World Unraveled.. please help.

[inver]

Hi. It has been ten long years since my mother took us from our native country of Colombia and brought us here to the States. She was in an awful marriage, with no future in our country of origin. My father would hit her, cheat, you name it, he didi it. We had lived in the states previously, and my mother thought it would be best for us to move here and make a decent living in this land, than in our own country, were she was worse than a nobody. Too old to get a job, too many kids (3)...

We came to the states with a tourist visa and life changed. My mom found a job working as a cleaning lady. With the little money she earned, our life began to change. My family and I overstayed our visa and for ten years it has been like this. I got through the University, became a resident. I was going to apply for citizenship this July andquickly petition for my mother. Thw work, the journey to finally belong to the place that gave us a shred of decency was right aournd the corner.

Today, my mom of all things opted to steal an Avocado from a SuperMarket. Why? I have no clue. She had $100.00 dollars in her purse, yet for some unknown reason she did it. She is in jail, my sister who is an honor student, secretary of her high school, track star is also being held. She was pulled out of class and taken to police custody. The police then reported my mother and sister to INS. They are currently on their way to a booking center to be fingerprinted and what not.

For an avocado it has all been for nought. My wolrd has unraveled. I cannot began to imagine what awaits them, and I feel absolutely useless. I just had to post this, so others would not suffer the pain my family is going through.

 

[MGM]

First of all, I am very sorry to hear this. People do strange things under different situation. You can not do anything about what has already happened. Please hire a good immigration attorney immediately for your mother. DHS will try their best to deport your mother and will probably try to keep her in their custody until she could be physically removed. Since the removal proceedings could be lenghty, a good immigration attorney will find a way to get her out on bail and then you will be able to fight the removal charges in immigration court. The removal process can be lenghty and since you are becoming a citizen soon, you probably will be able to apply for her legal immigration before the actual removal takes place. If that can be arranged then the immigration judge can grant your mother relief under that premise. You shall also have to try your best to find out what happened to the shoplifting charges. You should not let her accept any plea for petty theft. The best scenario is if the store does not file any charges. Even if they do you should be able to plea it to a unrelated minor charge since it was her first offence. If she accepts any plea of crime involving moral turpitude then she will not be granted any immigration relief unless it falls under the petty offence exemption. If criminal charges are already filed against her, you will probably need to hire a criminal attorney as well to fight the criminal charges. Criminal attorneys are not at all knowledgeable about immigration law so you have to make sure that he/she understands that your mother can not accept a plea involving moral turpitude. This is what my suggestion will be to you in this difficult situation. You definitely will need to have legal counsel in this regard. Good Luck.
MGM

Hi. It has been ten long years since my mother took us from our native country of Colombia and brought us here to the States. She was in an awful marriage, with no future in our country of origin. My father would hit her, cheat, you name it, he didi it. We had lived in the states previously, and my mother thought it would be best for us to move here and make a decent living in this land, than in our own country, were she was worse than a nobody. Too old to get a job, too many kids (3)...

We came to the states with a tourist visa and life changed. My mom found a job working as a cleaning lady. With the little money she earned, our life began to change. My family and I overstayed our visa and for ten years it has been like this. I got through the University, became a resident. I was going to apply for citizenship this July andquickly petition for my mother. Thw work, the journey to finally belong to the place that gave us a shred of decency was right aournd the corner.

Today, my mom of all things opted to steal an Avocado from a SuperMarket. Why? I have no clue. She had $100.00 dollars in her purse, yet for some unknown reason she did it. She is in jail, my sister who is an honor student, secretary of her high school, track star is also being held. She was pulled out of class and taken to police custody. The police then reported my mother and sister to INS. They are currently on their way to a booking center to be fingerprinted and what not.

For an avocado it has all been for nought. My wolrd has unraveled. I cannot began to imagine what awaits them, and I feel absolutely useless. I just had to post this, so others would not suffer the pain my family is going through.

 

[inver]

Thank you MGM for postingyour answers.

I would like to continue updating, so people are aware of what occurs in this nightmare scenario. To begin, my mother was taken to the police station. There she was interrogated. The offense was not being able to procure proper documentation (drivers license, state ID). My sister was later brought in, and with custody, taken to my mother's home where she procured the passports. My entire family had entered the US legally, but we willingly overstayed our visa. With the passport, visa and I-94 in hand, the police called USCIS. The charges for shoplifting were dropped.

USCIS officers came to the police station and personally picked up my mother and sister. They took them to their main station where they were asked a series of questions. Mainly, how long have you been in the US? Where do you work? How much do you make an hour? The officers were very nice and treated my sister and mother with the utmost respect and dignity. They even bought them doughnuts. They filled some paperwork and were told that they woudl have to appear before a judge in some time. They were released (an officer drove them back home) and were told to report everymonth in person to sign a form to show that they are still in the country and what have not. My mother was extremely surprised at how nice the officers were. Very polite and understanding.

My mother and sister later reported when they had too, as promised, to the USCIS station. There they signed a form to show that they have not fled and are still present.

We have hired an immigration attorney. I will file to become a citizen in April. Hopefully, becoming a citizen before the end of this year. My sister's school has contacted a US Congressman as to plead for my family's case. A representative and a counselor for the congressman has contacted my sister to get more details, and have contacted the immigration attorney.

That is where we stand as of today. We are still waiting for the court date to go before an immigration judge. Hopefully it will be after I become a citizen and petition my mother. My sister is a little more complicated, but we have hope that things will resolve. It's in God's hands now.

Thanks MGM for your post.

I hope this can help people.