Portuguese Husband's VWP 90 days almost up! HELP!

[Justine+David 218]

Very good question indeed!

I found this visa bulletin on USCIS website...http://www.uscis.gov/files/pressrelease/FAQ2.pdf

It is not relevant to what we are discussing here, but it sheds some light on our many questions.

If you read the first 5 questions, you will notice that USCIS consider "acceptance" of your application when it is physically received and entered in the courier's service system!

(Which in our cases it was received the very next day!)

Unless I'm reading something wrong and this information is outdated, I think the OP's husband has a chance if their AOS package is received before he overstays his visa!

(Provided of course it is filled out and filed correctly!)

Yes, but she mentioned that she doesn't even have her husband's birth certificate yet...something tells me that they're not going to get the paperwork filed in time (which is a monster of paperwork and lots of documents) and that the lawyer won't give a ####### about it either...

[Rebecca Jo 1,962]

Ai yo! I just can't wait to see another thread, a couple of months down the line, raving and ranting against the U.S. government. About how they're unfair, cruel and cold-hearted. Throw in summary bit about how as a tax-paying American citizen they should not be enduring such a painful separation from their loved one. All the while forgetting that it was their callous actions that landed them in the hot soup to begin with.

sachinky, i distinctly remember you talking about how unfair, cruel and cold-hearted the system is.

I don't agree with the OP's plans, but I don't agree with your commentary either. Glass houses?

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Long story short - as long as you can GET IT to USCIS by the morning before his VWP expires then you MIGHT be okay. My AOS NOA1 has a received date of "April 14th" and a Notice date of April 20th.

HOWEVER, my biometrics letter and GC welcome notice all say April 20th as my "receipt date" and "priority date". I don't know if that's an error.

Hopefully you can get it there in time and the received date is the date they judge the VWP by.

Edited December 12, 2010 by Vanessa&Tony

[MayoKy 10]

I wish you good luck! I have been approved on Dec 2nd 2010 with a 6 week overstay from WVP! So there still is a chance to be approved... I have to admit I wouldnt do it again though! When we filed, I never heard about anything like that! Anyways.. Good luck and lets hope you made the right decission!

[sachinky 464]

sachinky, i distinctly remember you talking about how unfair, cruel and cold-hearted the system is.

I don't agree with the OP's plans, but I don't agree with your commentary either. Glass houses?

You're right. I did think -- still do -- that the process of immigrating to the US shouldn't take as long as it does. It is long, arduous, and frustrating, some of it is unfair (people meeting in 2 weeks and filing and then going through a K-1 in 3 months and others waiting for over 5 months to have their petition approved). I suspect most VJ members would agree with me. 8-12 months on an average for a spousal visa is quite rubbish, IMO, and frankly I'm not sure what other country takes this long to process cases, despite the volume of cases I'm sure USCIS handles.

But hey, I whined and bitched, especially while waiting for the NOA2, just like everyone else stuck in this process -- eventually sucked it up and got on with the program. The difference between the OP and me is that I didn't ingore reasonable, well-intentioned advice and put my relationship or my future with my husband ever, at risk, and then came back crying about how unfair the process is. As has been the case with several posters lately who've put themselves at risk by taking irresponsible decisions. I did my research, jumped through the hoops just like everyone (some of them idiotic like taking the same medical I took for my F-1) and yes, there were days when the process got the better of me, so, sure I did vent a bit. My problem isn't with the venting (everyone's gotta let some steam out, sometime) -- it's with people who take 'risky' decisions, with full knowledge of it, and when it doesn't pay off, then suddenly, it's everyone's fault but their own.

Edited December 12, 2010 by sachinky

[caeremonarius 26]

I wish you good luck! I have been approved on Dec 2nd 2010 with a 6 week overstay from WVP! So there still is a chance to be approved... I have to admit I wouldnt do it again though! When we filed, I never heard about anything like that! Anyways.. Good luck and lets hope you made the right decission!

Congratulations! We successfully adjusted status, too, this past Tuesday. We had a 50 day overstay on VWP, and it didn't come up at all in interview. You (MayoKy) and I are in the same 6th District, while the OP is in the 9th District. It seems that it matters not only what Court District you live in, but also what the policy is for your local USCIS Field Office. The Las Vegas (9th district) recently allowed AOS for a VWP overstayer:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/271100-vwp-aos-approved/

Conversely, the issue of the San Diego (9th district) memo directing no AOS for VWP over 90 days has been already mentioned. It seems knowledge of an applicant's local office policy is necessary, rather than just saying "this district" or "that state" will never adjust status for VWP overstayers.

I'd be interested in getting a VJ database going to try to chart success/failure/indefinite hold for VWP overstayers based on not only District Court, but on USCIS Field Office. That would be more useful than blanket claims that a particular district will never allow AOS for VWP overstayers.

AJ

[MayoKy 10]

Congratulations! We successfully adjusted status, too, this past Tuesday. We had a 50 day overstay on VWP, and it didn't come up at all in interview. You (MayoKy) and I are in the same 6th District, while the OP is in the 9th District. It seems that it matters not only what Court District you live in, but also what the policy is for your local USCIS Field Office. The Las Vegas (9th district) recently allowed AOS for a VWP overstayer:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/271100-vwp-aos-approved/

Conversely, the issue of the San Diego (9th district) memo directing no AOS for VWP over 90 days has been already mentioned. It seems knowledge of an applicant's local office policy is necessary, rather than just saying "this district" or "that state" will never adjust status for VWP overstayers.

I'd be interested in getting a VJ database going to try to chart success/failure/indefinite hold for VWP overstayers based on not only District Court, but on USCIS Field Office. That would be more useful than blanket claims that a particular district will never allow AOS for VWP overstayers.

AJ

Congrats to you too! our IO didnt mention the overstay at all too! Ive heard about San Diego, and other cases when they had a LONG overstay! I havent heard about a deny yet from someone that overstayed for a few weeks... but that doesnt mean that there isnt any!

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Very good question indeed!

I found this visa bulletin on USCIS website...http://www.uscis.gov/files/pressrelease/FAQ2.pdf

It is not relevant to what we are discussing here, but it sheds some light on our many questions.

If you read the first 5 questions, you will notice that USCIS consider "acceptance" of your application when it is physically received and entered in the courier's service system!

(Which in our cases it was received the very next day!)

Unless I'm reading something wrong and this information is outdated, I think the OP's husband has a chance if their AOS package is received before he overstays his visa!

(Provided of course it is filled out and filed correctly!)

A petition is considered accepted when it has been screened to determine if it was properly filed. If it's accepted then they stamp the petition with the "receipt date". This should also match the receipt date they print on the NOA1, although the NOA1 may not be printed and mailed for several days. A petition which is not properly filed and not accepted will be returned without assigning a receipt date.

Congrats to those whose petitions were received in a day or two. I sent my wife's AOS package by private courier, and it took a little over a week before it was assigned a receipt date. I was told that a week is typical.

So, I will modify my previous admonition, and say that if the OP's attorney sends the petition package overnight AND USCIS processes it immediately, then it MAY be accepted and assigned a receipt date by Wednesday. I wouldn't personally risk a deportation ban on the timing, though. I'm not usually that lucky.

[ceadsearc 515]

Here's a question - once AOS is filed, can it be "canceled" in favor of a CR-1? IE, could OP theoretically (though not cost effectively) file the AOS, and when the NOA comes, if she sees the receipt date is past the VWP expiration date, have her husband leave (as he won't have overstayed long enough for a ban at that point) and then file for a CR-1? Or would that cause all kinds of issues with the AOS already having been filed?

[Rebecca Jo 1,962]

You're right. I did think -- still do -- that the process of immigrating to the US shouldn't take as long as it does. It is long, arduous, and frustrating, some of it is unfair (people meeting in 2 weeks and filing and then going through a K-1 in 3 months and others waiting for over 5 months to have their petition approved). I suspect most VJ members would agree with me. 8-12 months on an average for a spousal visa is quite rubbish, IMO, and frankly I'm not sure what other country takes this long to process cases, despite the volume of cases I'm sure USCIS handles.

But hey, I whined and bitched, especially while waiting for the NOA2, just like everyone else stuck in this process -- eventually sucked it up and got on with the program. The difference between the OP and me is that I didn't ingore reasonable, well-intentioned advice and put my relationship or my future with my husband ever, at risk, and then came back crying about how unfair the process is. As has been the case with several posters lately who've put themselves at risk by taking irresponsible decisions. I did my research, jumped through the hoops just like everyone (some of them idiotic like taking the same medical I took for my F-1) and yes, there were days when the process got the better of me, so, sure I did vent a bit. My problem isn't with the venting (everyone's gotta let some steam out, sometime) -- it's with people who take 'risky' decisions, with full knowledge of it, and when it doesn't pay off, then suddenly, it's everyone's fault but their own.

Good response.

As far as "other countries" taking long to process, several of the Middle Eastern countries have wait times as long or longer than India, I believe.

At any rate, I've always felt adjusting from the VWP was too much of a gamble. At least for us. We could have done it and our journey was back in the day when it happened all the time. We chose the visa route because it was the most clear-cut and assured the best result. Now, as it turned out, we hit a couple of huge snags. HUGE. Looking back, the difficulties we encountered would have occurred has we used a visa or misused the VWP. I can tell you with certainty though that had the adjustment been based on a VWP entry, there would have been even more stress.

There's a "thing" I sense in some of these threads and I know I'm not wrong. I see people participating in these threads who are from nations with no VWP eligibility, and they are croaking and cackling wildly about the recent developments for VWP adjusters. For the life of me I don't understand this. Bitterness because the option wasn't available for them? If so, that's pointless. The path was ALWAYS more risky. Why would members be bitter (or if it's not bitterness then why waste energy) towards people who have chosen to do something that jeopardizes the relationship? Do they wish they could have taken that chance? Rolled that dice?

Makes no sense to me.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

There's a "thing" I sense in some of these threads and I know I'm not wrong. I see people participating in these threads who are from nations with no VWP eligibility, and they are croaking and cackling wildly about the recent developments for VWP adjusters. For the life of me I don't understand this. Bitterness because the option wasn't available for them? If so, that's pointless. The path was ALWAYS more risky. Why would members be bitter (or if it's not bitterness then why waste energy) towards people who have chosen to do something that jeopardizes the relationship? Do they wish they could have taken that chance? Rolled that dice?

Makes no sense to me.

Always more risky than what? Let's set the WayBack machine for two years ago. Was applying for AOS while having overstayed a VWP entry more risky than, say, applying for a CR1 visa in Ho Chi Minh City or Guangzhou? Or, was it just more risky than applying for a CR1 in London or Paris?

Nobody likes to feel they are being treated unfairly. That's human nature. A person can accept, to some degree, that they're going to be subjected to more scrutiny because they happen to come from a high fraud country. At least they know that someone from a low fraud country is going to have to go through the same process, and even if the consulate isn't going to be as suspicious initially, they're still going to be looking out for fraud. It's a lot more difficult to accept that someone can skip the process entirely, and just go directly to the green card filing while merely visiting the US, but that option isn't available to them because the US government doesn't want them to visit the US.

Sour grapes? You bet! If I had my choice between taking a shot at a CR1 in HCMC or filing an AOS while visiting the US I would choose the AOS any day of the week, and twice on Sundays. It's far more likely to be approved. But that choice isn't available to a lot of people, and that is why it's unfair. It's a loophole in the law that's available only to people from privileged countries.

FWIW, I think most people's objection is with the law and not with the people who use it to their advantage. I don't begrudge someone using this option if they are eligible for it any more than I would begrudge someone taking a legal tax deduction that I'm not eligible to take. It does, however, chafe me the wrong way when I hear people bemoaning the fact that they can't stay longer on the VWP or they can't adjust status after their authorized stay has expired, as if the US government were being grossly unfair to them, when the fact is that the US government is already far more fair to them then they are to most people in the world. To the OP's credit, they haven't exhibited this sense of entitlement, though someone else suggested they might come back and do so if they are ultimately denied. I would like to think that this is not the case, and that the OP realizes they are asking the US government to make an exception and allow them to skip the immigrant visa process, and accept the consequences if their request is denied.

[Boiler 43,430]

I do not think they publish the figures but I would be very surprised if the number of people adjusting from non immigrant visa's was larger for VWP countries than others.

[sachinky 464]

As far as "other countries" taking long to process, several of the Middle Eastern countries have wait times as long or longer than India, I believe.

Oh, I just meant immigrating to another country other than the US. My USC roommate from college just moved to the Netherlands to be with her fiancee. She got her visa in a week and is now going through the process of getting her PR status while already there with him. The US immigration system is complex and uneccesarily convoluted -- IMO -- it's almost like punishing people for going about it the right and legal way.

I hope that eventually, someday, US Embassies will issue one-time entry visas to married or engaged applicants who can prove bonafide relationships (same proof of evidence) with USC petitioners so that they can go to the US and apply for AOS based on marriage to USC. It'll cut out a lot of this BS waiting time.

I didn't mean that I had to wait longer than my MENA counterparts. Frankly, I doubt I could put up with some of the hellish wait-times they have to endure.

Edited December 12, 2010 by sachinky

[Rebecca Jo 1,962]

Oh, I just meant immigrating to another country other than the US. My USC roommate from college just moved to the Netherlands to be with her fiancee. She got her visa in a week and is now going through the process of getting her PR status while already there with him. The US immigration system is complex and uneccesarily convoluted -- IMO -- it's almost like punishing people for going about it the right and legal way.

I hope that eventually, someday, US Embassies will issue one-time entry visas to married or engaged applicants who can prove bonafide relationships (same proof of evidence) with USC petitioners so that they can go to the US and apply for AOS based on marriage to USC. It'll cut out a lot of this BS waiting time.

I didn't mean that I had to wait longer than my MENA counterparts. Frankly, I doubt I could put up with some of the hellish wait-times they have to endure.

After I re-read your post, I realized it was me that misinterpreted what you wrote.

A long-time reader of immigration and moderator on another popular forum used to explain it with one word - volume. There are simply far more people immigrating to the US than any other nation on earth. And the quickest way to get here is through a family based visa. No waiting for immigrant visa numbers; no 5 to 20 year delays. It's abused by fraudsters. Hence the process we see.

Not excusing the system. Just explaining.

[Rebecca Jo 1,962]

Always more risky than what? Let's set the WayBack machine for two years ago. Was applying for AOS while having overstayed a VWP entry more risky than, say, applying for a CR1 visa in Ho Chi Minh City or Guangzhou? Or, was it just more risky than applying for a CR1 in London or Paris?

Nobody likes to feel they are being treated unfairly. That's human nature. A person can accept, to some degree, that they're going to be subjected to more scrutiny because they happen to come from a high fraud country. At least they know that someone from a low fraud country is going to have to go through the same process, and even if the consulate isn't going to be as suspicious initially, they're still going to be looking out for fraud. It's a lot more difficult to accept that someone can skip the process entirely, and just go directly to the green card filing while merely visiting the US, but that option isn't available to them because the US government doesn't want them to visit the US.

Sour grapes? You bet! If I had my choice between taking a shot at a CR1 in HCMC or filing an AOS while visiting the US I would choose the AOS any day of the week, and twice on Sundays. It's far more likely to be approved. But that choice isn't available to a lot of people, and that is why it's unfair. It's a loophole in the law that's available only to people from privileged countries.

FWIW, I think most people's objection is with the law and not with the people who use it to their advantage. I don't begrudge someone using this option if they are eligible for it any more than I would begrudge someone taking a legal tax deduction that I'm not eligible to take. It does, however, chafe me the wrong way when I hear people bemoaning the fact that they can't stay longer on the VWP or they can't adjust status after their authorized stay has expired, as if the US government were being grossly unfair to them, when the fact is that the US government is already far more fair to them then they are to most people in the world. To the OP's credit, they haven't exhibited this sense of entitlement, though someone else suggested they might come back and do so if they are ultimately denied. I would like to think that this is not the case, and that the OP realizes they are asking the US government to make an exception and allow them to skip the immigrant visa process, and accept the consequences if their request is denied.

*shrugs*

Like I've said to you before Jim, some of it is politics. Favored nation status due to treaties and allegiances. The other part of it is known statistical evidence of fraud from the other camp.

Much in life is unfair. It was only a matter of time before the VWP express received more scrutiny. And not because those individuals get "favoritism" from US immigration, but because the political climate in the US is extremely anti-immigrant.

Respectfully I would say this to you - you need to get past that. The whole process of US immigration is hard. Better to spend your energy helping those you can, than flogging those that get to you.

Edited December 12, 2010 by JohnnyQuest