentially says the person who signs the I-864 has made a contract with the person they are sponsoring to provide them with an income level of 125% of the poverty level. One recommendation from another site was that the sponsored party sign a form basically saying they would never ask for the contract to be enforced.

The big question is what happened with the I-485, you said it was denied. Usually at that point they ask the person to leave the country in 30 days. If this happened then there will be issues even if she marries and attempts to adjust status since ignoring a request to leave is frowned upon. Otherwise I agree with Bob.

I did read the article and yes USCIS should have sent an RFE but the point is the people violated immigration law by him coming to the US on the VWP with the intent to immigrate. That is fraud plain and simple. And what does him being a white Christian have to do with anything?

I did read the article and yes USCIS should have sent an RFE but the point is the people violated immigration law by him coming to the US on the VWP with the intent to immigrate. That is fraud plain and simple. And what does him being a white Christian have to do with anything?

I did read the article and yes USCIS should have sent an RFE but the point is the people violated immigration law by him coming to the US on the VWP with the intent to immigrate. That is fraud plain and simple. And what does him being a white Christian have to do with anything?

I did read the article and yes USCIS should have sent an RFE but the point is the people violated immigration law by him coming to the US on the VWP with the intent to immigrate. That is fraud plain and simple. And what does him being a white Christian have to do with anything?

I waited until we were in AP for almost one year prior to contacting my congressman. I don't want to clog the wheels of progress with requests for assistance unless they are needed.
These persons who's response to every problem or delay is "call your congressman" are creating problems. A congressional inquiry must be answered within a certain amount of time and takes time away from the actual processing of visas/petitions.
I would advise that unless there is a serious problem to just be patient and wait.

What was the result of your service inquiry?

Limited Family-Based Immigrants
These types of immigrant classifications involve specific, more distant, family relationships with a U.S. citizen and some specified relationships with a Lawful Permanent Resident. Under immigration law, there are fiscal year numerical limitations on family preference immigrants as explained below.
* Family First Preference (F1): Unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens, and their children, if any. (23,400)
* Family Second Preference (F2): Spouses, minor children, and unmarried sons and daughters (over age 20) of lawful permanent residents. (114,200) At least seventy-seven percent of all visas available for this category will go to the spouses and children; the remainder will be allocated to unmarried sons and daughters.
* Family Third Preference (F3): Married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens, and their spouses and children. (23,400)
* Family Fourth Preference (F4): Brothers and sisters of United States citizens, and their spouses and children, provided the U.S. citizens are at least 21 years of age. (65,000)
When you receive your citizenship
You can apply for parents and obtain an immediate visa number (it still takes months to file the paperwork and obtain the visa).
For you as a USC your siblings fall into category F-4 (brother/sister of USC)in waiting for a visa number. The current wait time for category F-4 is about 10 years.
If your siblings are not married your parents can file for them when they receive their green card as category F2 with a wait time of about 4 years.
If the siblings are married you must either file for them after you become a USC or your parents can file for them when they become USC (category F3, wait time about nine years).
Q1 No idea how they got here so fast.
Q2 It is not 18,000 per immigrant, it is a scale based upon the number of people in the household and how many people you are immigrating.
2. 2009 Poverty Guidelines for the 48 Contiguous States and the District of Columbia:
Size of Family Unit Poverty Guidelines 125% of Poverty Guidelines
1 $10,830 $13,538
2 14,570 18,213
3 18,310 22,888
4 22,050 27,563
5 25,790 32,238
6 29,530 36,913
7 33,270 41,588
8 37,010 46,263
So for example it is you and your spouse and you are bringing your parents (two people) that would make a total of four. The sponsor must have an income of 27,563.
Q3. They cannot come to the US to wait for an immigrant visa. They may come to visit while complying with the terms of their visa/VWP.
Again keep in mind that things can change. The poverty guidelines I provided are for 2009, they change every year. The wait times change monthly. And immigration reform can happen at any time.

Send it along with the original of the RFE (keep a copy for yourself) to the address on the RFE. Follow the instructions exactly or else it may not end up with the rest of your file. Also send it delivery confirmation.

Immigration laws are the law, the law does not care about your marriage or how long the process takes. What you are planning in your last post (or at least suggesting)is visa fraud plain and simple. You are attempting to bypass the immigration laws.
IF she enters as a tourist and then "discovers" about adjusting status how will you explain that you missed the part about needing a visa (CR-1) to do it legally? How will you explain that you married, she returned to Canada, and then decided to return and suddenly "discovered" this information while she had come for a visit? Your plan is throwing up big red flags.
It is possible to adjust status from a tourist visa if it is a spur of the moment marriage that had no prior intent. INTENT is the key word here. Girlfriend comes to visit, it's Valentine's day, you get married because Cupid hit you with his arrow. In your case you are already married so the burden is on her to PROVE she does not intend to immigrate.
Let me spell this out very clearly.....no one can know if your plan will work. Maybe she will get her 2 year green card and when it comes time to lift conditions they will question about it then, maybe it will happen when/if she applies for citizenship. This is a huge burden to bear and something I would not rather do, I would rather do it the legal way and not have to worry because the CONSEQUENCES of entering as you suggest (tourist then filing for AOS) can and may lead to any penalty up to and including a LIFE TIME BAN to enter the US.
So, You feeling lucky?
BTW illegals can't AOS from inside the US. Don't care who they marry or who they know, if they entered illegally they cannot adjust status from marriage to a US citizen.

Only way would be to have a ceremonial marriage that was not registered. Otherwise you must start the process over. K-1 is only for unmarried persons.