Anyone have experience petitioning after spouse was arrested in the USA and then signed voluntary departure?

[BreadandRoses 0]

I am hoping to mail the first set of paperwork when I return to the United States in a few months, I am currently staying with my husband in Mexico. I am somewhat concerned about being rejected. My husband was brought to the United States illegaly when he was young, by his family. He was a very independant teenager and always kept a job going and practically lived on his own all through high school, where we met. We both were good kids and didn't have any criminal records. A couple years ago I was 17 and he had just turned 21 years old. We were arrested for burglary (which is totally nuts!! it was t- shirt in a clothing shop, his charge was reduced to petty theft in court). We were so so stupid I get angry thinking about it, but now we must deal with it and be patient and do everything right to get him back to the USA. Never ever will we do anything like that again. He went to jail (I was a minor so I was let go) and immediately had an immigration hold put on him. He served his four day sentence, the morning before an immigration attorney was going to meet with him in jail, ICE came and picked him up. He was dumped in Tijuana that night. That was the worst punishment, one of the worst things that could of happened. We spent 9 months apart, and then I came here to Mexico to live with him and his family and figure out what we are going to do about this mess. We were married November 2010.We really want to make things right, neither of us fit in here in Mexico at all, adn there is no way we could live here. This whole thing has really changed both of us for the better, even with how tuff it has been so far. My questions are:

Will me being arrested for burglary (I was not charged, and it was not even burglary, it was really petty theft.) when I was a minor be a problem?

Will him being charged with petty theft in the united states be a problem?

Will the fact that we were arrested together be a problem?

Petty theft is not a big offense, but will they make a huge deal about it?

Thank you for any time spent to read and reply. I am kinda scared for critisism about our stupid actions, please I know we were idiots, I have been kept awake all night for the last year and a half thinking about it.

Oh and also....

My husband was told by immigration officers that signing voluntary departure would not ban him from applying for residency, but I read online about all the possible bans for staying illegally in the country. He did not recieve any documentation or paperwork stating any ban was placed on him. Anyone have any further knowledge about this?

[Tim/Mav 305]

I am hoping to mail the first set of paperwork when I return to the United States in a few months, I am currently staying with my husband in Mexico. I am somewhat concerned about being rejected. My husband was brought to the United States illegaly when he was young, by his family. He was a very independant teenager and always kept a job going and practically lived on his own all through high school, where we met. We both were good kids and didn't have any criminal records. A couple years ago I was 17 and he had just turned 21 years old. We were arrested for burglary (which is totally nuts!! it was t- shirt in a clothing shop, his charge was reduced to petty theft in court). We were so so stupid I get angry thinking about it, but now we must deal with it and be patient and do everything right to get him back to the USA. Never ever will we do anything like that again. He went to jail (I was a minor so I was let go) and immediately had an immigration hold put on him. He served his four day sentence, the morning before an immigration attorney was going to meet with him in jail, ICE came and picked him up. He was dumped in Tijuana that night. That was the worst punishment, one of the worst things that could of happened. We spent 9 months apart, and then I came here to Mexico to live with him and his family and figure out what we are going to do about this mess. We were married November 2010.We really want to make things right, neither of us fit in here in Mexico at all, adn there is no way we could live here. This whole thing has really changed both of us for the better, even with how tuff it has been so far. My questions are:

Will me being arrested for burglary (I was not charged, and it was not even burglary, it was really petty theft.) when I was a minor be a problem?

Will him being charged with petty theft in the united states be a problem?

Will the fact that we were arrested together be a problem?

Petty theft is not a big offense, but will they make a huge deal about it?

Thank you for any time spent to read and reply. I am kinda scared for critisism about our stupid actions, please I know we were idiots, I have been kept awake all night for the last year and a half thinking about it.

Oh and also....

You need the Counsil of a Good Immigration Attourney for this. Not VJ Members..

There are to many complications involved in this matter.

My husband was told by immigration officers that signing voluntary departure would not ban him from applying for residency, but I read online about all the possible bans for staying illegally in the country. He did not recieve any documentation or paperwork stating any ban was placed on him. Anyone have any further knowledge about this?

[Penguin_ie 5,986]

***** Removed Duplicate thread *****

First of all, are you legally resident in Mexico, and for at least 6 months? If so, you can file DCF (directly with the embassy), which will make the first part of your journey much faster, but he will need a waiver for his overstay of 3 years (he has a ten year ban- this can be waived if you can show hardship, but that may be difficult to prove as you live with him in Mexico).

Your arrest won;t have any effect on your petition or his visa.

I don't *think* petty theft is considered a crime of moral terpitude, so while he is likely to get some questions about it at the interview, it should not affect the visa process majorly, assuming it is his only offence.

[canadian_wife 1,791]

Penguin has given you great advice

The visa will be denied at the interview due to the illegal presence of 3 years after the age of 18, he will be given a 10 year ban from the US. You can submit the I601 at the interview in which you must show why you will suffer extreme hardship if he is not returned to the US, and because you are currently in MX, you will also have to show why you cannot just stay living in MX with him.

Now, MX offers a pilot program which can sufficiently decrease the waiver wait time, I do not think you qualify for that due to the arrest and charge of your husband.

Contact a competant lawyer before you proceed with anything, this is a difficult case with an overstay, a ban, and a theft charge. Laural Scott offers free chats on wednesdays at scottimmigration.com. Also immigrate2us.net is a great site that seems to specialize in these types of cases

Good luck

[Done--Really 331]

You need to go to www.immigrate2us.net--they are the experts on this type of situation--you will get tons of help there rather than here.

[BreadandRoses 0]

Thank you so much for the replies. Glad that the arrests shouldnt cause a huge problem. No I am not actually a resident in Mexico, I came here on the 6 month tourist visa. I stayed for 5 months, went back to the united states for a month and a half, and then came back here again. I am now thinking that I should have just stayed in the US and got the visa process going. It is just so confusing I don't know where to even start. It is difficult because we have no idea if he had any ban placed on him. He did not go in front of the immigration judge, so that would mean it was actually an expediated removal? It seems like voluntary departure is only when you see an immigration judge and they give you a certain ammount of days to get yourself out of the united states. Anyone know more about expediated removal by immigration officers not an immigration judge? I know it typically applies to people caught near the border trying to enter the united states, but I also saw that the law can apply to people already in the country.

[BreadandRoses 0]

I am very glad you sent me to immigrate2us, it looks like another great source of information. I will try talking to Laural Scott as well.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,235]

When your husband was deported, he triggered 2 bars: one for unlawful presence over 1 year, which is a 10-year bar, and another one for deportation, which could be anywhere from 5 to 20 years, most likely, however, it's 5 or 10 years. These bars will require 2 waives to be ready: the I-601 for unlawful presence, and the I-212 for deportation.

Waivers are not do-it-yourself territory. The conviction of a crime, no matter how stupid or minor or unfair, won't help. You'll need a competent attorney, and I suggest Laurel Scott. She is the queen of particularly these waivers. She has a weekly chat on www.immigrate2us.net.

Now, that said, you'll file for an CR-1/IR-1 visa at Juarez. It will be denied based on the bars that have been triggered. At that time you'll need to present the waivers. A best case scenario would be about 1 to 2 years.

Best of luck to you.

[BreadandRoses 0]

Eeehhh so it sounds even worse than we thought, Hey Just Bob when you said "best case scenario would be about 1 or 2 years" did you mean about 1 or 2 years to complete the whole process and get his residency?

[canadian_wife 1,791]

Eeehhh so it sounds even worse than we thought, Hey Just Bob when you said "best case scenario would be about 1 or 2 years" did you mean about 1 or 2 years to complete the whole process and get his residency?

Probably, he is probably not qualified for the pilot program which would expedite the waiver process

Good luck