Complicated...Form G-56 Appointment

[nanobel 0]

A while ago I messed up big time and applied for adjustment of status for my husband under the Cuban Adjustment Act (I was simultaneously applying for myself). He's from Honduras, but entered ilegally 10 years ago. The CAA would apply to him had he been admitted into the US in any way. But he never has been.

Once I figured out I messed up I contacted an attorney who told me to cancel his I-485 asap. I did. Mine went through fine. I did receive a letter for my husband saying his case was canceled. Now I receive this letter (on Form G-56) asking him to appear for an appointment on 12-01-11 at 1:30pm. It says to ask for an "Immigration Services Officer" and the reason for the appointment is "Process I-485". It asks for the same evidence as they ask for the I-485 through a spouse. Basically, it's indicating as needing proof of marriage. It also asks for me to be at the interview with him.

I'm not a citizen and can't be one for another 2.5 years (my AOS date was rolled back 30 months). So this further complicates things since I can't petition him under the CAA because of non-admission.

Can he be detained and deported when he goes to this appointment? I'm confused as to why they didn't cancel everything. He never received the initial appointment, just this one. I'm so worried. I hate all this immigration #######...I'm sick of it.

[CC90 90]

You should probably have someone representing you at this point.

Without knowing all the facts, it wouldn't suprise me at all if they intend to detain him. Or perhaps its an administrative error.

With the current application of prosecutorial discretion, it's unlikely that he will actually be formally deported if he hasn't been convicted of any crimes.

[nanobel 0]

He has no criminal background. We have an attorney, but I'm waiting to hear back from her. I emailed her on the weekend, so she may respond today. I've been reading about deferred action and prosecutorial discretion and I can't help but feel a little optimistic. Thanks.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Can he be detained and deported when he goes to this appointment? I'm confused as to why they didn't cancel everything. He never received the initial appointment, just this one. I'm so worried. I hate all this immigration #######...I'm sick of it.

Withdrawing a petition won't stop an investigation. The fact that they've already acknowledged your withdrawal of the I-485, combined with the fact that they didn't instruct you to ask for a specific immigration officer, means that this probably isn't going to be a pleasant experience.

The Obama administration recently instructed DHS to re-prioritize their removal cases in order to focus primarily on those with criminal convictions, and not just unlawful presence. The wording of the executive order, and the subsequent announcement from the Secretary of DHS, indicated that they would be suspending removal proceedings for aliens whose only offense was unlawful presence, and even providing an opportunity for those aliens to apply for an employment authorization card. However, anecdotal evidence from some immigration related forums seems to indicate that many people who have no criminal convictions are still waiting for their removal proceedings to be suspended, and others say they have been placed in removal proceedings even though they didn't have any criminal convictions. Speculation is that this may have been a political stunt in order to curry favor with immigration advocates before next year's federal elections. I tend to believe that this may be true, especially since there is no basis in the law for DHS to offer employment authorization cards to aliens who are unlawfully present. The President can't make this legal by executive order.

I think it's distinctly possible they might take him into custody, though I hope that's not the case. If you don't show up then they would almost certainly start removal proceedings. I hope you have a very good attorney.

Your husband can't adjust status even after you become a US citizen because he entered without inspection. There are a few exceptions, such as if someone had filed an approvable petition for him prior to April, 2001 (section 245(i) of the INA), or if he accuses you of abuse (VAWA). He could also apply for asylum, but the chances of being approved for a Honduran is extremely remote.

[nanobel 0]

I know he can't adjust, but that we can apply for a waiver of grounds of inadmissibility. I've heard about that^ - defered action - being a political scheme, but I'm hoping we will be ones who will get approved. I've heard so many mixed opinions that I don't know what to believe. I've heard that because we're in Alabama it's more likely we will not be approved because it would appear that immigration doesn't support the law here. At this point we're going to go. Actually, my idea was to move out of the state and not show up, but my husband won't do that.

I just got some bad news from my attorney today. She had gotten me all excited about TPS for my husband. I could have told her he didn't qualify because of the date of entry, but I thought she knew something I didn't. She wrote me this:

Hello:

Unfortunately your husband does not fulfill the requirement for "Late filing". He had to be here continuously since January 5, 1999. He entered without inspection in 2002.

Here is the link:

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=8b0f3e4d77d73210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=8b0f3e4d77d73210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD

I think the will deny his application, since he entered without inspection. When you receive the decision you will have 30 days to appeal and therefore I do not think that they will arrest your husband right there.

Sorry that I have not better news for you. Good luck and please, if you don't mind, let me know what Immigration decided. Thanks.

She's never been very optimistic. I just think a lot of attorneys don't want to deal with the complicated cases when they can make so much money from the easier ones. I don't know. So she doesn't show any interest to help us at all and neither do many of the other attorneys I've contacted. So we're going to show up and hope for the best. We don't have much of a choice since the attorneys who would "help" are out of our budget anyways.

[nanobel 0]

This might require a different thread...maybe.

Is there not a waiver I can get for my husband to never have to leave the country for his appointment? I have some health issues and I'm wondering if I can use them as hardship. I have sjourn syndrome which causes me severe dry eye. It might not sound serious, but when I have flare ups my eyes cease any and all tear production. I basically have to wear bandages over my eyes to keep in the moisture and all kinds of oils/drops and am virtually blind until the flare up is over. These happen once every 2 or 3 months and they last a couple weeks. When it happens my mother comes over here and helps me during the day until my husband gets home to watch and care for me and our almost-5-year-old son. I also have to be laying down most of the time because physical excertion makes it last longer and more painful. I can get a letter from my doctor. (I had forgotten about this since I haven't had a flare up for over 4 months, but it's starting now, so it reminded me. For the first time ever I'm glad it's happening because otherwise it would have slipped my mind completely.)

There are other issues, like work. Because of my condition (what I described and other things) I cannot hold down a steady job. My husband is our only source of income and we will certainly become a burden to the State if he were not here.

I can't move to Honduras and leave my 14-year-old daughter (from previous marriage) behind, either. She was having a mini-nervous-breakdown about this last night thinking I'm going to end up leaving and leave her behind. How do I chose which child to separate from their parent.

There's more, I'm sure, but those are off the top of my head.

So...I know there's I-601 waiver on the grounds of inadmissibility which we can file once he's in Honduras (if it comes to that), but I was wondering if I can file that here to prevent him from having to go to Honduras for the appointment or whatever.

I'm also thinking that I probably should have had all of this stuff ready for the immigration officer on Thurs, Dec 1st. Would he be able to do deferred action if I have all this information available or is it something I have to apply for formally?

Sorry for the bombardment; the date is getting so close and I'm starting to panic.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Yeah, you might be able to get an in-country I-601 approved, which would make things easier at the consulate, but that still wouldn't make him eligible to adjust status because of the EWI. An approved I-601 would forgive the unlawful presence but it isn't going to provide him with lawful admission, and that's the primary thing he lacks. Except for 245(i), VAWA, and asylum, there's practically no way to gain lawful status without having been admitted or paroled into the US. The only way to meet that requirement is to leave the US and reenter legally. Leaving is going to trigger the ban. They've apparently already got their sights on him, and an approved I-601 isn't going to stop them from removing him.

I'm not sure I agree with your attorney here. They give you 30 days to file a motion to reopen if you apply for an immigration benefit and are denied. However, your husband hasn't applied for anything. You withdrew his application. With no application pending that certainly can't be the reason for the general call-in notice. My personal opinion is that they're either going to serve him notice that they're starting removal proceedings, or they're going to take him into custody pending removal. A notice of intent to start removal proceedings can be (and usually is) delivered by mail, so I think there's a pretty good chance it will be the latter. Even if they have implemented their new policy that they won't remove someone whose only offense is unlawful presence, your husband has also been working illegally in the US. That could be the criminal basis they use to remove him.

Look, you already have a clear path to get him legal status in the US. If he returns to Honduras and gets an I-601 waiver approved then he can get a visa and return to the US as a legal immigrant. If he leaves voluntarily before they deport him then he'll only need the I-601 and not also the I-212. This method has a good chance of working. Anything else is going to be time consuming, expensive, and ultimately likely to fail. You should think about this...

[nanobel 0]

I had not thought about the work situation. My husband doesn't work for someone but sells things he makes. He's a metal architect and makes things like conductor boxes, chimney caps, small decorative copper roofs, etc. We are not "well off," by any means, but able to live on this. If he were able to work in his field we'd be set. He's had job offers, but as soon as the illegal immigrant thing comes up offers are withdrawn, of course. Should we tell them this or not mention finances at all?

The problem with him leaving to reenter legally is that I really have no clue how we would survive or where we would live. Even if we get gov assistance it would not be enough (I believe Alabama only has foodstamps). I don't have any family who could help...my only friend is in an abusive marriage, so we can't move in with her. We have no money saved because we live check to check. I'd out on the street in my car with my child.

I just spoke to my ex-husband who is in law enforcement and he said to not show up. My husband doesn't want to do this, though. He thinks he needs to deal with this now.

Thank you so much for all your help!

[Penguin_ie 5,986]

****** Moving from AOS from Family... to Waivers and AP as the OP's husband did not enter via a K1 or K3, and we don't have a forum for "AOS from illegal entry, so as husband will need a waiver, this forum seems to fit best *****

[nanobel 0]

Thanks! I'm always so lost as to where to post.

[Penguin_ie 5,986]

Your case is a complicated one, I had to think on where to put it too!

[nanobel 0]

We got it, thank God! We went to the interview and they (we were interviewed by a couple different officers) just asked us questions about marriage. We didn't bring anything with us, so we had to mail all our proof in (photos, bills, joint memberships, etc). About 10 days later he got his green card in the mail.

Now he wants to travel in January with our 4-year-old to Honduras to see his parents who he has not seen in 10 years. I talked him out of taking our son with because we're planning to go all together in about 6 months, once I get my passport (mine will take a while because it's Cuban). However, I'm really nervous about him going. I'm worried about the 10-year-ban even though he has his gc because I know that he was never admitted and in his passport it doesn't show that he ever entered the US legally. Can they do that?

I really want to cover all our corners. His green card says CR6 and it's only for 2 years. I'm wondering why... When we renew will we have to interview again? I'm still on pins and needles about this and will be until we are both US citizens!