mariealline
New Member
I live in the US but I have a friend from Australia who visited me about 8 years ago on a visitors visa. This friend is "Slow" and slightly mentally retarded but highly functional which means she is able to live on her own and take care of herself but she is impulsive and trusts others too much. One of her "friends" that she met online talked her into selling everything she had in Australia and coming to the US on another visitors Visa by promising her that she could get a green card and stay here when she got over here to take care of this "friend" who was ill at the time and needed "care". My friend from Australia called me recently and asked for help to get her out of there. She said she was here for two years and the green card never materialized. What it sounds like to me, when her time was up on her visa and when all of her money was gone, this woman who she was supposedly taking care of, started threatening her that if she left, she would call the INS and report her and they would throw her in jail and so she has been afraid to ask for help. This woman has kept her working many hours a day, does nothing but sit on the computer all day and my friend does all of the housework, all of the yard work, the cooking and laundry and this woman uses her as an indentured servant or slave and has never paid her a cent. This woman has also been physically abusive with her. My friend from Australia finally got to the point where she contacted me online and wants me to come and get her out of there. I have been planning a trip to go and get her out of there safely but am not sure I should go and get her and I really have doubts about this situation. I don't know what I can do for her without making the situation worse other than go and get her out of there, bring her home and then get ahold of someone that can help her. I have talked to this woman online and basically she has told me that my friend was allowed to come here for her use "Exclusively" (which I very much doubt), and that she didn't want to hear any more about my friend going anywhere again. My friend has no money and I think is considered a "vulnerable adult" in the US. What do you suggest that I do? My friend says if she goes home to Australia that they don't consider her a vulnerable adult there and that she will go to jail. I don't think this would be appropriate in this situation. I'm not sure what I can do to help her or even who I can contact to help her. Please advise. Her visa is long expired and I don't know if I could get into trouble if I take her home with me either.
Thank you,
mariealline
I should add that another friend has already contacted the INS about this situation and they were not able to do anything at the time because her visa was not yet up, but I would think they would follow up and investigate farther but I don't see that happening.
Looks like I added this to the wrong forum. Please move it if needed and I apologize. Not sure where to post. I don't know anything about visas or their numbers. I don't even know who the INS is or where to contact them.
Thank you,
mariealline
I should add that another friend has already contacted the INS about this situation and they were not able to do anything at the time because her visa was not yet up, but I would think they would follow up and investigate farther but I don't see that happening.
Looks like I added this to the wrong forum. Please move it if needed and I apologize. Not sure where to post. I don't know anything about visas or their numbers. I don't even know who the INS is or where to contact them.
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