Brother Hesekiel

A permanent resident can't travel outside the country for half a decade, not even visit his dying father in Canada, after having received a DUI?

I did my medical at a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood. Not a word English spoken there, except for the MD himself.

I brought nothing, told him that I vaguely remember having received vaccinations when I was a child and that I'm anti-vaccinations in general. I also told him that I pay cash and that time was money, my money.

He checked my blood for antibodies which determined what vaccinations I already had, and injected me only with those vaccines that were absolutely required by the Immigration machine. Due to my age, it was at the MD's discretion to determine that I wouldn't need them all.

Even in its most simple form, the whole thing is no fun, and it took me three visits to get signed off.

Dear Master,

(do you really call yourself Master? What do you master or what are you Master of?)

In any case, Master, you omit some really relevant information, so let's sum up what we know, and carefully fill in the blanks, shall we?

1) You live in the US, one of the richest countries in the World, a country where millions of people would like to immigrate to.

2) It's a country of 300,000,000 residents, many of whom would be women of the right age group that you potentially could have married.

3) You instead chose to import a woman from a country with extreme high fraud rate. Let me ask you, did you discover your now-and-still-wife on the Internet, or did you actually get to know her in person before marrying her?

4) The woman comes here, you marry her, she takes off and does what she does best, just with other men.

5) You are upset, of course, that's understandable, but are you really surprised?

1) I am confident that she is quite informed about the further plan of action to pursue. She will find a divorce attorney, for whose services YOU will pay. (You said she doesn't work and doesn't want to work, correct?)

2) She will remove conditions on her own, possibly even claiming her "Master" abused her. But even if she doesn't go that far, she'll most likely will be able to get her 10-year Green Card.

3) Since you signed an affidavit of support for her, which USCIS has on file, you'll be paying through the nose for the next decade for your non-working wife. By 2019, however, you'll be free again. Broke perhaps, with more gray hair then Tailor Hicks, but free.

So is there any upside to this? Yes, there is. Believe me, you are not alone. There are quite a few people who married somebody they don't know well enough and then experience a hard landing when reality kicks in. For you it may be a hard lesson to learn, but I'm hopeful you will learn it and won't make such a paramount mistake again. For others, it's a valuable lesson, a repeat one, to be careful and take a marriage step by step, not like a parts order over the Internet.

Wish you the very best for your future, Master.

Bob

Sure he can refuse to work under the table. They will give the job to one of the many people who would love to get full pay, even if i's not much. He will have to find another job somewhere.

I Quit,

I clicked on the link you provided and read the whole thing (having a headache now), and while I consider myself a rather intelligent person, I fail to see the point you are trying to make.

A LPR applying for a job will provide his or her SSN to the employer. In the unusual circumstance that the employer wants to physically inspect the applicant's SS card, the "not valid for employment" is overridden by the GC which serves as proof that the applicant is allowed to work.

Income is reported by withholding taxes from the wages, tax returns (W2s) are filed, SSA updates their files annually. This is how it works for me since I started paying income taxes back in 1992. Every year I get this nice letter with an update from the SSA informing me about the amount of SS I have earned to receive should I become disabled or retire and how much my wife and daughter will receive.

Now, and that's a serious question: what explaining and to whom are you referring to?

If you marry your USC girlfriend in Brazil, you can apply for an immigrant visa at the nearest consulate. Your then wife would return to the US and apply for a K3 for you which allows you to "wait" in the US until the case is decided upon.

Since you want to immigrate to the US, you don't need to show any ties to Brazil.

The only problem I see is that at the AOS interview in the US, the immigration officer (IO) may (or may not) assume your marriage is not bona fide, meaning that you married only (or primarily) in order to immigrate to the US.

Even though you did have a valid B1/B2 and did not overstay ever, USCIS has your time of presence in the US on file. That's the only caveat I see.

One quick piece of advice: even if you don't like their question whether or not you are a US citizen: never, ever tell anybody you are. A loan paper with your statement of being a USC can do you much harm.

My first question would be, and is: when was the last time you crossed the Canadian/US border, and what do you have on documentation (I-94, stamp in passport, etc.) to prove that?

Phrased differently, how can you prove that you were inspected by a US Immigration officer, instead of being strapped underneath a tanker truck and having entered without inspection?

This is important as you can only file for Adjustment of Status (AOS) if you have a status to adjust from. So what is your status exactly?

Mine was issued back in 1986 when I was still a tourist, getting my first US driver license in Florida. It reads "not valid for employment." I love it, will keep it even once I'm a US citizen. Why in the world would I want to surrender such a cool card? To get one like the other 300,000,000 drones? You've got to be kidding!

Since the green card is an authorization to live and work in the US permanently, anybody who moves to another country for 2 years or more automatically loses their resident status. Thus, your grandmother is not a green card holder anymore. She may still have the card in her possession, but the moment she gets to the US and the Immigration Officer scans it, it will be taken away from her and, most likely, she'll be put on the next plane back to Albania since she has no visa either.

Your grandpa would have to start the whole process from scratch again, ideally with Direct Consulate Filing (DCF) in Albania.

Bachelor's degree, Master's degree, yet so ignorant as to not give a rodent's behind about her immigration status and, to top it off, fails to appear in court. I'm sorry, but I can't feel sorry for her.

Helen,

you don't have a dateline, and because your card is about to expire, I simply assume you have a 2 year GC? If that's the case, you'll have to file the I-751, for which you need to mail in a copy of your card, front and back. Without it, you won't be able to get a 10-year GC. Therefore, you should report the theft and apply for a replacement card. Bummer!

Sneak through the border, ignore the 10-year ban, and try to adjust status no matter what. Looks like you have the perfect recipe for a lifetime ban from the United States.

If you want your parents to visit you, get them B2 visitors' visa. If you want them to immigrate to the United States, they will need a green card. A green card is for permanent residents who want to live in the United States permanently, not for visitors.

If there's a way to patch up things, go for it. Otherwise note that if your divorce is not final by the time you NEED to file the I-751, you will enter the twilight zone where you will have to pull rabbits out of your hat. Wait if you like and see a chance to reconcile, but if that train has left the station, get a divorce without dragging it out to the last minute.

I'm a 51 year-old white guy, educated, clean cut, short hair, friendly smile. My wife is a 47 year-old USC. Born to a Swedish father and a German mother, I had visited 32 countries and lived in 8 by the time I briefly moved to my uncle in Florida, back in 1986. Between 1986 and 1994, I had traveled between Europe and the US more times than I can count. My passport was literally filled with stamps.

Had not left the US since January 1994 until recently, when the wife and I flew to the US Virgin Island to celebrate our 3rd. wedding anniversary.

Using a ferry from St. Thomas (USVI) over to Tortola (BVI), we were greeted by the British Immigration officer. She was very friendly, a couple of short questions about our visit, stamp in passports, and then "have a great day."

On the way back from British territory into US territory, we bumped into 2 lanes. One lane for USCs, the other one for non-USCs. Well, my wife is a USC, I'm not. Do we split, and if so, who of us gets the one and only customs form we got as a "family" traveling together? The wife wants to drag me to the USC lane, but I tell her that I'm not a USC, so the other lane it is.

Twenty-some minutes later, it's our turn. Wife is easily processed (about 10 seconds), then it's my while she's standing next to me. Passport inspected, page by page. GC inspected. Scanned. Computer confirmed. Questions asked and answered. Then it's fingerprinting time. Right thumb. Four fingers of right hand. Left thumb. Four fingers of left hand. Now a photo. A last check, and I'm released. My wife, who I usually keep out of this nerve-wrecking immigration stuff, is upset. "Why are they doing this to you? You are my husband! You are a permanent resident!"

A few days later, we fly back home. At check-in at Charlotte Amalie, the same thing happens again. I feel like a criminal, trying to sneak into a foreign county, not like a permanent resident. Changing planes in Puerto Rico, we again are questioned!

Finally, it's boarding time. We walk through this tunnel that is connected to the airplane, and while we go around a "turn" in the tunnel, a uniformed guy jumps up on me (I almost hit him accidentally) and asks me a question I didn't understand. I ask again and he repeats: "what's your country of citizenship." Citizenship . . . wait . . . Germany. "Move over there please. Again they check my papers, every single one from boarding pass to passport to GC, all the stuff I had stowed away in my carry-on luggage . . . my wife looking at me like she can't believe it . . . before they finally let us board.

Again I am confirmed that the US Border patrol nowadays consists primarily of brainless drones who are drilled like chimpanzees to assume everybody who's not a USC is out to harm the United States of America and should be met with utmost caution. It's sad, so sad, and unique on planet Earth.

In a bit, I'll post part 2 of my experiences here: "A sure way to get rid of tourism."

"Let you know in 4-5 weeks" is code for "I am merely a placeholding drone so I will kick it upstairs and check with someone else" so I expect you should be fine. You are correct in that you were dealing with someone who probably does not know his job. He is not alone. The civil service has thousands of drones who know nothing, do nothing, have no worth, and add no value to the process.

+1

I'm sorry to hear about your situation.

Here is what you need to know NOW. Everything else, including all of the details, we can talk about at a later time.

Yes, you can file for removal of conditions without your husband. The relative short time of your marriage isn't a hindrance. The one and only (or should I say "foremost") thing that counts is that you can SHOW that your marriage has been entered in good faith.

Therefore, get an empty shoebox and start collecting things that document that, from early photos, letters, copies of rental contracts, shared bank account statements, car insurance, vehicle titles, and photos, among other things.

Once your divorce is FINALIZED, you can immediately file for removal. You do not have to wait until the 90 days before your second GC anniversary.

But do this one step at a time. Start collecting evidence now.

Good People,

I would like to give my 2 cents to this, if I may.

Becoming a citizen of a country must be among the most important decisions one can make, even more so if it involves giving up one's original citizenship (as it is required with many countries). As such, it is a very personal decision, based upon many factors and requires careful and thorough consideration.

I always maintained that "home is where the heart is" and often I read or hear about people traveling "home." Clearly, if somebody lives in the US for many, many years, and talks about traveling "home," referring to another country than the US, they are not ready to give up their original citizenship in order to become US citizens. For somebody like that, living as a permanent resident of the US in the US is probably the best and absolutely viable solution. More power to them!

Although it contains prima facie some mild form of stereotyping, here in SoCal are many residents of Mexican descent, who refer to themselves as Mexicans (not Mexican-Americans). Many of them own homes and businesses, yet their heart remains "home," in Mexico. They travel back to Mexico when time and funds allow, listen to Mexican music, live among Mexicans, send money to Mexico, and embrace the Mexican culture to the fullest. The reason why they live in the US, is quite often purely financial. Mexico is a poor country with a high rate of unemployment. If it was otherwise, they would immediately go back to Mexico, the same way that now quite a few residents of China and India go back to their "home" countries, as the economy of these countries now starts to pick up considerable steam.

I was born to a Swedish father and a German mother. I visited 32 countries (my wife just made me count them), lived in 8 of them (including very briefly in India during a phase of self-discovery). I speak 6 languages to varying degrees, and have seen much of the World.

I made a good living in Europe, but hated the weather and never liked the confined lifestyle very much. After years of going back and forth with a B1/B2, I "moved" to the US, got out of status for many years, and, despite having had a SSN, driver's license, and paying taxes since 1986, went through the hell of an "illegal," so I know that side as well.

I put up with all that ####### for a single reason: I love, absolutely love this country. I was just born in the wrong place. I haven't seen Europe since January 1994, and although I have a brother and now married daughter living there, am allowed to travel and can afford it, I feel no desire to travel there anytime soon. Why would I want to, as I live exactly in the very place where I feel "home."

But even I will try to take advantage of an opportunity that is now available to German citizens: dual citizenship. It's not easy to get as one has to prove why they want to keep their German citizenship and also NEED to become a US citizen. Before you comment let me tell you that the Germans only accept reasons that are totally unrealistic, so the application has to be drafted very carefully.

That said, the $1,000 that this dual citizenship cost (Euro 300 plus N-400 combined) is in my humble opinion money well spent. Nobody, absolutely nobody knows what's going to happen in 10, 20, 30 years. There could be war, disaster, social devastation . . . nobody knows. Given the opportunity of dual citizenship, it's nice to know that one has an option should, God forbid, the unthinkable happen.

But, again, it's personal, and there are many reasons why somebody would not want to become a USC, among them reasons many of you don't know (i.e., you can't own property in India, or Mexico, if you are not a citizen of that country).

For the rest of us, becoming a USC must be among the most exciting things we experience in life, and the final step of a long and hard journey. It's the ultimate reward for all of the suffering inflicted by an immigration system that is in dire need of reform.

The way I understand it, and by my own admission I may understand it incorrectly, the 245i requires that applicants have been present in the US on December 20, 2000.

Were you really present on December 20, 2000? I don't mean before that date. It doesn't matter if you lived in the US in on April 1899 or July 14, 1957. I'm asking for December 20, 2000!

The rules also state that you cannot leave the country, as 245i doesn't prevent triggering the 3/10 bar. If the bar was triggered, it was triggered in 2002/2003 (your timeline is not precise enough). You do the math.

To clarify, I'm just trying to make sense of things, other than blaming the mailroom crew.

Sorry, I totally forgot to give you the details, in case you want an American passport NOW.

After nightfall, go to the corner of Fairfax and Hollywood Blvd. Ask for Bubba. He looks a bit scary but he is a professional.

Tell Bubba that Habib from "da big house" sent you. Bubba doesn't like to use the word Passport, however, so the code is an abbrivated form: P-P.

Just hand Bubba the cash and tell him you want to buy Amercian P-P for your wife. Good luck!

By passport what do you mean? Can she get a US passport?

Yes, she can get a US passport. They usually cost $350 in downtown Los Angeles and such a document will work just fine in Cambodia, especially when combined with a $100 bill. For air travel, however, that document won't work, as nowadays they have computerized readers at the airport, at which point she would get in serious trouble.

Better applying for a Cambodian passport again. A $100 bill should expedite the process, if needed.

Don't be too upset if there won't be an interview, as you are filing jointly.

Interestingly, a recent poll at another Web site dedicated to the same cause asked GC holders if they really keep their GC on them all all times, as required. Some asked where to put in when taking a shower or having sex, because it would be a distraction, possibly. One possible place mentioned is very, very dark, illustrating how dumb, outright dumb the USCIS requirement really is.

The poll revealed that 81% of the GC holders keep their GC where it belongs: with their valuable documents, such as passports, birth certificates, etc.

That's exactly where I would put the approval letter. Unless you are used to flashing your GC on a daily basis, that is. I, personally, have never shown it, except when reentering the US after being abroad. Otherwise, it's a document that you should keep at a safe place.

A perfume box is not useful evidence, neither is a c****m, unless is contains DNA from both parties which can be dated to a certain time period, something that would have to be verified by a forensic expert.

As much as I understand to keep this forum clean and free of inappropriate postings, I think we all need to lighten up a little. Making in inappropriate posting is not good, but posting that it was inappropriate doesn't contribute to helping an OP either as both are inappropriate postings.

So if you are only posting to post that somebody else posted something you think they shouldn't have posted, don't post it.