Hello,

This is my first time in this forum, and for that matter first time in any forum. I hope not to make any mistakes.

Now, boy do i need some help.

I was coming back with my fiancee from the trip in Mexico. She is USC, and I (Polish Citizen) was on M-1(vocational school international student) status. On the border they proved that i broke the rules of my stay and worked illegally while in the US. I was deported, and they send me off to England where I am now. At this point i talked to two lawyers, and they made little sense, except when talking about fees that i understood.

the first one said:
file the application for the K-1 (I-129F) and then sent the receipt with the I-212 Waiver (since i am banned from entering to the US for the next 5 years, sorry forgot to mention this little detail:)

the second one said:
file the K-1(I-129F) or marry and then it will be K-3 then wait until you get requested to the embassy, where they will deny your visa, then file I-212 and when that's approved, your visa will be waiting for you in the embassy. if not then you gotta wait for five years for the ban to be lifted and then apply for I-130 or something like that.

Please if anyone can drop some clues as to how this process usually takes place, where to file those forms USCIS or embassy, and when(or rather what is the order of filling them?), also what are the fees for immigration lawyers in US.

I feel i made couple mistakes, and I rather not continue with the same trend.

Thanks to all, I think this is a great site, especially since those immigration laws are just crazy complicated.
Cheers.
Paul

ps. sorry i might be repetitive with the previous forums, but was hoping for a fresh look from someone who knows a bit about all this.

Your fiance is the one who will need to decide what to do. If the two of you are not ready to marry, then she can only file the I-129f and the waiver form, and hope for the best. I suspect that the 5-year ban will be hard to overcome, however, even if you do get married. Can she come live with you?

She can file I-129 for a K-1 fiance visa. The visa will be denied, and as a fiancee I am pretty sure you have to wait out your ban. As a spouse (if she went over to see you and get married where you are) she can file for a K-3 or a CRI-1 spousal visa and the ban is usually eligible for a waiver.

Either way, your visa will initially be denied. Adding to overstay you mentioned working illegally; this will add to the pain of the process. I wish you both the best of luck.

A fiance is eligible for a waiver the same as a spouse. A lot of lawyers don't know this, but it is in the law. The ban will be for the deportation and this is what will need to be adressed in the waiver. Working shouldn't be an issue unless things have drastically changed since we went thru the waiver process.

Oh there you go. I stand corrected

No offense meant. I had a lawyer that didn't know a fiance was eligible for a waiver and from my research I found many that did not know this. And there is nothing in the INA that states a visa can be denied for unauthorized work. It can be denied for misrepresentation, but if the work is admitted, there was no misrepresentation. I suggest that anyone needing a waiver join immigrate2us.net and start reading and asking questions. It is a great site. I could write a book on immigrationa and waivers with what we went through. It took 30 months from the time I filed the I-129F until her visa was issued.

Thanks for the reply,
I guess she can come with me to live. Is that a problem or a good thing?

thanks for the input,

As far as i know there was no overstay, i apply for extensions to my status each year and they were granted. I think the problem is only the unauthorized employment as they put it.

thank you for the reply,

as to the visa being denied, is it due to the unauthorized work, or is it because the deportation(which happened because of the unauthorized work) and 5 year ban cause i think this is in my case.

do you know what are the chances for such waiver to be approved?

you said it took 30 months for your fiancee to get a visa, do you know if it is better to apply as a fiancee or a wife? (my fiancee is here with me for now, and we plan to get married before she comes back to US)

Finally, did you do all the paperwork by yourself, and if not where would you suggest i should look for a lawyer?

big thanks.

Your visa will be denied because of the 5 year ban. Applying for the K visas or the Cr-1 does not lift the ban. Once your visa is denied, your fiance will have to show in a waiver packet that if you do not return to the US, she will endure extreme hardship. She will have to show how her situation is worse in the US without you there and why she cannot move to your country (little problem here if she does move to your country while waiting this out)

Compiling a waiver packet is intense, hiring a lawyer might be worth it.

You're in for a long, arduous road ahead. Good luck

I mangaged to find a good lawyer once I was well into the process. My first lawyer was fair, but there are a few good ones. You may want to do a consult with a couple of them. Laurel Scott at http://www.scottimmigration.net/. She is one of the best waiver lawyers in the US. Also, Heather Poole at http://www.humanrightsattorney.com/

The consulate will give you a paper listing the exact reason and section of the law pertaining to the ban. Chance of apporval depends on the consulate and how well your wavier package is prepared. You need to make your hardships work for you. The two lawyers I have linked to are both top notch. It is well worth it to consult with either or both of them. Also, check out immigrate2us.net. It is the best forum for waivers.

Actually, the 212 is completely different than the 601 and is not really that hard to get. The standard is MUCH lower than an I-601.

Go to immigrate2us.net. There is a section dedicated to the I-212, check out the adjudication process. Your two attorneys each had *part* of the story right. All of the following information depends on there not being a Misrepresentation charge. Please contact one of the recommended attorneys to get good legal information and see if the think you will have a problem with Misrep.

If you get married and then file, you will file the I-130 and then use the receipt to file the I-212 at the local office over the area of deportation.

If you decide to file as fiances, you will file the I-129f, be denied at the interview and then submit the waiver at the consulate.

When filed alone (ie without the 601) a 212 is handled VERY differently than filed with the 601.

What do you mean by very differently, my lawyer mentioned that i do need 212 but might later find out that 601 i will need too.