Channah&Aaron

It's not "10 years." If she never gets her Citizenship, then it's 40 quarters of work making over the poverty level. So if she never works or doesn't make over the poverty level for at least 40 quarters you could be on the hook for life. My ex-wife just got her citizenship this year. We married 15 years ago. Granted, she was never a public charge, but she could have been. Accidents happen. Read the I-864 VERY WELL if you have even an inkling of a doubt. This I-864 can absolutely DESTROY a US Citizen financially for life. I have no idea why they even allow co-sponsors and I have no idea why a co-sponsor would be foolish enough to sponsor someone. Can you imagine a petitioner's parents co-sponsoring thinking they are doing the right thing for a family member, then a divorce occurs, then the beneficiary becomes a public charge year after year... or worse, is involved in an accident that financially destroys the petitioner and co-sponsors for life. And this is not something a bankruptcy can take care of. This debt will be owed to the US govt. Actually the beneficiary can sue the petitioner and/or co-sponsors as well.
Read it carefully. Any co-sponsor that signs it is an absolute sucker, no ifs, ands, or buts about it.

INA section 245(d):


The Attorney General may not adjust, under subsection (a), the status of a nonimmigrant alien described in section 101(a)(15)(K) except to that of an alien lawfully admitted to the United States on a conditional basis under section 216 as a result of the marriage of the nonimmigrant (or, in the case of a minor child, the parent) to the citizen who filed the petition to accord that alien's nonimmigrant status under section 101(a)(15)(K) .
This section makes reference to section 101(a)(15)(K), which says:


(K) subject to subsections (d) and (p) of section 214, an alien who--
(i) is the fiancee or fiance of a citizen of the United States (other than a citizen described in section 204(a)(1)(A)(viii)(I)) and who seeks to enter the United States solely to conclude a valid marriage with the petitioner within ninety days after admission;
(ii) has concluded a valid marriage with a citizen of the United States (other than a citizen described in section 204(a)(1)(A)(viii)(I)) who is the petitioner, is the beneficiary of a petition to accord a status under section 201(b)(2)(A)(i) that was filed under section 204 by the petitioner, and seeks to enter the United States to await the approval of such petition and the availability to the alien of an immigrant visa; or
(iii) is the minor child of an alien described in clause (i) or (ii) and is accompanying, or following to join, the alien;
So, section 101(a)(15)(K) describes K1's, K3's, and derivative children of these visas. Section 245(d) says those people can only adjust status based on marriage with the person who filed the petition that granted them the K visa.
Ok, the OP's friend did marry the petitioner, but she's not applying to adjust status based on that marriage. Section 245(d) seems pretty clear that the marriage to the K1 petitioner is the only basis USCIS could use to adjust her status. Since that marriage has ended there is no longer any marriage she can adjust status based on. The only way she could adjust status is if she somehow manages to get herself classified in a category where 101(a)(15)(K) no longer applied to her. And how would she do that? By leaving the US and entering with a different type of visa.
BTW, 101(a)(15)(K) is the reason they call them "K" visas.
Anyone with a pending AOS petition is eligible for an EAD and advance parole. They routinely approve these regardless of whether the green card will ultimately be approved or denied. The approved EAD is no indication whatever that the green card is likely to be approved. It's completely irrelevant.

I agree with Vanessa. Your lawyer was right. You effectively admitted you were guilty when you agreed to pay them.
Unfortunately, embezzlement is a crime of moral turpitude under US immigration law. If you are convicted then you become inadmissible to the United States. If you're in the US then you could be deported. If you're outside the US then you could be refused admission. If you have a green card then your green card could be revoked. If you decide to try to remain in the US to avoid prosecution, and if Canada formally requests your extradition, then the US will cooperate. The US has an extradition treaty with Canada.
I suggest you hire a very good criminal attorney in Canada and fight the charges. If you aren't convicted then it won't affect your immigration status at all.

I'd tell him you'll mail the Green Card after he repays you for the debts you incurred on his behalf. After he pays you back, mail the Green Card, but to USCIS.

I never heard someone excited to ARRIVE in Pittsburgh, only to leave :devil:
Seriously congratulations after experiencing this with my wife coming to USA it never gets old hearing others joy and finally being with their hunnys
Rest and don't worry so much about being in forms and process mode, you deserve to enjoy your new life a little before real life kicks in!
(F) (F) (F) (F) (F) (F)

I would think that if the first was negative then they would NOT do a follow-up test. You do follow-ups if the first is positive.

Are you sure you sent correct information? Your initial post is so full of grammatical errors I wonder what your application looked like.

If you think that USCIS wouldn't find out then you need to do a lot more research than you have yet done into US immigration processes.
Just to clear up some issues:
You apply to sponsor a fiancee to the US. USCIS investigates to make sure you are qualified to sponsor a fiancee. If you are, your petition is approved. The process then moves overseas to your fiancee' home country. The Department of State which oversees consulates now investigate whether she is eligible to receive a K-1 visa. She provides them with detailed information about who she is, where she lives and works, and her marital status. They will investigate with a fine tooth comb all aspects of her situation, her background, and your relationship looking for evidence of fraud. They ensure that you have followed proper cultural procedures/rituals and have the evidence to prove it. They run security and criminal checks. Some countries also require additional processing which can include 'home visits' and contacting family members to ask them about the relationship. You will both state in writing that you are free to marry and intend to marry when she arrives in the US and sign these documents. If you lie about this, then the lie will be discovered - and it will be discovered - sooner or later. If sooner, then she will be denied the visa. If later then several things may happen.
For instance, if she gets a K-1 visa, then you marry before she arrives in the US, she is no longer eligible to enter the US on the fiance visa as she is no longer a fiance. If she tries to use the K-1 visa and lies at the POE that she is not married, she has then committed misrepresentation - one of the biggest 'crimes' as far as USCIS is concerned. Her arrival to the US is only valid for 90 days. She needs to request permission to remain in the US by applying to change her status from non-immigrant fiancee to permanent resident. Part of this application includes the marriage certificate - the date of which needs to be after her entry to the US - and further proof of the relationship. Once again your relationship is put under a fine tooth comb and may involve another interview. If she was married before she entered, it is likely to be discovered. She will be guilty of several counts of misrepresentation which will lead to detainment by USCIS, deportation and a life time ban on ever being allowed to enter the US.
If the fraud is not discovered at the AOS stage, then 2 years later your relationship is once again put under the microscope when she applies to remove the conditions of her two year card - oh yes, she is only allowed to be in the US for 2 years before she has to prove the validity of your marriage once again. There are more security checks and the possibility of another interview.
Even if it is not discovered now, there is no statute of limitation on immigration fraud. Anytime in her whole life it can be discovered that she did not get married in the US but was married before she came and used a K-1 visa knowingly and fraudulently - leading to detention, deportation and a life time ban.
Seriously, if you love this woman you will NOT subject her to any sort of illegal immigration activity. The news media are filled with tragic stories of families being torn apart because one member has committed some sort of illegal immigration activity and has been banned from the US. There is a fairly recent story of a US citizen who did exactly what you are proposing with his Japanese wife. It was discovered 2 years later after they already had a family. They have spent the last few years apart fighting to try and find some sort of loophole to allow his wife to re-enter the US. Their claim that their family wanted to see her married before she left Japan held no water with USCIS. She was guilty of immigration fraud and is now banned for life while she and her family are suffering the consequences of her misrepresentation.
If you do not have the time and the money to do it properly, then you need to re-think your situation. It will be a lot more time-consuming, expensive and heart-rending to be commit immigration fraud because you don't see how USCIS would ever know. It is USCIS's business to know. Uncovering immigration fraud is their bread and butter.
On another issue, it is also a violation of the Terms of Service for Visa Journey to commit or to condone any sort of illegal immigration activity. I have left your post rather than removing it as I feel you need to be advised about the degree of danger your suggested course of action holds for someone you are supposed to love. Don't be so selfish. If she cannot leave her home unmarried, then you need to get married and file for the correct visa for her to come to the US. That is your only real course of action.

I just wanted to add that the information in the denial letter that you will be able to appeal is misleading, and generally not true. You will not be given an opportunity to appeal the denial of the visa. It's possible the consular officer could change their mind, but extremely unlikely. It's also possible that the visa section chief could reverse the decision of the consular officer or direct them to conduct another interview, but that's also extremely unlikely.
When a consular officer concludes that a relationship is a sham, and they deny the visa and return the petition to USCIS, they are always recommending that the approval of the petition be revoked. When they say you will be able to appeal the decision, the decision they're talking about is the decision by USCIS to revoke the approval of the petition - NOT the decision to deny the visa. By law, the consular officer's decision is not subject to review or appeal - it's final.
The consular officer cannot actually promise that you'll be able to appeal the decision by USCIS to revoke the approval of the petition. That's up to USCIS. The California Service Center frequently doesn't even readjudicate returned I-129F petitions, and just lets them expire. If they don't take any action to revoke the approval of the petition then there's nothing for you to appeal. You're basically back at square one starting over again.
The Vermont Service Center, on the other hand, often does readjudicate returned petitions. If they ultimately decide to reaffirm the approval then the petition will be sent back to the consulate for another interview - you won't have to appeal anything. If they decide to side with the consular officer, and revoke the approval of the petition, then they'll send a Notice Of Intent to Revoke (NOIR) to the petitioner. If you don't respond forcefully to this notice with a truckload of evidence then the petition approval will be revoked, the consular officer's accusations will be recorded as fact, and your fiance will be guilty of immigration fraud. The next time he shows up for a visa interview he'll be denied because of this, and told he needs an I-601 waiver.
You can plead with your senator and congressman, or anything you like to do in the meantime. However, if you end up getting a NOIR from USCIS then do not ignore it, even if you've already married your fiance and/or an attorney recommends you ignore it. The NOIR will be your only opportunity to appeal, and if you fail to respond adequately then things will get a whole lot more difficult moving forward.

M-Bone,
What you've described is classic Ecuatoriano "machista" behavior -- and I mean classic. The suspicion, the drinking, the double standards... I can't even chalk much of it up to his feeling like a "pescado out of water" in his new environment.
When I was courting & visiting the future Mrs. T-B., she mentioned this behavior to me, stating without rancor that this is why she could never marry an Ecuatoriano. She said, "Whether to a greater or lesser extent, every Ecuatoriano is a macho." I took intellectual note of it, but I privately dismissed it as exaggeration. Well, on my second visit, I did some observing. Every one of the dozen boyfriends/husbands that I observed exhibited machista behavior. Some of it was absolutely appalling. Even one of my future brothers-in-law -- so personable and popular and sweet with his kids and everything else -- blew up in a macho way over something completely innocuous. His poor little wife (my future sister-in-law) was terrified.
At our Stokes interrogation at the ####### Guayaquil consulate, the Foreign Service National who interviewed me asked why Mrs. T-B.-to-be wanted to marry an American. I told him that she wouldn't marry an Ecuatoriano because of the ingrown, inbred machista behavior that they all exhibited. He said, "Yes, there are still pockets of that here and there." When he said that, it was all that I could do not to bust through the Plexiglass and throttle him for being so dismissive of the obvious.
Your Ecuatoriano's behavior, abusiveness, and actions are just like those of a lowlife American redneck who lives in a trailer park. (How are they not?) That's the American equivalent of the caliber of guy that you married. To hell with feeling sorry for him. The objective situation is that, just like Mrs. T-B., you have no obligation to put up with any of this. His behavior and actions come from the culture and how he was raised, and he will not and cannot change. Despite your hopes and his apologies or protests, he will not change. Therefore, you need to cut the cord -- wish him well, but state that you have higher standards for treatment (which you do, or else you wouldn't have posted here), and he needs to leave. Use the AOS money to send him home, or to any other country where he might like to go.
As one whose previous marriage (to an Americana) was quite dysfunctional, I can tell you that as soon as he's permanently gone, you'll sit down in your now-peaceful home, open your favorite adult beverage, and say out loud to no one in particular, "I'm free." And it's the best feeling in the world, si man.

Honestly, you allow him to work without authorization, you allow him to drive your car with no license, you're living apart even though you're married...what is it exactly that is drawing you to make one poor decision after another? I really don't get it.
Ontop of that, he's verbally abusive, he's cheated on you, and he's overly suspicious.
BTW...you may trust his driving, but if he would have hit someone, I dare to think of what could have happened to you insurance/liability wise.
I think it's bigger picture time here...you're moving away, he's with some buddies, you know he works without authorization, you don't currently want him back, but you'd like him to stay here. You keep this up, and you may be looking at marriage fraud. Of course, this is worst case scenario, but still the truth.
I really don't get what the draw is for you.
'Oh but I love him Jerry'

If the trust is gone (sounds like it surely is on his side with the constant accusations of cheating), I don't really know where you can go as a couple.
The fact that he's worked without authorization and now has a DUI on his record are going to make adjusting status extremely difficult, aside from all the financial and marriage issues you have.
Sometimes you just have to cut your losses, move on and protect yourself first. You don't owe him a life here. He hasn't done much to deserve one here anyway from the sound of it.

Its a question not a judgement.
Our family has strong beliefs and it bothers that you put god and lying in the same question. GOD would never want you to lie about anything. God can only get you through things if you are truthful.

YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope you are all relaxed now after all that!!!!!!! Be safe coming home!!!

; We had our interview today and after 2 hours of waiting, we were finally interviewed (last person), so we were kinda happy that nobody was sitting in the room hearing what we had to say
The CO gave me a little bit of a hard time about the fact that my entry got denied May 2010, though I am glad that Aaron came with me and helped me out to explain things since I was humbeling and stumbeling (my English isn't that well when I'm nervous ) but in the end, the outcome is all that matters.. APPROVED, APPROVED, APPROVED !!! I can't say that often enough .
The CO said I should receive my K1 Visa within 7 days (they are a little backlogged ). Then Aaron and the CO chatted about Texas because that's where they both are from
Port of Entry will be next Friday
Thanks to all of the VJ Members who helped me out during my I-129f journey. I really appreciate it a lot !!!!
First, POE, then marriage - 8/28/2011 - and AOS
xoxoxoxoxox Channah

Unfortunately, I do not agree with the previous reply. I think, living in separate quaters can cause some problems when it comes to the interview. I am not saying it has to, but it might.
You are just filing for AOS, living apart so soon after the wedding can raise some red flags, imo, as you need to show, that you are living together as a married couple, comingling your finances, having bills together.
I am aware that couples sometimes have to live apart, for school, jobs,...but there are lots of topics here on VJ where those couples, eventhough they had good reasons to live in separate households, had big problems proving, that they were indeed in a bonafide marriage.
I see why you would want to separate for a while and personally I think that can be a good thing for your marriage, but for Immigration, it can lead to difficulties. At the very least you should maintain bills and finances in both your names and the partner movingo out should maintain their residency at the address the rest of the family lives at.
To just be correct with the terminology, living apart does not have any influence on your K-1 as it's not valid anymore anyway. You used it upon entry into the US and that's it. What you are concerned about now is the impact on your AOS!
I wish you all the best and I hope, you can work things out. Moving out might help or it might not. Have you considered counseling, to see why there is so much tension between you guys?

I would not even buy a pair of $29.95 jeans without trying them on first. Naturally, when somebody proposes to marry somebody else without ever having even seen them in person, that can't be taken seriously, not even by a Government agency. Marriage is a big step in life; for many it's the biggest decision in their lifetime. When traveling to a store before buying a bicycle to make sure it fits, it's reasonable to travel to the prospective husband or wife at least once before investing time and money on an immigrant petition, if it's a genuine relationship, which is what USCIS is looking for.

Finally! Thank you to all my VJ friends who were supportive of me during this difficult wait, Channah, Michele, Dumb/Dumber, Charlize, Tacia, and so, so, many more of you who expressed your kind words of support and your prayers for us during these past ten months.
Now, hopefully the rest of the process goes smoothly and QUICKLY!

It truly blows my mind how anyone would want to waste money on immigration ambulance-chasers ,who are notorius for being totally incompetent, when with a website like VJ and Its low-IQ proof preparation materials they can easily do the job by themselves. This is like the 21st bad story about petitions with lawyers involved I've heard about so far. Do it yourself people,learn form the mistakes of others.

; Oh my freakin' goodness!!
Stop complaining you all You are all within the 5 month mark. Stop whining and just wait on your NOA2.
"the more they get, the more they want". Just because some peeps got approved sooner than you guys, you want to get approved way sooner too. I understand, but keep in mind the normal progressing time is 5 months, sometimes 6.
If you are waiting 7 months like me and many others, then I'll give you a tissue and you can cry and whine as much as you want!!!!!

; Oh my freakin' goodness!!
Stop complaining you all You are all within the 5 month mark. Stop whining and just wait on your NOA2.
"the more they get, the more they want". Just because some peeps got approved sooner than you guys, you want to get approved way sooner too. I understand, but keep in mind the normal progressing time is 5 months, sometimes 6.
If you are waiting 7 months like me and many others, then I'll give you a tissue and you can cry and whine as much as you want!!!!!

; Oh my freakin' goodness!!
Stop complaining you all You are all within the 5 month mark. Stop whining and just wait on your NOA2.
"the more they get, the more they want". Just because some peeps got approved sooner than you guys, you want to get approved way sooner too. I understand, but keep in mind the normal progressing time is 5 months, sometimes 6.
If you are waiting 7 months like me and many others, then I'll give you a tissue and you can cry and whine as much as you want!!!!!

you and softies like you who defend you piss me off so FREAKIN BAD.you think the next time you go for an interview it will be any easier?
youre so eager to find a pinay you know philippines is high fraud country right?your next interview wont be any better or easier than getting back to people on the questions they have been asking.
man up.asians,specially philippinos,care about money,they want to be financially comfertable and care for their families.its that simple,if you cant take the heat get the hell out of kitchen

Very interesting.

What are you up to?

I am one of the ones waiting almost ten months. It is painful beyond belief and has taken a huge toll on my relationship.