K1 Visa, ICE came to my house.

[USS_Voyager 1,971]

41 minutes ago, Alhaji said:

@USS_Voyager I was def upset especially That's her form of ID untill we can get her a proper state ID at the DMV. Pretty did fingerprint, took her passport and gave her a stack of paperwork to carry and told us to come next month

You said you were getting a lawyer right? I would have him make a demand to return of the passport in writing to that ICE office immediately as the first step.

PS: And maybe demand that they drop the monthly report thing too. There is absolutely no reason for that. 

Edited July 10, 2019 by USS_Voyager

[NovaSprings 89]

My impression is this is another example of ICE acting on outdated information.  There are lots of examples of this....and happend to a friend.  She was randomly stopped and questioned regarding a visit to the US 4 yrs ago.  They said they had a record of her entering but no records of her leaving....of course this was not true.  She had left and entered several times and even activated her cr1.....

[USS_Voyager 1,971]

2 minutes ago, NovaSprings said:

My impression is this is another example of ICE acting on outdated information.  There are lots of examples of this....and happend to a friend.  She was randomly stopped and questioned regarding a visit to the US 4 yrs ago.  They said they had a record of her entering but no records of her leaving....of course this was not true.  She had left and entered several times and even activated her cr1.....

Whatever the case, once they were able to verified she has a pending I-485, they should have left her alone. There was no immigration law violation, there was no criminal violation. There is no more reason for ICE to be involved. What's with the keeping the passport and reporting every month.  

[Going through 5,668]

45 minutes ago, Alhaji said:

They did when we showed up for the July 9 visit because they said if we don't show up, they will arrest her and will be deported. 

At the visit yesterday, did you bring the i-485 filing NOA to show to the officers/agents?  Did either of you mention the already filed i-485 to them?

 

Did you or her ask them why she needs to check in monthly?

Edited July 10, 2019 by Going through

[belinda63 2,981]

I don't understand. If this is new policy to make everyone who is pending status report in monthly it will flood their offices with pending immigrants. 

Please verify you provided a copy of her I-485 NOA 1 at the check in and explained she is pending her green card approval.

[Gomast 65]

Could you please clarify, if the I-485 is filed after the 90 days, it is not considered a violation, as long as they got married within the 90 days?

[USS_Voyager 1,971]

14 minutes ago, belinda63 said:

I don't understand. If this is new policy to make everyone who is pending status report in monthly it will flood their offices with pending immigrants. 

Please verify you provided a copy of her I-485 NOA 1 at the check in and explained she is pending her green card approval.

Nah, there is no way this is a new policy. To me, it's just these particular ICE guys being, let just say, difficult (I have other words in mind and won't pass the filter... )

[Hypnos 6,576]

An unusual situation, likely triggered by the two month overstay. 

 

Had your wife shown them her I-485 NoA at their initial visit to your home, this may have been able to all be avoided. I doubt they knew she had already filed for AoS when they decided to come and speak with her. 

 

At her next monthly check in you should request her passport back and for them to drop her case and their monthly check in requirement, since she has now filed her AoS and is outside of ICE's jurisdiction until a decision is made on her I-485.

 

Should ICE decline to return her passport and/or drop the case then that's the point where I would get her embassy involved and retain competent legal counsel. 

[Dashinka 23,248]

Just now, Gomast said:

Could you please clarify, if the I-485 is filed after the 90 days, it is not considered a violation, as long as they got married within the 90 days?

It is not a violation as there is no time limit to file the I485 after a K1 marriage, but the immigrant is out-of-status until it is filed.

[USS_Voyager 1,971]

Just now, Gomast said:

Could you please clarify, if the I-485 is filed after the 90 days, it is not considered a violation, as long as they got married within the 90 days?

It is a violation. The K-1 legal status ends at the 91st day. So she is out of status until the AOS is filed, then she is in what's called "a period of authorized stay". 

[Dashinka 23,248]

1 minute ago, USS_Voyager said:

It is a violation. The K-1 legal status ends at the 91st day. So she is out of status until the AOS is filed, then she is in what's called "a period of authorized stay". 

Apologies, you are correct, it is a violation.  My comment should have stated there is no rule or requirement as to when to file written in stone.

 

1 minute ago, Bill & Katya said:

It is not a violation as there is no time limit to file the I485 after a K1 marriage, but the immigrant is out-of-status until it is filed.

 

[Boketto 211]

OP is from Nigeria and while that information doesn’t indicate anything negative whatsoever about OP himself, it is a high fraud country and any “triggers” like falling out of status might be a target for ICE to focus on. They may have decided to ask his wife to check in monthly to keep track of her so that in the case of a denial, they can remove her as they know her whereabouts. It makes for an easy quota filler and doesn’t require too much effort on their part. This is just my personal opinion. 

[Crazy Cat 39,261]

I still think there is something missing here........I hope @Alhaji will keep us updated....

[Celie 793]

2 hours ago, Loren Y said:

I would report her passport being taken to her closest embassy. Technically the passport is the property of the issuing government, so without having good reason to take it ( like you were being detained or arrested) I don't think they should have kept it.

 

Another thought is that once the I94 expired and unauthorized stay was beginning to build up, it could have triggered something to them to pay a visit. I just hope they aren't on a kick to start making examples of people who don't file AOS in a timely manner ( Before 90 days is up), and your wife ends up being the example to show they are cracking down. That could have been their game plan all along, but when the found out she was legit, it put a kink in their game, and to just be a pain they took her passport and made up this reporting thing. How are you supposed to report, did they give you a time and place to show up, and who to check in with? That seems really fishy to me. They usually don't make more work for themselves.

I am of the same mentality. It's been circulating that they are cracking down on overstays and maybe the gap from her I94 expiration to AOS filing date could have triggered their house call. If for some reason they weren't aware she had already filed, once she proved them wrong they may have decided to be difficult about it.

 

As much as I disagree with people filing AOS late, I do hope they don't start making examples of them. Their resources could be much better allocated elsewhere, in my opinion.

 

 

OP, I am sorry you are going through this trouble. This is not the usual case of a K1 to AOS and I sincerely hope you are able to resolve this and get her passport back.

 

Edited July 10, 2019 by celie&joseph

[Alhaji 7]

@missileman def keep you guys updated, thanks for the advice