No Contact Order vs. AOS/Lifting of Conditions

[Together4ever 1]

I have a question and am in hopes that someone here may be able to shed a bit of light before I am forced to find an attorney. Financially that is difficult for me so I am trying to get a feel for what my needs are. This is a tricky subject and I want to state clearly here and now that I do not want and am not interested in hearing opinion, "you are in denial", "you are stupid", and "your husband is a monster." Nothing is ever that black and white and all such "advice" will be ignored.

My husband is young and has found the adjustment to the different culture, the bureacracy, the prejudice and not being able to work very difficult. He has felt imprisoned and neutered by it and we have discussed it many times, but it didn't do much to aleviate his growing frustration. A few weeks ago he snapped during an argument and became violent. I called the police and went to the emergency room to be checked out. I've never dealt with a situation like this in my life. He is now in jail. I was told to take out an EPO (emergency protective order). I went to that hearing 2 days ago before a female judge who, without ever seeing Moh who wasn't even present, informed me "men from there feel its ok to hit and humiliate their women. Next time he will kill you" and slapped a 3 year no contact order on us. Basically, they threw the book at him without him even being present. We are not allowed to have any contact with each other whatsoever for 3 years. Councelling will be ordered for him. Because we were together in Egypt previously for almost a year with none of this type behavior, I think we deserve a chance with some professional guidance to try to work through this.

Now for my question: Are AOS and subsequent removal of conditions impossible now if I cannot get them to back this off to a no violence order as we will not be allowed any contact?

Again, for those who feel the need to evangelize, please open a new thread and have at it because I am not interested in that here. Thank you. This is all quite emotionally difficult enough and I have professional assistance in that regard.

[brnidokiegurl 0]

I think here your only good choice would be to talk to the attorney, best wishes

[pnd629 0]

I think it is your right to cancel or suspend the protective custody order. Ask the police dept. if this is possible.

I'm sure they will try to talk you out of it, but it is your decision.

Definitely go get some counseling.

[Ta Ta 1]

try to find a good immigration lawyer who may give you a free consultation if

money is tight.

[athena_ny 1]

I would imagine AOS would prove quite difficult if you aren't allowed to have contact, as you have to prove your marriage is valid, etc. and a no contact order goes a long way in making proving that difficult since you obviously can't live together, etc.

BUT you need to speak to a qualified immigration attorney to really find out your options.

[Boiler 43,599]

You need a Family Lawyer, my understanding is that the Court issued the inunction and that you would need to petition the Court to rescind it.

Your time line says he does have EAD?

Not everyone can adjust to a different society (either way), sometimes you just need to acknowledge it. Perhaps the US is not for him.

As far as Immigration issues ae concerned, they are his problems not yours.

[LaL 418]

unless for some reason his application gets transferred back to the local office for an interview, his AOS will most likely just be adjudicated and approved. IF you are divorced by the time Lifting/Removal of conditions comes around - he can apply by himself as long as he has proof he entered into the marriage legitimately. speaking with an immigration attorny is sound advice.

much luck to you.

[bszoom42 0]

My guess is that the contact order was issued by the court for your protection, as is typical in battered womens cases. I highly doubt the court will entertain motions to dismiss this order without becoming satisfied that counseling for both you and your husband has been very successful; or you could possibly engage a lawyer to dismiss the order on some technicallity.

If you don't want to or can't afford to engage the services of an attorney, my thoughts to you would be to file your paperwork, but be totally honest. You might even want to ask for an extension of time; which I doubt they will grant. You probably need to come to terms with the fact that he may be deported, and if that is the case, chances are difficult for him to return. If your love for him is strong, then perhaps you will need to settle down in Egypt. (The no contact restraining order is only valid within the United States.)

But, that being said, I think it is very unlikely that you can keep your husband in the United States without engaging a lawyer. Violence against women is a serious crime that the Immigration authorities will not take lightly. At this point, it doesn't matter what was done or what wasn't, the fact remains that a US Court issued a restraining no contact order against him for your protection, and I believe you will have to disclose that fact to the immigration authorities.

Whatever you choose, make sure you have thought it out fully, as sometimes it is hard to recover from prior actions.

[Together4ever 1]

Thank you for your answers. Understood and appreciated. Best wishes.

[Killer_Clown_2009 0]

I'm not a lawyer, but I do think that you, yourself can file a petition or motion (not sure what it is called) to have the order rescinded. I think your requesting the order be removed carries a lot of weight and most likely will be honored by a judge.

[peezey 0]

I would assume the judge did this because it was the FIFTH TIME HE HIT YOU rather than the one off you are portraying it here.

culture shock, shmulture shock.

Edited June 7, 2007 by peezey

[babybunny 2]

Jean there you go again DROPING BOMB shells you expect no one to say anything.

you want us to be all Peachy and Creamy. because, of your situation you expect us to all turn our back and think the judge has lost his dayum mind! well WAKE UP SISTER!

no one can tell you NOTHING!

[KarenCee 3]

The OP asked for advice, not opinions and I'm sure she didn't want anything else brought out. Please honour the OP's request.

[MrsBruce5 0]

Hi,

Best to contact an attorney (you can use legal aid if $ is short) and they will advise you what kind of attorney to use ie. immigration, family, criminal, etc.

No judgements here, but please seek counseling for yourself and for your children. Those who have the propensity for violence will indeed do it again, and it typicially escalates. Think of your children BEFORE you think of him, and before you think of you. Put them first, and think about what goes through their heads when they see their mum being hit. I lived through seeing my mum get hit, and it affects me still today. I am 38 years old.

Again, please let me re-iterate, I am not judging you. Please think about your children.

I wish you only the best.

May God hold you in the palm of his hand. Good Luck to you.

((((HUG))))

Rose

[diadromous mermaid 36]

A "protected party" can petition the court to rescind a no-contact order. Whether the court will accept the request is based upon their findings and the degree of danger the court believes still remains.

Here's some information that identifies the process in one locality in Washington state. You may want to call the local court to ask if their process varies.

Pursuant to RCW 10.99, a court is

authorized to enter a no contact order

prohibiting a defendant from contacting the

protected party upon arrest or conviction of a

domestic violence crime. This order can be

entered without either the request or

permission of the protected party.

If a protected party wishes the Court to

modify or rescind the no contact order, the

protected party is required to contact the

Kitsap County District Court Probation

Division to be interviewed by a domestic

violence specialist. Information gathered

from the confidential interview will be

provided to the Judge. Requests for a

modification or rescission of a no contact

order in which the protected party is a minor

is to be done pursuant to probation

guidelines. Victims ages 13 and above will

be interviewed with their non-offending

parent or guardian. The interviewer will offer

the victim an opportunity to speak with them

alone if agreed to by the non-offending

parent or guardian. Ages 12 and under, the

non-offending parent or guardian will be

interviewed and the minor victim may be

present. If the protected party is 13 years of

age or older, the Court requires that person to

be present at the court hearing.

Notice of the hearing shall be provided to

both the protected party and the defendant,

counsel, if any, as well as the prosecutor's

office.

At the time of the hearing, the Judge will

consider the following factors before

modifying or rescinding a no contact order:

RCW 10.99

Appearance of protected party

Protected party must appear at the

hearing, including a minor

protected party if 13 years or over

Appearance of the defendant

Defendant MUST appear if the

order is to be modified.

Defendant need not appear for the

Court to rescind the order

Information provided by both parties

The Court will ask the protected

party what the request is and why

Defendant entitled to join in

request or provide additional

information

Information provided by Probation,

including, but not limited to:

What circumstances have changed

since incident

Are there weapons in home

Has victim received YWCA/

Counseling information

Is there a safety plan in effect

Any prior history of defendant,

including bench warrants

Facts surrounding the case,

including probable cause statement

Is the defendant on probation and/

or in compliance with court

requirements, including treatment

Stage of the criminal case

The Court is more likely to modify

or rescind the no contact order if

the case has been disposed of

(sentence, deferred prosecution,

pre-trial diversion agreement)

considering all of the factors above

The Court is not likely to modify or

rescind the no contact order if the

incident occurred recently, the case is

still pending and no circumstances

have changed since the incident

Court Compliance

If the defendant currently has a

bench warrant for his or her arrest

from any court in this state or is

currently out of compliance with

conditions of any other court case,

the Court WILL NOT modify or

rescind the no contact order

If the Judge modifies or rescinds the no

contact order, please keep a copy of the order

on you at all times. The fact that the order has

been modified or rescinded does not prevent

you from asking the Court in the future to

grant a no contact order. Please contact the

Domestic Violence clerk at 360-337-7109 for

information regarding this procedure. In

addition, there may exist a valid no contact

order from another court that would not be

affected by an action by this Court. The Clerk

will be able to tell you if another order exists.

If the Judge does not modify or rescind the no

contact order, you are entitled to request

another hearing in the future based on

changed circumstances.

from

http://www.kitsapgov.com/dc/nco_recind_broch.pdf