My Husband EWI in May of 2005 and we met in October 2005. By the following Spring he moved into my farmhouse shared by my mother, grandfather, and 2 kids from a previous marriage. We married February 6, 2008 in Murfreesboro, TN and were in the middle of gathering documents so we could file our I-130 when he was picked up in Nashville by the Davidson County police. In July of 2008, Nashville was hitting hard the new 287(g) law which allowed Davidson county police to take anyone they suspected as being undocumented into custody for minor infractions and then turn them over to ICE.(Basically, anyone who was brown and spoke Spanish) My husband was a passenger in a car when they were pulled over and the driver did not have a license. They were both taken into custody. The day before I was to have his bond hearing, he was transferred in the middle of the night to Oakdale, LA. I had to wait until he was processed to get a new bond hearing since he was now under a different jurisdiction. Once his bond was set, I drove all the way to LA and bonded him out. I filed our I-130 as soon as we returned, (September 17, 2008) and it was approved on 4/9/2009. At his Master Calendar Hearing, we sought and were granted Voluntary Departure and he returned to Mexico on July 30, 2009. I flew out to be with him when he went to his IV Appointment on September 17, 2009 in CDJ where he was denied but allowed to file an I-601 waiver for entering without inspection. I then returned to Oaxaca, where he is from and stayed with him and his family until November, 2009. His I-601 appointment in CDJ was December 22, 2009. We received his approval on December 24th, 2009. What a Christmas present!!! He returned home Jan. 2010... Our entire process from the filing of the I-130 to the I-601 waiver was a little over 1 year and we were only apart for a few months. Ours seems like such a short time compared to so many who have been waiting, sometimes years, to be reunited.... I hope for everyone having trouble, this administration makes the changes needed. I agree in protecting our borders and I believe we must stop the influx of illegal immigration through tightening the borders and working with helping those countries in which people are fleeing, so the reasons behind the mass exodus stops. However, I also believe that those who are already in the US, who entered without inspection and who no not have criminal histories, should be allowed to adjust their status without fear of the lack of uniformity among consular posts.. Approvals vary from consulate to consulate and sometimes simply come down to whether or not the officer adjudicating a case is in a bad mood or lacks the proper training. Good luck to you all...
