Illegal Stay in US

[Mexgal10 0]

So my fiance and I are trying to decide weather we should apply for a K-1 or if we should get married first and go for the spousal visa. The main thing I am concerned about is that he entered the states illegally and remained there for about 5 years and he was caught crossing the border 8 years ago and signed a paper stating he wouldn't try to enter the US for 10 years or something like that. He has since returned to Mexico and has been here for 9 months. Is there a waiver available for me to appeal the decline? If there is a waiver is there anyway for me to file the waiver at the same time, or for him to take during the interview? See...I'm pregnant, so I'm kind of in a hurry to get him to the US. Please help!

THANK YOU!!!!!!

[Old Dominion 26]

He's signed a binding pledge with the U.S. Have you considered moving to Mexico?

[Lia792 5]

Hi Mexgal 10,

I'm sorry, I can't understand your husband's story. 8 years ago he said he wouldn't enter for 10 years, but he has only been in Mexico for 9 months (assuming here is Mexico)? Do you mean that after signing that 10 year paper he entered again? If he was EWI multiple times, that can be a fairly big problem.

Your case is really complicated for me to understand, so I would recommend a consultation with a GOOD immigration lawyer, and I also recommend www.smf.juarez-mexico.com since the people there have a lot of waiver knowledge.

If you are already pregnant, it would be pretty hard to do the whole immigration procedure, K-1, DCF or CR-1 as 6-7 months is a good estimate according to VJ timelines and with a waiver it usually drags on a big longer. I know some people pay a private hospital to have their babies here in Mexico, and as long as you aren't too far out in the boondocks their service seems to be ok.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

[Justine+David 218]

I'm not sure having a baby in Mexico is a great idea...I have seen many mom's in my NICU (neontal ICU) who were completely healthy during their pregnancy and then had terrible things go wrong in their delivery. I wouldn't risk my baby not having access to world-class care if needed.

[rudyb 0]

So my fiance and I are trying to decide weather we should apply for a K-1 or if we should get married first and go for the spousal visa. The main thing I am concerned about is that he entered the states illegally and remained there for about 5 years and he was caught crossing the border 8 years ago and signed a paper stating he wouldn't try to enter the US for 10 years or something like that. He has since returned to Mexico and has been here for 9 months. Is there a waiver available for me to appeal the decline? If there is a waiver is there anyway for me to file the waiver at the same time, or for him to take during the interview? See...I'm pregnant, so I'm kind of in a hurry to get him to the US. Please help!

THANK YOU!!!!!!

People who accumulated more than 180 days of illegal presence in the US after the age of 18 are not eligible for visas until they have been outside of the US for ten years from the day they left.

People who accumulated illegal presence and then left and again entered or attempted to enter iillegally are barred from the US for life, with the possibility of a waiver after they have been outside of the US for ten years from the day they left.

If his scenario is the first one, his visa will be denied at the consular interview in Ciudad Juarez and it will be determined if he is eligible for a waiver. If so, waiver process is scheduled for a later date about a month down the road and you as the USC must submit a waiver packet including a brief and explanations with evidence showing why it would constitute extreme hardship if his visa is denied and you either have to stay in the US without him or must relocate to Mexico to be with him. Waivers are either immediately approved (maybe 50% of the time) or go into a backlog to be reviewed and decided - the current backlog is approx. 14 months.

If his scenario is the second one, his visa would be denied and he will not be eligible for a waiver until ten years have passed.

You cannot appeal the ban - he broke the law and the waiver, if he is eligible, is the only viable option. Unfortunately, the fact that you are pregnant does not at all come into this.

Between the petition processing in the US and the NVC/Consulate processing it's likely a good 8-10 months until he would have an interview. The smartest thing you can do right now is get all the exact, specific details of his entries, timeline and experiences with the border patrol. Then consult with a qualified immigration attorney who has worked with the CDJ consulate and can give you accurate information about whether or not he will be waiver eligible. If he is, you will need all that 8-10 months to research, write the brief, determine what evidence you need and gather all of it.

I'm not sure having a baby in Mexico is a great idea...I have seen many mom's in my NICU (neontal ICU) who were completely healthy during their pregnancy and then had terrible things go wrong in their delivery. I wouldn't risk my baby not having access to world-class care if needed.

If it's an option for you to relocate to Mexico and have the baby there while you are waiting out this process, there are obviously thousands and thousands of women who have babies there every single day without any problem. Depending on where you would be locate, there is access to world-class medical care in all of the major cities. There are doctors who speak English, private hospitals, levels of equipment and testing not even available in the US, all for about 75% of the cost. That said, you would have to do some serious research to make sure you were in the best hands possible and could afford the highest level of care with an English speaking doctor.

Spend some time on www.immigrate2us.net where the majority of the forum is going through the waiver process in CDJ with husbands who came to the US illegally. Read through the details of the process, the problems and issues with the consulate, the approved hardship letters etc so you start to understand what the process is about it. It's long, difficult, expensive and frustrating but if you get yourself well educated in advance, it will be a lot easier (and you'll know if it's even worth it do move forward with it or not).

Also see the Ciudad Juarez waiver instructions which details the levels of hardship evidence that they take into consideration: http://ciudadjuarez.usconsulate.gov/root/p...nstructions.pdf

[sachinky 465]

Consult a good immigration lawyer.

[Justine+David 218]

If it's an option for you to relocate to Mexico and have the baby there while you are waiting out this process, there are obviously thousands and thousands of women who have babies there every single day without any problem. Depending on where you would be locate, there is access to world-class medical care in all of the major cities. There are doctors who speak English, private hospitals, levels of equipment and testing not even available in the US, all for about 75% of the cost. That said, you would have to do some serious research to make sure you were in the best hands possible and could afford the highest level of care with an English speaking doctor.

The best treatment and most research is in the United States and I would not recommend that sort of risk. It's not a pet, it's your baby. The infant mortality rate in Mexico is three times than that of the U.S. (sidenote being that the U.S. is lower on the list compared to other countries because we try to save micropreemies that other countries don't count as being born...). Levels of equipment and testing not available in the U.S.? Um...? Care to explain? I'd really like to hear this one.

That being said, the cost may be different but it's more likely to be out of pocket, yes? In the U.S. the infants are eligible for medicaid to have all of their bills covered. We don't turn away babies just because their parents can't pay and we do everything (sometimes too much! lol) we can without consideration to cost. Maybe Mexico does the same, I'm not sure. Something to look into...

Putting things into perspective, about 90% of deliveries are normal healthy babies and even a large chunk of the NICU admissions are good to go home within a week or two. But...knowing what I know and seeing mothers confronted with their worst fears, I can't recommend anything different.

OP, best of luck to you in whatever you decide and I hope your pregnancy goes beautifully without complications

[TexPamp 0]

If he was in the USA illegally and now wants to marry an American? One plus one.

[edward toro 3]

If it's an option for you to relocate to Mexico and have the baby there while you are waiting out this process, there are obviously thousands and thousands of women who have babies there every single day without any problem. Depending on where you would be locate, there is access to world-class medical care in all of the major cities. There are doctors who speak English, private hospitals, levels of equipment and testing not even available in the US, all for about 75% of the cost. That said, you would have to do some serious research to make sure you were in the best hands possible and could afford the highest level of care with an English speaking doctor.

They have as good medical services and technologies as the U.S.

[rudyb 0]

The best treatment and most research is in the United States and I would not recommend that sort of risk.

Based on your job and experience, I don't doubt that that is true. But surely the OP would want to weigh having her baby in the country where her future husband is located and all that that entails (emotional and physical support, financial assistance, help with a newborn, the experience of bonding with both mother and father and simply being together during not only the pregnancy/delivery but also all of the time it will take to process the visa paperwork they will need) against being separated during the process. Deciding not to have a baby in a place where it happens every day and where world class medical care is a real, true option at a much lower cost, based only on fear of what could potentially happen doesn't seem like a very logical way of looking at it.

Levels of equipment and testing not available in the U.S.? Um...? Care to explain? I'd really like to hear this one.

Have you ever seen a gynecologist in the US for a routine exam? It's usually simple exam, pap smear and you are out the door. In a private doctor's office in a big city in Mexico, a routine gynecologist exam is much more in-depth and thorough exam, including vaginal ultrasound done with a very small machine. A printout of the photo plus notations regarding results are used and kept to compare against future tests. Total cost of the exam $30. That's just one example of something I have never, ever seen as part of a routine exam in the US. (And my guess this type of thing would only be offered based on symptoms noticed and complained about. Then another appointment, waiting time until the machine is available, and a much, much higher cost).

[Justine+David 218]

Based on your job and experience, I don't doubt that that is true. But surely the OP would want to weigh having her baby in the country where her future husband is located and all that that entails (emotional and physical support, financial assistance, help with a newborn, the experience of bonding with both mother and father and simply being together during not only the pregnancy/delivery but also all of the time it will take to process the visa paperwork they will need) against being separated during the process. Deciding not to have a baby in a place where it happens every day and where world class medical care is a real, true option at a much lower cost, based only on fear of what could potentially happen doesn't seem like a very logical way of looking at it.

That is a good point and a valid one. However...I'd still rather weigh in on the safety of the infant. Perhaps I'm being overly protective in this sense, but at my job, I see the worst of the worst and have seen many parents crying on their knees about their sick infant who is so bad off that they would have died being anywhere else and that's all I can give them, "We're doing everything we can right now and your baby is in the best possible place he/she could possibly be." Then I try to get them to go to sleep or go home but of course they can't/won't. Seeing that on a monthly (sometimes weekly) basis I could never tell a parent to do anything else, especially when most of them are the "surprise" ones when the parent didn't know in advance that **** was going down. It's like the adjusting from tourist visas, you know you're probably going to be okay and most of the time you are...but if you aren't, you can't be given an appeal.

Have you ever seen a gynecologist in the US for a routine exam? It's usually simple exam, pap smear and you are out the door. In a private doctor's office in a big city in Mexico, a routine gynecologist exam is much more in-depth and thorough exam, including vaginal ultrasound done with a very small machine. A printout of the photo plus notations regarding results are used and kept to compare against future tests. Total cost of the exam $30. That's just one example of something I have never, ever seen as part of a routine exam in the US. (And my guess this type of thing would only be offered based on symptoms noticed and complained about. Then another appointment, waiting time until the machine is available, and a much, much higher cost).

That's true as well but ultrasounds are done as a normal part of a routine pregnancy in the U.S. And if things are picked up earlier in Mexico, at least the mom can research for herself where the best places to go for her unborn child are based on the diagnosis. But it's the surprise occurrences that are so heart-rendering.

Overall, like I said, about 90% of infants have unremarkable deliveries and are just fine. If having the baby is very important in Mexico to be with the Dad, then that is something to consider. I'm just telling you that I've seen the unhappy cases...and they're not good.

Again, best of luck to the OP and well-wishes on an uncomplicated pregnancy/delivery

[Christi and Ian 24]

I probably have no business weighing in here, but I had an ultrasound at my first exam in the U.S.

My daughter was born 6 1/2 weeks premature, was in the NICU for 3 days, my doctor ordered that I stay in the hospital one extra day so I didn't have to leave the hospital without a baby in my arms. I was SO impressed with the care throughout the entire process.

My daughter is a normal, very healthy, nearly 10 year-old now!

[Darnell 8,479]

So my fiance and I are trying to decide weather we should apply for a K-1 or if we should get married first and go for the spousal visa. The main thing I am concerned about is that he entered the states illegally and remained there for about 5 years and he was caught crossing the border 8 years ago and signed a paper stating he wouldn't try to enter the US for 10 years or something like that. He has since returned to Mexico and has been here for 9 months. Is there a waiver available for me to appeal the decline? If there is a waiver is there anyway for me to file the waiver at the same time, or for him to take during the interview? See...I'm pregnant, so I'm kind of in a hurry to get him to the US. Please help!

THANK YOU!!!!!!

pardon - where is 'here' ? (the bolded one, in yer sentence)