Looking for some information

[sbrownsprint]

Hi everyone,

I have a bit of a sticky issue and I hope you all can help me out.

I married a USC in July 05, and my wife sponsored both myself and my son (who was 16 at the time).

We received our green cards (the 10 year one) in March 08.

Well, now that my son is 18+, he has been getting into all sorts of trouble with the law (drinking, drugs, etc..)

He was placed on a 1 year probation from the local courts and was told that he needs to smarten up and fly right, or, there may be larger immigration issues with him IF the judge decides to put him in jail for a amount of time.

It just so happens that our local judge used to be an immigration officer as well at one point in his career.

We have tried talking to him about all these issues, but he has that "I do not care, I will do what I want, when I want attitude"....

So, it is now coming down to the wire with him, where it is looking like he may only have a few options left open to him:

1: Straighten up
2: Leave the country and surrender his greencard
3: The judge may place him in jail, and report him to the proper authorities and begin deportation against him.

So, all that being said, on top of all this, my wife has also been "threatened" by my son over the whole support issue that she signed up for as his sponsor . He has basically told her that he does not want to work or be a "productive" green card holder and that no matter what, he will remain in the USA and she will still end up being responsible for him.

We have tried everything with him, but at the same time, we are also looking into what can be done to protect my wife from any legal backlash as well (the judge had asked for a copy of her support paperwork at one of my son's last court hearing to see how just how far this may go).

I guess my questions are..

IF he returns to Canada on his own, how can we make sure his greencard is revoked so that he cannot "sneak" back into the USA and potentially follow up on his threats to make my wife support him?

Can the judge actually force him to go back to Canada by contacting the proper authorities?

And, keeping in mind that he is now 19 years old, I also have to look at things from my wife's point of view, what should we be doing at this point to protect my wife from the government or for that matter..my son?

Thank you
Sbrownsprint

[Jackolantern]

Originally Posted by sbrownsprint

IF he returns to Canada on his own, how can we make sure his greencard is revoked so that he cannot "sneak" back into the USA and potentially follow up on his threats to make my wife support him?

He can't directly make your wife support him. He can only apply for welfare-type benefits, and then if the state gives him those benefits they can choose go after your wife for reimbursement. Given his situation, with his criminal record and being a permanent resident for less than 5 years (most states require at least 5 years before PRs are eligible for benefits), I don't think he'll be able to get much if anything.

IF he returns to Canada on his own, how can we make sure his greencard is revoked so that he cannot "sneak" back into the USA and potentially follow up on his threats to make my wife support him?

If he got back into the USA by sneaking, he wouldn't be eligible for welfare benefits, so your wife wouldn't have to reimburse the state for anything.

But you can't directly have his green card revoked. That's up to the judge and immigration enforcement to decide based on his crimes. You can only help the authorities to find him if they are trying to track him down and he is running from them.

Can the judge actually force him to go back to Canada by contacting the proper authorities?

If he has committed a crime that is a deportable offense, the judge can report him and he'd likely get deported after serving jail time.

[Mr Vertigo]

If he's deported, he forfeits any "right" to support from your wife.

[Jackolantern]

Originally Posted by Mr Vertigo

If he's deported, he forfeits any "right" to support from your wife.

Exactly. And you're also right to put the "right" in quotes, because now that he's over 18 he has no right to be supported by your wife. The right that arises from immigration sponsorship is not his right, it's the right of the state to collect reimbursement for benefits paid to him.

[Triple Citizen]

I am afraid, there is nothing you can do about his GC. He is an adult now, even if he is not behaving like one.

Originally Posted by sbrownsprint

IF he returns to Canada on his own, how can we make sure his greencard is revoked so that he cannot "sneak" back into the USA and potentially follow up on his threats to make my wife support him?

[sbrownsprint]

Thank you all very much for your responses.

It makes my wife breath a little easier knowing that she is not 100% responsible for him.

Tha sad part is we went and spoke to a laywer when all of this started and the laywer had told her that due to her signing the support documents and at the time he was issued his green card, she would be 100% responsible for him untill the age of 21.

After we read all your responses, she decided to call another immigration laywer and see what they had to say on this topic, and this laywer told her the same thing as you all did.

I know it may sound horrible the way I worded things in my original post, but we have tried so hard to get our son on the right track, but he just refuses to smarten up, and I just wanted to make sure that at this point, if he refuses to do what is required, then my wife will not be left trying to clean up any of his messes.

I really would hate to see him get deported and such over him being stupid at this point in his life. I tried to explain to him that IF he gets deported, he may not be allowed to re-enter the country for a period of years, and that if he does smarten up in the next year or so, he has now directly affected his future.

So, this leads me to my next question....

His trouble that he is having originally started small (he was caught giving tabacco to a minor) and the court ordered him on 1 year probation, community service..etc..etc.

But due to the fact of him NOT following the courts orders, and getting caught drinking underage (legal age is 21 here in AZ). Failing a drug test, etc.. the court has tacked on more and more conditions to his probation. Problem is, he will not follow a single order of the court.

The judge has been (in my opinion) way to lenient on him by not enforcing anything with him, other than demanding him to return to court in the following weeks to give a status update on his progress...

But, now the judge has basically verbally threatened him by telling him that if he does not start listening to his court orders (and even our home rules) that he will be left with no choice but to place him into jail and notify ICE of his drinking and drug use and they are grounds for deportation.

So, my question is, can he actually be deported over drinking and failing drug tests (he tested positive for pot)?

Thank you
Sbrownsprint

[Jackolantern]

Originally Posted by sbrownsprint

I really would hate to see him get deported and such over him being stupid at this point in his life. I tried to explain to him that IF he gets deported, he may not be allowed to re-enter the country for a period of years,

If deported for criminal activity, he likely would be banned from the US for LIFE.

So, my question is, can he actually be deported over drinking and failing drug tests (he tested positive for pot)?

Yes, deportation is possible. It depends on the severity of the specific offense (quantity of the drugs, number of convictions, length of prison sentence, etc.) whether he can be deported for it, but based on what you described he seems to be pushing those limits if he hasn't exceeded them already. And they generally make the offender serve prison time in the US before being deported.