jan22

There really isn’t enough information provided here to give a thorough, reasoned response.  The details of what you referred to as his “criminal history” are very important.  For example, how many criminal convictions?  For what crimes?  Over what period of time?  At what age were the various crimes committed?  Did any of the crimes involve a weapon?  Were any violent acts resulting in serious injury?  Assuming all of that information has been shared with multiple lawyers, including Hacking, and all have refused to take the case, I there is a reason for that which we here are not aware of and that moving forward is with US immigration is highly unlikely.  
 
Sorry to be so blunt, but hopefully, it will help you take a serious look as to whether there truly is anything else you could do toward successfully pursuing US immigration.  Actions such as trying to get a prior conviction relabeled/charge reduced after the fact so it sounds better/less serious, may be expensive and not achieve results that would advance the case.
 
While it is truly horrific that he suffered abuse from the very people who were supposed to protect him, that will not factor into a decision as to whether or not he is ineligible to enter the US.  Assuming all of his issues are waiverable, it could be useful in a waiver application, showing his rehabilitation and how far he has come…but that still isn’t a guarantee.
 
You have some very serious choices to make — I wish you all the best in making a decision and developing a plan that will allow the two if you to live together happily, whether that’s in the US, NZ, or elsewhere.

There really isn’t enough information provided here to give a thorough, reasoned response.  The details of what you referred to as his “criminal history” are very important.  For example, how many criminal convictions?  For what crimes?  Over what period of time?  At what age were the various crimes committed?  Did any of the crimes involve a weapon?  Were any violent acts resulting in serious injury?  Assuming all of that information has been shared with multiple lawyers, including Hacking, and all have refused to take the case, I there is a reason for that which we here are not aware of and that moving forward is with US immigration is highly unlikely.  
 
Sorry to be so blunt, but hopefully, it will help you take a serious look as to whether there truly is anything else you could do toward successfully pursuing US immigration.  Actions such as trying to get a prior conviction relabeled/charge reduced after the fact so it sounds better/less serious, may be expensive and not achieve results that would advance the case.
 
While it is truly horrific that he suffered abuse from the very people who were supposed to protect him, that will not factor into a decision as to whether or not he is ineligible to enter the US.  Assuming all of his issues are waiverable, it could be useful in a waiver application, showing his rehabilitation and how far he has come…but that still isn’t a guarantee.
 
You have some very serious choices to make — I wish you all the best in making a decision and developing a plan that will allow the two if you to live together happily, whether that’s in the US, NZ, or elsewhere.

While this is far from the OP’s topic and question, I would like to address a couple of your statements that are not accurate, as they may cause future misunderstandings for others with other topics.

The “silly stuff” you mention is included to give people a sense of American culture and wide variety of interests, attitudes, and humor — as we all do in life, the Embassy FB page does not focus solely on “serious” topics.  
 
The Embassy FB page is 100% managed by an American officer.  They will take down any post that appears to be more about domestic issues than foreign affairs related or that has potentially sensitive information, including law enforcement issues.  And, anything with an outside link will be immediately taken down for cybersecurity reasons, as it could introduce a virus into the system.
 
Most importantly, US Embassies DO close for holidays — they close for all US federal holidays and the majority of the local county’s federal holidays, up to a total number allowed per year.  They may be open for a local federal holiday, if it exceeds the annual total allowed.  (They also close for the two days that are the “weekend” for the host country).  There is always a US officer on duty 24/7 for emergencies involving an American citizen (for example, the death of an American citizen, a crime involving a US citizen, etc) when the Embasst is closed.  It was almost certainly the duty officer you spoke with on the phone.  BTW, not all duty officers would have deemed your request an emergency and would have told you to return when the Embassy was open, unless it was almost the last day to get a ballot.

It’s not a question of the quality of the host agency or the program.  It’s whether you meet all the qualifications for the visa — the main one of which is non-immigrant intent by planning to return home and utilize what you learned/gained in the US.  The J visa program is an exchange program with its purpose of sharing culture, knowledge, and experiences met by the J visa holder returning home to use those experiences and that knowledge.
 
The officer will most certainly know of the approved I-130 and will question why it was canceled — at which point they will ask you and you will need to answer truthfully.

Just want to present something from a consular officer’s possible perspective.
 
Your last question, if I read your posts right, does not really describe your situation.  You are not “choosing” to not immigrate because you no longer want to immigrate.  You are dropping the immigration idea because right now you can’t meet the requirements.   It seems like, If you found a joint sponsor, you would proceed with immigrating.  It would appear to the consular officer that you merely dropped the IV petition so you would appear more qualified for a non-immigrant visa as you want to immediately return to the US and resume your life there.
 
The first JI was approved when you had a tears-long wait (for petition approval and the for a visa number to become available).  So, time to complete J1 your program, return home, and wait for the process to be completed.  You are no longer in that situation.

While this is far from the OP’s topic and question, I would like to address a couple of your statements that are not accurate, as they may cause future misunderstandings for others with other topics.

The “silly stuff” you mention is included to give people a sense of American culture and wide variety of interests, attitudes, and humor — as we all do in life, the Embassy FB page does not focus solely on “serious” topics.  
 
The Embassy FB page is 100% managed by an American officer.  They will take down any post that appears to be more about domestic issues than foreign affairs related or that has potentially sensitive information, including law enforcement issues.  And, anything with an outside link will be immediately taken down for cybersecurity reasons, as it could introduce a virus into the system.
 
Most importantly, US Embassies DO close for holidays — they close for all US federal holidays and the majority of the local county’s federal holidays, up to a total number allowed per year.  They may be open for a local federal holiday, if it exceeds the annual total allowed.  (They also close for the two days that are the “weekend” for the host country).  There is always a US officer on duty 24/7 for emergencies involving an American citizen (for example, the death of an American citizen, a crime involving a US citizen, etc) when the Embasst is closed.  It was almost certainly the duty officer you spoke with on the phone.  BTW, not all duty officers would have deemed your request an emergency and would have told you to return when the Embassy was open, unless it was almost the last day to get a ballot.

The key to the issue is in the first sentence of the FAM quote — it only becomes an issue in the US or for immigration if the intent is to practice polygamy in the US.  That usually only has an effect if there is an attempt to immigrate the second spouse (e.g., immigrate spouse 1, divorce them, “remarry” spouse 2, immigrate them, all live happily together in US).  No divorce of spouse 2 is required, but there should no longer be a spousal relationship. Technically, if that relationship with spouse 2 is maintained on trips outside the US, and that can be proven, there might be an issue.  Just like “intent is decided at the border”  for other issues, once the immigrant visa is issued and the person is admitted to the US, and naturalized, it becomes very difficult to prove the intent to practice polygamy in the US.
 
None of this is an issue for any biological children involved.  If they are his biological children, regardless of whom the mother may be (former spouse, current spouse 2 with/without an ongoing spousal relationship, child from an adulterous relationship, born out-of-wedlock — whatever), he can petition for the child(ren) without repercussions.
 
OP, to answer your question, you will have to prove — as does any parent petitioning their child — the relationship between you and each child.

While this is far from the OP’s topic and question, I would like to address a couple of your statements that are not accurate, as they may cause future misunderstandings for others with other topics.

The “silly stuff” you mention is included to give people a sense of American culture and wide variety of interests, attitudes, and humor — as we all do in life, the Embassy FB page does not focus solely on “serious” topics.  
 
The Embassy FB page is 100% managed by an American officer.  They will take down any post that appears to be more about domestic issues than foreign affairs related or that has potentially sensitive information, including law enforcement issues.  And, anything with an outside link will be immediately taken down for cybersecurity reasons, as it could introduce a virus into the system.
 
Most importantly, US Embassies DO close for holidays — they close for all US federal holidays and the majority of the local county’s federal holidays, up to a total number allowed per year.  They may be open for a local federal holiday, if it exceeds the annual total allowed.  (They also close for the two days that are the “weekend” for the host country).  There is always a US officer on duty 24/7 for emergencies involving an American citizen (for example, the death of an American citizen, a crime involving a US citizen, etc) when the Embasst is closed.  It was almost certainly the duty officer you spoke with on the phone.  BTW, not all duty officers would have deemed your request an emergency and would have told you to return when the Embassy was open, unless it was almost the last day to get a ballot.

They “push” student visas because they constantly get questions about student visas and hope to get correct answers out so people don’t get bad information.
 
And, US colleges and universities want a diverse student population — it’s good for the educational program and the financial needs of the school.

While this is far from the OP’s topic and question, I would like to address a couple of your statements that are not accurate, as they may cause future misunderstandings for others with other topics.

The “silly stuff” you mention is included to give people a sense of American culture and wide variety of interests, attitudes, and humor — as we all do in life, the Embassy FB page does not focus solely on “serious” topics.  
 
The Embassy FB page is 100% managed by an American officer.  They will take down any post that appears to be more about domestic issues than foreign affairs related or that has potentially sensitive information, including law enforcement issues.  And, anything with an outside link will be immediately taken down for cybersecurity reasons, as it could introduce a virus into the system.
 
Most importantly, US Embassies DO close for holidays — they close for all US federal holidays and the majority of the local county’s federal holidays, up to a total number allowed per year.  They may be open for a local federal holiday, if it exceeds the annual total allowed.  (They also close for the two days that are the “weekend” for the host country).  There is always a US officer on duty 24/7 for emergencies involving an American citizen (for example, the death of an American citizen, a crime involving a US citizen, etc) when the Embasst is closed.  It was almost certainly the duty officer you spoke with on the phone.  BTW, not all duty officers would have deemed your request an emergency and would have told you to return when the Embassy was open, unless it was almost the last day to get a ballot.

You don’t know the number or topic of inquiries the Embassy gets…most do not come in via Facebook.  The Facebook account serves the entire Embassy and has to address US policy on a variety of topics.  They are unlikely to try to deal with anything involving immigrant visas , as they are very legalistic and case specific, rather than general information that all could use.
 
Whether the person doing the actual posting is an American citizen or not, I can guarantee to you that everything that is posted is reviewed by and cleared by a US officer from the Public Affairs office in the Embassy.

Just want to present something from a consular officer’s possible perspective.
 
Your last question, if I read your posts right, does not really describe your situation.  You are not “choosing” to not immigrate because you no longer want to immigrate.  You are dropping the immigration idea because right now you can’t meet the requirements.   It seems like, If you found a joint sponsor, you would proceed with immigrating.  It would appear to the consular officer that you merely dropped the IV petition so you would appear more qualified for a non-immigrant visa as you want to immediately return to the US and resume your life there.
 
The first JI was approved when you had a tears-long wait (for petition approval and the for a visa number to become available).  So, time to complete J1 your program, return home, and wait for the process to be completed.  You are no longer in that situation.

It’s not a question of the quality of the host agency or the program.  It’s whether you meet all the qualifications for the visa — the main one of which is non-immigrant intent by planning to return home and utilize what you learned/gained in the US.  The J visa program is an exchange program with its purpose of sharing culture, knowledge, and experiences met by the J visa holder returning home to use those experiences and that knowledge.
 
The officer will most certainly know of the approved I-130 and will question why it was canceled — at which point they will ask you and you will need to answer truthfully.

It’s not a question of the quality of the host agency or the program.  It’s whether you meet all the qualifications for the visa — the main one of which is non-immigrant intent by planning to return home and utilize what you learned/gained in the US.  The J visa program is an exchange program with its purpose of sharing culture, knowledge, and experiences met by the J visa holder returning home to use those experiences and that knowledge.
 
The officer will most certainly know of the approved I-130 and will question why it was canceled — at which point they will ask you and you will need to answer truthfully.

Just want to present something from a consular officer’s possible perspective.
 
Your last question, if I read your posts right, does not really describe your situation.  You are not “choosing” to not immigrate because you no longer want to immigrate.  You are dropping the immigration idea because right now you can’t meet the requirements.   It seems like, If you found a joint sponsor, you would proceed with immigrating.  It would appear to the consular officer that you merely dropped the IV petition so you would appear more qualified for a non-immigrant visa as you want to immediately return to the US and resume your life there.
 
The first JI was approved when you had a tears-long wait (for petition approval and the for a visa number to become available).  So, time to complete J1 your program, return home, and wait for the process to be completed.  You are no longer in that situation.

It’s not a question of the quality of the host agency or the program.  It’s whether you meet all the qualifications for the visa — the main one of which is non-immigrant intent by planning to return home and utilize what you learned/gained in the US.  The J visa program is an exchange program with its purpose of sharing culture, knowledge, and experiences met by the J visa holder returning home to use those experiences and that knowledge.
 
The officer will most certainly know of the approved I-130 and will question why it was canceled — at which point they will ask you and you will need to answer truthfully.

Just want to present something from a consular officer’s possible perspective.
 
Your last question, if I read your posts right, does not really describe your situation.  You are not “choosing” to not immigrate because you no longer want to immigrate.  You are dropping the immigration idea because right now you can’t meet the requirements.   It seems like, If you found a joint sponsor, you would proceed with immigrating.  It would appear to the consular officer that you merely dropped the IV petition so you would appear more qualified for a non-immigrant visa as you want to immediately return to the US and resume your life there.
 
The first JI was approved when you had a tears-long wait (for petition approval and the for a visa number to become available).  So, time to complete J1 your program, return home, and wait for the process to be completed.  You are no longer in that situation.

You don’t know the number or topic of inquiries the Embassy gets…most do not come in via Facebook.  The Facebook account serves the entire Embassy and has to address US policy on a variety of topics.  They are unlikely to try to deal with anything involving immigrant visas , as they are very legalistic and case specific, rather than general information that all could use.
 
Whether the person doing the actual posting is an American citizen or not, I can guarantee to you that everything that is posted is reviewed by and cleared by a US officer from the Public Affairs office in the Embassy.

You don’t know the number or topic of inquiries the Embassy gets…most do not come in via Facebook.  The Facebook account serves the entire Embassy and has to address US policy on a variety of topics.  They are unlikely to try to deal with anything involving immigrant visas , as they are very legalistic and case specific, rather than general information that all could use.
 
Whether the person doing the actual posting is an American citizen or not, I can guarantee to you that everything that is posted is reviewed by and cleared by a US officer from the Public Affairs office in the Embassy.

They “push” student visas because they constantly get questions about student visas and hope to get correct answers out so people don’t get bad information.
 
And, US colleges and universities want a diverse student population — it’s good for the educational program and the financial needs of the school.

They “push” student visas because they constantly get questions about student visas and hope to get correct answers out so people don’t get bad information.
 
And, US colleges and universities want a diverse student population — it’s good for the educational program and the financial needs of the school.

The example is permission to travel.  Yours should also include a phrase to show it is travel for immigration purposes.  Doesn’t need to be more complicated than that.

Not sure how this different from what I said, which was that new photos would have to be included with the DS-160 when it is submitted.  Not sure what it has to do with proof of relationship.
 
Yes, the photo submitted with the DS-160 will be digital — which only includes information on the beneficiary — as the whole DS-160 is completed and submitted on-line.  That doesn’t change the requirement for the age of the submitted photo.  The photo is supposed to be no more than six months old.  They will not/should not, therefore, use the photo already taken for submission with the petition.  

There will need to be new, recent photos included with the DS-160 visa application when it is submitted.  

Not sure how this different from what I said, which was that new photos would have to be included with the DS-160 when it is submitted.  Not sure what it has to do with proof of relationship.
 
Yes, the photo submitted with the DS-160 will be digital — which only includes information on the beneficiary — as the whole DS-160 is completed and submitted on-line.  That doesn’t change the requirement for the age of the submitted photo.  The photo is supposed to be no more than six months old.  They will not/should not, therefore, use the photo already taken for submission with the petition.