Help! A colleague wants me to write a h/ship letter

[Kang Lang 7]

Hi VJ gurus

A colleague of mine has asked that I write a hardship letter on his behalf...

the short of it is he and his guatamlen wife have been married for 10 years, she was ewi, but had begun the process to gain residency while in the u.s. here is where a long series of errors began. she returned to her country 18mos ago while her father was very ill with an I-131. Obviously through all the bad legal advice their goal is to get her waiver approved. the basis of his hardship is primarily medical he was out of the office for a year to have a shoulder surgery at which time they discovered cancer. he is still in fragile health, cancer has returned, shoulder not healed to even 75%. he could not get the same quality of care in guatemala nor could he find work given the language barrier and education level. also her children and grandchildren are here (legally).

i want to help them write the most effective letter possible, anyone here written one for a friend/family member or colleague who could help. please feel free to ask if you need more information.

thank you all in advance!

[Otto 83]

So:

* Colleague = US Citizen Spouse (someone you know)

* Colleague's Wife = Guatemalan LPR (has PR/Green Card now)

* Colleague's Father in Law = wants to come to the US

Colleague wants your help writing his letter.

[Kang Lang 7]

So:

* Colleague = US Citizen Spouse (someone you know)

* Colleague's Wife = was ewi and trying to become a legal lpr but left w/an i-131 (obviously invalid)

* Colleague's Father in Law = irrelevant to the hardship letter just the basis for which the intending immigrant left the u.s. without establishing permanent residence

Colleague wants your help writing his letter.

thanks in advance for any advice.

[thongd4me 69]

thanks in advance for any advice.

Obviously the letter has to begin with the affected couple.

THEY have to compose the first draft.

They shouldn't come to YOU for any ideas, just

perhaps to clean up the English if that is your forte.

Does the couple expect legal advice from both you and VJ members

when we know less about their actual situation than they do?

This looks like one of the fewer cases where a lawyer may be consulted.

If you obtain such a draft of their letter, VJ members may be able to

offer comments, but only the couple can furnish the actual details.

We can't create a letter that doesn't exist yet.

[Kang Lang 7]

thanks td4me, it's most unfortunate but this particular colleague would not be able to create the letter do to education level and frankly fragile health both mental and physical (he's under the care of a psychiatrist as well), the attorney knows less than i do about immigration it seems (and that's not saying much) i was hoping someone here had written such a letter and could advise how to make it most effective, it appears that is not the case.

thanks again to you both for sifting through my posts.

[emt103c 10]

Okay, so the husband (USC) has cancer and psychological problems and his wife is EWI post overstay now stuck in Guatemala?

If I got this right, you need to get a better attorney than the one you said doesn't know anything. . .let them do most of the work. . .and apply for an expedite when it is filed.

Laurel Scott is a good option. A hardship letter itself really has to be written from the USC's standpoint, it is not written at all by the attorney. . .and the evidence is most of the battle.

You can find more information on the waiver package on www.immigrate2us.net

[Kang Lang 7]

thank you emt! on behalf of my colleague and myself, i'm worried about him so i really would like to help. i will send him to laurel scott and the website. the attorney he has given him a form letter asking for us to write letters on their behalf which i thought was a bit off it doesn't really give any advice on how to write it in fact not even what to include.

cheers,

kang lang

[thongd4me 69]

thank you emt! on behalf of my colleague and myself, i'm worried about him so i really would like to help. i will send him to laurel scott and the website. the attorney he has given him a form letter asking for us to write letters on their behalf which i thought was a bit off it doesn't really give any advice on how to write it in fact not even what to include.

cheers,

kang lang

It's quite a challenge for them to get this letter done and I see why they came to you

for assistance. I don't know if you would be willing to accompany them to the lawyer's

as there seems to be a language issue. I think the main question for the lawyer,

once the lawyer has done a first draft is, on what immigration statutes does the

lawyer base his/her appeal for the couple? The legal team should be able to

clearly point them out, because government staff don't take kindly to appeals

based on a hunch, a heartwarming story or "something that somebody said."

The statutes and immigration law should be spelled out in the appeal.

[momof1 205]

It's quite a challenge for them to get this letter done and I see why they came to you

for assistance. I don't know if you would be willing to accompany them to the lawyer's

as there seems to be a language issue. I think the main question for the lawyer,

once the lawyer has done a first draft is, on what immigration statutes does the

lawyer base his/her appeal for the couple? The legal team should be able to

clearly point them out, because government staff don't take kindly to appeals

based on a hunch, a heartwarming story or "something that somebody said."

The statutes and immigration law should be spelled out in the appeal.

Who said anything about an appeal?

The main questionst to the lawyer should be: How many 601 waivers has he/she prepared? How many of those were through Guatemala? What was their success rate? How much do their services cost? What services will they provide, and what do they expect the client to do?

Other than that, there should be talk about the entire immigration history to ensure that they are even eligible for a waiver of inadmissibility.

Edited March 12, 2010 by momof1

[thongd4me 69]

Who said anything about an appeal?

The main questionst to the lawyer should be: How many 601 waivers has he/she prepared? How many of those were through Guatemala? What was their success rate? How much do their services cost? What services will they provide, and what do they expect the client to do?

Other than that, there should be talk about the entire immigration history to ensure that they are even eligible for a waiver of inadmissibility.

If the technical term of the appeal is "601 waiver" so be it.

There is no lawyer on the planet who will truthfully tell you their success rate if it is not good.

I don't think you are likely to find one specializing in Guatemala.

Just have your friend ask lots of questions, as the above poster suggested

regarding rates, services & duties of the client.

As I said, make sure they tell your friend the code that is applicable to his case and why.

[Used to be broken 143]

Hi VJ gurus

A colleague of mine has asked that I write a hardship letter on his behalf...

Not clear if you are writing the hardship letter for the friend because he/she needs help constructing it? Or are you writing a letter that goes in the packet to support the colleagues assertions "evidence" to add to the packet?

If you are helping construct the letter for the person, then you need to do the legal research on what arguments can be considered by the adjudicator, which is different by type of inadmissability. There is some lists in legal precedent you can find on the net, or in other hardship forums.

If you are writing in support of his/her letter as evidence, then you should address those same issues but you are sticking to what you have observed and supports whatever contention the person made in his/her hardship letter.

Its confusing.. I know but some research can go a long way to make a letter that will be usefull.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,235]

If you played roulette, and put your stack on one number, you know that the chances to get paid are 1:36. I'll venture to say getting a hardship waiver approved is even more difficult. This is serious business, and a top-notch specialist is required. One thing to identify a top notch specialist is that you don't have to ask for help on a discussion board. They deliver your letter, ready to be signed. Your friend is NOT on the right track with this. Send him over to immigrate2us.com, as the I-601 waiver is their pet peeve. That's what they specialize on, pretty much exclusively.

[Used to be broken 143]

If you played roulette, and put your stack on one number, you know that the chances to get paid are 1:36. I'll venture to say getting a hardship waiver approved is even more difficult. This is serious business, and a top-notch specialist is required. One thing to identify a top notch specialist is that you don't have to ask for help on a discussion board. They deliver your letter, ready to be signed. Your friend is NOT on the right track with this. Send him over to immigrate2us.com, as the I-601 waiver is their pet peeve. That's what they specialize on, pretty much exclusively.

Interesting observation.