HelpPlease

Also, to the OP, I would be very careful in your dealings with your friend. You know she is doing illegal acts, which can expose yourself to legal ramifications that you may not want to tackle.

I know you want to help her, but try to do so "legally".

Thank you very much for your concern. I truly appreciate it. I am very much careful and won't do anything illegally just to help her stay in this country. I am here just to seek help for her. I in fact do not know her in person. She is one of my good friends' friend.

This is just my curiosity:

(1) Because her AOS was denied, is her EAD still considered valid for her to work legally until the expiration date on the card? Well, nothing seems to be legal for her to begin with, so to speak.

(2) Because her overstay was pardoned due to her marriage to a USC (despite its being a sham marriage), she was not considered staying here illegally (to my understanding) while the AOS was being processed. Now that AOS was denied, what is her current status now while she still stays married?

To all of you: Thank you so much for your responses. She is in her late 40s and has been struggling trying to stay here for years. I would go back to my home country if I were her. And no, she can't claim any eligibility for refugee since her home country is a peaceful one with no hardship that can be used as a claim.

Again, thank you very much.

Hi there,

I am not sure if this is the right forum for this kind of case. Please move it to where it is more appropriate if needed.

I have a friend who has a friend who is in a big trouble. She would like some advice as to what she should/can do. My friend and I are aware that her case is not pretty but we would like to try to help her as much we can. She is being in fear, doesn’t have much money, and with very little resources. Any inputs/advice from you guys would be greatly appreciated.

This friend came here to the US about 7-8 years ago on a tourist visa. When her visa expired, she did not return to her home country. Somehow, she had managed to stay in the country ‘safely.’ Despite her status, frequent moves, and a lot of struggles, she was able to land a job at different places as she moved around. It wasn’t until a year or so ago when she decided to get married.

As I mentioned earlier, her case is not pretty and I am not happy about it, either. But, understandably, she had to do something to hopefully make her stay in the country legal. She hired a USC to marry her. He concurred and they got married, which was about a year or so ago. AOS was filed and everything seemed to go as planned. She received her EAD and got a job (she just had her EAD renewed a while back for another year). However, when they had to go to an AOS interview, the guy freaked out and refused to go with her. She had to postpone the interview (as far as I know, the postponement happened more than once). Finally, she got a letter from USCIS notifying her that her case had been “denied.” My friend and I have no idea the real reason of the denial. We both suspect that the real reason may be that they failed to show up at the interview.

At this point, she doesn’t know what to do or should do so that she can stay in the country – legally. When asked if she has thought about returning to her home country, she doesn’t want to do so. My friend and I believe that she must consult an immigration attorney. The thing is, she has had a very bad experience with one before and now is afraid that the same experience may happen again. Plus, she doesn’t have much money.

Does any of you know someone in this situation or similar? What can she do now to mitigate the seriousness of her case, hoping to get her another chance to correct herself and be able to stay legally in the country? Please help. My friend and I feel sorry for her and want to help her. Any inputs/comments/advice would be immensely appreciated. And please, do not be too harsh.

Thank you so much for reading and for helping.

Have a blessed day.