Was denied entry on tourist visa while crossing border with USC wife, Signed withdrawal of application and was sent to Venezuela. How will this afect?

[Rmorenoq 0]

Hello all, I hope your doing great!

I would like to get some insight, I'm new to this forum and I find it very helpful. Me and my wife are in a short budget and according to the instructions for the immigration process on the USCIS site, seems like we can handle it ourselves instead of having to cope with a most likely expensive lawyer bill. I've called some free immigration services organizations but once they've heard my story over the phone they immediately recommend going through a lawyers office.

I was in the US since June 2014 on a F1 Visa; my wife and I got married on March 15 2016. My school program ended on May 2016 and I tried to change my status from student to a tourist visa (before overstaying the 60 day period to leave or enroll in a new program for the F1), We haven't yet sent the I-130, we told the officer that we were in the process and would be sending the IR petition very soon. They allowed my wife to enter the USA and I was handcuffed and sent into a different office where they had me sign a "Withdrawal of application to seek entry at POE" and was sent to my home country after 5 days (I wasn't allowed any calls and was given no information until 3 days after being detained and when pulled to see an officer they allowed me to call my wife in order to book a flight ticket back to my home country.) The paperwork I signed states that my F1 and B1/B2 Visas were cancelled without prejudice.

1. I wonder if this situation might affect my wife's petition for me as her spouse?

2. Should I send a copy of the "Withdrawal of application..." with the form I-130 as supporting evidence?

3. We plan on sending the following supporting evidence:

-Our lease which proves that we've been living together since Oct 2015 and it expires on September 2017.

-Affidavit from: her dad, our landlord, neighbors from the apartment complex,

-Letter from electricity company proving the contract is under both our names.

-Invoice from cable company showing both our names on it

-Landlord will draft up a letter with the property management heading stating we've been living there (very similar to electricity company letter)

-I know now that some family pictures will help and will add some.

-I went through clinical trials for extra cash, and will send copies showing her name as my emergency contact.

-Will get Renters Insurance info. (required by the landlord before signing the lease)

-Any other suggestions?

4. About how much are the fees in total for Consular Processing?

-I've read about AOS fees, IV fees and others but haven't found the actual amounts, so far I know I-130 is $420 and i think IV is $130

5. The situation in Venezuela is very tense politically and economically, I'm considering going to Mexico in order to be close to my wife and where most likely I'll be able to make more money to help her during this process. Do I need to be in Venezuela during the whole process or only for the interview phase of the process?

Any further advise on this would be very helpful, thanks in advance!

Kind Regards

[arken 4,199]

Once you two told the officers at the POE that you two will be starting the immigrant petition soon, they are legally required to not allow you to enter US and send you back. So they did their job.

Not sure why you traveled outside US, you could have simply stayed in the US, started the immigrant petition and received the green card.

Anyway, responses to your questions:

1. Might or might not. Were you given some documentation regarding your removal process mentioning something listing like [iNA section 212(a)(9)(A)(i)] or so. If so you might be barred for few years and you have to file waivers of inadmissibility later on before you can be granted an immigrant visa. If not, then you are good.

2. I don't see a reason that "withdrawal of application" would be of any help for i130.

3. Provide if you have any of these: joint bank account statements, health insurance with each other as beneficiaries, some photos

4. i130 fee-420, AOS fee-120, visa application fee-325, after visa is issued-165 for GC.

5. If you will be legally living in Mexico, you can provide the address of Mexico as current address and be interviewed in Mexico.

[Rmorenoq 0]

Thanks for your answer arken.

Applying for AOS in the US was the plan. But ended up making an honest mistake in the spirit of not overstaying the F1 Visa.

the paperwork states:

22 CFR 41.122 (h) (3) - cancelled with prejudice (I said it was without prejudice before, my mistake)

Revoked - application withdrawn

(...)

Disposition: Mr. X appears ato be inadmissible pursuant to section 212 (a)(7)(i) Immigrant without a vaid immigrant visa, and 8 USC 182. Mr X withdrew his application for admission in lieu of proceedings. Mr. X Visa was cancelled according to the immigration law and returned to Venezuela.

The officers said that it wasn't so bad (yeah right) that I could come to Venezuela and apply for the immigrant Visa.

Regards

[Boiler 47,452]

On what basis will you be moving to Mexico?

[Lotofdoubts 18]

You can be in Mexico as a tourist/visitor for up to 180 days, but longer stays and work need a permit. Also, if you don't have a job offer already, Mexico job situation is similar than all other countries in southamerica... not want to be mean at all, just letting you know a few cons of your plan... if you apply from your country or even from Mexico, and do all the legal process you will reunite with your wife in a few months. Good luck

[newacct 688]

Your petition is only about the genuineness of your relationship. All else doesn't matter. Even if he has a lifetime ban, his petition will still be approved. Bans are only an issue at the stage of getting the immigrant visa.

If he was "removed", he would have a 5-year 9A ban, in which case he would need to file I-212 for permission to reapply before he can immigrate. From what you said, they let him withdraw his application and leave voluntarily, so it doesn't sound like he was "removed". But letting him withdraw and leave voluntarily usually happens pretty quickly so it is weird that he was there for several days. He needs to go through what he got and see if there is anything that said they removed him. If he wasn't removed, it will not affect his getting an immigrant visa.

[Rmorenoq 0]

Thank you all for all your advice,

I found them all very useful and now feel much more confident about our I-130.

I won't be traveling to Mexico until I have something locked down.

If going to Mexico ends up being a good plan, I wonder at which stage of the process would I be required to be in Venezuela.

Is it after my wife goes to an interview in the US ?; this is important in order to make the best decision about this option.

I think I will just go with the interview in Venezuela, my wife wants to come and meet the family in person; I'm thinking we could plan for her to come and join me at my interview on the same trip.

I was looking at some timelines also and it seems like if everything is OK and there's no RFE or money issues to pay for fees and such, the interview with NVC should be in a timeframe of about 3-4months. Any thoughts??

Thanks in advance for all the insight on these.

Regards

[Boiler 47,452]

Cr1 takes about a year, give or take.

[Baslied 1]

Hello all, I hope your doing great!

I would like to get some insight, I'm new to this forum and I find it very helpful. Me and my wife are in a short budget and according to the instructions for the immigration process on the USCIS site, seems like we can handle it ourselves instead of having to cope with a most likely expensive lawyer bill. I've called some free immigration services organizations but once they've heard my story over the phone they immediately recommend going through a lawyers office.

I was in the US since June 2014 on a F1 Visa; my wife and I got married on March 15 2016. My school program ended on May 2016 and I tried to change my status from student to a tourist visa (before overstaying the 60 day period to leave or enroll in a new program for the F1), We haven't yet sent the I-130, we told the officer that we were in the process and would be sending the IR petition very soon. They allowed my wife to enter the USA and I was handcuffed and sent into a different office where they had me sign a "Withdrawal of application to seek entry at POE" and was sent to my home country after 5 days (I wasn't allowed any calls and was given no information until 3 days after being detained and when pulled to see an officer they allowed me to call my wife in order to book a flight ticket back to my home country.) The paperwork I signed states that my F1 and B1/B2 Visas were cancelled without prejudice.

1. I wonder if this situation might affect my wife's petition for me as her spouse?

2. Should I send a copy of the "Withdrawal of application..." with the form I-130 as supporting evidence?

3. We plan on sending the following supporting evidence:

-Our lease which proves that we've been living together since Oct 2015 and it expires on September 2017.

-Affidavit from: her dad, our landlord, neighbors from the apartment complex,

-Letter from electricity company proving the contract is under both our names.

-Invoice from cable company showing both our names on it

-Landlord will draft up a letter with the property management heading stating we've been living there (very similar to electricity company letter)

-I know now that some family pictures will help and will add some.

-I went through clinical trials for extra cash, and will send copies showing her name as my emergency contact.

-Will get Renters Insurance info. (required by the landlord before signing the lease)

-Any other suggestions?

4. About how much are the fees in total for Consular Processing?

-I've read about AOS fees, IV fees and others but haven't found the actual amounts, so far I know I-130 is $420 and i think IV is $130

5. The situation in Venezuela is very tense politically and economically, I'm considering going to Mexico in order to be close to my wife and where most likely I'll be able to make more money to help her during this process. Do I need to be in Venezuela during the whole process or only for the interview phase of the process?

Any further advise on this would be very helpful, thanks in advance!

Kind Regards

Hi!

Wow that's crazy, I'm also venezuelan married to a US citizen, something veeeeery similar happened to me, we were coming back from our honeymoon and they didn't let me in the United States because I was on tourist visa, even though we were already starting on adjusting status, they kept me 2 days in the immigration room inside the airport until they sent me back here to venezuela, we were just so ignorant about the topic but now we know that they were just doing their job and it was right for them to send me back home. I would like to help you and tell you more details about my case, we already sent the i130 on March 9th, feel free to contact me! Hopefully I can help you since you're on a budget and can't afford a lawyer.

Saludos!

Edited August 8, 2016 by Ryan H
Reason for edit: to remove personal email address

[mallafri76 1,012]

Thank you all for all your advice,

I found them all very useful and now feel much more confident about our I-130.

I won't be traveling to Mexico until I have something locked down.

If going to Mexico ends up being a good plan, I wonder at which stage of the process would I be required to be in Venezuela.

Is it after my wife goes to an interview in the US ?; this is important in order to make the best decision about this option.

I think I will just go with the interview in Venezuela, my wife wants to come and meet the family in person; I'm thinking we could plan for her to come and join me at my interview on the same trip.

I was looking at some timelines also and it seems like if everything is OK and there's no RFE or money issues to pay for fees and such, the interview with NVC should be in a timeframe of about 3-4months. Any thoughts??

Thanks in advance for all the insight on these.

Regards

You need to read the guides on top of VJ because you're lost...

Your wife does not go to an interview in the US. You attend an interview in your country of legal residence, in your case Venezuela. The interview is the final stage of the visa process.

Your interview is not with NVC, it's with the US embassy in Venezuela.

I-130 petition with USCIS takes 5 to 6 months. Fees and document gathering/review with NVC takes about 3 to 5 months. Then you're scheduled for an interview at the US embassy. If everything runs smoothly, the process takes about a year.

God knows why you didn't do AOS. You were allowed to do that from your F1. Now you need to spend a year apart while you go through the CR-1 process.

Edited August 7, 2016 by mallafri76