Bitter pill to swallow

[Almoto 0]

My husband voluntarily went back to England in Jan. 07 after living in the US for almost 15 years "undocumented". We met at the end of 2004, dated throughout 2005 & married last Feb. 2006. He was living here pretty much as a ghost and I was having concerns about being married to someone who I couldn't list on my tax returns or any financial documents. So he spoke with an attorney here in FL who advised him "incorrectly" (we know that now) to go back to England & process the paperwork to come back legally. Wanting to build a stable financial future for both of us, he didn't question this any further, he booked a flight & left after the holidays. Well, I found an immigration attorney to help me with filing for him to come home and the first thing they said, he should have never left. We could have filed an adjustment of status. That was a very bitter pill to swallow! So, we cried & we sobbed and then brushed ourselves off & now we're positively forging ahead. I filed the I-130 on 3/19/07.

To complicate our furture paperwork, he does have a criminal record in England spanning over 10 years from theft to driving violations which he served time. And then the biggie...living in the US since 1993 illegally. My attorney has sent me affidavits for our friends & family to fill out verifying his moral character. She also sent me info. for the I-601 which I have to research further because I don't have a financial hardship with him gone because I'm a partner in a business.

I'm looking for any advise from members who may have experienced any of these problems & came out the other side.

Thank you

[raymaga 25]

I have not experienced any of your problems, but I just wanted to wish you good luck through your journey and hope that everything will work out alright.

Best wishes that you can be together again really soon!!!!

[Bobbie 1]

My husband voluntarily went back to England in Jan. 07 after living in the US for almost 15 years "undocumented". We met at the end of 2004, dated throughout 2005 & married last Feb. 2006. He was living here pretty much as a ghost and I was having concerns about being married to someone who I couldn't list on my tax returns or any financial documents. So he spoke with an attorney here in FL who advised him "incorrectly" (we know that now) to go back to England & process the paperwork to come back legally. Wanting to build a stable financial future for both of us, he didn't question this any further, he booked a flight & left after the holidays. Well, I found an immigration attorney to help me with filing for him to come home and the first thing they said, he should have never left. We could have filed an adjustment of status. That was a very bitter pill to swallow! So, we cried & we sobbed and then brushed ourselves off & now we're positively forging ahead. I filed the I-130 on 3/19/07.

To complicate our furture paperwork, he does have a criminal record in England spanning over 10 years from theft to driving violations which he served time. And then the biggie...living in the US since 1993 illegally. My attorney has sent me affidavits for our friends & family to fill out verifying his moral character. She also sent me info. for the I-601 which I have to research further because I don't have a financial hardship with him gone because I'm a partner in a business.

I'm looking for any advise from members who may have experienced any of these problems & came out the other side.

Thank you

I am thinking good thoughts for you. I hope you continue to post, I am sure many of us want to follow your story. Amazing how the lawyer gave you bad advice....amazing...Im in Florida too, working on bringing my fiance from Germany over. I am sure he and I will have some things to face, but not quite what you are going through. Keep posting...people in here are pretty darn nice.

Bobbie

[yogib37 3]

I am sorry to hear of your problems.. the First lawyer was stuipd. Were they a imagration lawyer?

Second lawyer was correct that he should of not left. Now since he was out of staus and here unlawfully he faces I think a 10 year ban.

So you have a long and hard road ahead of you.

Take care

Yogi

Edited March 26, 2007 by yogib37

[Otto 83]

I/we (also) wanted to wish you well and to thank you for being so open, that could not have been an easy post to write.

There are some really brilliant folks here, hopefully you'll get some wisdom from them (along with lots of well wishers).. We're one big (sometimes wacky) Family...but we're here for you..

Edited March 26, 2007 by Karin und Otto

[kitkat1 5]

You'll be dealing with a waiver to forgive the 10 year ban and for the criminal charges - the criminal charges are bigger issue, normally, than the illegal presence. While there are, unfortunately, a ton of lawyers out there who know nothing about the correct way to handle these things, you should know that he only would have been eligible to adjust his status in country if he came in legally. In any event, you can find lots of help on the 601 forum on www.immigrate2us.net where there are many many people filing waivers, as well as the London consulate website where they give guidelines and timing for waivers. It won't necessarily be a long hard road if you write a strong hardship letter with a great deal of documentation and evidence - it's not as hard as you think. Also, the London consulate is relatively fast for waiver processing and is said to have the highest approval rate in the world. Good luck.

[Almoto 0]

Thank you to all of you for your kind words, I really appreciate it. This has been an emotional, frustrating & embarrassing situation for both my husband & myself. But we are positive people and we're prepared to do whatever it takes to get him his K-3 and bring him home. We were told by our attorney it will probably take a good year....we're ready to fight each obstacle that's put in front of us.

Thanks again & I know I'll need some advice and emotional support as we move ahead.

[ilovemyfrenchie 0]

Good luck to you. I am in a similar situation with my hubby overstaying VWP and a crim conviction which is recent (but he was also deported). I'd like to stay in touch with you and see what happens.

My biggest worry (and I still don't have an approved relative petition), is to do a really good 601 waiver. Attorneys charge an incredible amount for these, but it's all in how powerful your documentation is, not how eloquent your letter is. Take a look at this link, I found it here and it has been a god-send.

http://www.visacentral.net/I601Memo.pdf

Good luck!

[dwar49 0]

As others have said you have a hard road ahead of you. I can give you some recent experience with the London embassy and I-601 waivers.

My fiancee and I filled our Fiancee I-129F in March of 2006. After a long wait she finally had her interview in Oct of 2006. Since she had previously overstayed a visa by 7 years we knew that we had to file the I-601 and were prepared. (mistake we made was not hiring a lawyer).

Our I-601 was denied on February 16th, even though they acknowledged that I had proven extreme hardship. We now have retained an attorney and have filed a motion to reconsider based on mistake of fact and mistake of law in their denial letter. Here are somethings we have learned and somethings you need to know and plan on.

1. They do look at length of overstay with long overstays being an example of bad character. You must attempt to find a way to show that there were compelling reasons behind the overstay. Just saying you are sorry isnt enough.

2. They do look at length of time since the end of the overstay and the filing of the petition. In their denial letter they specifically mention that the petition was filed less than two years after leaving the country.

3. They do look at how the foriegn national is supporting him or herself in England.

4. Even though my fiancee had no criminal record in any country, a former partner of hers was involved in criminal activity (nothing violent) and she was with him at the time during her overstay they used that as evidence of bad character.

5. They do look at the fact that someone on an overstay did not make an attempt to legalize their presence in the US, that was also used againest us in the denial.

I dont need to know what his crimes were, but you all need to take a look at the Federal regulations regarding waivers and understand that some crimes are not waiverable at all. Some single crimes are, but repeat offenses make you ineligible.

The last thing you need to be aware of is that your approval or denial is based on the whim of the person reviewing your case. Our case was distorted and there were actual factual errors in the denial letter. Alot of people say there is a good review process, but in london I cant believe that happens because some of the factual errors were glaring and should have been caught in even a casual review.

Now i am not a lawyer and you definitly need one, but with both criminal (especially with more than one offense) and a very long overstay, I can tell you that you have very little chance of being approved. Proving extreme hardship on the USC's part is only a small part of it. Basically you are going to have to prove that he is a changed person and with the length of the overstay that is going to be very hard to do.

I know you were told that London has good approval rating, however that is relative to every other country and as immigration becomes a larger and larger topic in this country it is going to be harder and harder to get approvals on a waiver.

I dont mean to sound discouraging nor am I implying that you absolutely will not get your waiver approved. Many people on here are very well meaning and try and provide encouragement, but you need to prepare yourself for the worse. USCIS and the attorney generals office may say that they support family unity but more and more of the waivers are being denied all the time. Dont let happen to you what happened to us. We expected a quick and easy approval if I proved extreme hardship, and that didnt happen so we were caught flat footed. If i were you i would begin making alternate plans for you to move to the UK. Yes there is an appeal process, however that will add up to another 18 months to your wait and not alot of appeals are ever approved.

Again i dont mean to preach doom and gloom however there is one other fact you need to know. Do not do this without a lawyer. In my opinion without a good lawyer you stand almost zero chance of being approved. Remember lawyers are people too, some are good some are bad, and it is easy for them to promise the moon, take you money and then say oh sorry didnt work out. One of the earlier posters sent you to a another board with a lot of good information, there you can get the contact details for Laural Scott. She is an excellent attorney and seems to really know her stuff. But if you havent retained one with contract for full process, call around talk to a few, dont take one at face value, find the best and the one you are most comfortable with and pay the money because without their help you almost surely will be denied. Even then you have a hard road.

[Otto 83]

As others have said you have a hard road ahead of you. I can give you some recent experience with the London embassy and I-601 waivers.

My fiancee and I filled our Fiancee I-129F in March of 2006. After a long wait she finally had her interview in Oct of 2006. Since she had previously overstayed a visa by 7 years we knew that we had to file the I-601 and were prepared. (mistake we made was not hiring a lawyer).

Our I-601 was denied on February 16th, even though they acknowledged that I had proven extreme hardship. We now have retained an attorney and have filed a motion to reconsider based on mistake of fact and mistake of law in their denial letter. Here are somethings we have learned and somethings you need to know and plan on.

1. They do look at length of overstay with long overstays being an example of bad character. You must attempt to find a way to show that there were compelling reasons behind the overstay. Just saying you are sorry isnt enough.

2. They do look at length of time since the end of the overstay and the filing of the petition. In their denial letter they specifically mention that the petition was filed less than two years after leaving the country.

3. They do look at how the foriegn national is supporting him or herself in England.

4. Even though my fiancee had no criminal record in any country, a former partner of hers was involved in criminal activity (nothing violent) and she was with him at the time during her overstay they used that as evidence of bad character.

5. They do look at the fact that someone on an overstay did not make an attempt to legalize their presence in the US, that was also used againest us in the denial.

I dont need to know what his crimes were, but you all need to take a look at the Federal regulations regarding waivers and understand that some crimes are not waiverable at all. Some single crimes are, but repeat offenses make you ineligible.

The last thing you need to be aware of is that your approval or denial is based on the whim of the person reviewing your case. Our case was distorted and there were actual factual errors in the denial letter. Alot of people say there is a good review process, but in london I cant believe that happens because some of the factual errors were glaring and should have been caught in even a casual review.

Now i am not a lawyer and you definitly need one, but with both criminal (especially with more than one offense) and a very long overstay, I can tell you that you have very little chance of being approved. Proving extreme hardship on the USC's part is only a small part of it. Basically you are going to have to prove that he is a changed person and with the length of the overstay that is going to be very hard to do.

I know you were told that London has good approval rating, however that is relative to every other country and as immigration becomes a larger and larger topic in this country it is going to be harder and harder to get approvals on a waiver.

I dont mean to sound discouraging nor am I implying that you absolutely will not get your waiver approved. Many people on here are very well meaning and try and provide encouragement, but you need to prepare yourself for the worse. USCIS and the attorney generals office may say that they support family unity but more and more of the waivers are being denied all the time. Dont let happen to you what happened to us. We expected a quick and easy approval if I proved extreme hardship, and that didnt happen so we were caught flat footed. If i were you i would begin making alternate plans for you to move to the UK. Yes there is an appeal process, however that will add up to another 18 months to your wait and not alot of appeals are ever approved.

Again i dont mean to preach doom and gloom however there is one other fact you need to know. Do not do this without a lawyer. In my opinion without a good lawyer you stand almost zero chance of being approved. Remember lawyers are people too, some are good some are bad, and it is easy for them to promise the moon, take you money and then say oh sorry didnt work out. One of the earlier posters sent you to a another board with a lot of good information, there you can get the contact details for Laural Scott. She is an excellent attorney and seems to really know her stuff. But if you havent retained one with contract for full process, call around talk to a few, dont take one at face value, find the best and the one you are most comfortable with and pay the money because without their help you almost surely will be denied. Even then you have a hard road.

As an aside note - This is one of the best, most informative and candid responses I've read in a very long time. I'm not sure many can articulate this much information in such a manner.

Edited March 30, 2007 by Karin und Otto

[kitkat1 5]

As others have said you have a hard road ahead of you. I can give you some recent experience with the London embassy and I-601 waivers.

My fiancee and I filled our Fiancee I-129F in March of 2006. After a long wait she finally had her interview in Oct of 2006. Since she had previously overstayed a visa by 7 years we knew that we had to file the I-601 and were prepared. (mistake we made was not hiring a lawyer).

Our I-601 was denied on February 16th, even though they acknowledged that I had proven extreme hardship. We now have retained an attorney and have filed a motion to reconsider based on mistake of fact and mistake of law in their denial letter. Here are somethings we have learned and somethings you need to know and plan on.

1. They do look at length of overstay with long overstays being an example of bad character. You must attempt to find a way to show that there were compelling reasons behind the overstay. Just saying you are sorry isnt enough.

2. They do look at length of time since the end of the overstay and the filing of the petition. In their denial letter they specifically mention that the petition was filed less than two years after leaving the country.

3. They do look at how the foriegn national is supporting him or herself in England.

4. Even though my fiancee had no criminal record in any country, a former partner of hers was involved in criminal activity (nothing violent) and she was with him at the time during her overstay they used that as evidence of bad character.

5. They do look at the fact that someone on an overstay did not make an attempt to legalize their presence in the US, that was also used againest us in the denial.

I dont need to know what his crimes were, but you all need to take a look at the Federal regulations regarding waivers and understand that some crimes are not waiverable at all. Some single crimes are, but repeat offenses make you ineligible.

The last thing you need to be aware of is that your approval or denial is based on the whim of the person reviewing your case. Our case was distorted and there were actual factual errors in the denial letter. Alot of people say there is a good review process, but in london I cant believe that happens because some of the factual errors were glaring and should have been caught in even a casual review.

Now i am not a lawyer and you definitly need one, but with both criminal (especially with more than one offense) and a very long overstay, I can tell you that you have very little chance of being approved. Proving extreme hardship on the USC's part is only a small part of it. Basically you are going to have to prove that he is a changed person and with the length of the overstay that is going to be very hard to do.

I know you were told that London has good approval rating, however that is relative to every other country and as immigration becomes a larger and larger topic in this country it is going to be harder and harder to get approvals on a waiver.

I dont mean to sound discouraging nor am I implying that you absolutely will not get your waiver approved. Many people on here are very well meaning and try and provide encouragement, but you need to prepare yourself for the worse. USCIS and the attorney generals office may say that they support family unity but more and more of the waivers are being denied all the time. Dont let happen to you what happened to us. We expected a quick and easy approval if I proved extreme hardship, and that didnt happen so we were caught flat footed. If i were you i would begin making alternate plans for you to move to the UK. Yes there is an appeal process, however that will add up to another 18 months to your wait and not alot of appeals are ever approved.

Again i dont mean to preach doom and gloom however there is one other fact you need to know. Do not do this without a lawyer. In my opinion without a good lawyer you stand almost zero chance of being approved. Remember lawyers are people too, some are good some are bad, and it is easy for them to promise the moon, take you money and then say oh sorry didnt work out. One of the earlier posters sent you to a another board with a lot of good information, there you can get the contact details for Laural Scott. She is an excellent attorney and seems to really know her stuff. But if you havent retained one with contract for full process, call around talk to a few, dont take one at face value, find the best and the one you are most comfortable with and pay the money because without their help you almost surely will be denied. Even then you have a hard road.

As an aside note - This is one of the best, most informative and candid responses I've read in a very long time. I'm not sure many can articulate this much information in such a manner.

That's the truth about anything Dwar49 posts! D - any news? Thinking of you two!

[dwar49 0]

no nothing yet. Laurel said that they have 120 days maximum to respond to motion to reconsider. Hoping for quicker response. I am going to the UK in 6 days for two weeks. Really hoping this is all over and we get the answer we are looking for on the motion while i am there.

We have made decision that if they deny our motion and it goes into appeal that i am going to look for work over there with the US government (i currently am government employee) and move over there for few years. Just cant sit here and keep waiting on their responses especially for another 16 months!!!

[rebeccajo 14]

We have made decision that if they deny our motion and it goes into appeal that i am going to look for work over there with the US government (i currently am government employee) and move over there for few years. Just cant sit here and keep waiting on their responses especially for another 16 months!!!

dwar, that's probably a healthy attitude to adopt. I know your family is here and you would prefer to live in the US, but your conviction to your relationship is admirable.

I came to the conclusion a long time ago that I could live quite happily in the UK. My husband has health issues that may (at some point) make it prudent for us to return there. I would much prefer to stay in America and see my son marry and raise a family but if I must live in the UK for my husband to get the care he needs, then I will go there.

Keep us posted.

[Almoto 0]

Thank you Dwar for your candid information and I'm sorry to hear about your delay. I hope it'll all work out for you.

I do have an attorney that I'm working with who is gathering all the information needed to prepare all the many waivers we'll need. We're currently working on collecting affidavits from people who've known my husband while he was in the US stating his good moral character. I have to believe that'll help.

The other thing is we are married not engaged so I wonder if they look at that differently? I'm left here to take care of our house upkeep, bills & business by myself.

We're also hoping that they can excuse his criminal behavior (which took place when he was in his twenties) and now in his mid forties has not had any problems since then.

He did hire an attorney many many years ago to try and correct his overstay. However, that attorney was shady and kept taking money and not accomplishing anything so he discontinued the process. We're going to try and find evidence of the payments to that attorney but it was so long ago.

I'm just going to keep filling in my attorney's questionaires and give her everything and anything she thinks will help us.

Thanks again for the advice.

[Boiler 43,634]

I have not read that much about London, obviously you will tend to hear more about refusals. And the numbers are probably not so high as in other locations.

But if London is higher than say Mexico I would add:

1. Many only return a few days before the interview for the K1/K3/CR1. I have never heard of that being a negative.

2. Many have long overstay, that has never been mentioned as an issue.

3. Success rates were well over 90%, there were complaints that they had dropped a bit, and this is where many people do not have a strong command of the English language or high education levels.

4. I have also heard the London has higher success rates, probably something to do with the above.

His convictions may well be a bigger issue, but you did not detail them.