Need some advice.

W

Wozniakk

New Member
Hello, I am an United States Citizen. My father is an American citizen. My mother was a German citizen until about 1986 or so, when they traveled to the US legally. (My mother traveled here with a legitimate visiting visa and a passport from Germany). My father married my mother shortly after they arrived in the US. The Visa has long since expired and the passport/travel identity card that were issued from Germany has expired as well. This was not a large issue until a recent conflict caused a separation between the two. My mother wishes to return to Germany but has the old, expired paperwork. We've called the German Embassy multiple times over the last two weeks without response. I've honestly been afraid of calling INS about it, for fear of deporting her and when she arrives in Germany, be charged with something and having her face jail time over there.

What are my options? Thanks in advance.
 
What do you think Germany would charge her with? Surely overstaying in the US is not a violation of German law?

Did your mother ever obtain a green card or US citizenship?

There are 8 German consulates in the US plus the embassy in Washington DC. Did you try calling more than one of them? The Embassy might have ignored your calls because they don't deal with the general public as much as the consulates do. See http://www.germany.info/Vertretung/usa/en/03__Consulates/00/__Consulates.html

If they won't issue a German passport to her because of her illegal presence in the US, ask them if there is an option for a temporary travel document that would allow a one-time trip back to Germany.
 
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You can sponsor your mother for a green card, provided you are above 21 and earn some income. Her visa overstay won't be a problem as far as obtaining a green card, then she can renew at her leisure her German passport and travel back to Germany. The risk she runs which you as a child should be greatly concerned about is this: as soon as she leaves the US, she is subject to a 10 year bar to return to the US for any reason. This means, should she and your father reconcile their marriage while she is in Germany, she won't be able to return here for another 10 years and even if your father passes away. If you get married or have a child, she won't be able to come to witness and celebrate those occasions with you. You need to thoroughly think about the repercussions of her just renewing her German passport and leaving the US without fixing her immigration status, those could be severe and come back to haunt your family.

Also, there is no agency called INS, died after DHS was created and now called USCIS. If you need help in terms of how you can go about filing her green card paperwork, this forum is the Library of Congress of Immigration, we will guide you through every step and by the time you are done, you will be a mini-expert on your case. The other issue to ponder: does your mother have no intention of coming back to the US or she is unaware of the consequences of just leaving the US? I can surmise that your yourself aren't educated on this issues, which you will need to correct expeditiously if you are to be resourceful to your parent. You have quite a few options to rectify the situation.
 
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If your mother didn't get a green card or citizenship, what prevented her from doing so? It's very strange that your her husband would just let her languish for 24 years with no legal status, when he is a US citizen and could easily file for her green card. Is there something important that you're not telling us?
 
Jackolantern said:
If your mother didn't get a green card or citizenship, what prevented her from doing so? It's very strange that your her husband would just let her languish for 24 years with no legal status, when he is a US citizen and could easily file for her green card. Is there something important that you're not telling us?
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Well, that's why the marriage is over. He basically kept her at the house without letting her get this all fixed before because of "money issues". @ the other posters: I talked with her several times about this, and frankly, this is the only way it can work. On top of that, she has a slew of medical issues that can't be resolved with her lack of citizenship.

I am over 21, and I already knew about the 10 year bar. I've talked with her and we both realize what will happen if she leaves. What I was worried about was back in the 80's, Germany had an identification system that had the citizen document every move within their country as well as departures. Tricky thing is that her card was not updated with her move to America. It's been over 20 years. My concern was that she would end up facing some kind of detention time for that issue. Going to call the other embassies I didn't know about on Tuesday to find out if she faces anything criminal charges in Germany. General consensus is to file for a green card, then?
 
You just need to stop this embassies nonsense because it has no bearing on her legal status in the US. (Period). I am sorry to say this, but your father strike me as some manipulate scrooge and a control freak, how on earth do you deny someone whom you claim to love, access to legal status in the country? In your shoes, I would cut-off all times to any relationship I might have with my father over such selfishness. If your concern is for her to return and claim her German citizenship, in an effort to have access to medical care in Germany, maybe you are justified in seeking to establish this issue. However, from a purely practical stand point, you need to fix her immigration status in this country, while working to also establish her citizenship with the German consulate. The old crappy laws in Germany have been changed with the emergence of a government that have some common sense, so she might be lucky. Calling Embassies is futile, you need to make a personal visit to the German Consulate, speak in person to another person whom you can grill with questions, to gather information on her citizenship.

Detention isn't in her future in Germany, to accomplish what? I believe your father needs to get some detention, for the reckless manner in which he treated your mother, classless and without regard for her personal well-being. Unless your father made less than $300 a year from 1986, I can't imagine any financial situation in which for 20 years, he couldn't fine for immigration for her. It has been his strategy to enslave your mother, shame and shame...:( Sorry to rant, file for her green card and save her from life of condemnation in a dungeon of poverty.
 
Wozniakk said:
What I was worried about was back in the 80's, Germany had an identification system that had the citizen document every move within their country as well as departures.
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Those were the days of the Berlin wall. I doubt those rules are still in place, or that they would care about her past violation of that (presumably) obsolete law now.
 
Al Southner said:
Calling Embassies is futile, you need to make a personal visit to the German Consulate, speak in person to another person whom you can grill with questions, to gather information on her citizenship.
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Calling to ask about the procedure to apply for a passport without legal US status, or a temp travel document, isn't necessarily futile.
 
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