Ineligible For A Waiver?

[JAPrincess 27]

Wavier is available until 1 charge...isnt it?

yes..

There is no waiver available for charges of possession of a controlled substance unless it relates to a single offense of simple possession of 30 grams or less of marijuana.

[san diego 407]

One thing is to change the law: it will take years. HOWEVER, probably you need some type of temporary solution, right? I would move to Tijuana, Mexico, together, find a job in US, and commute. This way you can even bring children back and force: have healthcare and education in San Diego, work in San Diego, and still see your husband.. I think this is the best solution. I lived like that for over 3 months.

[Casprd 167]

I just think it shows that even in the US what my husband did is not so horrible.

It isn't a matter of what your husband was convicted of being so horrible or heinous. It is a matter of his actions showing a disregard for the laws in his own country. While one time can be seen as circumstances or experimentation, a second time becomes a pattern. Even if drug use/possession were not a crime in the US, it is still a crime in his country of residence. The issue for the consulate will be more than which law is broken and will also concern the fact that a law in the immigrants country of residence was broken more than one time. If the intending immigrant disregards the current laws that he lives under, what is the likelihood that he or she may disregard the laws of their future home. I'm not saying that your husband would do this, but rather saying what an impartial adjudicator such as the VO at the consulate may consider when judging a petition.

As a side note, saying marijuana possession isn't a crime in your state is mistaken. It may be a misdemeanor and handled just as a traffic citation, but it is still a crime, just as speeding, running a red light and any other traffic offense are still crimes.

[JAPrincess 27]

It isn't a matter of what your husband was convicted of being so horrible or heinous. It is a matter of his actions showing a disregard for the laws in his own country. While one time can be seen as circumstances or experimentation, a second time becomes a pattern. Even if drug use/possession were not a crime in the US, it is still a crime in his country of residence. The issue for the consulate will be more than which law is broken and will also concern the fact that a law in the immigrants country of residence was broken more than one time. If the intending immigrant disregards the current laws that he lives under, what is the likelihood that he or she may disregard the laws of their future home. I'm not saying that your husband would do this, but rather saying what an impartial adjudicator such as the VO at the consulate may consider when judging a petition.

As a side note, saying marijuana possession isn't a crime in your state is mistaken. It may be a misdemeanor and handled just as a traffic citation, but it is still a crime, just as speeding, running a red light and any other traffic offense are still crimes.

I hear what you are saying

One thing is to change the law: it will take years. HOWEVER, probably you need some type of temporary solution, right? I would move to Tijuana, Mexico, together, find a job in US, and commute. This way you can even bring children back and force: have healthcare and education in San Diego, work in San Diego, and still see your husband.. I think this is the best solution. I lived like that for over 3 months.

hmmmmmm...

[san diego 407]

I hear what you are saying

hmmmmmm...

Write me directly and I will tell you details if you are interested in doing something feasable.

[FB14 14]

Im so sorry for the situation that you are in. If I were you, I would file for dual citizenship with Jamaica and relocate there to be with my husband. It's easier said than done but it's obvious that he wont be able to migrate to the U.S. for sometime. If my fiance is denied at his interview and we do everything we can after and it doesn't pull thrpugh, I'm relocating. You can have a good life in Jamaica. You just have to know how so you can stay away from the violence and the poverty. Good luck.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,235]

I venture the guess that most Americans have at least tried pot once. I am quite sure that about every American President has done the same. Yet the war on drugs is so profitable for political and economic gains, that it will carry on for some time in this great country of ours.

I don't see any way you could have a noticeable impact in the policies of the U.S. government. Worse yet, there's an anti-immigrant sentiment growing, and the dummified American electorate doesn't separate legal and illegal immigration much: they hate all immigrants. Friggin' foreigners!

Our economy is in a slum, people are hurting on many levels, we are engaged in more wars than even the NAZIS ever have been, and if you now ask for help in bringing your husband from Jamaica over to the U.S. despite multiple drug violations, you won't find much support anywhere.

I personally think this pot prohibition makes as much sense as the one we had on alcohol in the 1920s, and look how that worked out. Eventually we came to our senses realizing that people do what people want to do. But right now we are drifting more and more to the political right in this country, and a stronger stance on immigration and drugs, and not going to church finds more support than the other way around.

I'm sorry for your predicament, but I would try to find a plan B, whatever that may be.

[JAPrincess 27]

I venture the guess that most Americans have at least tried pot once. I am quite sure that about every American President has done the same. Yet the war on drugs is so profitable for political and economic gains, that it will carry on for some time in this great country of ours.

I don't see any way you could have a noticeable impact in the policies of the U.S. government. Worse yet, there's an anti-immigrant sentiment growing, and the dummified American electorate doesn't separate legal and illegal immigration much: they hate all immigrants. Friggin' foreigners!

Our economy is in a slum, people are hurting on many levels, we are engaged in more wars than even the NAZIS ever have been, and if you now ask for help in bringing your husband from Jamaica over to the U.S. despite multiple drug violations, you won't find much support anywhere.

I personally think this pot prohibition makes as much sense as the one we had on alcohol in the 1920s, and look how that worked out. Eventually we came to our senses realizing that people do what people want to do. But right now we are drifting more and more to the political right in this country, and a stronger stance on immigration and drugs, and not going to church finds more support than the other way around.

I'm sorry for your predicament, but I would try to find a plan B, whatever that may be.

(((Just Bob))) <~~ I have always admired your responses here on VJ.

I see the truth in all you have said above.

Plan B has always been something we have talked about. Doing it is a different story.

Drafting a petition can't hurt me at this point, all our cards are on the table and they are holding all the spades...

I hope that if you (meaning all of you reading) agree with my perspective that this law should be changed, that you will at the very least sign my petition... 5,000 signatures seems like Mount Everest right now, but if you don't dare to TRY, you will never SUCCEED.

[JAPrincess 27]

Me and all my friends
We're all misunderstood
They say we stand for nothing and
There's no way we ever could

Now we see everything that's going wrong
With the world and those who lead it
We just feel like we don't have the means
To rise above and beat it

So we keep waiting
Waiting on the world to change
We keep on waiting
Waiting on the world to change

It's hard to beat the system
When we're standing at a distance
So we keep waiting
Waiting on the world to change

Now if we had the power
To bring our neighbors home from war
They would have never missed a Christmas
No more ribbons on their door
And when you trust your television
What you get is what you got
Cause when they own the information, oh
They can bend it all they want

That's why we're waiting
Waiting on the world to change
We keep on waiting
Waiting on the world to change

It's not that we don't care,
We just know that the fight ain't fair
So we keep on waiting
Waiting on the world to change

And we're still waiting
Waiting on the world to change
We keep on waiting waiting on the world to change
One day our generation
Is gonna rule the population
So we keep on waiting
Waiting on the world to change

We keep on waiting
Waiting on the world to change

[Leatherneck 693]

I cannot be the only one in such a frustrating and UNFAIR situation, and I would like to petition the Government to change it!!!

Thanks to Obama's "We The People" website maybe they will hear a cry louder than the one that I go to sleep with every night.

But I need your help, and wisdom, and experience, to make it the best petition for all who are at the mercy of the waiver system.

All good people who have been honest, rehabilitated, and desire to immigrating legally...

Good people denied the discretion of a waiver no matter how much hardship is caused to their US Citizen spouse and children!!

This is my story; join me; tell yours, and help me petition to make it better!!

My husband was arrested for possession of marijuana twice in his young adult hood.

I petitioned as his fiance' and he was denied a K1 visa based on this record.

We were told to get married and re-petition as husband and wife and we would THEN be eligible for a waiver.

We married, re-filed an I-130, were approved by USCIS and went BACK to the embassy where he was again denied and this time told he would be permanently banned from my country.

BANNED!!

For what equates to $9 dollars in fines for a crime that hurt no one, and poses no threat to our country.

I will not go into my hardship and all that I have endured without him.

Let alone what moving to a developing country will do to our children; their access to basic health care and education; or the state of my husband's country crime rates, violence and poverty...

If the true purpose of a waiver is to weigh the individual crime to the hardship faced by the US Citizen, then I say LET THE CRIMES BE WEIGHED!!

Why is no waiver available to people with controlled substance possession charges??

Yes, yes I know, the famous war on drugs... is it working? this war???

How much money is spent fighting it and locking up people?? Yet, the drug use in this country is still amongst the highest in the world.

In my state, marijuana possession is not even a crime anymore, it is an infraction of the law much like a speeding ticket.

The largest amount of signatures on this "We the People" site is a petition to end the federal prohibition.

But I don't want this to be about marijuana, or even necessarily about drug possession denials.

It's about the millions of people who go to bed with their husbands and wives stuck in some other country with no hope of ever coming here.

Please help me see beyond my own issues to create the best petition for all people going to bed tonight with no hope... so that we may HAVE HOPE!!

~And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love~

JAPrincess,

I am sorry to hear of your situation and the long term impact it will have on your family. I can not even start to imagine the terrible emotional pain you are experiencing. Anyone with an ounce of compassion would be moved by your situation, I certainly am.

[eagle+eyed 8]

Relocation to Jamaica doesn't have to be living without good healthcare, money, etc... I hope to raise my children there within the next 5-10 years. We have a ten year maximum on living a life here once fiance does arrive here! If it weren't for my son that I have here, who has an American father, girl we'd be in Jamaica living right now and say F*** this american immigration BULLS***!!

Anyway, you make a petition, I'll sign it. I know people around me that would sign it. So mail that sucker up here to Minnesota and I'll get as many as I can for you and your's.. and the many many others in such an awful situation. I admire your strength and persistence...Let me know if you needs some signatures!

[RICARDO4EVA2 194]

Relocation to Jamaica doesn't have to be living without good healthcare, money, etc... I hope to raise my children there within the next 5-10 years. We have a ten year maximum on living a life here once fiance does arrive here! If it weren't for my son that I have here, who has an American father, girl we'd be in Jamaica living right now and say F*** this american immigration BULLS***!!

why the 10 year max

Anyway, you make a petition, I'll sign it. I know people around me that would sign it. So mail that sucker up here to Minnesota and I'll get as many as I can for you and your's.. and the many many others in such an awful situation. I admire your strength and persistence...Let me know if you needs some signatures!

[JAPrincess 27]

Im so sorry for the situation that you are in. If I were you, I would file for dual citizenship with Jamaica and relocate there to be with my husband. It's easier said than done but it's obvious that he wont be able to migrate to the U.S. for sometime. If my fiance is denied at his interview and we do everything we can after and it doesn't pull thrpugh, I'm relocating. You can have a good life in Jamaica. You just have to know how so you can stay away from the violence and the poverty. Good luck.

Relocation to Jamaica doesn't have to be living without good healthcare, money, etc... I hope to raise my children there within the next 5-10 years. We have a ten year maximum on living a life here once fiance does arrive here! If it weren't for my son that I have here, who has an American father, girl we'd be in Jamaica living right now and say F*** this american immigration BULLS***!!

Anyway, you make a petition, I'll sign it. I know people around me that would sign it. So mail that sucker up here to Minnesota and I'll get as many as I can for you and your's.. and the many many others in such an awful situation. I admire your strength and persistence...Let me know if you needs some signatures!

I love Jamaica. I have been going to JA for 11 years. I love her people, her food, her music, her beauty. I love her humor and her faith in the toughest times... I also know Jamaica.

Yes, there are many people in JA who live a good life, they build concrete mansions, have private health care, private education that is in my opinion, better than many public schools here in America. But the reality is we don't have that kind of money. My husband is a working class Jamaican man, and the working class in Jamaica, barely make enough to fill their belly. The public health care is deplorable. My nephew has waited SIX MONTHS to get a tonsillectomy! My other nephew waited 3 months to get his arm put back in place after falling out of a tree. THREE MONTHS to see an orthopedic specialist. And just TRYING to get her children care my sister in law has gone up and down in bus and taxi countless times and been turned away, told to wait, told to come back. Jamaica is the 3rd highest Murder per capita country in the world. You can bar your doors, all you want but the violence is there, you can't deny it. My husband live up in a little country village, far from the ghetto of Kingston and still last week someone get chopped with machete outside his house, and all now the cops never come. Over a year ago my brother in law was murdered so violently he was almost unrecognizable to his family and this done to him over a mix-up about money and what equated to $20 in his pocket.

I too have a son of a US Citizen Father. If I did not, I would probably have been in JA a long time ago as well. And even tho I would risk leaving a job I have held for 12 years, and selling my home and everything I own to go be with the man that I love, I STILL do not know if that is what is best for my children. I am certainly working on it. I am looking for US Jobs that will allow me to telecommute, trying to come to an agreement with my son’s father, trying to come up with money to build a house on the land that we own. All of this is heavy, and it is easy to say I would move there tomorrow if I had to. Actually DOING IT is a different thing all together.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Yes I realize that federal law trumps my state law especially in regards to immigration.

I just think it shows that even in the US what my husband did is not so horrible.

Even the federal waiver law puts marijuana in a separate class by allowing single possession charges to be waived.

If your husband had been living in California with a green card, and had been convicted twice of simple possession - both infractions and not misdemeanors or felonies - they would be able to deport him for this.

The thinking behind the federal immigration law is that a single conviction of simple possession of marijuana might indicate someone who was merely experimenting with the drug, but multiple convictions indicates a habitual drug user. As there are already millions of habitual drug users in the US, Congress felt it would not serve the United States to import more of them.

I think it's noble that you want to get involved in some civic activism to try to change a perceived unfairness in the law. Ultimately, a decision would have to be made on where to draw the line beyond which someone should be considered a habitual drug user, or at least likely to re-offend. If you want to move that line then some would argue that it should permit one violation of simple possession of ANY controlled substance, or perhaps any number of violations of simple possession of marijuana only. Many would argue that the line has already been drawn in a reasonable place - one violation only, simple possession only, marijuana only.

Now I'm going to throw my personal opinions out there...

The mood in the country now is decidedly anti-immigrant. There's also a strong chance that conservatives will increase their numbers in both houses of Congress after the next election, and the odds of getting any laws passed that will do anything to make immigration easier will be reduced accordingly. The number of states that are passing immigration enforcement laws is a good indicator of the public mood. Most people want to see the current laws more strictly enforced. I think the chances of getting the sort of changes to immigration law that you're looking for within the next five years are slim to none.

Since you live in California, I suggest you write an emotional appeal to Senator Feinstein. She can introduce a private bill that would grant an exception specifically for your husband. If the bill is passed and signed by the President then your husband's inadmissibility will be waived. She introduces a few dozen of these bills every year. I think she's your best hope at this point.

[JAPrincess 27]

Since you live in California, I suggest you write an emotional appeal to Senator Feinstein. She can introduce a private bill that would grant an exception specifically for your husband. If the bill is passed and signed by the President then your husband's inadmissibility will be waived. She introduces a few dozen of these bills every year. I think she's your best hope at this point.

Thank you