AOS denied at this mornings interview

[athena_ny 1]

Surely the outcome depends upon what she said and did at the POE. Did she use the C1/D or not?

She entered on the C1/D, but did not use the C1/D.

After arriving here the company that hired her informed her that she needed to pay for additional diving insurance and that she would have to pay extra for this and that. Then she was to work as a diving instructor on the cruise for 1 week. If she liked and they liked her work then she could continue working. If they didn't like her work, they could let her go. So she would lose the money spent on insurance, etc (she knew this before coming, but not about the additional insurance and other costs involved).

Now the kicker is, I went to speak with the attorney about all this before I hired him (showed him her visa and all). Explained all this to him to make sure she didn't need to show up for work and he said it would be possible to take care of everything while she was in the US if we got married and to come back and see him after we got married and he would handle it for X amount of $. So we got married and hired him to handle our case.

So now it seems she will definitely be going back to Thailand and I will have to determine which will be the quickest way to get her back here.

If she entered on the C-1/D visa, then she used the C-1/D visa. It's really the same thing. If she enters on the C-1/D and never gets on the ship, it doesn't change the fact that she entered and is in the US on that visa, kwim?

[YuAndDan 153]

Surely the outcome depends upon what she said and did at the POE. Did she use the C1/D or not?

She entered on the C1/D, but did not use the C1/D.

After arriving here the company that hired her informed her that she needed to pay for additional diving insurance and that she would have to pay extra for this and that. Then she was to work as a diving instructor on the cruise for 1 week. If she liked and they liked her work then she could continue working. If they didn't like her work, they could let her go. So she would lose the money spent on insurance, etc (she knew this before coming, but not about the additional insurance and other costs involved).

Now the kicker is, I went to speak with the attorney about all this before I hired him (showed him her visa and all). Explained all this to him to make sure she didn't need to show up for work and he said it would be possible to take care of everything while she was in the US if we got married and to come back and see him after we got married and he would handle it for X amount of $. So we got married and hired him to handle our case.

So now it seems she will definitely be going back to Thailand and I will have to determine which will be the quickest way to get her back here.

Entering on a visa IS using that visa. You statement contradicts itself.

[Cool Rob 0]

Entering on a visa IS using that visa. You statement contradicts itself.

Got it, so she did indeed use the C1/D at POE (that's what she told them she was coming here to do). I don't think it will make any difference, but the I-94 was stapled to the B1/B2.

[Minya's wife 24]

Because your wife came over w/ the intention to work on the cruise ship, it is this visa that was 'activated' when she entered the US. The I-94 stamp was for the C1/D visa, which does not allow for stateside AOS, period. Your immigration lawyer w/ 20 years experience should have told you that right off the bat. You were never eligible to file for AOS to begin with.

How long was your wife authorized to stay in the us (what was the expiration date stamped on the I-94? That is the date from which she must not overstay more than 180 days because then she will have a 3 year ban. If you have an approved I-130, your wife can go back to her home country, and apply for the K-3 visa, or you can allow the I-130 to progress through the NVC, complete the paperwork and your wife will have an immigrant visa interview, which results in Green-card upon re-entry to US.

Good luck,

-P

Thanks for quick response! There comes another issue, her I-94 didn't have an expiration date, just the entry date. I'll have to read up on K-3 visas and the NVC process.

TracyTN-

I'm speechless as to why the attorney didn't know better and has yet to answer any of my questions intelligently. He certainly charged us enough.

Jomo's girl-

Thanks for answering the pregnancy question.. That would only further complicate the situation.

YuAndDan and diadromous mermaid-

I knew an AOS couldn't be filed on a C1/D and my attorney was obviously wrong about the B1/B2.

A person can have more than one visa to the US in their passport. Your wife, like any other foreign 'visitor' to the US was asked something along the lines of "What is the purpose of your visit?" when she arrived in the US. At that time, she was coming to work on the cruise ship, right? So she must have replied "to work on a cruise ship." The immigration official looked at her passport to make sure she has the appropriate visa, which she did...the C1/D and stamped the I-94 in her passport. That means she entered the US, using the C1/D visa and no AOS is available to her. She cannot then use the B1/B2 visa in her passport to adjust as that visa was not used this time. Again the key is the visa 'activated' when your wife entered the US...no matter that there is another visa in her passport.

-P

[payxibka 10,044]

Entering on a visa IS using that visa. You statement contradicts itself.

Got it, so she did indeed use the C1/D at POE (that's what she told them she was coming here to do). I don't think it will make any difference, but the I-94 was stapled to the B1/B2.

The I-94 was stapled to her passport and it just so happened to be on or near the page that the B2 visa was affixed too... Sorry to hear of your troubles.....

[pushbrk 12,106]

Entering on a visa IS using that visa. You statement contradicts itself.

Got it, so she did indeed use the C1/D at POE (that's what she told them she was coming here to do). I don't think it will make any difference, but the I-94 was stapled to the B1/B2.

The I-94 was stapled to her passport and it just so happened to be on or near the page that the B2 visa was affixed too... Sorry to hear of your troubles.....

I think the circumstances seem clear now. I would simply wait for the Attorney's report after his appointment with the USCIS office. If there is any more "handling" to be done with your case, I would pay no additional legal fees. There will be some USCIS and visa fees, you could argue about though.

[Cool Rob 0]

Thanks for all the useful advice. The sad reality of all of this is setting in. Instead of trusting an attorney, I should have read and studied all of this a little more. I'll probably see some of you around these parts as I try to determine the quickest /safest way to get my wife and her son here (I have a lot of reading to do).

There is no expiration date on her I-94, so I'm assuming that we should start preparing for her to leave ASAP. I'll wait to see what the attorney says, but I'm not getting my hopes up at all. Depending on what he says, I'll see if I can get a refund on some of the the USCIS fees since he should have known better. I will report him to the State Bar, but I will hold off for now so I can use it as leverage to maybe get some of my money back.

If you're looking for an immigration attorney in NE Florida, you can PM me for this characters name so you can avoid him.

[JJWashington 0]

So sorry to hear about this. I wish you the best.

[Gaby&Talbert 1]

Can he have the approved I-130 sent to the NVC for processing and then her country? Maybe she can wait just before the 180 days to return and then only have to stay a short time before her interview?

[DakotaK1 1]

Sorry to hear your bad news.

If she's prenant within the next 180 days would that possibly make any difference on her having to leave the country?

No it wont,I dont understand how people are willing to get pregnant just to be together!

Do you all understand that it is a big resposibility to have a baby? Just imagine the baby knowing that it was born just because of benifits!

And to answer your question being pregnant wont help at all,wont make your case faster and certainly will bring you more problems than you already have.

[DavidandJenny 1]

Im new to this forum and much of what you are discussing is like Taglog right now, however, first...Im sorry to hear about this situation and wish you both Gods Favor in this.

I will say this, before deciding for the K1 Visa, we had looked at several other options (potential visas or ways to get back together sooner) and none were favorable at all. We even had an "Immigration Attorney" that stated that we should submit paperwork for a Visitors Visa, that this was the quickest way to get here and then we could be married and that people do this all the time with success..... ......exactly, he wasnt very honest and really could have screwed things up for us had we attempted to do this. And all for a fee.

This forum (VJ.com) is valuable.

[sunandmoon 450]

Im new to this forum and much of what you are discussing is like Taglog right now, however, first...Im sorry to hear about this situation and wish you both Gods Favor in this.

I will say this, before deciding for the K1 Visa, we had looked at several other options (potential visas or ways to get back together sooner) and none were favorable at all. We even had an "Immigration Attorney" that stated that we should submit paperwork for a Visitors Visa, that this was the quickest way to get here and then we could be married and that people do this all the time with success..... ......exactly, he wasnt very honest and really could have screwed things up for us had we attempted to do this. And all for a fee.

This forum (VJ.com) is valuable.

thought an attorney is not allowed to give advise on how to do something that is illegal ( using vistors visa with intent to marry here ) he also didn't know much about Embassy in Manila if suggested getting a visitors visa from there is easy.

[DavidandJenny 1]

Im new to this forum and much of what you are discussing is like Taglog right now, however, first...Im sorry to hear about this situation and wish you both Gods Favor in this.

I will say this, before deciding for the K1 Visa, we had looked at several other options (potential visas or ways to get back together sooner) and none were favorable at all. We even had an "Immigration Attorney" that stated that we should submit paperwork for a Visitors Visa, that this was the quickest way to get here and then we could be married and that people do this all the time with success..... ......exactly, he wasnt very honest and really could have screwed things up for us had we attempted to do this. And all for a fee.

This forum (VJ.com) is valuable.

thought an attorney is not allowed to give advise on how to do something that is illegal ( using vistors visa with intent to marry here ) he also didn't know much about Embassy in Manila if suggested getting a visitors visa from there is easy.

NO KIDDING! I thought about reporting him..but I had already found out from online sources that he was VERY wrong. One source was I believe USCIS or Department of Homeland. I just hope that these people can resolve this for their sake is all. Im sorry to hear about this/their situation.

[Cool Rob 0]

Sorry to hear your bad news.

If she's prenant within the next 180 days would that possibly make any difference on her having to leave the country?

No it wont,I dont understand how people are willing to get pregnant just to be together!

Do you all understand that it is a big resposibility to have a baby? Just imagine the baby knowing that it was born just because of benifits!

And to answer your question being pregnant wont help at all,wont make your case faster and certainly will bring you more problems than you already have.

We were planning to have a baby soon and are well aware of the responsibility that comes with that, so that's why I threw the question out there.

We received a certified letter with return receipt from the director of the local DHS office today. They are only giving her 45 days (starting from interview date) to leave. Since they have taken her I-94 will they give her any problems when she leaves? You wouldn't believe the ####### this Attorney has been giving us (we are suppose to meet with him sometime this week and when he tells me she will file for an AOS from her country I will ask for the money back on the AOS that should have never been filed in the first place). Thankfully I can read up on what actually needs to be done at this site.

I'm not exactly sure how to get the approved I-130 to the NVC, but once that's done from what I understand they should forward it to the closest embassy for her home country and then she'll apply for a CR1 Visa. I hope the process doesn't take more than a few months or so (from what I can tell that's 'about' how long it will take).

[Gaby&Talbert 1]

Sorry to hear your bad news.

If she's prenant within the next 180 days would that possibly make any difference on her having to leave the country?

No it wont,I dont understand how people are willing to get pregnant just to be together!

Do you all understand that it is a big resposibility to have a baby? Just imagine the baby knowing that it was born just because of benifits!

And to answer your question being pregnant wont help at all,wont make your case faster and certainly will bring you more problems than you already have.

We were planning to have a baby soon and are well aware of the responsibility that comes with that, so that's why I threw the question out there.

We received a certified letter with return receipt from the director of the local DHS office today. They are only giving her 45 days (starting from interview date) to leave. Since they have taken her I-94 will they give her any problems when she leaves? You wouldn't believe the ####### this Attorney has been giving us (we are suppose to meet with him sometime this week and when he tells me she will file for an AOS from her country I will ask for the money back on the AOS that should have never been filed in the first place). Thankfully I can read up on what actually needs to be done at this site.

I'm not exactly sure how to get the approved I-130 to the NVC, but once that's done from what I understand they should forward it to the closest embassy for her home country and then she'll apply for a CR1 Visa. I hope the process doesn't take more than a few months or so (from what I can tell that's 'about' how long it will take).

Unfortunately the lawyer was very wrong! Since the I-129f can be filed with the I-130 why not see if the K3 is any faster? The fee is the same now if you file both the 129 and 130.

USCIS does have a backlog of cases so I dont know how fast they are going to be. Didnt you say you have an approved I-130? I wonder what you have to do to get it sent to the NVC and then to the consulate? If you had a good lawyer they might now how to get this done?

Edited January 29, 2008 by Gaby&Talbert