Nervous about consular interview in Juarez

[dro4739 5]

My wife and I are in the queue for an interview appointment at the consular office in Ciudad Juarez. She came to the U.S. without inspection at the age of 14 (she is now 34). I filed an I601A on her behalf and it was approved after an RFE. Still, I’m nervous about her leaving the country for an interview and would like some advice.

 

When we first filed the I601A, under the question, “Are there other previous entries?” we marked “No.” My wife’s experience in coming to America was extremely traumatic and her memory of what happened is foggy. She told me that she was not sure whether she was caught at the border or not, but she thought she remembered being detained by someone, but could not remember if that was in Mexico or the United States (she was also robbed at gunpoint, suffered severe dehydration, and nearly died en route to America). We consulted a lawyer about what to do, and, under his advice, filed a FOIA to see if it showed records of her attempting to enter the US illegally. When we received the FOIA request in return, it indicated that there were no records of my wife’s name on file. As a result of this and under the advice of the lawyer, we ended up marking “No” on that question. 

 

After filing the I601A, we received an RFE from USCIS asking us to explain why we marked “No” if their records showed that she in fact was “caught and released” not once, but twice at the border. In my response, I explained that my wife was traumatized by her border crossing experience and had blocked out most of her memories of what happened, and that we were advised by a lawyer to mark “No.” I sent the letter off and our next communication from USCIS was an approval for the I601A.

 

So my question is, will there be trouble with my wife’s interview because of her two unsuccessful attempts at crossing the border? Will her approved I601A protect her in her situation? We have two children together, one of whom is one month old, and absolutely do not want to risk her being denied re-admission into America.

 

Thank you in advance for your help. If you need me to clarify anything, just let me know.

[SalishSea 17,922]

5 hours ago, dro4739 said:

My wife and I are in the queue for an interview appointment at the consular office in Ciudad Juarez. She came to the U.S. without inspection at the age of 14 (she is now 34). I filed an I601A on her behalf and it was approved after an RFE. Still, I’m nervous about her leaving the country for an interview and would like some advice.

 

When we first filed the I601A, under the question, “Are there other previous entries?” we marked “No.” My wife’s experience in coming to America was extremely traumatic and her memory of what happened is foggy. She told me that she was not sure whether she was caught at the border or not, but she thought she remembered being detained by someone, but could not remember if that was in Mexico or the United States (she was also robbed at gunpoint, suffered severe dehydration, and nearly died en route to America). We consulted a lawyer about what to do, and, under his advice, filed a FOIA to see if it showed records of her attempting to enter the US illegally. When we received the FOIA request in return, it indicated that there were no records of my wife’s name on file. As a result of this and under the advice of the lawyer, we ended up marking “No” on that question. 

 

After filing the I601A, we received an RFE from USCIS asking us to explain why we marked “No” if their records showed that she in fact was “caught and released” not once, but twice at the border. In my response, I explained that my wife was traumatized by her border crossing experience and had blocked out most of her memories of what happened, and that we were advised by a lawyer to mark “No.” I sent the letter off and our next communication from USCIS was an approval for the I601A.

 

So my question is, will there be trouble with my wife’s interview because of her two unsuccessful attempts at crossing the border? Will her approved I601A protect her in her situation? We have two children together, one of whom is one month old, and absolutely do not want to risk her being denied re-admission into America.

 

Thank you in advance for your help. If you need me to clarify anything, just let me know.

I would think the bigger issue would be lying about the attempted entries.  Surely the need for the waiver was related to the entries, and obviously all parties involved know that it occurred?

[joe and karol 15]

did she come with guardians? at 14 and under age, you really are not in control of that situation.  that's not an issue.  Lying about it would cause concern but it seems they accepted your explanation with the approval.  It's only up to the embassy to have the same understanding.