Traci - Andrew

Hi Derek
Thank you for you nice comment, all I ever try and do on here is help others less experienced than myself so that they do not fall foul of any pitfalls that they will encounter on the journey.
I am no expert, but I have studied everything we have been through since we started out journey some 2.5 years ago, we have been through the K1 route (Denied) Tried a K3 (Denied) it was changed to a CR-1 and a I-601 waiver submitted and only just recently has it been approved, so we have had quite a varied journey.
We fired our first lot of lawyers due to the lack of knowledge that they had in immigration matters, even though they called themselves Immigration Lawyers? they took our money and caused so many mistakes that it cost us time (about 1 year) and money ($2000).. We then found a better Lawyer whom has turned out OK, produced a very good I-601 Extreme Hardship Package, but ####### support and after care/customer service.
So we have had to learn everything about K1's, K3's CR-1's, IR-1's, I-601's, Extreme Hardship Waivers, Criminal Waivers etc etc.. over the last 2.5 years by finding answers on official websites, blogs, forums and of course asking our Lawyers so I think we have a good understanding of most of the spouse/fiancé visa systems now.
Anyway if we can be of any further help to you or your wife, just ask by private message or via the forum.
As for this thread, I am glad that you started it as others will have seen this and will have learnt from it, it is just a shame that some people are to easy to pick you up on small things and confuse the bigger picture of helping others, instead it turns in to a battle to see who has the most knowledge and to see who is right and who is wrong, personally I don't care about what others write, but I do have to reply when bad advice is being given that can create a major problem for the new people amongst us.
Technically I am wrong, just like anyone would be wrong if they broke the rules, lets take tax for instance.. if you stick to the official rules you must declare every bit of income including cash to the tax man and if you do not you could be imprisoned or have a large fine imposed.. but in reality both poor and rich alike bend the rules if they know they can get away with it and the tax man will not be able to find out. Well this is the same as that, I am wrong because I am stating that if a crime of some sort that you know of does not appear on your detailed police computer report "Subject Access" then why would you volunteer this information, as it could potentially make the total number of offenses enough to require you to obtain a waiver or may make you inadmissible all together.. if it not listed on your Subject Access report then it is not on the police database and can not come back to bite you later.. So you offer the USCIS all the listed crimes complete with court records and nothing more.
I hope this puts it to bed now, as I think your last post said it all.
Take care
Andrew

Hi Carl
Thanks for the message....
I am here in the USA, I moved over to Hawaii to be with my wife in November 10th, it was a bit of a hassle going through my point of entry, I had to explain to the officer that I was entitled to a 10 year IR1 Visa/Green card and not not what she was doing the paperwork for which was an CR1 (2 year visa/greencard). Of course she did not like me telling her, her job, but she did relent after she verified this with her supervisor that being married 2 years prior to entry qualified me to a IR1 visa.
After this things have gone a lot smoother, I received my Social Security card after 2 weeks and my impressive looking Green Card after 3 weeks, I have a mobile phone and a car, now I am looking for a job, which is harder than I first expected as most of the I.T work on Oahu, Hawaii is linked to the military and to get employed you have to have secret clearence, which you can only get if you are a US citizen..
So I am reduced down to the lower end of the I.T market and have sent out several resumes but only one interview so far.
I hope I will be employed by the new year.
Anyway Congratulations to you, well done for getting approved. I hope all goeswell with you, keep in touch.
Have a happy Christmas and a fantastic new year.
Regards
Andrew

Hi
I thought I would share this post from another forum, the author is an immigration attorney called Laurel Scott, I have found that she produces some very sound advice and helps by publishing documents to help others through this I-601 maze..
Anyway I thought I would give Laurel the praise for any of her work I reproduce on this forum as I do not want to be accused of copying or taking credit for her work. (especially as she is a lawyer)
Do not use these words in your waiver packet
Words that should not appear in your waiver packet either in your letter or letters written on your behalf:
forced
When you say that if the waiver is denied, you will be "forced" to go abroad, or decide between spouse and country, etc., it begs the question "who is forcing you?" Presumably you mean the government is forcing you. Some adjudicators may be annoyed by the subtext, responding that it is your spouse's illegal actions that are "forcing" you to make tough decisions, not the government. There's no reason to get into this argument. Just don't use the word "forced" or variations of it.
hopes/dreams
There's case law that says the waiver was not intended to help people fulfill their hopes and dreams. This is about needs, not hopes and dreams. Realize that hopes, dreams, wants, likes and preferences are not 'needs'. The terms are too weak and when you use them, it instantly makes it seem that whatever argument you are making does not rise to the level of 'exteme hardship'.
sorry/apologize/regret
Unless you have criminal history, you should not be apologizing for your immigration violations. The vast majority of people who violate immigration law really aren't sorry; if you say you are sorry when you are not, it comes across as insincere. But it doesn't matter since the waiver is about extreme hardship to the qualifying relative and is not about remorse and rehabilitation on the part of the alien (except criminal waiver), so why open this can of worms?
fault
Unless there is an extremely clear-cut case of the immigration violation not being the fault of the alien (e.g. entered the US without inspection as an infant), do not try to blame anyone else for the violation. There's no reason to do that and most of the time it just makes the alien look unsympathetic, as though the alien is unwilling to take responsibility for his/her actions. It will rarely help you (except in extremely clear-cut cases) and is more likely to hurt you. The waiver is almost never about whose fault it is that the alien is inadmissible. It's about extreme hardship to the qualifying relative.
unjust/unfair/wrong
Don't get into an argument with the government about whether it is fair or just for your spouse to be inadmissible after violating immigration violations. It will not help you to get into this argument and may even hurt you because it looks like you do not take immigration laws seriously. Just don't get into it.
loose
This is the most commonly mis-spelled word in waiver applications. "Loose" means "not tight". "To lose" means "to be unsuccessful in retaining possession".
Also Laurel has written this very good document regarding an overview of the I-601 and Extreme Hardship Waivers > Laurel Scotts I-601 Overview
I hope you find this information helpful.
Regards
Andrew

What is your problem? Are you a troll who just comes to forums to stir people up?
Yes, I am aware that the legal system in the UK is different than the US. However, no charges were filed in the case he mentioned. Do you not even bother to READ things before jumping in headlong? (Just like in the other thread.)
Please, either post something useful or at least friendly, or just go away. The rest of us are actually trying to get something out of this forum.

Thanks Andrew,
It helps a lot although it isn't great news. Further research has suggested that the guidelines suggest assault with intent to cause serious bodily harm is tantamount to a CIMT. Not sure where that leaves ABH. Under English law serious assault is more comparable with GBH. In fact the language is now used to describe the the equivalent to GBH as it forms part of the definition of Murder under the Homicide Act. I'm going to research US definitions of the offense. Will it at any point help me if i can show reasonable grounds for believing that my arrest was not for a CIMT? I'm more concerned about the Immigration fraud aspect. As mentioned the ABH was arrest only and i was cleared so i feel in the long run that aspect can be resolved more easily even if requiring a waiver.
When determining whether an offense had SITCBI would the person reviewing the application have any guidelines as to what that might be defined as?
Also is there a way of getting a copy of my police record without using the links you provided (even if it isn't official). Although i was told i was under arrest for ABH i was part of a group. I don't know how this might have been recorded. I don't want to fill in that form saying as much, for my record to have a lesser offense on it and this to raise a question with the OB. Likewise the D&D was on an New Years Eve. My local police force had a very busy night, i don't know to what extent they will have recorded the details but i don't want to surrender more info than necessary. (Long shot i know)
Also if i was able to get a K-1 would i be likely to face further issues once i applied for an AOS post wedding? Are you able to apply for dispensation to work whilst this is pending (as i believe you can whilst on a K-1)
Sorry for the barrage of questions, I'm finding this tough to get started with and that is from someone who holds a law degree in the Uk and who's partner is currently studying for one in the US.
Cheers, Ex

Thanks for the advice, Andrew and Dodi. Will do just that.

Kathryn,
Nobody here was trying to tell anyone to lie or falsify. Again, it's not to volunteer information you don't have any documentation to back up. If it's not on the reports and you have no way of obtaining documentation about it, such as VERY OLD infractions in smaller towns where records aren't the greatest, it might cause more harm than good, because you'll be required to get information where it doesn't exist anymore. I personally don't have this problem, as my fiance has NO criminal history whatsoever.
All we wanted was for Boiler to calm it down and stop attacking people. That's all he did by coming here. His posts were not helpful in any way.
Thank you for stepping in, but you seem to have misunderstood the entire problem here.

Hi Derek
Ok I am in a similar position however my last offense was 25 years ago, what you need to do is the following:
1 - Obtain your police records, you can download the form on-line and take it to a police station for them to forward to the section that will pull off a copy of your entire police record going back to when you were 15.
2 - Obtain a police certificate, this can be ordered and received within 10 days, this will state if you have a record, if you are clear of convictions or if any are outstanding, (Get 2 copies).
3 - Look through your police records which can take up to 30 days to arrive, now you need to go to each court that you will have attended for each offense and obtain the court records for the offenses listed on the police records. (These must tie-up otherwise problems will happen in your case)
4 - Get as many people as can to write personal references and if you have any Police or Magistrate friends then these will be even more supportive of case, employer reference is also a good idea to show that they were aware of your previous history and yet still employed you and put you in a trusting position, this helps show rehabilitation.
Normally the USCIS like to see 15 years since the last offense as this can automatically show rehabilitation in their eyes, however with a good lawyer and a very good I-601 prepared in time for your interview date, you will have a good chance of showing that you are rehabilitated.
I am sure that your case will be denied initially due to the crimes that you mentioned, however a waiver will be available to overcome this issue.. Please note that it will take several months to go through the K1 process, and if you have the I-601 prepared before the Interview then there will be no delay in submitting a waiver at the Interview, this cuts down on the delay and then be prepared to wait several more months for the adjudication of your I-601 waiver.
Hopefully you have not traveled to the USA on the Visa Waiver Program and stated on the landing card that you have never committed any crimes involving moral turpitude, because if you said NO like I did, as I thought that it did not pertain to my minor crimes when young, then you will have committed immigration fraud which will carry a penalty of a Mis-Representation charge which will require a waiver (I-601) to overcome this other more important issue.
My advice is seek out a good lawyer that specializes in I-601 Waivers... Sorry to put a dampener on your exciting new journey, but it is better to be prepared and know what is in store so that you and your Partner can set your expectations.
Take care
Andrew

Hi Derek
Ok I am in a similar position however my last offense was 25 years ago, what you need to do is the following:
1 - Obtain your police records, you can download the form on-line and take it to a police station for them to forward to the section that will pull off a copy of your entire police record going back to when you were 15.
2 - Obtain a police certificate, this can be ordered and received within 10 days, this will state if you have a record, if you are clear of convictions or if any are outstanding, (Get 2 copies).
3 - Look through your police records which can take up to 30 days to arrive, now you need to go to each court that you will have attended for each offense and obtain the court records for the offenses listed on the police records. (These must tie-up otherwise problems will happen in your case)
4 - Get as many people as can to write personal references and if you have any Police or Magistrate friends then these will be even more supportive of case, employer reference is also a good idea to show that they were aware of your previous history and yet still employed you and put you in a trusting position, this helps show rehabilitation.
Normally the USCIS like to see 15 years since the last offense as this can automatically show rehabilitation in their eyes, however with a good lawyer and a very good I-601 prepared in time for your interview date, you will have a good chance of showing that you are rehabilitated.
I am sure that your case will be denied initially due to the crimes that you mentioned, however a waiver will be available to overcome this issue.. Please note that it will take several months to go through the K1 process, and if you have the I-601 prepared before the Interview then there will be no delay in submitting a waiver at the Interview, this cuts down on the delay and then be prepared to wait several more months for the adjudication of your I-601 waiver.
Hopefully you have not traveled to the USA on the Visa Waiver Program and stated on the landing card that you have never committed any crimes involving moral turpitude, because if you said NO like I did, as I thought that it did not pertain to my minor crimes when young, then you will have committed immigration fraud which will carry a penalty of a Mis-Representation charge which will require a waiver (I-601) to overcome this other more important issue.
My advice is seek out a good lawyer that specializes in I-601 Waivers... Sorry to put a dampener on your exciting new journey, but it is better to be prepared and know what is in store so that you and your Partner can set your expectations.
Take care
Andrew

Hi Derek
Ok I am in a similar position however my last offense was 25 years ago, what you need to do is the following:
1 - Obtain your police records, you can download the form on-line and take it to a police station for them to forward to the section that will pull off a copy of your entire police record going back to when you were 15.
2 - Obtain a police certificate, this can be ordered and received within 10 days, this will state if you have a record, if you are clear of convictions or if any are outstanding, (Get 2 copies).
3 - Look through your police records which can take up to 30 days to arrive, now you need to go to each court that you will have attended for each offense and obtain the court records for the offenses listed on the police records. (These must tie-up otherwise problems will happen in your case)
4 - Get as many people as can to write personal references and if you have any Police or Magistrate friends then these will be even more supportive of case, employer reference is also a good idea to show that they were aware of your previous history and yet still employed you and put you in a trusting position, this helps show rehabilitation.
Normally the USCIS like to see 15 years since the last offense as this can automatically show rehabilitation in their eyes, however with a good lawyer and a very good I-601 prepared in time for your interview date, you will have a good chance of showing that you are rehabilitated.
I am sure that your case will be denied initially due to the crimes that you mentioned, however a waiver will be available to overcome this issue.. Please note that it will take several months to go through the K1 process, and if you have the I-601 prepared before the Interview then there will be no delay in submitting a waiver at the Interview, this cuts down on the delay and then be prepared to wait several more months for the adjudication of your I-601 waiver.
Hopefully you have not traveled to the USA on the Visa Waiver Program and stated on the landing card that you have never committed any crimes involving moral turpitude, because if you said NO like I did, as I thought that it did not pertain to my minor crimes when young, then you will have committed immigration fraud which will carry a penalty of a Mis-Representation charge which will require a waiver (I-601) to overcome this other more important issue.
My advice is seek out a good lawyer that specializes in I-601 Waivers... Sorry to put a dampener on your exciting new journey, but it is better to be prepared and know what is in store so that you and your Partner can set your expectations.
Take care
Andrew

Hi Derek
Ok I am in a similar position however my last offense was 25 years ago, what you need to do is the following:
1 - Obtain your police records, you can download the form on-line and take it to a police station for them to forward to the section that will pull off a copy of your entire police record going back to when you were 15.
2 - Obtain a police certificate, this can be ordered and received within 10 days, this will state if you have a record, if you are clear of convictions or if any are outstanding, (Get 2 copies).
3 - Look through your police records which can take up to 30 days to arrive, now you need to go to each court that you will have attended for each offense and obtain the court records for the offenses listed on the police records. (These must tie-up otherwise problems will happen in your case)
4 - Get as many people as can to write personal references and if you have any Police or Magistrate friends then these will be even more supportive of case, employer reference is also a good idea to show that they were aware of your previous history and yet still employed you and put you in a trusting position, this helps show rehabilitation.
Normally the USCIS like to see 15 years since the last offense as this can automatically show rehabilitation in their eyes, however with a good lawyer and a very good I-601 prepared in time for your interview date, you will have a good chance of showing that you are rehabilitated.
I am sure that your case will be denied initially due to the crimes that you mentioned, however a waiver will be available to overcome this issue.. Please note that it will take several months to go through the K1 process, and if you have the I-601 prepared before the Interview then there will be no delay in submitting a waiver at the Interview, this cuts down on the delay and then be prepared to wait several more months for the adjudication of your I-601 waiver.
Hopefully you have not traveled to the USA on the Visa Waiver Program and stated on the landing card that you have never committed any crimes involving moral turpitude, because if you said NO like I did, as I thought that it did not pertain to my minor crimes when young, then you will have committed immigration fraud which will carry a penalty of a Mis-Representation charge which will require a waiver (I-601) to overcome this other more important issue.
My advice is seek out a good lawyer that specializes in I-601 Waivers... Sorry to put a dampener on your exciting new journey, but it is better to be prepared and know what is in store so that you and your Partner can set your expectations.
Take care
Andrew

Hi everybody...
I have emailed some questions to an Immigration Lawyer (Steven D. Heller) whom is based in Brighton in the UK, he is a US Citizen and has previously worked as an adjudicator for the USCIS at the London US Embassy. So this will be as close as we can get to an insiders view of what happens behind the scenes by someone who held an adjudicators position
These are the Questions I asked along with his responses:
1. Could you please explain the process behind the scenes for “Pending”, “Under Review” & “Completed”, i.e. what happens from the time the file is recorded on the waiver list until it is completed and what is carried out at what stage in the process?
A1. As you probably know, the processing of a 601 waiver application starts with the assembly and review of the application by the Immigrant Visa Unit in the Consular Section. This can take some time. The application is then presented to USCIS. Once it is received by USCIS, it is identified as "pending."
If there is an A-file associated with a case USCIS will request to file from the US. Generally, the application will not be adjudicated whilst the A-file request is pending.
Cases are not necessarily adjudicated in the order they are received because there may be cause for delay or cause to expedite (see below). Once a case is assigned to an adjudicator, it is listed as "under review." This can take some time as some cases may required legal or factual research or additional information from the applicant.
After a final decision is made it is identified as "completed."
2. How many adjudicators work in the US London Embassy and do they do all the work or do they have other staff working for them?
A2. Currently, there are two USCIS adjudicating officers (one of whom is also the office director). They handle everything themselves (no small task, really; when I worked there we had 4).
3. Why can there be several weeks without any cases completing and yet at other times lots of cases completing in a short period, why does this occur?
A3. As every case is different, the adjudication process can vary. Some cases are easier than others. Staffing obligations, such as performing military naturalisations, addressing other pending applications, liaison activities, or the well-earned holiday can affect processing times.
4. Is there anything an applicant can do to check on the status of their case other than call the £1.50 per/min line in Scotland?
A4. Not really. See 1.
5. Is there anything an applicant can do to try to escalate a timescale issue? And if so will it prejudice their case?
A5. As with other types of applications, cases can be expedited for good cause (e.g. Health reasons). When requesting an expedite, one should be able to document the cause for special handling. There is no prejudice for requesting an expedite, but if it were based on fraud, that would be a negative discretionary factor (see my article).
6. What is the normal I-601 waiver timescale for a case with a few minor and over 25 years old CIMT’s and a immigration fraud charge for not ticking the yes box on the Visa Waiver form for CIMT’s?
A6. There's really no baseline. A simple CIMT that occurred 25 years ago could be handled quite quickly. Once you need to establish extreme hardship, it really depends on the totality of the circumstance--and, most importantly, the hardship.
7. Are there any special dates or holidays when processing speeds up or slows down and why?
A7. Unofficially, I think there is always a desire to identify approvable cases for Christmas and Thanksgiving.
8. Is an average of 3.3 to 5 completed cases a month considered a good or bad average, and what should the average be? Is there any targets?
A8. I don't recall having any targets. Because of the unique nature of each case, and the various staff responsibilities (see 3) I think it is impossible to suggest an average.
9. Once a case is completed what reasons could there be for it to be put in to AP?
A9. AP?
10. What information does the adjudicator have to gather that takes all this time, considering that all original police records, court records and police certificate were handed over with the waiver documentation?
A10. See 1. It's really case-by-case. It could be for corroboration of a stated hardship (e.g. Availability of needed medical treatment; child custody order for previous marriage; financial information). Such delays can often be avoided if you have a decent US immigration lawyer working on your behalf. The key is the hardship to the US spouse.
I would like to backup what Steven said in his answer to question 10, If you are going to go through this waiver process, then this is probably one of the most important decisions that is life changing, therefore I would highly recommend a immigration lawyer to make sure everything is ticked, crossed and dotted in the right place otherwise it costs you time and maybe a relationship.
I can not personally recommend Steven Heller or his Immigration law practice as I have my own Lawyer based in the USA, however from first impressions Steven is someone whom communicates quickly, which is more than my lawyer does, I have to send several emails before I get an answer, he has also been a USCIS adjudicator at the London US Embassy, so whom better to represent you than someone whom knows how the USCIS adjudicators tick? anyway that is my opinion, and if you find yourself requiring a waiver then you could do a lot lot worse than use Steven Heller.. here is his details for contacting him about waivers or visa work, please do not abuse the email address for asking a whole lot of questions as his time is money and he will get fed up very quickly if everyone starts to bombard him with questions.
Steven D. Heller
US Immigration Lawyer in the UK
The Brighton Forum
95 Ditchling Road
Brighton BN1 4ST
Tel. 01273 409550
Fax. 01273 371063
Email. sheller@us-visa.co.uk
US-Visa Website
Anyway I hope the above helps answer some of your questions, these were the points that come to mind and I even tried an AP one just in case he knew.. but he did not have an answer for that.
Here is a link to the email that I sent: Questions Email
And here is the reply I received: Answers Email
Take Care
Andrew

Hi everybody...
I have emailed some questions to an Immigration Lawyer (Steven D. Heller) whom is based in Brighton in the UK, he is a US Citizen and has previously worked as an adjudicator for the USCIS at the London US Embassy. So this will be as close as we can get to an insiders view of what happens behind the scenes by someone who held an adjudicators position
These are the Questions I asked along with his responses:
1. Could you please explain the process behind the scenes for “Pending”, “Under Review” & “Completed”, i.e. what happens from the time the file is recorded on the waiver list until it is completed and what is carried out at what stage in the process?
A1. As you probably know, the processing of a 601 waiver application starts with the assembly and review of the application by the Immigrant Visa Unit in the Consular Section. This can take some time. The application is then presented to USCIS. Once it is received by USCIS, it is identified as "pending."
If there is an A-file associated with a case USCIS will request to file from the US. Generally, the application will not be adjudicated whilst the A-file request is pending.
Cases are not necessarily adjudicated in the order they are received because there may be cause for delay or cause to expedite (see below). Once a case is assigned to an adjudicator, it is listed as "under review." This can take some time as some cases may required legal or factual research or additional information from the applicant.
After a final decision is made it is identified as "completed."
2. How many adjudicators work in the US London Embassy and do they do all the work or do they have other staff working for them?
A2. Currently, there are two USCIS adjudicating officers (one of whom is also the office director). They handle everything themselves (no small task, really; when I worked there we had 4).
3. Why can there be several weeks without any cases completing and yet at other times lots of cases completing in a short period, why does this occur?
A3. As every case is different, the adjudication process can vary. Some cases are easier than others. Staffing obligations, such as performing military naturalisations, addressing other pending applications, liaison activities, or the well-earned holiday can affect processing times.
4. Is there anything an applicant can do to check on the status of their case other than call the £1.50 per/min line in Scotland?
A4. Not really. See 1.
5. Is there anything an applicant can do to try to escalate a timescale issue? And if so will it prejudice their case?
A5. As with other types of applications, cases can be expedited for good cause (e.g. Health reasons). When requesting an expedite, one should be able to document the cause for special handling. There is no prejudice for requesting an expedite, but if it were based on fraud, that would be a negative discretionary factor (see my article).
6. What is the normal I-601 waiver timescale for a case with a few minor and over 25 years old CIMT’s and a immigration fraud charge for not ticking the yes box on the Visa Waiver form for CIMT’s?
A6. There's really no baseline. A simple CIMT that occurred 25 years ago could be handled quite quickly. Once you need to establish extreme hardship, it really depends on the totality of the circumstance--and, most importantly, the hardship.
7. Are there any special dates or holidays when processing speeds up or slows down and why?
A7. Unofficially, I think there is always a desire to identify approvable cases for Christmas and Thanksgiving.
8. Is an average of 3.3 to 5 completed cases a month considered a good or bad average, and what should the average be? Is there any targets?
A8. I don't recall having any targets. Because of the unique nature of each case, and the various staff responsibilities (see 3) I think it is impossible to suggest an average.
9. Once a case is completed what reasons could there be for it to be put in to AP?
A9. AP?
10. What information does the adjudicator have to gather that takes all this time, considering that all original police records, court records and police certificate were handed over with the waiver documentation?
A10. See 1. It's really case-by-case. It could be for corroboration of a stated hardship (e.g. Availability of needed medical treatment; child custody order for previous marriage; financial information). Such delays can often be avoided if you have a decent US immigration lawyer working on your behalf. The key is the hardship to the US spouse.
I would like to backup what Steven said in his answer to question 10, If you are going to go through this waiver process, then this is probably one of the most important decisions that is life changing, therefore I would highly recommend a immigration lawyer to make sure everything is ticked, crossed and dotted in the right place otherwise it costs you time and maybe a relationship.
I can not personally recommend Steven Heller or his Immigration law practice as I have my own Lawyer based in the USA, however from first impressions Steven is someone whom communicates quickly, which is more than my lawyer does, I have to send several emails before I get an answer, he has also been a USCIS adjudicator at the London US Embassy, so whom better to represent you than someone whom knows how the USCIS adjudicators tick? anyway that is my opinion, and if you find yourself requiring a waiver then you could do a lot lot worse than use Steven Heller.. here is his details for contacting him about waivers or visa work, please do not abuse the email address for asking a whole lot of questions as his time is money and he will get fed up very quickly if everyone starts to bombard him with questions.
Steven D. Heller
US Immigration Lawyer in the UK
The Brighton Forum
95 Ditchling Road
Brighton BN1 4ST
Tel. 01273 409550
Fax. 01273 371063
Email. sheller@us-visa.co.uk
US-Visa Website
Anyway I hope the above helps answer some of your questions, these were the points that come to mind and I even tried an AP one just in case he knew.. but he did not have an answer for that.
Here is a link to the email that I sent: Questions Email
And here is the reply I received: Answers Email
Take Care
Andrew

OMG - I can not believe my hubby posted the toilet analogy ... He had me laughing when he was explaining it to me on the phone!!! Was trying to stay away from here for awhile, but just had to reply to this comment - Hope it brought some chuckles to all of you... You sure know how to make me feel better hubby - guess that's why I love you so much!! Speaking of laughing.... I gotta pee Bye!!

Hi
Jeromebinh's & Just Bob's post has just made my one look very negative due to their correctly balanced and unbiased posts, also I jumped to the assumption that the fault of the breakdown of the marriage was down to your husband and that during this time there is a lot of friction and no love loss... However we do not have all the facts and it was wrong of me to think one sided.
Without a detailed account of the facts in your circumstances, none of us here can advise you at all, however if you read all these posts, it may open your eyes to some facts that you may or may not have been aware of allowing you to make up your own mind as to whether your husband is being kind or not.
Accept my apologies for my last one sided post, as Jeromebinh & Just Bob have shown me a fairer and nicer way to give you these facts.
Take care and good luck
Andrew

Hi Biter
I concur with the last couple of posters who have hit the nail on the head.
He does not want you to stay on the Green Card for the remainder of the 10 years as he would be financially responsible for you as you are unable to seek social security for 10 years or 40 quarters of work life.. So his interest in getting you your US Citizenship is purely selfish on his part, as it will free him from being bound to the Immigration form that he signed to say that he will support you for 10 years.
In fact if you did not become a USC he would have to pay you to live and support you for the next 5 years, if he failed to do so you could end up suing him for the support payments in court.
The decision that you make has got to be yours based on your circumstances.. I hope you make the right one.
Wishing you all the best
Andrew

Wonderful piece of information....GREAT contribution...you have definately brought up some great points of interest....
Its amazing because we as humans usually never take an interest in a particular part of something, until it happens to us personally....

Forgive me for failing to concur with you on what you consider to be ranting. For those of us who are waiting on waiver decisions many of us can relate to the information posted. For those who may face possible visa denials due to CIMT’s and who have done any travelling to the US and failed to tick “yes” to question B, the information posted here is invaluable. We wish that we had known this information when we first applied for our K1 visa as it would have saved us a lot of stress, time & money, because if we knew that we were going to get a misrep/fraud charge against us, we would have gone straight for the K3/CR1 because You must have a qualifying family member in order to qualify for an extreme hardship waiver which is a requirement if you receive a denial for misrep/fraud. You can not apply for an extreme hardship waiver to cover misrepresentation or immigration fraud under a K1 Visa. Had we known this we could have foregone the K1 Visa, gotten married sooner, applied for the K3 and submitted all required waivers at the interview. We could have saved ourselves a year of waiting for nothing (K1), not to mention the additional costs (K1 Visa + Legal).
You have not had to go through the waiver process in order to obtain a visa. You have no idea of the anguish and frustration that those going through this process deal with. I don’t expect you to understand the meaning behind the post, nor the significance of how important the manner in which a “piece of paper” is worded can affect a person’s life. Had the wording on the VWP been as concise as it now is on the ESTA there would have been no way to misinterpret the question. Have you ever been arrested or convicted for any reason is a very clear cut “yes” or “no” answer. On the other hand the term moral turpitude is a very grey area and quite easy to misinterpret. Apparent from the number of applicants who have CIMT’s and have also been hit with misrepresentation/fraud, an automatic denial.
If the post you are calling ranting can help even one couple make it through the visa process with less heartache than my husband & I, along with others we have met, than it has served its purpose. After all, this site is primarily used to ask "purposeful" questions, and post information to assist and support others.

At least my post on this Forum is informational to others and tells people about the prospects of what to expect, as and when they have the interview at the embassy and if they have a CIMT against them, because I know we were not ready for this particular offence being pinned on us...
So if you have something relevant to say about this topic or you have been through the same thing, then I and others will welcome your comments, however if you just want to make unclear and unwelcome remarks then please do as your offensive member photo states.

First of all, I would like to compliment you on a very well put together response to my post, it is backed up by links to the information where the information was gathered from.
However I must say that I was also in the military and have a disciplined mind and am considered very logical, my argument to your reply would be this:
Any traveler visiting a country is not going to look up every single immigration law or local law of the country in question before travel, some people do not have the time whilst some do not have the ability to do such research either academically or financially. I have read some of the USCIS definitions of the CIMT and one section tells you that manslaughter is a CIMT however it may not be depending on the circumstances, now this to me as a layman who looks things up thinks that that is about as clear as mud.
How can you expect Joe public to understand exactly what a CIMT covers when even Lawyers are not 100% certain themselves and have to read up on the latest interpretation from the USCIS guide, people who are deciding to emigrate to another country I can understand them getting very involved with what is or is not required to satisfy the decision making process, but for your average tourist who works hard all year to then take off 2 weeks for a vacation is not going to be bothered looking up questions to which they have no knowledge of until they receive a piece of paper 1 hour from landing, they will have to use their own judgment as to decipher the wording on the questions and nobody on-board that aircraft will have a clue what crimes are CIMT's I assure you.
So this only leaves the possibility of the traveler to ask the border guards, whom are very busy and have very long lines of people waiting to get through the immigration section for either further travel or to get on with there holiday. The last thing that the border guards want is every plane load of passengers (about 200 - 300) asking them to define if whatever they have done when they were young 25 plus years ago, fits the CIMT question... This would make travel in to any country extremely slow and cause massive lines.
So instead most travelers use commonsense which means they look at the question and think, well I did commit a crime of theft when I was in my late teens, now does that fit a CIMT? well CIMT in bundled in with Drug traffickers (Major Offense) Drug Users (Fairly Major Offense) People that have spent 5 years in jail (Again this must be for a Major offense) so CIMT? well that must mean any other crime that was a Major Offense, not a crime of theft involving a fine? surely, so they say NO to the question... not fraudulently but in a misinformed way, which is the problem... but only when that traveler decides to emigrate, then it is a big issue !!
You can surely see from a logical point of view that this is how most people travel and they would make the same mistake every time they travel until they try and emigrate and only then does the problem occur, which I believe USCIS actually uses to their advantage to help keep down the number of approvals on immigration levels.. (That is my personal opinion)
In the UK there has been a organization in place for a number of years now, to help make any forms or important information clear to read, this means less fine print on contracts and it must be written clearly and in plain english...
This organization needed to be used on the VWP form so that question B was broken down or made clearer so you had to answer YES to the question if you had committed any crime, then the border guard could spot the question had been ticked YES and the traveler would then be asked to detail the offense. That would be the best way of doing it, but hey this would not fit in with being able to charge misguided travelers when emigrating with Immigration Fraud now would it
Regards
Andrew

Forgive me for failing to concur with you on what you consider to be ranting. For those of us who are waiting on waiver decisions many of us can relate to the information posted. For those who may face possible visa denials due to CMIT’s and who have done any travelling to the US and failed to tick “yes” to question B, the information posted here is invaluable. I wish that we had known this site existed when we first applied for our K1 visa and someone had posted this information. It would have saved us a lot of stress and waiting. You must have a qualifying family member in order to qualify for an extreme hardship waiver – a requirement if you receive a denial for misrepresentation a required Had we known this we could have foregone the K1 Visa, gotten married sooner, applied for the K3 and submitted all required waivers at the interview. We could have saved ourselves a year of waiting for nothing, not to mention the additional costs.
You have not had to go through the waiver process in order to obtain a visa. You have no ideal of the anguish and frustration that those going through this process deal with. I don’t expect you to understand the meaning behind the post, nor the significance of how important the manner in which a “piece of paper” is worded can affect a person’s life. Had the wording on the VWP been as concise as it now is on the ESTA there would have been no way to misinterpret the question. Have you ever been arrested or convicted for any reason is a very clear cut “yes” or “no” answer. On the other hand the term moral turpitude is a very grey area and quite easy to misinterpret. Apparent from the number of applicants who have CMIT’s and have also been hit with misrepresentation, an automatic denial.
If the post you are calling ranting can help even one couple make it through the visa process with less heartache than my husband & I, along with others we have met, than it has served its purpose. After all, this site is primarily used to ask "purposeful" questions, and post information to assist an support others.

At least my post on this Forum is informational to others and tells people about the prospects of what to expect, as and when they have the interview at the embassy and if they have a CIMT against them, because I know we were not ready for this particular offence being pinned on us...
So if you have something relevant to say about this topic or you have been through the same thing, then I and others will welcome your comments, however if you just want to make unclear and unwelcome remarks then please do as your offensive member photo states.