ilovemyfrenchie

thanks!

I just did a little bit of research and came across something interesting. The attorney you are referring to is Laurel Scott, who does a lot of work with immigrate2us.net members, and I found that she is NOT a member of the AILA, which the American Immigration Lawyers Assoc., and John R. Smith is. Plus she only graduated in 2002, whereas John graduated in 1997, I think from a much more reputable school of law, George Washington Univ of Law. Just thought this was worth mentioning. Good luck to you too!

Not sure where you saw that information. If you look at the link here, she is clearly an AILA member: http://lawyers.nolo.com/attorney.cfm?attorneyID=1643#top

Laurel Scott is most likely the US's leading immigration attorney when it comes to 601 waivers. She has authored publications (see http://www.visacentral.net/I601Memo.pdf) for the AILA and while she certainly is expensive, she seems to have more experience than anyone else out there.

I suggest you search the AILA site yourself; she is NOT listed as an immigration attorney practicing out of Texas. And I'm not sure she has "published" her I-601 memo. I'm sure she is a great lawyer, but does not appear to be a member off AILA. I will call the AILA tomorrow and make certain.

Ok, I apologize. Laurel emailed me and she is a member of AILA. I'm not sure why she is not listed on their attorney listing.

I just did a little bit of research and came across something interesting. The attorney you are referring to is Laurel Scott, who does a lot of work with immigrate2us.net members, and I found that she is NOT a member of the AILA, which the American Immigration Lawyers Assoc., and John R. Smith is. Plus she only graduated in 2002, whereas John graduated in 1997, I think from a much more reputable school of law, George Washington Univ of Law. Just thought this was worth mentioning. Good luck to you too!

Not sure where you saw that information. If you look at the link here, she is clearly an AILA member: http://lawyers.nolo.com/attorney.cfm?attorneyID=1643#top

Laurel Scott is most likely the US's leading immigration attorney when it comes to 601 waivers. She has authored publications (see http://www.visacentral.net/I601Memo.pdf) for the AILA and while she certainly is expensive, she seems to have more experience than anyone else out there.

I suggest you search the AILA site yourself; she is NOT listed as an immigration attorney practicing out of Texas. And I'm not sure she has "published" her I-601 memo. I'm sure she is a great lawyer, but does not appear to be a member off AILA. I will call the AILA tomorrow and make certain.

my fiance has two CIMT convictions on his record (embezzlement and fraud) for which he paid fines. I know it's possible to do the waiver process oneself, but I decided to go with an immigration lawyer who specializes in waivers (expensive though it is). Now waiting to hear if he needs more documents - just sent the papers yesterday. This waiver will be processed in Bangkok. Has anyone gone through this process there?

Sorry to pry, but how expensive is expensive? I am considering hiring a lawyer for an overstay waiver for my hubby but have no clue about prices for this sort of thing. Thanks!!

I have paid $1850. $1750 is the flat fee for the waiver preparation package. $100 deposit for extra costs, such as copying, international phone calls, mailing costs, etc. Could have done a $500 deposit which would include translations but if I need more documents translated I will get them done elsewhere...does not include the $265 for the waiver application fee - that goes to the government. This lawyer is John Richard Smith in California. He specializes in waivers and he was referred to me by another immigration lawyer. I see a lot of people on here mention a lawyer, Laurel Clark, who is an expert on waivers...seems she is more expensive, at least $5000. Does it mean she is better? Don't know.... I am certainly hoping for the best result! All of his previous cases have been approved..would not want to be the first failure.. I did the original K-1 application without a lawyer because I did not know at the time of the problems on my fiance's record.... (he did not realize they posed a problem) -if I had I would have gotten a lawyer from the outset.

Thanks for the info!!! That seems a heck of a lot more reasonable than $5K. Does he have a website?

yes he does. just type John Richard Smith into the search bar and you will find it. It took me 2 months to get enough money for him, if I had to pay $5000 I'd still be waiting.... (no credit card). Good luck to you if you decide to get a waiver.

my fiance has two CIMT convictions on his record (embezzlement and fraud) for which he paid fines. I know it's possible to do the waiver process oneself, but I decided to go with an immigration lawyer who specializes in waivers (expensive though it is). Now waiting to hear if he needs more documents - just sent the papers yesterday. This waiver will be processed in Bangkok. Has anyone gone through this process there?

Sorry to pry, but how expensive is expensive? I am considering hiring a lawyer for an overstay waiver for my hubby but have no clue about prices for this sort of thing. Thanks!!

I have paid $1850. $1750 is the flat fee for the waiver preparation package. $100 deposit for extra costs, such as copying, international phone calls, mailing costs, etc. Could have done a $500 deposit which would include translations but if I need more documents translated I will get them done elsewhere...does not include the $265 for the waiver application fee - that goes to the government. This lawyer is John Richard Smith in California. He specializes in waivers and he was referred to me by another immigration lawyer. I see a lot of people on here mention a lawyer, Laurel Clark, who is an expert on waivers...seems she is more expensive, at least $5000. Does it mean she is better? Don't know.... I am certainly hoping for the best result! All of his previous cases have been approved..would not want to be the first failure.. I did the original K-1 application without a lawyer because I did not know at the time of the problems on my fiance's record.... (he did not realize they posed a problem) -if I had I would have gotten a lawyer from the outset.

Thanks for the info!!! That seems a heck of a lot more reasonable than $5K. Does he have a website?

yes he does. just type John Richard Smith into the search bar and you will find it. It took me 2 months to get enough money for him, if I had to pay $5000 I'd still be waiting.... (no credit card). Good luck to you if you decide to get a waiver.

but I should add, I see that on Laurel Clark's website a payment plan is mentioned.... if you can't pay all at once... whereas my laywer does not have a payment plan option, at least not for the I-160.

I just did a little bit of research and came across something interesting. The attorney you are referring to is Laurel Scott, who does a lot of work with immigrate2us.net members, and I found that she is NOT a member of the AILA, which the American Immigration Lawyers Assoc., and John R. Smith is. Plus she only graduated in 2002, whereas John graduated in 1997, I think from a much more reputable school of law, George Washington Univ of Law. Just thought this was worth mentioning. Good luck to you too!

my fiance has two CIMT convictions on his record (embezzlement and fraud) for which he paid fines. I know it's possible to do the waiver process oneself, but I decided to go with an immigration lawyer who specializes in waivers (expensive though it is). Now waiting to hear if he needs more documents - just sent the papers yesterday. This waiver will be processed in Bangkok. Has anyone gone through this process there?

Sorry to pry, but how expensive is expensive? I am considering hiring a lawyer for an overstay waiver for my hubby but have no clue about prices for this sort of thing. Thanks!!

I have paid $1850. $1750 is the flat fee for the waiver preparation package. $100 deposit for extra costs, such as copying, international phone calls, mailing costs, etc. Could have done a $500 deposit which would include translations but if I need more documents translated I will get them done elsewhere...does not include the $265 for the waiver application fee - that goes to the government. This lawyer is John Richard Smith in California. He specializes in waivers and he was referred to me by another immigration lawyer. I see a lot of people on here mention a lawyer, Laurel Clark, who is an expert on waivers...seems she is more expensive, at least $5000. Does it mean she is better? Don't know.... I am certainly hoping for the best result! All of his previous cases have been approved..would not want to be the first failure.. I did the original K-1 application without a lawyer because I did not know at the time of the problems on my fiance's record.... (he did not realize they posed a problem) -if I had I would have gotten a lawyer from the outset.

Thanks for the info!!! That seems a heck of a lot more reasonable than $5K. Does he have a website?

my fiance has two CIMT convictions on his record (embezzlement and fraud) for which he paid fines. I know it's possible to do the waiver process oneself, but I decided to go with an immigration lawyer who specializes in waivers (expensive though it is). Now waiting to hear if he needs more documents - just sent the papers yesterday. This waiver will be processed in Bangkok. Has anyone gone through this process there?

Sorry to pry, but how expensive is expensive? I am considering hiring a lawyer for an overstay waiver for my hubby but have no clue about prices for this sort of thing. Thanks!!

ilovemyfrenchie,

My wife and I had many e-mails and a few letters. We did not print out the e-mails, she did not submit either e-mails or letters for her visa application. She did submit a few photos and a few greeting cards (Valentine's Day, birthday) as I recall.

Yodrak

That's my question. In proving constant contact, communication, validity of the marriage, etc., I have read of folks printing out their personal email, chats, IM's, etc., but do you leave that with the interviewing officer along with all the other paperwork proving the marriage?? I have emails, letters, but I think they should be considered privileged (as in legal husband-wife relationship), don't you think?

Help. Merci.

Thank you both for the info!! I'm sure there's no personal info that they haven't come across already from someone else. It just stinks having to do this, but we have to. Thanks again.

That's my question. In proving constant contact, communication, validity of the marriage, etc., I have read of folks printing out their personal email, chats, IM's, etc., but do you leave that with the interviewing officer along with all the other paperwork proving the marriage?? I have emails, letters, but I think they should be considered privileged (as in legal husband-wife relationship), don't you think?

Help. Merci.

What are the guidelines for what doctors should state in a letter for the petitioner, in connextion with psychological treatment of depression, anxiety, weight loss, heart palpitations, insomnia, etc.

Could anyone fill me in on what Laurel Scott recommends? Does she have a checklist, or questions the dotcor should answer? The I2US site is having problems and I can't get through.

I would appreciate any insight. I am alreay being treated for these things by my family doctor and a specialist. I need to find a doctor, possibly a psychiatrist/therapist, and I'd like to know what to tell the provider as to what kind of letter he/she needs to write.

I'm sure I can find a good and cooperative doctor as I work in a law office and have access to this option.

Thanks.

I wish we'd kept a copy of my husband's letter that the GP had to write in relation to his (ongoing) treatment for depression. I COMPLETELY freaked out when I found out we had to get a letter from his doctor; in fact it's the reason I joined VJ in the first place, not having heard of this place during any of the main application process.

I can't seem to make the search engine work, but try searching the posts I wrote in September 2006 about this issue or simply run a search on the word 'depression'.

I will tell you now what people here told me at the time...depression is not usually an excludable condition unless the person in question has a history of violent behavior, or of being a danger to self/others. I freaked out and was 100% sure they'd deny the visa because my husband takes Prozac, but everything turned out absolutely fine. This page from VisaJourney was a comfort to me:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...mp;page=medical

thanks so much for your help!!

This report gives a great understanding of what is needed in a psych report for immigration purposes. Have a look: http://www.acfei.com/pdf/onlinece/2003/Mar...b4212b5ecc920e7

Thanks. This is very helpful!

I am preparing our waiver & extreme hardship letter and would like any input from folks who have had their 601's adjudicated in the Rome office (we are Paris via Rome for the waiver part). I would like to get an idea of what has been approved denied in the way of what kind of hardships people have. Our situation is an overstay (1+ yr), I have 2 USC kids with my ex here and I cannot relocate to France if the waiver is denied. No major medical, a couple of new medical issues due to the immigration stress, like everyone else. Anyway, any thoughts welcome.

Yes, I have tried I2US site and it doesn't work at all (technically-speaking)

Thanks!

Our waiver was approved by Rome in threee months. This is faster than most I have seen so may not be the norm. I (USC) don't have kids or severe medical issues. But, my husband is Algerian so my hardships were mostly the conditions in Algeria which are very easy to document with US gov sources and also to attest to as I was with him in Algeria. I documented everything meticulously. In general, I think Rome has a pretty good approval rate for well documented cases. But, I thought Paris adjudicated its own, no?

Thank you soooo much for sharing your experience!! That was a fast approval, however, I bet you were so happy!! Paris embassy waivers go to the Rome USCIS office. Our interview will be in Paris, though.

Did you guys consider getting a lawyer? I'm afraid that what I think is enough documentation may not be for them. Anyway, thanks for sharing.

I am preparing our waiver & extreme hardship letter and would like any input from folks who have had their 601's adjudicated in the Rome office (we are Paris via Rome for the waiver part). I would like to get an idea of what has been approved denied in the way of what kind of hardships people have. Our situation is an overstay (1+ yr), I have 2 USC kids with my ex here and I cannot relocate to France if the waiver is denied. No major medical, a couple of new medical issues due to the immigration stress, like everyone else. Anyway, any thoughts welcome.

Yes, I have tried I2US site and it doesn't work at all (technically-speaking)

Thanks!

I am preparing our waiver & extreme hardship letter and would like any input from folks who have had their 601's adjudicated in the Rome office (we are Paris via Rome for the waiver part). I would like to get an idea of what has been approved denied in the way of what kind of hardships people have. Our situation is an overstay (1+ yr), I have 2 USC kids with my ex here and I cannot relocate to France if the waiver is denied. No major medical, a couple of new medical issues due to the immigration stress, like everyone else. Anyway, any thoughts welcome.

Yes, I have tried I2US site and it doesn't work at all (technically-speaking)

Thanks! I will also post in the 601 forum.

What does this mean, in regular people words?

"Exceptions:

(III) Family unity.-No period of time in which the alien is a beneficiary of family unity protection pursuant to section 301 of the Immigration Act of 1990 shall be taken into account in determining the period of unlawful presence in the United States under clause (I)."

Anyone know?

Unfortunately this does not come into play. It's only a question of whether or not the J1 had restrictions or alternate rules. Otherwise, the OP is well under the 180 day rule and no need for a waiver.

I'm sorry. I was asking about this family unity thing. It says that people (oversatys) don't get their overstay time counted against them? When does this apply? How would I know if my spouse is a "alien is a beneficiary of family unity protection pursuant to section 301 of the Immigration Act of 1990?"

I'm sure I'm dreaming...

What does this mean, in regular people words?

"Exceptions:

(III) Family unity.-No period of time in which the alien is a beneficiary of family unity protection pursuant to section 301 of the Immigration Act of 1990 shall be taken into account in determining the period of unlawful presence in the United States under clause (I)."

Anyone know?

each time I read a post that someone had encounter a problem, I get sick to my stomic and think that this would happen to us

I feel like I am more stressed reading about all these problems!!! at the same time i can t stop i am addicted

do you guys have the same issue or is JUST ME???????

Hi there!

I feel the same way. I think some days that I will stay away from VJ to get this out of my mind, but I CAN'T!! I am addicted too. And yes, every bad happening I immediately compare to us, and wonder.... Then again, the good posts give me hope!!

Hang in there, you're just losing your mind like the rest of us...

We'll get through it. Don't worry.

I need to check out the waiver/HSL info and it's opening up even slower than before!!!!

What is up?? I know they underwent some sort of change, but can't they fix it already!!!!

Sorry for the ranting!

I know! It's horrible, isn't it. Any time I try to use the search feature and then click on a thread, the connection times out.

However, it is a free resource, and you get what you pay for.

I'm hoping more and more people will add to the waiver forum on this site. I know people are sometimes embarrassed to talk about their "sordid criminal past", but it's very helpful to people who'll be looking for answers in the future.

Tell me about it! At least I know I'm not the only one!!

And yes, I hope the waiver form continues to grow.

No you do not request police checks for time spent in the US. Check your embassy or consulate web site it will give you all the details.

Ok, thanks!!

I need to check out the waiver/HSL info and it's opening up even slower than before!!!!

What is up?? I know they underwent some sort of change, but can't they fix it already!!!!

Sorry for the ranting!

Besides the foreign police certificates, do we request anything from the US state where he lived, or do they do that when they run background FBI checks?

Thanks for any info!!!!

We have overstay on VWP to overcome and I heard the Rome USCIS, which adjudicates all Paris waivers, is pretty good. I hope so. I have only one thing under Level 2 arguments (my children w/ex here in US-of course, he won't allow me to take them to France), according to attorney Laurel Scott.

Any stories any of you can share with me? Even if it's not all that related, I would love to read anything you have to say!!! Slowly losing my mind here.....

I'm getting my hardship letter put together and I'm losing sleep over this waiver.

You guys are great!! Thanks for being here.

What are the guidelines for what doctors should state in a letter for the petitioner, in connextion with psychological treatment of depression, anxiety, weight loss, heart palpitations, insomnia, etc.

Could anyone fill me in on what Laurel Scott recommends? Does she have a checklist, or questions the dotcor should answer? The I2US site is having problems and I can't get through.

I would appreciate any insight. I am alreay being treated for these things by my family doctor and a specialist. I need to find a doctor, possibly a psychiatrist/therapist, and I'd like to know what to tell the provider as to what kind of letter he/she needs to write.

I'm sure I can find a good and cooperative doctor as I work in a law office and have access to this option.

Thanks.

It would be good if someone could let me know if they also look at cautions in the uk as convictions. I am under the impression we will need a waiver, and due to lack of funds, I will be going about this myself. Any sort of help with the process would be appreciated.

Thank you for your information so far.

Unfortunatly, according to this, an admission of commiting a crime, is the same as a conviction.By accepting a caution the person is admiting to the crime.

a. Any alien convicted of, or who admits having committed, or who admits the essential elements of a crime involving moral turpitude (other than a purely political offense or an attempt or conspiracy to commit such a crime) is inadmissible.

INA § 212(a)(2)(A)(i).

Would this mean I have to file a 601 or 212 waiver?

YOU'LL NEED A I-601 WAIVER (THE I-212 IS FOR REMOVAL/DEPORTATION), WHICH YOU CAN ONLY FILE AFTER THE IMMIGRATION OFFICER FINDS HIM "INADMISSABLE" AT THE INTERVIEW.

LOOK AT THE TOP OF THIS SECTION FOR I-601 HELP. GOOD LUCK.

i'm sorry, the answer isn't clear. so, there's no real "deadline" by when it should be used??

How does one "use" an approved I-130? It is your question that is unclear.

After the I-130 is approved (and you receive your NOA2 in the mail, which is a receipt indicating the approval), your file is forwarded to the National Visa Center (NVC). You will then receive further direction from the NVC.

The "approval" will not "expire" unless you fail to provide them with what they ask of you. Say, for example, you move and neglect to notify them of your new address/contact information and they don't hear from you and can't get a hold of you; they will then assume that you no longer want to pursue the petition and they will abandon your case.

So it's not that your approval expires, but that the NVC will abandon your case if you neglect to take action (or notify them of a change of address, or what have you.)

Does that answer your question?

Yes, now I understand. It was confusing because of other info I had gathered. THank you!!!

My question is along the same lines, but further along. After the I130 goes through and all the paperwork is in, and the interview is done, and you get the IR1/CR1 VISA (I130) in the mail, how long do you have to immigrate into the US? Does the final VISA expire if you don't cross the border within a certain time? Thanks!

Yes, you must enter the US within 6 months.

i'm sorry, the answer isn't clear. so, there's no real "deadline" by when it should be used??

How does one "use" an approved I-130? It is your question that is unclear.

After the I-130 is approved (and you receive your NOA2 in the mail, which is a receipt indicating the approval), your file is forwarded to the National Visa Center (NVC). You will then receive further direction from the NVC.

The "approval" will not "expire" unless you fail to provide them with what they ask of you. Say, for example, you move and neglect to notify them of your new address/contact information and they don't hear from you and can't get a hold of you; they will then assume that you no longer want to pursue the petition and they will abandon your case.

So it's not that your approval expires, but that the NVC will abandon your case if you neglect to take action (or notify them of a change of address, or what have you.)

Does that answer your question?

Yes, now I understand. It was confusing because of other info I had gathered. THank you!!!