I had been living in Miami practically my entire life (for 17 years) from the age of 3 up until December of '06 when I was deported to Colombia for being illegal.

My question is: I soon plan on marrying my girlfriend from back home. What is the likelyhood of being able to return to the country on a Fiance Visa? and obviously before the 10 year ban I was given. Would it be easier entering on a Spouse Visa?

I've heard it's possible by asking for a pardon at the U.S. Embassy (I don't exactly know the specifics.) and recently I also found the I-212 form that lets you re-enter after deportation. What exactly is the success rate of that form ever really doing anything for anyone?

Not being dramatic or anything but this is, by far, the worst thing that has ever happened to me. So ANY information whatsoever that can be provided would be greatly appreciated.

Ichiwawa, the 212 waiver is available to fiances or spouses. But since the waiver requires the US citizen to prove extreme hardship if the fiance/spouse's waiver is denied, it is sometimes easier to prove hardship if you are married. At your visa interview you would be denied and given the opportunity to file the waiver (assuming you have no other ineligibilities).

You will find a great deal of information on www.immigrate2us.net. You should also search for information on approval rates and timing for waivers in Colombia, as well as run your case by a qualified immigration attorney who is experienced in waivers so you are clear on the requirements and likely outcome.

Try Heather Poole http://www.humanrightsattorney.com/sub/ind...qZUoDv5X6k9g8HH

or Laurel Scott www.visacentral.net. Laurel also has a free online chat on Wednesday mornings at 11:00 am central time - if you are lucky you might be able to get a question in there about 212 approval rates in Colombia.

Buena Suerte

p.s. with a strong hardship letter and evidence, 212 waivers are often approved - it is doable.

i'm sure this is a terrible time for you. believe me, i understand.

your girlfriend or wife (if you wait until you're married) can apply for you... i'm not positive, but I think the processing time is about the same. someone else will chime in if i'm incorrect.

it is a very long & involved & somewhat expensive proposition... but she needs to get started now... if you wait, it'll only delay things even more... there are a lot of forms to fill out but you need to start with either the I 130 or I129 (i think 129 is for fiance).. it costs money to apply. then it will be a few months for the approval. then they will send her a series of other documents (which also costs $$). she will need to prove she meets the poverty line by sending a copy of her taxes etc... after all that, your file will be sent to columbia who will send you a letter to have a physical exam & then they will bring you in for the visa appt. unfortunately, at the visa interview you will be denied a visa because of being in the U.S. illegally. At that point is when you will need to fill out forms I 160 & I 212 and pay a fee. with these two forms you MUST SUBMIT documentation showing it would be an extreme hardship for your wife or fiance to move to Columbia. those hardships could be the language if she doesn't know spanish, the amount of violence in Columbia, health care needs if she has any health conditions etc... THIS DOCUMENTATION IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.... I cannot stress the importance of the preparation of your hardship "package". you must have documentation, documentation, documentation. you may want to look on Atty. Laurel Scott's website, www.visacentral.net she has a waiver brochure you definitely need to read to show you how to prove your hardships.. the success of this process depends upon how prepared your waiver packet is.. please, don't take this part of the process lightly..

fyi.. i did not use a lawyer for the first phase of my application. if your fiance can read and understand she will be fine. it would be great if she had a friend to help her, but you really don't need a lawyer for that part of the process because if you submit anything incorrect, they will return it to you & tell you exactly what they need. however, for the waiver and hardship packet i definitely used a lawyer... this part is tooooo important to take any chances.. if they tell you no that's it.... you have to start the process all over again with a new application & fees... i STRONGLY recommend you get a lawyer for this part if you can afford it.... I don't think having a lawyer will speed up the process in any way... they go by dates your forms were submitted. they don't care whether a lawyer submitted them...


i hope i helped you... & good luck to you & tell your girlfriend to GET STARTED asap .. you can download all of these forms off the internet..

also ANYTIME she sends a form to them ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS send it registered mail so she has a recepit.. i can't stress that enough...

Just an FYI - no need for a 601 waiver for deportation - just a 212. Laurel Scott's memo is about 601 waivers, but since the need to prove extreme hardship is the same for a 212, it will provide helpful guidance.

Thanks a lot! This is definitely a lot more information than I would've been able to find on my own.

But now I'm concerned. I was looking over this list of possible extreme hardships and I doubt she'd really qualify for any of them; I mean she's only 18. Can't I write a hardship letter myself? being that I'm the one having a very difficult time here. I can barely speak the language! And is there a difference between extreme hardship and just hardship, or do you all mean the same by it?

Anyway, I was talking to my sister back in Miami earlier today and she told me she had spoken to an immigration lawyer and said that there really wasn't much that could be done for me at the moment but to wait till next month when some new immigration amnesty bill gets passed (if it does) and so if we can't get the proof for the hardships, I'd have to depend off this worker program or whatever it is and see where my life goes from there.

Again, many thank yous!

sorry to tell you, the US. doesn't care about your hardships.. you're not a U.S. citizen... you have to think of HER hardships if she would have to move to Columbia to be with you & what hardships she would endure there.... can she speak the language? can she get a job there? she would be seperated from her family? is there adequate healthcare there for her?? etc... it has absolutely nothing to do with you.. they don't care about that.. it's all about her... it CAN be done.. i have a friend that I met on the immigrate2us website (tampabaygirl) that is in EXACTLY your same situation. her husband is from Columbia. they are young, married, no kids, no health issues & he was deported for entering illegally & their waiver was APPROVED.. so it can be done. look at her posts on the immigrate2us.net website... remember, to the U.S. your hardships mean absolutely nothing.... it's the hardship that the U.S. citizen would face should she have to move to Columbia to be with you..

As ladybug explained, the law requires your American fiance to prove extreme hardship to her if your visa is ultimately denied and her only option is to relocate to your country.

My suggestions:

Have a consultation with a qualified attorney (in my other post) to get some guidelines and advice on whether or not a potential new law could impact you. Keep in mind that the senate proposal is a proposal - it has a long way to go before it is implemented - it's unlike anything will happen next month. And you will still have the deportation to deal with no matter what happens with a new law.

Read everything you can on www.immigrateus.net in the waiver forums - there are example letters, guidelines and all kinds of information. Read the information here in the stickies at the top of the forum. Take the time to get educated. She can begin the I-129F Fiance visa petition now - it will be several months before you get to the point of having an interview and needing to submit a waiver.

Ah, this thread has given me a smidge of hope.

So from what I've been reading up: the fiance visa's (I-129F) processing time takes much much less than the spouse visa (I-130) though it might be more difficult to prove hardship with when the time comes to file the waiver? Truth? Decisions decisions.

Hey ladybug, you wouldn't happen to have any contact info with this tampabaygirl, would you? I tried looking her up but found nothing.

...and lastly, can anyone give me an estimate of about how much a lawyer would charge to write one of these hardship letters? I've never had to talk to one so I wouldn't even know what to expect. Hundreds, thousands? I honestly have no idea, but would like to know to start saving up.

I have to say that in looking back I would not have used a lawyer. If I had known about this site before I was filing my I 129F, I would have used the information on the site and done all the filing myself. If you are talking to a lawyer, they will/should tell you their hourly few upfront. Mine was $195 per hour.....I spent thousands with this guy because each call I made, each e-mail, letter etc was a charge. That makes sense of course for them, because they are earning a living of course--but it became very very costly. He even charged me to listen to my voice mail saying everything had been approved. If you need a lawyer because of an overstay or other problem, then of course do it. But get them to estimate the charges for you.

Just my thoughts

My wife and I hired a great attorney here in Michigan, and it ended up costing around $8,000 or so, but it was well worth it. We filed our I-130 and our I-212 at the exact same time, and I'm glad we did. You might want to check if that option is available to you as well, as it helps knowing that everything is in line to be looked at instead of getting through one part only to start another of more waiting. Our attorney put together a great hardship package and told us exactly what we'd need to help the case, and it worked. Good luck!

not quite true maam...at my interview at sydney consul australia, i was required to file both I-601 and I-212 applications
i was deported after uscis ruled me inadmissable

not quite true maam...at my interview at sydney consul australia, i was required to file both I-601 and I-212 applications
i was deported after uscis ruled me inadmissable

hey ichi I was also deported from florida what facility were you in? i was at BTC until mid december 06 for almost 8 weeks do i know you? tony from australia.

212 is for deportation

601 is for other inadmissibilities i.e. illegal presence, overstay, criminal background, etc.

Safe to assume you had other inadmissibilities that required a 601.

you're right, the 212 is for deportation, but the deportation had to be for a reason be it crimes or EWI etc... at the top of his post he said he was deported for being illegal, so that's how i knew he had to file the 601...