Removal proceeding for failing to file I-751 in time (split)

[romo24 0]

​

I have a question for the community!

I am currently in removal proceeding for failing to file my I-751 in time. I went to court and was given continuance so could send my application.

​

My application is with a waiver so this might not be the correct place to ask but if someone can point me in the right direction ​I would really appreciate that​!

Basis Of Petition​ :

1.e I entered the marriage in good faith, and, during the marriage, I was battered, or was subject of extreme cruelty, by my U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse.

-Due to my husband cheating and becoming verbally abusive to the point that I attempted suicide ​[​I left him shortly after that.​] ​

1.g The termination of my status and removal from the United States would result in extreme hardship

-I was originally brought to the United States by the DEA and FBI as political asylum for my family​. Going back would be just plain stupid and dangerous since they brought us for our protection. Also, I don't know how to read ​or​ write the language since I was brought here so young. I know nothing of that country really.​​We weren't even allowed to leave for the first 8 years we were here. I've been there twice on vacation since they brought us over. ​I wouldn't even ​be able to work there since I have no school record​.​ ​I did all my schooling here since the second grade and started college until they took our permit away. ​

​I had to send evidence that I entered the marriage in good faith which I don't think was hard at all since I married my high school sweetheart after 3 years of dating and 1 year of living together at his family's home.

My evidence included:

-Explanation of events that support the basis of petition and apology for late filing.

-Divorce petition

-W2s from our employer since we worked together at the time of our marriage and had the same address listed.

-Paystubs that showed we had the same address since before the marriage and during.

-My first driver license was also with our address at his parent's home. before and during our marriage. I also included a copy of the new DL when I changed my last name to his.

-Bank records showing that my first bank account ever was opened with his parents home address as well. A year before we were married! and i had that address until we separated.

-Credit cards opened with our address before the marriage at his parents, and other credit card with new last name with same address. after the marriage.

-Picture and medical records of my visit to the hospital after the attempt against my life.

-Medical record showing my dangerously unhealthy state after leaving him suffering hypoglycemia from severe anemia. [depression affects a lot more that your mind!]

-Receipt from SS Administration showing my change of last name

-Letter addressed to me with my married last name from my sister when she was in USMC bootcamp.

-Picture with his family, my family, high school, holidays, graduation, Disneyland. Las vegas...

The marriage and the relationship were real as you can see. Why am I worried? because everything I read asks that we show financial proof like a lease, mortgage, cars or joint credit cards but in all honesty, when you get married at 19 you have none of that. Also when I left my husband and my residency expired I had to live off friends couches. I couldn't afford to sue him for divorce and since we were separated I didn't want to lie and file jointly. When I asked him for the divorce so I could file separately he said that he wasn't going to do anything that if I needed a divorce that I had to do it myself, which is why it was put off. After I received the notice to appear telling me that could be deported I had to file for divorce. We are finally in the process.

I sent my packet on May 7th by USPS certified mail to the California Service Center and it shows it was received and signed for May 8th 2015. As of right now I have not received anything and the check has not been cashed.

I just want to know if anyone had something similar happened or if they know what I can expect. I know that it can take a while to get a response. Is there a way to know they're working on it if I haven't received a receipt.

I know it's a lot but I would appreciate any advice, information, or support,

Thank you!

-C

Edited May 29, 2015 by romo24

[Blue Bianchi 77]

This might be the better forum:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/forum/127-effects-of-major-family-changes-on-immigration-benefits/

Also, best to consult a lawyer. Good luck!

I have a question for the community!

I am currently in removal proceeding for failing to file my I-751 in time. I went to court and was given continuance so could send my application.

​

My application is with a waiver so this might not be the correct place to ask but if someone can point me in the right direction ​I would really appreciate that​!

Edited May 29, 2015 by Blue Bianchi

[EM_Vandaveer 2,364]

I heard 1g is extremely hard to prove, but you do have a unique situation on that front. Can't you divorce now and file with a divorce waiver? Out of the 3, I'm pretty sure that's the easiest to get. For both 1e and the divorce waiver you have to prove bona fide marriage, but for 1e you also have to prove abuse, him cheating on you, however upsetting is not abuse in USCIS's eyes, as to the verbal abuse I believe you'd have to show a psychological evaluation. I agree that you should see a lawyer. Probably filing for divorce and filing I-751 with a divorce waiver is your best chance.

OK, I re-read your post. You filed for divorce now, right? You should have just checked "bona fide marriage ended in divorce". You can give USCIS the divorce degree when you have it.

Edited May 30, 2015 by EM_Vandaveer

[tuckin14 58]

I would file with a divorce waiver (the divorce doesn't have to be final) but also with a hardship waiver.

A hardship waiver requires more than "ordinary" hardship, like you'd have to sell your house and leave your job and friends behind. I don't know if they consider the fact that you were brought here essentially for the convenience of the US Government or not, but it seems they should. I would at least try to argue that even if you can't identify which cartel has a long memory and a lot of bullets, you have a legitimate fear of extrajudicial punishment.

I'm not sure what status you were on prior to marriage.

[Villanelle 4,121]

I was hoping Sandranj would have seen this thread and replied by now. She hasnt.../ Hopefully she does soon and comments on it. She has this weird sixth sense where when her name is mentioned on a thread she appears-- so we will see... he he...

Anyway, with out her guidence- I will have to agree with the others- from the limited info you have provided I can see a few glaring things-

Number 1- Somewhere somehow I have this voice saying any 751 that has the 1e "abuse" box checked goes to the Vermont service center. Now I looked at the basic instructions and I dont see it printed anywhere but honestly I feel like I know this as a fact, and you sent yours to CSC- so maybe this is why yours was received and not processed? (this is a question/issue for Sandra to clarify)

Number 2- you picked 1e and 1g- Oh my goodness. Im just like (jaw drop) I hate these forms. I really do. They give people choices and little to no explanation of what the choices actually mean when you pick them in terms of the huge burden of proof that you are required to demonstrate when you pick each one. When you file the joint petition and are filing it out on your own and requesting a waiver of the joint requirement -you can pick one box or multiple boxes. But the kicker is any box you pick you must meet the burden of proof for. Picking a box is completely voluntarily and just because you meet the requirements for a box doesnt mean you have to pick it. So you can be abused and divorced and just choose abused or just choose divorced or choose both.

Divorced is the easiest box to meet the requirements for because all it takes is the divorce decree. Thats it. So most people that qualify for multiple boxes, well if divorce is one of them, they simply only check divorce because- well, why check more? The more you check the more you have to prove.

(this is in regards to simply proving you are eligible to file as a waiver. Period.- You then still need to meet the conditions needed to ROC. That is your bonafide marriage evidence like financial co-mingling and relationship evidence)

It seems you may have dug yourself a pretty nice hole by selecting two very hard types to prove you are eligible for the waiver 1e and 1g. I see you wrote in your evidence 'explanation of events' . In the forums and re 751s/abuse waivers its referred to as sending in an affidavit of your abuse or a hardship waiver type letter. These need to be extremely well crafted. I dont know how well done yours was. Regarding abuse, all abuse is horrible and you obviously suffered a great deal if there was an attempt against your life. But the USCIS- and this is awkward to say,they have particular standards for what is considered abuse. They have to be able to check off certain things on a paper in order to justify giving you a benefit. So with out knowing more details Id be hesitant to say if you have enough. That is for someone like Sandra to review the fine details if she is so inclined. The quality of your statement counts, that plus a medical record of an assault of him being named I think would be good.

The hardship 1g-- I dont see any evidence of hardship besides your statement and even that, the burden for hardship is so high. You contradicted yourself by stating that you 'fled' as a child yet returned on vacation not once but twice which sort of negates any claim of fear for your safety to return. Any hardship you would have in returning would be viewed as a common not harder then anyone else that would return.

As I stated before I am hoping Sandra will comment here with advice for you. There should be a way for you to amend (maybe thats not the right word) but amend or change your filing to a divorce waiver only since you have the divorce or abuse and divorce. An advantage to going with abuse and divorce is when you do both they are a bit more lenient on not having so much bonafide relationship evidence if part of the abuse was your spouse was controlling so you didnt have much joint evidences.

(If Sandra does not get back to your thread as she is very busy- post in the VAWA thread and refer to this thread and ask for her opinion okay?)

[Sandra G. 5,009]

You can establish the basis for your I-751 waiver before an Immigration Judge while in removal proceedings. If you decide to keep the basis for your -I751 waiver as a bonafide marriage then your I-751 waiver will be reviewed by an Immigration Judge, but if you want to change the basis or add one or two basis then you have to file a new I-751 waiver with the Immigration Court.

You will have two hearings, the master hearing takes 5/10min and you will agree or deny USCIS allegations, once you deny the allegations the Judge will set up an individual hearing. Immigration Court proceedings take 3/4 years.

You returned safely to the U.S. after visiting your home Country twice. I don't believe the Immigration Judge will consider that your life will be in danger in your home Country.But a good immigration lawyer can advise if you have enough proof to file the waiver based on extreme hardship or extreme cruelty. You have a good chance to have the waiver approved based in hardship if you can prove that you have spent most of your life living in the U.S, or if you do not have any family members living in your home Country ,or if you have any medical condition etc..

You should hire an experienced immigration attorney in your area to handle your removal proceedings.

Edited June 2, 2015 by sandranj

[Boiler 43,392]

​I did all my schooling here since the second grade and started college until they took our permit away.

Sounds like there is a lot more to this.

[Sandra G. 5,009]

I just read now that you chose both options(extreme hardship and extreme cruelty) well it's not wise to argue in Court about extreme hardship based on the reasons given in the asylum case, since you returned safely to the USA twice. As i mentioned before you can argue that you basically grew up here, have no immediate relatives in your home Country etc... To prove extreme cruelty you better to have solid proof of the abuse, just your word will not be enough.

You mentioned they "took your permit "away" , it seems the asylum was canceled. A person can lose the asylum status for many reasons, such as fraud, felony, even if the person traveled to the home County using her/his own passport, many reasons.

Edited June 2, 2015 by sandranj

[romo24 0]

I just read now that you chose both options(extreme hardship and extreme cruelty) well it's not wise to argue in Court about extreme hardship based on the reasons given in the asylum case, since you returned safely to the USA twice. As i mentioned before you can argue that you basically grew up here, have no immediate relatives in your home Country etc... To prove extreme cruelty you better to have solid proof of the abuse, just your word will not be enough.

You mentioned they "took your permit "away" , it seems the asylum was canceled. A person can lose the asylum status for many reasons, such as fraud, felony, even if the person traveled to the home County using her/his own passport, many reasons.

They took our permit away because they got the people they needed and closed the case.They no longer needed my family after 10 years of working with them. I was already living with my husband and talking about marriage so that's what we did. We were brought here for our safety and not allowed to leave for the first 8 years, and yes I went to visit for a couple days each time but it won't be the same as living there and having to use my last name to work and live. As for the abuse, I have the hospital records of the sever anemia and suicide attempt as well as a picture of the incident. I hate that I'm stressing out about something that was legitimate, I didn't plan for this. I have a master hearing in two days and I still haven't received a receipt of me filing the I-751. I think I will need to show the certified mail tracking showing they received it. Will this be enough?

Thank you!

[Villanelle 4,121]

Hun, I dont want to make your issue more complex then it needs to be-

As for the filing method- again, you can choose which method. Possible options are- divorce, abuse or hardship.

The opinion here is if you are using hardship as a choice is it not wise to use the same reasoning behind your asylum because you had safely made trips since then. You can use other hardship reasonings however.

For the abuse choice- I thought your original posting mentioned the hospitalization as a suicide but the current posting just reflects wording as attempt on your life. So my posting reflected it as if the evidence was medical documentation of physical abuse of an assault by your spouse causing injuries. If the injuries were self inflicted- then you would be claiming mental abuse. In order to satisfy the burden of proof to show you were mentally abused you would need to include things like a psych eval, medication statements, along with your hospital record. There is info in the VAWA thread about the specifics of what the eval should state and what kind of Dr you need.

BUT-

from what Sandra wrote in her first initial post-

You will have two hearings, the master hearing takes 5/10min and you will agree or deny USCIS allegations, once you deny the allegations the Judge will set up an individual hearing. Immigration Court proceedings take 3/4 years.

She also wrote this

You can establish the basis for your I-751 waiver before an Immigration Judge while in removal proceedings. If you decide to keep the basis for your -I751 waiver as a bonafide marriage then your I-751 waiver will be reviewed by an Immigration Judge, but if you want to change the basis or add one or two basis then you have to file a new I-751 waiver with the Immigration Court.

From what you said, you went to court and were told you were given a continuance to send your application. You say you sent your application but never got the NOA. Now either you didnt send it to the right place, or you werent suppose to send it, you were just suppose to prepare it and bring it to the court?

You also sent in a 751 with both hardship and abuse checked and pretty skimpy evidence.

Your hearing is in 2 days. You need a lawyer to review if you should check off just the divorce box or if you have enough for abuse or hardship

Try this link -

http://www.nationalimmigrationproject.org/find.htm

[Boiler 43,392]

Was the asylum claim deemed to be frivolous?

I do not understand the basis as you were obviously successful in travelling to Mexico twice without any Government issues, did you use false documentation?

My guess is that it could be salvaged with competent legal guidance.

[Sandra G. 5,009]

The IJ granted continuance WITH USCIS to adjudicate your new l751 waiver, then you have to file a MOTION FOR SECOND CONTINUANCE, the DHS attorney will not oppose.Most immigration judges do not accept oral arguments to ask for continuamce, it's necessary a motion.

Having a continuance with USCIS was not a wise idea, it's better when the IJ adjudicates than USCIS. The IJ can grant continuance or.adjudicate the case,he chose for.continuance and you did not oppose then now you have to do what the law requires.You.should hire a lawyer ASAP.

Edited June 3, 2015 by sandranj

[romo24 0]

Hi all,

So I checked my bank account and it looks like the check is being processed by the California Service Center. I have my second master hearing tomorrow and I'm sure they know so I hope this is a good sign. I can at least as for continuance or administrative closure until I receive word from my I-751. Also, I have read that some people get approved there! [keeping fingers crossed] I have faith that things will go well.

As for the details of the asylum, I can assure you all, no we did not commit fraud, and yes it was a valid political asylum case. What happened was that it started as a high profile case and as years went by the people who were in charge of the case moved and the agents that knew what my family was doing got promotions and left. After ten years, the people running the show weren't the same ones that knew what my family had done so they took our permit away because they had no record of what we did and the case was closing. I say no record because it was literally in a sealed file. The member of my family who directly worked with them was picked up at his home by the same agents who took his permit away before he was able to try and figure out how to stay in this country. He got a lawyer but for 4 months he was detained and fighting his case. It took for one of the original agents that worked with our case [now a big name somewhere for the DEA] to go to Washington and pick up the sealed file that was their case and present it to the court for him to be released. I was 17 years old when they took our permit away. I was a senior in HS and already living with my highschool sweetheart. I finished high school without a permit but my then BF and I knew I had to go to school and work if we wanted to be happy and comfortable. Mostly importantly I needed to live here if we wanted to be together, so we got married and I applied for my green card. Then that went to hell... I swear I could write a book. hahaha

I will see how things go tomorrow.

Thank you everyone.

[Sandra G. 5,009]

The Court doesn't know that USCIS cashed the check! The burden of proof is yours.

As I mentioned before most of immigration Judges do not accept if the alien asks for a second continuance without having a motion filed with the Court. Maybe the judge handling your case is a "nice Judge" and he will take your request in consideration without a motion.But I will never advise anyone in removal proceedings to show up in Court without following legal procedures. Good luck tomorrow.

Edited June 3, 2015 by sandranj

[Villanelle 4,121]

Please call someone on the link provided to help you with your case.

It is very important you get representation with this.

This is not a do it yourself matter.

The people in the court will only tell you of the status, they can not advise you of what to do to ensure a positive outcome or if you are submitting the correct papers.

You need one on one help from a physical attny by your side in the court with you tomorrow!!! Please call today and arrange for someone to be there with you before you get yourself in too deep.