Cancel deportation of illegal alien

[jreacher 0]

My friend is facing deportation, and has a hearing before the immigration judge early next year. She has a lawyer, but I feel like he is maybe not giving her the best advice and possibly just taking on an impossible case to get money.

Here is her background: Her parents brought her from Mexico when she was around 2. She got a green card, but when she was around 20 she got a DWI, went to prison for a couple of months, then did a voluntary departure and lost her green card. After a couple of months in Mexico she came back in illegally by driving across the border and telling the officials she was a citizen. After a couple of years of living and working here illegally, she gets a felony case against her for assaulting a police officer. They don't have much of a case, and it will probably end up being a misdemeanor, but it's there. And then she gets a second DWI, goes to jail, and catches the attention of immigration again. She ends up going right from jail to a detention facility, facing deportation. Her lawyer gets her out on bail, and as I mentioned before she has a hearing next year.

So I did some research, and it doesn't seem like she has many options. Even marriage doesn't seem like much of an option. Her lawyer is telling her to get married, but from everything I've read the only possible way she would get to stay would be if there was some extreme hardship. From what she tells me, it doesn't sound like her lawyer has emphasized that. He is just telling her to get married and that she will then qualify to apply for a Cancellation of Deportation, and that she will also qualify to get a work permit. All of this sounds bogus to me. If she gets married to someone now and they don't have kids, and he wouldn't suffer any hardship if she leaves, how could she possibly get her deportation canceled? And get a work permit? And even if the deportation was canceled, would it even be possible for her to become legal? The lawyer also said that getting married to a member of the military would make things even easier and speed up the process.

I've seen questions like this posted on a number of forums, and everyone always says that marriage won't help in these kinds of situations, which is why I suspect that her lawyer just wants money. She came here illegally after being deported, AND she lied about being a citizen which I've heard is a big problem. And she has two DWIs and a felony case.. I just don't know what kind of relief there is for her.

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

[Little_My 463]

Erm. I don't know where she found this lawyer, but it sounds to me like he/she should be disbarred..

Personally, with that kind of a history of several immigration violations not to mention all the times she has broken the law in the US, I don't see a way for her to stay here through any means. She has also misrepresented herself as a US citizen to gain illegal entry back to the country, and that misrep, if there is proof of it, carries a life time ban with no possibility of a waiver.

I don't think there is enough extreme hardship in the entire world to convince any judge to let her stay, under any circumstances.

[jreacher 0]

That's what I was thinking.. When she was talking to the immigration officials after her second DWI she told them that she had claimed to be a citizen.. So there's proof of that. I really don't trust this lawyer, and with your input I think I just want to take her to another lawyer and get a second opinion so no more money is wasted. Anyone else agree or is there something I don't know?

[Sandra G. 5,016]

Wow here did she find this lawyer?. First of all she entered in the USA WITHOUT INSPECTION then if she gets married she won't be able to adjust her status inside the USA. Once married she must leave the USA to attend the interview in her home Country, and she will need a waiver to overcome the unlawful presence, but with her police record and claiming US citizenship the chances to have a waiver of inadmissibility approved is almost ZERO, and if she gets a deportation order she will need two waivers (I-601 and I-212). I truly believe if she gets married and leaves USA the USCIS won't approve her waiver(s) at all!!!!, and being honest with you we need in this Country just people with good moral character!!

Edited May 21, 2012 by sandranj

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

Actually with a false claim of USC her chances are ZERO forever, no chance of a waiver

[aaydrian 479]

Tell your friend to save whatever money she's paying this 'lawyer' and put it towards her building a life for herself in Mexico. What will get her permanently banned from the US is proclaiming to be a US citizen. Also deportation proceedings can only be delayed (stopped in some cases) by marriage only IF that person got married BEFORE deportation proceedings were filed and if the person entered the US with inspection.

[jreacher 0]

Let's say that through some lucky break there's no proof of her claiming to be a US Citizen. Would there be any chance even then? It doesn't seem like there would be any hope even without that claim. Just trying to look at all angles.

[Noah Lot 387]

My friend is facing deportation, and has a hearing before the immigration judge early next year. She has a lawyer, but I feel like he is maybe not giving her the best advice and possibly just taking on an impossible case to get money.

Here is her background: Her parents brought her from Mexico when she was around 2. She got a green card, but when she was around 20 she got a DWI, went to prison for a couple of months, then did a voluntary departure and lost her green card. After a couple of months in Mexico she came back in illegally by driving across the border and telling the officials she was a citizen. After a couple of years of living and working here illegally, she gets a felony case against her for assaulting a police officer. They don't have much of a case, and it will probably end up being a misdemeanor, but it's there. And then she gets a second DWI, goes to jail, and catches the attention of immigration again. She ends up going right from jail to a detention facility, facing deportation. Her lawyer gets her out on bail, and as I mentioned before she has a hearing next year.

So I did some research, and it doesn't seem like she has many options. Even marriage doesn't seem like much of an option. Her lawyer is telling her to get married, but from everything I've read the only possible way she would get to stay would be if there was some extreme hardship. From what she tells me, it doesn't sound like her lawyer has emphasized that. He is just telling her to get married and that she will then qualify to apply for a Cancellation of Deportation, and that she will also qualify to get a work permit. All of this sounds bogus to me. If she gets married to someone now and they don't have kids, and he wouldn't suffer any hardship if she leaves, how could she possibly get her deportation canceled? And get a work permit? And even if the deportation was canceled, would it even be possible for her to become legal? The lawyer also said that getting married to a member of the military would make things even easier and speed up the process.

I've seen questions like this posted on a number of forums, and everyone always says that marriage won't help in these kinds of situations, which is why I suspect that her lawyer just wants money. She came here illegally after being deported, AND she lied about being a citizen which I've heard is a big problem. And she has two DWIs and a felony case.. I just don't know what kind of relief there is for her.

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

A spurious marriage will be painfully obvious and a waiver a pipe dream...if she made a false claim of US citizenship, she's done. Last minute marriages to avoid immigration problems jump off the page to even the newest of USCIS adjudicators...and everything she's done wrong will decrease the odds to virtually zero. While this attorey has probably billed many hours for doing relatively nothing, adding possible immgration fraud to the mix won't help. She should return to Mexico and start her life over again down there...and USCIS doesn't need much 'proof' to charge someone with making a false claim of US citizenship....

Edited May 21, 2012 by Noah Lot

[Adriene H 89]

Probably a lawyer who has an office in downtown L.A.

with neon signs in the window saying Open 24 Hours, and

when he needs cases, he listens on the Radioshack scanner

for ICE raids, and approaches the detainees the next

day ...

[Boiler 43,425]

He got her out on bail.

[Asia 2,491]

She could get married and then adjust her status if she had a status in the US (tho it would have been done before her problems with immigration).

Since she came without inspection (without I-94 or any visa), she can't do anything.

She'll be deported no matter how good her lawyer is IMHO.

[G&D 51]

Since you asked for "any thoughts", not advice, my thoughts are....

I would like for her to leave the country!

Sounds like a prison sentence is coming for this lady someday, if she were to stay in the U.S., and I'll have to support her ####### while she sits in prison. Then she gets out...goes on public assistance, has three or four kids, and who the he** is gonna pay for all this...ME and the others around here.

So, my thought are...Leave The Da** Country!

Everyone, I know that was a lot less cordial than you all are used to, but the OP did ask for "thoughts"

[Operator 1,925]

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

Your friend is a criminal and should be sent back to her home country. We have enough criminals as it is.

[Darnell 8,478]

Actually with a false claim of USC her chances are ZERO forever, no chance of a waiver

Yikes. Tell yer friend to liquidate all assets, and move to Mexico, as that instance of claiming to be a citizen whilst crossing the border into the USA will disbar her from anything else.

Seriously.

[bestofboston 36]

First of all, I really don't know anything about this issue but wanted to pass along my thoughts.

Can she claim as an extreme hardship that living in the USA since she was 2 y.o. is the only life that she has ever known.