DeaDea

Under no circumstances I suggested to the OP , an illegal path. If you guys understood that, than "mia culpa".

Of course, always the best/safest way is to follow the rules and the law.

Good luck.

Are you/were an au pair?? If "yes" than I am familiar with cases like yours. You are right: your legal stay here was extended, but the visa itself in your passport will expire in Oct 2009. If you go back to your country now and try to get an extension on your passport, like you say, being from a third country, they might denie issueing an extension.

I understand you, but like someone previously said: postpone the honeymoon, apply for AOS and AP. The soonest you have the Advanced Parole, AP, in hands than you can leave/reenter US with no problems.

Sucks, we know, but that's the system

Illegal, not illegal, we like it or not, that's how the Immigration system works:USCIS DOES allow that! Otherwise nobody will even try that path. They try it because it works. While someother people stay in line and wait months/years, others have the nerve to risk and choose another path. And, in most cases, their applications get approved.

I guess it is a personal decision for each one.

Dear OP,

Nobody here can tell you if your new AOS interview will be successfully ( in case you get divorced and marry your ex-boyfriend and will apply for Adjustment of Status trough him). Although in the USCIS eyes, it does look suspicious.

But we have no right to judge you, nor USCIS. Follow your heart. If you do get divorced and want to remarry right away, that so be it. Apply for AOS and wait for the interview, be honest and confident. Worse case scenario: AOS will be denied on the spot. You have the right to appeal and your case will be transferred to an Immigration Judge. The IJs tend to approve most appeals. If your marriage is real they have no way/proof to proof vice-versa.

Good luck.

My wife is from Romania - so I'll throw in a Sault from her! Sorry, she doesn't get into the forum thing si romanesti mea sunt nu bine!

Ce simpatic e Gussy

Good for you Gussy, you are trying to learn Romanian, Your wife is lucky. My husband has no idea about Romania

Salutari romanilor din US si celor de acasa.

Bafta!!!

I would suggest sending in a copy of the translated birth certificate. The reason, in case USCIS loses the original and requests the original you still have it. The only certified original copy we sent was of the Marriage Certificate.

On your first question, you will find that most VJers were approved with just the AOS applicant's G325a.

We are also sending the AOS anytime soon and our lawyer asked my husband ( USC) to file G325a too.

I understand some USC here on VJ did not. So..it is up to you. My husband did and I don't think it will hurt.

Good luck.

So THAT's who married my ex-wife!!

If he was married this long he should have an unconditional green card. What's the probem? I don't understand. After two years he should have had consitions lifted and be on his own.

this is what i dont understand! I asked him what went wrong and he doesnt know. I know he should have recieved a work permit at least 90 days after his initial application. he has nothing! just the paper stating they have a "number" for him, along with the other that states that his petition has been approved. i believe that it was the lawyer that was filing the paperwork.

what should i tell him to do?

Can he ask his lawyer about it?

I believe that the marriage was entered in good faith and that's what's important. It was just the woman who seemed to lose her mind. If he has a lawyer, I'm pretty sure they can help him about it.

The legal fees for filing for AOS file are no more than $1100, the rest til $4000 is the lawyer's comission and there is NO guarantee that he will get his GC. The lawyer can help but the GC is up to the Immigration. He has a strong case and as long as he entered the marriage in good faith , there should be no problems.

Sorry if I missed: are they stil married? If yes, than she should petition for him, wife being the USC, if not married anymore...hmm...not sute how he can do it. I hope someone with more experience will post here for you. Yea, I just saw they are divorced now. Well...good luck.

I know that he can, because he has but the problem is I dont want him to cheated again...these last years of fighting for a green card; the lawyer states that he will charge 4,000 to file a petition or adjustment of status(not sure what) and also for his permission to work. Just want to know if this is reasonable and will he really be able to help or is this just a fast way to make "easy money"?

Does anyone know a good immigration lawyer that will do a free consultation either online or over the phone?

There is a very good lawyer in MD, we use him too, but his first consultation is $40.

Let me know if interested and send me a PM.

Hello,

I am in a terrible situation and without money to meet a lawyer for my question. I married a American guy last year, I came into USA with K-1 Visa. It was perfect until I start to know who he really is. We had pratically no sexual life, he has alcohol problems, makes me feel guilty about our problems I had bad times this year. He controls the money and change his mind each day. I visited a psychologist and she agreed that I must leave him and said would help me. In fact I don't wanna have him as my enemy, because it is not a peace of paper that will protect me. He never did hit me, but he once tryed to kill his mother, I don't trust him, I am afraid. I am wanting to move as soon as possible.

I received my Aproval Notice for my Temporary GC last month (April), but the address was wrong and the paper they sent did back to USCIS. I have changed the address and they e-mailed again on May 8, but today is 28 and I still did not receive. I am afraid he got it and hided it. He now says that maybe I will not be able to stay in USA... And if I want leave him, he wants the divorce for next week. I am afraid that because I don't have my GC in my hands, even if I have been approved, it would be bad to me. I left everything in my country to be with him and I just did ask for simple things that were impossible to have. Now I am working in my own company, starting school and I wanna stay. I deserve it!

I just wanna some help, if someone can tell me something... God Bless YOU!

Some people here on the forum were saying that USCIS is in delay sending the GCs because they are moving there ofices, so this must be the reason you did not get it yet, as for your situation....you could file for divorce and remove the conditions by yourself, if you can prove that you entered this marriage in good faith. Get ALL the evidence you have with him, when everything was great in your marriage and also "evidence" for his problems and unproper behaviour.

Good luck!

Hello,

I am in a terrible situation and without money to meet a lawyer for my question. I married a American guy last year, I came into USA with K-1 Visa. It was perfect until I start to know who he really is. We had pratically no sexual life, he has alcohol problems, makes me feel guilty about our problems I had bad times this year. He controls the money and change his mind each day. I visited a psychologist and she agreed that I must leave him and said would help me. In fact I don't wanna have him as my enemy, because it is not a peace of paper that will protect me. He never did hit me, but he once tryed to kill his mother, I don't trust him, I am afraid. I am wanting to move as soon as possible.

I received my Aproval Notice for my Temporary GC last month (April), but the address was wrong and the paper they sent did back to USCIS. I have changed the address and they e-mailed again on May 8, but today is 28 and I still did not receive. I am afraid he got it and hided it. He now says that maybe I will not be able to stay in USA... And if I want leave him, he wants the divorce for next week. I am afraid that because I don't have my GC in my hands, even if I have been approved, it would be bad to me. I left everything in my country to be with him and I just did ask for simple things that were impossible to have. Now I am working in my own company, starting school and I wanna stay. I deserve it!

I just wanna some help, if someone can tell me something... God Bless YOU!

Some people here on the forum were saying that USCIS is in delay sending the GCs because they are moving there ofices, so this must be the reason you did not get it yet, as for your situation....you could file for divorce and remove the conditions by yourself, if you can prove that you entered this marriage in good faith. Get ALL the evidence you have with him, when everything was great in your marriage and also "evidence" for his problems and unproper behaviour.

Good luck!

moving/changing their offices..sorry for the mistake

Ok..thank U so much payxibka ...certificate takes 2-3 weeks

Yup, very typical

By the time you get all the paper work done ( copy for the tax return, employment letter, paystubs, passport pictures, certified birth certificate of the beneficiary...etc)...you will receive the certified MC and you shoul be good to file for AOS.

They said ours will be ready in 2 weeks and we got them in 3 days !!!

Good luck!

I took passport type pictures last night at CVS and it cost me $7,99 per set ( one set comes with 8 pictures).

A "set" here (New York) is 2 pics for $8.

Whatever...the OP understood what I meant to say.

hi

my finacee and I got married yesterday and we have the certificate but did I make a mistake in not asking for a certified copy? when we sent in the AOS application can we just send a photocopy of the certificate or do we need it to be certified. and how do we get a certified copy anyways?

thank you for your help!!!

The answer depends of your state.

Virginia state for exemple, gives you a mc on the spot, which is not a legall/certified document, it is just for you and your husband. We sent in a request for two certified copies and got them three days later for the cost of $5.

Call the court where you got your marriage license from, or the marriage celebrant.

Hi all,

I am currently in the process of submitting my wife's application for AOS/EAD/AP. For these applications, 6 passport style photos are required. My wife had printed lot of passport photos for her K1 interview and want to use those instead of taking new ones.

I did a quick search and it appeared that USCIS is not very strict on the "30 days rule" for the passport photos. However, since this photo is the exact same one as appeared on her K1 visa, is it still okay/safe to use them for her AOS/EAD/AP applications?

Much thanks for any helps!!!

- Ben

I took passport type pictures last night at CVS and it cost me $7,99 per set ( one set comes with 8 pictures).

Certified/official copy. Most places aren't going to give you the original BC, they hold onto it for record keeping purposes.

Well is that going to be a problem because I don't have my certified copy, only a photocopy of it front and back, and the interview date is in 5 days and it takes weeks to get a certified copy....

If the IO is not satisfied with the copy, you might get an RFE.

Do you wanna take the risk?

If you have a passport, take it with you to the interview. It is another proof that you are a USC.

I want to just ask. Do we send evidence of marriage w/ the AOS package or save that for the interview? i don't see anything in the instructions that i have to send evidence about our marriage (such as pictures, bills, joint accounts) etc? are these evidence only for the interview?

We are working on our AOS right now too and our layer suggested to includ some wedding pictures and bills we already have together.

If you send more evidence, it won't hurt. Who knows, maybe your file will get transffered and you won't need an interview.

Sorry rebecca, if you felt I was mocking you, but I didn't even realise that you were a secretary. I haven't been around these forums for a few years. I was in no way mocking secretaries, and have worked as an administrative assistant myself in the past. I enjoyed the work too!

Confusion:

The OP was mentioning about a lawyer's secretary who told her what to do etc...

jane2005 was saing not to listen to that secretary and get a laywer.

Coincidentally, rebeccajo is a secretary too and she tought jane was mocking her.

I think it was just a misunderstanding:)

Good luck to the OP.

The cost of hiring an immigration attorney is nothing compared to the cost of being deported. Your marriage to a US Citizen does not exempt you from being deported. When my husband and I were processing his visa in Mexico we met dozens and dozens of Mexican citizens who overstayed tourist visas and worked illegally in the US and then got married. The best case scenario we encountered was a guy who had been married for 7 years to his US citizen wife. Their lawyer (wisely) advised him to be honest about his situation. The lawyer was also honest with him that he would have to remain outside the US while his appeal was processing. He'll be in Mexico for 6 months to a year while his case gets straightened out. This is a WAY better situation than that of another family we met. They tried to lie their way through and the husband who had been working without papers was banned from stepping foot into the US for 20 years. Yes. Twenty years.

Consult with an attorney. We used Eric Dean: http://www.deank1k3visas.com/. He was reasonable and good, but our case was straightforward.

Well..I did the same thing, overstayed my visa and illegal work ( altought with a valid SSN, the one was issued on my name when I came with my J1 visa).

I got married with a USC and hired a reputable lawyer. He said that I WILL declare that I worked illegally, but won't use the income on the affidavit of support and won't send any of my tax return, unless they require that. We will just take them with us at the iterview in case they want to see them. He said that marrying a USC , the overstay and illegal work will be forgiven. Plus it is not such a big crime as long as the US Government got their money ( tax return), altought it is against the law, I know.

You will all say : "yes, but how do u know u won't have problems?" I won't know till I get there, at the interview. But I am confident that it will be all right and I WILL TELL THE TRUTH.

Plus, my friend was just in my situation and she just got her GC last week : J1 visa, overstayed, illegal work- she got her GC.

What you did, you did, you can't change it anymore.

Be confident, ALWAYS say the truth and it will be fine.

Good luck.

Just wanted to know if, as I am considering travelling after our wedding to Hawaii for the honeymoon but it will

obviously be before I Adjust my status..just wondering if others have done it? Some people I have spoken to

say there shoudnt be an issue, just wanted to see what VJ'ers thought?

You can travel to Hawaii just with your ID or passport.

You will be fine.

Have fun.

Thanks for reply bobby!

I know there's a lot of red flags, but she's appliying for her citizenship before we send the AOS, so will they forgive the overstay? I agree about the thing of working illegally, i don't think there's a way around of it (except working under the table and uscis hopefully not finding out). Once i get some money i'll move with her asap cause i miss her.

I'm definitively seeking a lawyer into this one.

But don't you think i still have a case?

yes, they will forgive you everything unless it's crime

I was out of status for 6 years and just got my papers, they didn't ask anything about my past 6 years...

Get a CS for your wife and then apply for Green card, everything will be fine and even you can work, but don't forget to pay taxes

Only if you marry an USC.

LPR's do not count.

As long as you pay taxes , you will be fine. IRS does not have anything to do with INS, again, as long as you have a clean background!, like no crimes, thefts etc..

And , yes, please apply for your AOS , AFTER she gets her citizenship.

Good luck man, you need to make a living also.

That is the point,

who is USCIS ? That is the government.

Who is SSA ? That is the government too.

Who is IRS ? That is the government too.

Where do you pay your taxes? To the Government.

As long as you pay your taxes, USCIS won't have anything to say.

FYI, IRS has got more power & authority than SSA & USCIS.

Thanks guys to all, but please, there is no point to argue between you. Of course we will visit a lawyer next week, but I just wanted to see where do I "stay" before we visit the lawyer.

I know is is not going to be easy, but also it won't be impossible.

Thanks for all the support, especially to Cino, this is what we need, support. We love each other and even if I was wrong to overstay my visa and work without EAD, at the end it is going to be worth:we found each other and are deeply in love.

I work on a pay roll since May 2007 but as fas as i remember on the SSN statament there are only A few credits. Anyway , we will get a co-sponsor/ sponsor.

I will keep you guys informed about the process.

Thank you to ALL!!!

You can't sponsor yourself. Find a co-sponsor.

I know a man who had worked here illegally went through all this process and got his GC. Good Luck!

Thanks to all for advices and comments. God bless you all.

Hi to all,

We recently got married, husband is a US citizen, I have been in the USA for over 4 years, I overstayed my J1 visa ( not a 2 year home residency requirement).

I am currently working , I have a SNN, and I am paying taxes. I know, you will say : "what???", well, I needed to make a living .

Now, my husband is currently unemployed and was unemployed in 2008 , too ( he does receive money from his parents, but not a monthly income).

I make over the poverty line/year. Next week we will visit a lawyer also to help us out with he case.

Do we need a co-sponsor since I already make the income? even I am not allow to work? I just want to tell the IO the truth: that I did work during my stay here.

Please do not be mean and judge me, I just want an opinion, personal experience etc.

I appologize if I posted the q in the wrong place, I am new here.

Thanks.

Also, do I need a form or something to go to civil surgeon? Or when shoul I go? We want to file the petition for my status ASAP.

Aww! thanks for the greetings!! We are sooo happy! I feel like my heart will explode from happiness lol!

Hi Nagz! I miss yah!

waaaaa HAPPY BIRTHDAY PINK!!! CONGRATS!! pa canton ka ha

Congratulation and Happy Birthday !!!!!