I'm in desparate situation------help

[TNDV2008]

Just like I thought. I have crossed into canada by land & air, and never has my I-94 been requested (or demanded) by any one.

I believe there is a process where the airline would take the I-94, but it might be voluntary on the i-94 holder. This creates a loophole which the OP's wife could say she gave back the i-94 and it might have been misplaced by the airlines, and the US consulate officer has no way of proving that OP's wife overstayed.

 

[TNDV2008]

If she is on F1, there is high chance that DHS knows she is out of status because F1 is supposed to be on SEVIS, aren't they ?
Lawyer is answer.

How does DHS know with ABSOLUTE CERTAINITY that the "school drop-out" did not leave the country but rather overstayed?

 

[SB2008]

Interesting story gentlemen,
Can someone tell kihikaman how he'll answer question 30 h in DS 230 Part 2 which states:-
An alien who was previously ordered removed within the last 5 years or ordered removed a second time within the last
20 years; who was previously unlawfully present and ordered removed within the last 10 years or ordered removed a
second time within the last 20 years; who was convicted of an aggravated felony and ordered removed; who was
previously unlawfully present in the United States for more than 180 days but less than one year who voluntarily
departed within the last 3 years; or who was unlawfully present for more than one year or an aggregate of one year
within the last 10 years.
Is kihikaman going to tick Yes or No to the above question?
Whether doing CP or AOS, the answer to this question will contribute to a great extent the outcome of his DV processing.

 

[GotPR?]

How does DHS know with ABSOLUTE CERTAINITY that the "school drop-out" did not leave the country but rather overstayed?

There is alway a room that lie works, but I wouldn't recommend anyone to lie. She has to fill out the application that asks about past overstay.Whether she is overstaying or not is a question now, therefore lawyer helps.

OP has 2 choices.
1. going out of the US and try CP. Might have some road block due to out-of-status.
2. Stay out of statue or overstaying, and adjust the status when OP becomes US citizen.

In either way, there could be a trouble. That's a good lesson that breaking law will never make the thing easier.

 

[TNDV2008]

An alien who was ...
previously unlawfully present in the United States for more than 180 days but less than one year who voluntarily
departed within the last 3 years;

Is kihikaman going to tick Yes or No to the above question?
Whether doing CP or AOS, the answer to this question will contribute to a great extent the outcome of his DV processing.

First of all lets put some assumptions on the table...

1.) his wife is from the same country as he is
2.) they do not have kids
3.) his wife has never been issued a deportation order or a notice to appear infront of an INS officer since she "quit school"
4.) they married legally in their home country before each coming to US on F1
5.) there has not been a single instance of being detected as out of status while STILL being in US

I think the "going back home" to do CP is within reason, since she can claim she left the US and did not bother to relinquish her i-94

in any case, whatever option she chooses, there are pitfalls, but kihikaman should be intelligent to select the least incriminating answer...if he's catching the drift...

 

[F1winner]

a simple issue!!!

Poster, remember the NL says that you can notify KCC any case of changes of address, addition or deletion of family member and anything which may reduce chances of getting a visa, I therefore feel that you can communicate to Kcc and tell them that your wife will not be part of the the process due to personal issues. This way they will forward that letter together with your file to the interviewing centre and during the interview volunteer not to give unasked details a bout your wife. If you are luck to get the GC your wife will have to wait for half a decade before she can try her luck on a GC thru you as a citizen.
Anybody disputing this?

 

[LucyMO]

5.) there has not been a single instance of being detected as out of status while STILL being in US

really?????? are you sure?

4.) they married legally in their home country before each coming to US on F1

I didn't see where the OP wrote that the wife was in F-1 status. We have no idea what status she was in.

1.) his wife is from the same country as he is
2.) they do not have kids
3.) his wife has never been issued a deportation order or a notice to appear infront of an INS officer since she "quit school"
4.) they married legally in their home country before each coming to US on F1
5.) there has not been a single instance of being detected as out of status while STILL being in US

how do all these assumptions help answer the question whether she has been in the US unlawfully for more than 180 days?

 

[LucyMO]

Poster, remember the NL says that you can notify KCC any case of changes of address, addition or deletion of family member and anything which may reduce chances of getting a visa, I therefore feel that you can communicate to Kcc and tell them that your wife will not be part of the the process due to personal issues. This way they will forward that letter together with your file to the interviewing centre and during the interview volunteer not to give unasked details a bout your wife. If you are luck to get the GC your wife will have to wait for half a decade before she can try her luck on a GC thru you as a citizen.
Anybody disputing this?

he doesn't need to do anything like notifying them. He fills out DS-230 and DSP-122 for himself, and nothing for her. He is not the only person, whose spouses don't, won't or can't come to the US or get immigrant visas.

 

[TNDV2008]

I didn't see where the OP wrote that the wife was in F-1 status. We have no idea what status she was in.

how do all these assumptions help answer the question whether she has been in the US unlawfully for more than 180 days?

Lucy, again, as I stated these were ASSUMPTIONS....

The OP has to provide more info, so as to be given more relevant advice. Since he has provided so little, I am guestimating his possible scenarios.

WRT on how these assumptions help, I am trying to tell him that all hope is not lost, if both him & his spouse play their cards carefully. Remember, they have to "keep their eyes on the prize" so to speak, and by exposing less of what could disqualify them, enhances their success.

Now, if they were both legal, he would not be posting in such a freaked-out mindset.

 

[kihikaman]

he doesn't need to do anything like notifying them. He fills out DS-230 and DSP-122 for himself, and nothing for her. He is not the only person, whose spouses don't, won't or can't come to the US or get immigrant visas.

Lucy could you please elaborate on this? Are you saying I will be ok if I ignore her when filling and returning the forms? Thanks

 

[kihikaman]

Guys thanks for your extensive analysis of this mess i'm in. my case # is 2009AF44xxx I came here 4 yrs ago as an F1 and still I'm, my wife joined me a year later with an F1 visa, as time went by she gave birth to our son, the school gave her a medical leave for semester off only to be told by the international student advisor that she was out of status!! perhaps this careless official never updated her files. We tried to reinstate it is almost a year now and we have never had any communication from them.
We married thru the traditional method, all you need is to get the consent from both parents and no paperwork required.
Now i won this coveted lottery and utterly confused on the way forward mainly coz she has no status.

 

[Gerindo]

Is your wife status "Out of Status" or "Pending Reinstatement"? If your wife is in process to be reinstated then She should be ok. I have a friend who had similar problem, She went out of status because she dropped below required credit for a full time student. She imediately applied for reinstatement to go back to F1 status. The process took months before her reinstatement was approved. Reinstatement process does take a long time and it is similar but not the same as "out of status." With reinstatement, her status in the U.S is still legal. It just mean She is waiting to get back to her original status. On the other hand, if her status is "Out of Status" and is not in process of getting reinstatement, her status in the U.S might not be legal anymore. You might want to check and make sure what is your wife status (pending reinstatment or out of status).

Usually when you take a semester off from school, you need to go back to your home country for that semester, and come back again to continue to be a full time student on the next semester. Taking off a semester off from school should not affect the F1 status unless you did not left the U.S during that semester off.

Your case is interesting. Your son was born in the U.S? That would make him an U.S Citizen. This is usually a plus when trying to defend an immigration case.

You said that you don't have a marriage certificate? This could cause a problem. You will need some kind of proof that you are married. Is there anything that you can get from your country that show that you are legaly married?

Whatever you decision is to include her or not in the DV applications, the choice is yours. If you don't want to include her in the process, just mentioned that your wife will not join you to the U.S (question 21a and 21b in DS-230) but you could NOT omit your wife name in the application because you included your wife name on the initial electronic application. You still have to say that you're married and mention your wife name (question 9 and 14 in DS-230).

I wish you all the best!

 

[TNDV2008]

See what happens when we have a more clearer pic? I think Gerindo's explanation is excellent. I could not have said it better.


To Kihikaman:
1.) U should lawyer-up with a REALLY GOOD lawyer and push to get your wife in status asap (or before the interview)

2.) U dont have to send the DS-230 back right now. My case number was AF00044XXX and it became current this August. (which means yours case number will likely follow the same path and become current in Aug 2009)

3.) I sent my DS-230 to KCC in April 2008 (yes, 1 year after I recieved them). Make sure you scan the DS-230 into a PDF, and send it by e-mail, so that it does not get delayed by the "regular" bags of mail by winners of the 2010 DV.

4.) then send your pics by ups 2 days after u send the e-mail.

Keep in mind KCC needs 8 weeks to process a case, so plan accordingly i.e. medicals, background check, biometrics etc. I suspect you will prefer to do AOS, and therefore your path of action may be different from above, but at least you know that you dont have to "rush" to send back the forms.

Your case is very delicate, so take your time and plan accordingly....keep your eyes on the prize.

 

[LucyMO]

I suspect you will prefer to do AOS

with that kind of high number, AOS is a no-no.

 

[kihikaman]

"If you don't want to include her in the process, just mentioned that your wife will not join you to the U.S (question 21a and 21b in DS-230) but you could NOT omit your wife name in the application because you included your wife name on the initial electronic application. You still have to say that you're married and mention your wife name (question 9 and 14 in DS-230)."

Now that will live in the same address incase I say my wife will not join me in the USA, will it make them suspicious?
Because of the uncertainty of this peculiar situation I'm contemplating to try CP by myself, will the consular officers question her absence during the interview day? Will they require her details like medicals or anything to do with her other than the marriage certificate?
We are yet to see a knowledgeable lawyer but chances of my wife regaining her status looks remote.

 

[LucyMO]

Now that will live in the same address incase I say my wife will not join me in the USA, will it make them suspicious?

no, it won't. Plenty of people are in your situation. It does not involve extra questioning.

 

[kihikaman]

What is follow to Join

I talked to an attorney the other day who advised me to go home by myself (CP) and during the interview he said that I should request for the follow-to join forms to bring to my wife back here in the USA. Have you ever heard of this?

 

[LucyMO]

in this case, she has better chances if she goes home and simply does CP at the same time with you. I don't see any benefit to doing following-to-join through CP for her. It might be too late, since you have a high number.
What did the lawyer base his decision on? What was the reasoning?

 

[kihikaman]

in this case, she has better chances if she goes home and simply does CP at the same time with you. I don't see any benefit to doing following-to-join through CP for her. It might be too late, since you have a high number.
What did the lawyer base his decision on? What was the reasoning?

LucyMo thanks for taking your time,
This is part of my original thread ..........."I'm a dv 2009 winner and on valid f1.
My wife is out of status for more than 180 days and yet I foolishly included her during the electronic registration.
Kindly advice me what to do. I know if I pursue the process with her included it will be rejected".........
According to the lawyer if 'you electronically indicated that you were married you must appear with your wife during the interview time' the fact that my wife has been out of status for more than one year if she goes home she will be barred from entering the usa for 10 years. That 'if you request follow to join forms you atleast will have an opportunity to be interviewed by yourself while you buy time to sort out your wife's issues'.
Furthermore he advised that I must when filling the ds 230 forms I must include her details.
LucyMo that was is reasoning, however he did not explain to me how one can do follow to join when you are already in the country!
This thing is really disturbing to the point that I find it toooooo hard concentrating!
Regards.

 

[LucyMO]

first of all, you don't need to bring your wife to the interview just because she was included in your initial entry and because you are married. Second of all, she cannot file for FTJ benefits until after you get a GC. Third of all, in this case there is no need to file for a FTJ because she'd be going to the same consulate to get the visa.

Of course, you need to include her info in your DS-230 and DSP-122, but you don't need to enclose her own filled DS-230. This way, she won't even be invited to the interview.

Another thing, after your wife fell out of status, did she contact USCIS for anything? Was she ever found to be out of status by an immigration officer?