Get lawyer or not?

[redp]

Hi. My long time girlfriend went here on a tourist visa on april 2005. I decided i did not want her to back to her country so i married her in aug 2005. I am still an Gch until now but i will have my citizenhip oathtaking in Dec 22, 2006.

She overstayed for a almost year and a half now because i did not file anything for her at the time we got married.

I plan to pettition her as soon as i am a US citizen. Ny question is do i need a lawyer to help us? If not, i understand i need to file a i-130?

Any advice is much appreciated,

[velli]

hi redp

i don't have a lot of experience with all of this except that i was/am in the same boat as your gf. i married my log time gf as well after being here for over 2 years on a tourist visa. my wife is a born USC though so I am not sure if there is a difference there.

LOng story short.....since my scenario is a little different than that of a lot of people on here I consulted and filed through a lawyer. And yes they are expensive but if you get the right lawyer i am sure that it will save you a few headaches especially at the interview, since they might start asking her some tricky questions.

Where are you located?

good luck

[Al Southner]

Originally Posted by redp

Hi. My long time girlfriend went here on a tourist visa on april 2005. I decided i did not want her to back to her country so i married her in aug 2005. I am still an Gch until now but i will have my citizenhip oathtaking in Dec 22, 2006.

She overstayed for a almost year and a half now because i did not file anything for her at the time we got married.

I plan to pettition her as soon as i am a US citizen. Ny question is do i need a lawyer to help us? If not, i understand i need to file a i-130?

Any advice is much appreciated,

Redp,

You should find out what she told the consulate officer when she applied for her tourist visa. She needs to be truthful with you, because since she overstayed her visa, which was nonimmigrant.... USCIS could smell blood.

How long have you known her? Did she procure her visa through your help? If not, how did she demonstrate enough ties to her home country? All of these factors are going to come to play when you petition for her. Your oath should be fine without any hiccups whatsoever. My advise would be to prepare all applications now, on the day that you are sworn in, make a copy of your naturalization certificate and send it along with each evidence for each form.

respond to those questions which I posed.... so that we can offer you better guidelines or advise...which is free....

[velli]

If she was on a visa waiver, then it would not be as complicated.

[redp]

She has been my gf since before i was an immigrant. We have been together for 6 years now.

She told the officer that she was visiting family and friends. She came here before already back in 2003. Then she went back there.

She got the visa on her own. She was qualified because she had a job there and her family is doing ok there too.


I am in California.

[Al Southner]

Originally Posted by redp

She has been my gf since before i was an immigrant. We have been together for 6 years now.

She told the officer that she was visiting family and friends. She came here before already back in 2003. Then she went back there.

She got the visa on her own. She was qualified because she had a job there and her family is doing ok there too.


I am in California.

Redp,


Ok.... it might complicate things for her during the interview. The deal: if you read any policy guidelines for US consulates, their most common and legally acceptable rationale on visa applicants is this: all applicants are potential immigrants, until they prove otherwise. This otherwise is compensated in the form: proof of enough ties to home country, employment, and 3 months of bank statements from local bank, 3-6 months of recent pay stubs, and another set of proofs, that the applicant has aspirations and motive to return to home country.

Your wife demostrated this when she came in 2003, she returned back to home country. Hence, USCIS was able to offer her another visitor's visa to come back to Uncle Sam. However, she will have to demonstrate that at the initial interview for her visitor's visa, her intentions were those of a non-immigrant. As such, what led her to change her mind and become an immigrant? You knowing of her for 6 years could further complicated the case, USCIS will suspect that she deceived them by applying for visitor's visa while she had intentions of marrying you in Uncle Sam. Proof, you married her 4 months after her coming to Uncle Sam. So, it will validate the case of USCIS that she knew that she had immigration intentions, so why didn't she wait for you to become a USC, and apply for her through the consulate, rather than procure her visitor's visa with immigrant intent?

Cases of people who come on tourist visas tend to be complicated, especially after 9/11. US consulates have been pressured to be hard on visitor, hence now people are finger printed and photographed when coming to Uncle Sam. So, that they can bust them for overstaying, except ICE doesn't have the manpower to do this. Moreover, interviews at US Consulates have become complicated for most visa applicants. I have known of a case where a tourist overstayed his visa and married a US citizenship. However, during the interview, officer asked him what he told the US consulate officer. She ended the interview right there, and told them she will reschedule 2nd one, until she had a copy of the initial visa applications and his interview abroad. It complicated his situation more, because he needed to hire an attorney for 2nd interview, and still denied. However, he fought USCIS, for a long time..

My advise: prepare all the paperwork now. I assume you know which ones you need to prepare, gather initial evidence and on the day you are sworn in, send all her applications. We will advise you as the interview approaches, because I can think of scenarios which you can evade the barrage and harassment from USCIS. For now, ensure paperwork is file after your naturalization, so that should she be arrested by ICE, she can't be deported as she will have paperwork pending with USCIS.

[dr_lha]

Originally Posted by redp

Hi. My long time girlfriend went here on a tourist visa on april 2005. I decided i did not want her to back to her country so i married her in aug 2005. I am still an Gch until now but i will have my citizenhip oathtaking in Dec 22, 2006.

She overstayed for a almost year and a half now because i did not file anything for her at the time we got married.

I plan to pettition her as soon as i am a US citizen. Ny question is do i need a lawyer to help us? If not, i understand i need to file a i-130?

Any advice is much appreciated,

Once you become a citizen, file I-130 and I-485 for your wife.

USCIS will forgive any overstay on a B-1 visa as she's married to a USC. You might be asked for evidence that your marriage was impromptu, and that when she came here on a tourist visa she wasn't insisting to remain.

To be honest I don't agree with Al Southerner's doom and gloom postings in this topic. I've known several people recently who have gone through this sort of adjustment of status, and USCIS didn't give them too much grief. Sure you could get a bitch/bastard interviewer and get unlucky. Most likely you'll breeze through.

[redp]

Awesome. Thank you so much for the info guys. So i dont really have to get a lawyer to help us? Just file the paper work?

What documents do i need to send with it?

I hope i dont get the problems that Al Southerner was saying.

[redp]

Hi guys. Im getting ready to send paperwork. Do we also need ro send a i-765?

Thanks.

[Al Southner]

Originally Posted by redp

Hi guys. Im getting ready to send paperwork. Do we also need ro send a i-765?

Thanks.

Repd,

If you want her to work while she waiting for her paperwork to be sorted out, then you should file I-765 together with the paperwork.

I see other people are giving you a hopeful scenario, and I wish you the same. However, I will be unfair if I didn't offer you both side of the issue, because it is important you know what you're getting yourself into. My hope, you guys don't get a nutty officer who is going to give you hell

Repd, congratulations on being a citizen.... Wish you all the best in your submission....

[redp]

Thanks Al!!! I just got back from my Oath taking.

Anyone else have a sugestion, do i need anything else?