traveler_me

I'm a US citizen, my wife is a lebanese citizen. We were living in Lebanon (where we were married) and attempted to move back to the US December 2019. We had not filed for the spouse visa since we were only planning on staying in the U.S. for 6 months. My wife was denied entry and returned back to Lebanon. 
 
Reasons for denial: she planned on working remotely while in the U.S. She was a freelance editor/translator for a project based in lebanon funded by an American missionary. She did not lie to the officer about anything, and we didn't know at the time this was illegal for her to do. The citation however was not based on the illegality of working, it was based on the fact she didn't "qualify as a tourist" or something like that. She was given a 5 year ban. Many answers on her transcript of questions from the CBP officer were fabricated and had additional information added to make it seem like her intent was to stay indefinitely with me, and that she wanted to work for a US company and even to visit the US company she worked for (she didn't work for a US company, and never said she wanted to visit the company). Her signature was taken at the airport to prove "she gave her statement" and then was applied to the whole transcript affirming that she "has read all answers and confirm that the above information is true and correct". She didn't sign the papers; in fact she was only allowed access to the papers after she left the country.
 
I reached out to multiple lawyers, and met with one in person. One lawyer said the real reason was she intended to work in the US. 3 others said that the real reason wasn't the work, but the fear of her attempting to stay in the U.S. According to the lawyer I met with, the citation given stated she was found to be "indamissable" because she didn't have the right visa upon entry; she needed a different one. All lawyers said best practice is to wait 5 years until the ban is up before reapplying for entry. there are other things however that are confusing us.
 
Here's where my confusion lies:
 
1. The supervisory CBP officer assigned to her case told her in the airport that she can apply anytime for a Spouse visa to come back. Yet,
2. The judgement says she is prohibited to enter, attempt to enter, or being in the US for 5 years.
2. The lawyers said best practice is to wait 5 years to reapply,
3. The papers with her judgement on it indicate that she must reapply for permission to reapply before the 5 year period is over, and that this must be done "before commencing travel to the US". If it's supposed to be done within the 5 year period AND before commencing travel to the US, how can the 5 year ban be applied? It seems like we are banned for 5 years and also told to apply for permission to reapply and travel back to the US before the 5 year period.
 
So we have the lawyers saying to apply after 5 years, the paper saying apply for permission to reapply before 5 years, and the CBP officer saying she can apply right now for the spouse visa. We. Are. Confused.
 
Can anyone speak into this situation?

Long story short, my wife attempted to enter the US with me and received the 5 year ban; she came on a tourist visa and we intended to stay shortly.
 
The judgement was based on fabricated answers from the transcript, saying she worked for a US company. She did not work for a US company.
 
We have talked with an immigration lawyer and he indicated chances are high that I can challenge the travel ban and reverse it, without the waiver. Primarily because of the crazy transcript.
 
The cost is way too much for us to afford at the moment.
 
I'm not interested in discussing details of our case. My main question is would a go fund me campaign mentioning details of our case (fabricated answers and questions, bad english from CBP officer on transcript, experience being detained, harsh treatment, etc.) be damaging in our process? I.E. would the government look at it negatively in any way?
 
We want to lift the ban and move back to the US and obtain a green card and citizenship.

Long story short, my wife attempted to enter the US with me and received the 5 year ban; she came on a tourist visa and we intended to stay shortly.
 
The judgement was based on fabricated answers from the transcript, saying she worked for a US company. She did not work for a US company.
 
We have talked with an immigration lawyer and he indicated chances are high that I can challenge the travel ban and reverse it, without the waiver. Primarily because of the crazy transcript.
 
The cost is way too much for us to afford at the moment.
 
I'm not interested in discussing details of our case. My main question is would a go fund me campaign mentioning details of our case (fabricated answers and questions, bad english from CBP officer on transcript, experience being detained, harsh treatment, etc.) be damaging in our process? I.E. would the government look at it negatively in any way?
 
We want to lift the ban and move back to the US and obtain a green card and citizenship.

I am positive what the I-212 does. I am not positive about her circumstances to say what exactly is needed.
It sounds like an expedited removal. That would be the most likely culprit given her circumstances and being told there is a 5 year bar. The I-212 would allow her to reapply for admission after a removal.
 
Whether or not there is anything on top of that is an unknown (e.g. misrepresentation). The main concern I would have is about the claim that they fabricated the transcript. I'm not saying it did or didn't happen...I don't get into that. That's the only reason I say "claim".
But I will say any future application for an immigration benefit will treat the information on it as fact unless demonstrated otherwise (and I doubt there is any evidence to the contrary other than her own testimony).
If she made material claims contrary to what is on the transcript, misrep seems probable. There is no way to know if that applies or not until she interviews and is otherwise determined eligible for the visa. At that point an I-601 would be needed.
 
Impossible to know exactly what they were planning to do, and therefore no way to know if it is permitted on the status they were applying for. But as others noted, a B-1 does cover certain activities that may apply here.
Given that the officer admitted him, the logical assumption is that it was permitted. Officers don't routinely knowingly admit somebody who they believe will violate immigration laws.

Moving temporarily is still moving. Visitors do not move to the US.
A return flight means nothing about intent to return home. Virtually every person that has overstayed, violated status, etc. who arrived by plane had a return flight.
If they let anybody else in who intended to work as a visitor, then she knew something they did not.
 
She can apply for a spousal visa at any time. The visa would be refused due to the ban. The ban can be waived or can expire.
A standalone I-212 can be filed at any time. If an I-601 is needed at any point, then that can only be applied for after otherwise being eligible for the visa (after the interview).
The I-212 is the waiver that allows you to reapply for a visa. This waives the ban, if approved.
Nothing stated about her detainment and return implies an issue for a spousal visa, other than the 5 year ban. Illegally working is not a bar for a spousal visa. Intent to stay is not an issue for an immigrant visa.