Damon G.

I hope there's not so much spam and just usual questions going through
these groups that I don't get any responses, but I don't really know
anywhere else to look. I have a Kenyan national fiance living in
Bavaria, Germany right now. She conceived when I was stationed in
Ansbach, Germany, with the US Army. I'm a National Guard soldier, I
was activated to federal status for 18 months during the duration of
that 'deployment'. Unfortunately we did not forsee the problems that
were going to happen at that time and I did not get married then and
bring her to the US with me after the deployment.

In May I returned to Germany on a tourist visa due to her having
complications with the pregnancy. My son was born June 1st. Since
that point I have run into nothing but problems trying to get this
situation figured out. It is now starting to be an emergency; she is
looking at being homeless there soon due to German Jugandamt (social
services) threatening to cut her off because I'm not a German (as the
father of her son) and neither is she. My son is still not an
established American citizen, nor does he have a passport. Kenya will
not take him as a citizen, nor will Germany. The embassy in Munich has
lost my paperwork several times; it's still not even being processed.
I'm currently working with my local senator's office in order to get
this sorted out as soon as possible without pissing off the embassy
personnel and causing more problems that way.

I need to find out about the following things: First, there is far too
many possible avenues for me to bring her here, and the legaleze is
starting to numb my brain. I need legal representation to help me
handle this as it is imperitive that I bring them here on whatever
provisional basis as soon as possible. The army was supposed to help
me according to the embassy, and the embassy according to the army,
which contributed to the failure of him having any citizenship or
passport yet. Problems like this have plagued me. I need to find a
legitimate immigration lawyer that is fairly knowledgeable ASAP. Any
recommendations would be appreciated; I don't think that I'm going to
find one anytime soon on my own, at least locally, being as I'm stuck
in the middle of bumF---, upper midwest USA. Nobody of decent repute
is within 800 miles of here.

Next, if anybody has any suggestions, these are the possibilities that
I can see right now:

A) Go to Germany and marry her in Denmark (easiest place to marry in
the EU); try to bring her to the USA on a provisional basis while her
visa is being processed.
B) Bring her here on a fiance' basis
C) Bring her here on a tourist visa, taking her to Canada for a day
every 90 as long as I need to keep it renewed, until everything is
sorted out
D) Bring her here on a work visa, which should be fairly easy if I can
establish my own LLC here soon, then converting the visa as opportunity
arises

I don't have a lot of funds to work with, which is hampering me a lot,
but I just need to make sure that I can get them here ASAP. My son &
fiance are looking at becoming homeless; her only other option is to go
back to Kenya. I don't like that idea very much, especially being as
her sister had a baby that was stolen and killed by the father, whom
still comes around and harasses them. They don't have enough money to
buy justice from the police.

Can anybody offer tips, sugguestions, or anything? I'm open to any and
all possibilities and will provide as much more information as is
needed that I have access to.

I can be reached here (as long as my usenet is set up correctly :| ),
at [email protected], or [email protected]. I'd drop my
voice # line here, but I don't know how many bots & spiders are
collecting information for spam purposes here.

Thank you for your time and assistance!

-Damon

sdmansour

Here's the best place to find a qualified attorney to represent you:

http://www.ailalawyer.com/

Nguhh

Damon G. wrote:
    > I hope there's not so much spam and just usual questions going through
    > these groups that I don't get any responses, but I don't really know
    > anywhere else to look. I have a Kenyan national fiance living in
    > Bavaria, Germany right now. She conceived when I was stationed in
    > Ansbach, Germany, with the US Army. I'm a National Guard soldier, I
    > was activated to federal status for 18 months during the duration of
    > that 'deployment'. Unfortunately we did not forsee the problems that
    > were going to happen at that time and I did not get married then and
    > bring her to the US with me after the deployment.
    > In May I returned to Germany on a tourist visa due to her having
    > complications with the pregnancy. My son was born June 1st. Since
    > that point I have run into nothing but problems trying to get this
    > situation figured out. It is now starting to be an emergency; she is
    > looking at being homeless there soon due to German Jugandamt (social
    > services) threatening to cut her off because I'm not a German (as the
    > father of her son) and neither is she. My son is still not an
    > established American citizen, nor does he have a passport. Kenya will
    > not take him as a citizen, nor will Germany. The embassy in Munich has
    > lost my paperwork several times; it's still not even being processed.
    > I'm currently working with my local senator's office in order to get
    > this sorted out as soon as possible without pissing off the embassy
    > personnel and causing more problems that way.
    > I need to find out about the following things: First, there is far too
    > many possible avenues for me to bring her here, and the legaleze is
    > starting to numb my brain. I need legal representation to help me
    > handle this as it is imperitive that I bring them here on whatever
    > provisional basis as soon as possible. The army was supposed to help
    > me according to the embassy, and the embassy according to the army,
    > which contributed to the failure of him having any citizenship or
    > passport yet. Problems like this have plagued me. I need to find a
    > legitimate immigration lawyer that is fairly knowledgeable ASAP. Any
    > recommendations would be appreciated; I don't think that I'm going to
    > find one anytime soon on my own, at least locally, being as I'm stuck
    > in the middle of bumF---, upper midwest USA. Nobody of decent repute
    > is within 800 miles of here.
    > Next, if anybody has any suggestions, these are the possibilities that
    > I can see right now:
    > A) Go to Germany and marry her in Denmark (easiest place to marry in
    > the EU); try to bring her to the USA on a provisional basis while her
    > visa is being processed.
    > B) Bring her here on a fiance' basis
    > C) Bring her here on a tourist visa, taking her to Canada for a day
    > every 90 as long as I need to keep it renewed, until everything is
    > sorted out
    > D) Bring her here on a work visa, which should be fairly easy if I can
    > establish my own LLC here soon, then converting the visa as opportunity
    > arises
    > I don't have a lot of funds to work with, which is hampering me a lot,
    > but I just need to make sure that I can get them here ASAP. My son &
    > fiance are looking at becoming homeless; her only other option is to go
    > back to Kenya. I don't like that idea very much, especially being as
    > her sister had a baby that was stolen and killed by the father, whom
    > still comes around and harasses them. They don't have enough money to
    > buy justice from the police.
    > Can anybody offer tips, sugguestions, or anything? I'm open to any and
    > all possibilities and will provide as much more information as is
    > needed that I have access to.
    > I can be reached here (as long as my usenet is set up correctly :| ),
    > at [email protected], or [email protected]. I'd drop my
    > voice # line here, but I don't know how many bots & spiders are
    > collecting information for spam purposes here.
    > Thank you for your time and assistance!
    > -Damon


Well my first suggestion to you is to marry your fiance without any
delay.

Since you have spoken to US embassy in Germany, I would think they can
get you all the neceesary forms and documents required to register your
son to be borned outside USA by an American father (YOU) and eligible
to be an american citizen by descent. I would think with your name
stated on the birth cetificate issued by Germany (assuming you got one
already) would be suffice to register your son as an American citizen.

Lastly, once you have obtained the marriage certificate, you can bring
your wife to USA with several options as you have already stated. If I
were you, I would try the fiance visa first as it is the shortest route
in term of processing.

Good luck to you, your son and fiance!

Rete

Your answer is not altogether correct. The child might or might not have US citizenship. Most probably does but he will have to check the law to discern this. As for his fiancee how do you propose him to use the Fiancee Visa to bring a WIFE into the US? If you are talking about the I-129F to be used for the K-3 spousal visa then yes, otherwise cannot be done.

No matter how he turns this situation, there are no easy solutions for getting his fiancee and/or wife here to the US. It will take him anywhere from 3 months to 3 years. There are a slew of documents that she is going to need from Kenya and Germany, i.e. long form certificate and/or attestment of her birth, medical, possibly several police clearance certificates, he needs to be able to financially sponsor her or find someone willing to do so, etc. While this is all being done she cannot enter the US to live with him. She can probably send her son over if they can get him a US Passport.

On a personal note, why is that he was so quick to put it to her and so damn slow to take responsibility for his actions? Now the lives of his son (if it is his) and another adult are in jeopardy.

Noorah101

What paperwork did you file in Munich, that they keep losing?

Go to www.ailalawyer.org, do a search in your area, and make some phone calls. Your lawyer doesn't necessarily need to be near you anyway, many lawyers take cases that are across the country.

I'm guessing this "provisional basis" you mean is the K-3 visa. Even the K-3 visa can take quite a while in a case like this where she'll need to gather information from different countries.

Basically the same as above, it will take time to process the visa and gather the information she'll need from Kenya and Germany.

It is illegal to enter the USA on a tourist visa with the intent of staying to adjust status, so this option is out.

Does she even qualify for a work visa? Also, the work visa quota is currently filled. You can't apply for her work visa until April of 2007, for her to start in October 2007, anyway...so that won't help your "emergency" situation.

I don't know the specifics, but if you are military, and she becomes your wife, I think there are some other options. You should have access to lawyers through the military who can explain your options and what will happen if you marry her.

Best Wishes,
Rene

Damon G.

Rete wrote:

    > Your answer is not altogether correct. The child might or might not
    > have US citizenship. Most probably does but he will have to check the
    > law to discern this. As for his fiancee how do you propose him to use
    > the Fiancee Visa to bring a WIFE into the US? If you are talking about
    > the I-129F to be used for the K-3 spousal visa then yes, otherwise
    > cannot be done.

The German and International birth certificates have me listed as the
father. As I mentioned in the original post he does NOT have
citizenship because the embassy keeps losing the paperwork after I have
finally convinced them that they need to help me as the Army has told
me to piss off, being a national guard soldier no longer there on
federal status.

    > No matter how he turns this situation, there are no easy solutions for
    > getting his fiancee and/or wife here to the US. It will take him
    > anywhere from 3 months to 3 years. There are a slew of documents that
    > she is going to need from Kenya and Germany, i.e. long form certificate
    > and/or attestment of her birth, medical, possibly several police
    > clearance certificates, he needs to be able to financially sponsor her
    > or find someone willing to do so, etc. While this is all being done she
    > cannot enter the US to live with him. She can probably send her son
    > over if they can get him a US Passport.

I do appreciate the legitimate sounding advice here.

    > On a personal note, why is that he was so quick to put it to her and so
    > damn slow to take responsibility for his actions? Now the lives of his
    > son (if it is his) and another adult are in jeopardy.

However I must say that this little bit really pisses me off. How is
it that I put anything on her? I spent three months in Germany trying
to get the army and the embassy to work with me and over $10k of my own
money. Do you have any idea how frustrating it is that I could not
even establish his citizenship after all of that?

I have gone through the entire process twice now in order to establish
his citizenship and apply for a passport; this is the minimum that I
can accomplish right now without working on the visa for my fiance.
The embassy has lost key pieces of paperwork and provided me with
inaccurate advice in two occasions now. When I was in Germany, they
could not provide me with an appointment to establish his
citizenship/passport due to the fact that they wouldn't set one up with
me until I bartered with them for weeks about how the army would not
help me as a deactivated national guard soldier.

If you want a more thorough breakdown of how I've followed through on
my personal responsibility on the issue, I could give it if I wasn't in
a terrible mood. However for now I'd like to thank you for your
advice, but also state that before you pass moral judgement on someone,
maybe you should read the factual information that you use in your
judgement a little more closely first.

Damon G.

Noorah101 wrote:
    > Go to www.ailalawyer.org, do a search in your area, and make some phone
    > calls. Your lawyer doesn't necessarily need to be near you anyway, many
    > lawyers take cases that are across the country.

After a brief introduction to the case via email, I've found a guy
semi-local that says he can help with the situation. I wish I could go
off of something with a personal referral, but I guess this will have
to do for now.

    > I'm guessing this "provisional basis" you mean is the K-3 visa. Even
    > the K-3 visa can take quite a while in a case like this where she'll
    > need to gather information from different countries.

    >From reading at one of the myriad of .gov sites offering information, I
noticed that while visas are processing (whether for xfer of a marriage
to a valid greencard or a fiance' visa in processing) it seems to be
possible for them to get some sort of provisional stay that was termed
'parole'. From what I've read it seems like this is probably the best
way to expedite matters, but I'm not really sure, hence my need for
legal assistance.

    > Basically the same as above, it will take time to process the visa and
    > gather the information she'll need from Kenya and Germany.

Other than the police reports, I believe that I have everything lined
up. I was unable to find any documentation stating what sort of police
reports she needs, so I have as of yet been unable to work on that
issue.

    > It is illegal to enter the USA on a tourist visa with the intent of
    > staying to adjust status, so this option is out.

Ugh. I know that people have used methods successfully, even from
reading in this newsgroup, to bring people here under an 'easy to
obtain' visa and subsequently changing it to a permanent immigrant
status. Again, this is the confusion that I'm trying to alleviate, I
find so many different accounts that it's tough to know what is the
best to go with.

    > Does she even qualify for a work visa? Also, the work visa quota is
    > currently filled. You can't apply for her work visa until April of
    > 2007, for her to start in October 2007, anyway...so that won't help your
    > "emergency" situation.

Thank you for that piece of information. Do you know how to read those
charts well enough so that I can find out what the possible processing
dates are for the K-3 visa of Kenyan national origin and/or fiance or
wife applicable visas? Again, I was unable to determine exactly how to
read the charts due to the legaleze bending my brain.

    > I don't know the specifics, but if you are military, and she becomes
    > your wife, I think there are some other options. You should have access
    > to lawyers through the military who can explain your options and what
    > will happen if you marry her.

I made a big mistake when I signed up for the military by going into
the national guard. I have had nothing but problems with them on all
sorts of issues that seem to be fixed quite easily and happily by
members of the active army, for their own soldiers. I've been trying
to fix that issue, too, but I don't know if it's going to work out for
me to go active or not. I'll try contacting my unit again, but they
seem to be rather..... unprofessional and uneducated, especially in
matters such as this.

Thank you for your time and help!

Noorah101

The "parole" you are talking about is a document which allows an immigrant who is in the USA waiting for the green card to process, to travel abroad and return to the USA. The parole you are mentioning here is not applicable in your situation.

Look at this site: http://travel.state.gov/visa/reciprocity/index.htm. Find the countries of Kenya and Germany, and it will list details on how to obtain documents from those countries.

Yes, others come here on a student or work visa and then marry and adjust status. Those visas allow you to do that. The tourist visa is not supposed to be used for that purpose.

Here is the link to the processing dates for the petitions you file in the USA: https://egov.immigration.gov/cris/jsps/ptimes.jsp. As for how long it will take according to consulate, that would would be consulate-specific, and you can probably email the consulate and ask them an estimated time frame for a spouse visa. The link I provided will estimate how long you'll wait for the petition to be approved, and the consulate can estimate how long it will take from that point on.

Best Wishes,
Rene

hcj1440

Damon, out of the possibilities you listed the only two real options (in my humble, layperson's opinion) are fiance visa or spousal visa. There's very little chance of her getting a tourist visa, and work visas are usually harder than the marriage visas and could take even longer.

So if it's between K-1 fiancee and CR-1/K-3 "spouse" route, if the top priority is to get her to the US asap, I would go for the K-1. Anecdotally, I have heard that they are slightly faster -- only by a few months but a few months is a few months. The actual amount of time depends on which service center you have to use (which depends on where you live in the US) and which consulate she has to use (Germany or Kenya). If she is not an actual "resident" in Germany I do not know if she can go through the German embassy for her visa, and she may have to return to Kenya to process that part of the paperwork. I do not know the answer, just raising the possibility.

Here are some user-reported timelines you may find helpful -- figure out which service center you have to file through and which embassy she has to go through, and you'll get an approximate timeframe based on what other people have reported. As with all timelines, they can speed up or slow down, but at least it gives you an idea. My generic guess is 4-8 months, if everything goes smoothly and you do not get RFE'd (request for more evidence).
http://www.visajourney.com/timeline/stats.php

Re: your son -- are you trying to file a consular report of birth abroad for him and that's the paperwork the embassy keeps losing?

Damon G.

hcj1440 wrote:

    > Damon, out of the possibilities you listed the only two real options (in
    > my humble, layperson's opinion) are fiance visa or spousal visa.
    > There's very little chance of her getting a tourist visa, and work visas
    > are usually harder than the marriage visas and could take even longer.

I've started being better able to glean the facts from some of those
charts, and I've noted that trend as well. I was thinking that from
the numbers of people changing their visas to LPR status via the route
of marriage that I could do it that way, but obviously didn't have all
of the facts at that point. I've found a semi-local lawyer that said
he can help me with the matter, so I'm going to investigate him with
the BAR and hopefully get him to stat helping me with this situation
now.

    > So if it's between K-1 fiancee and CR-1/K-3 "spouse" route, if the top
    > priority is to get her to the US asap, I would go for the K-1.
    > Anecdotally, I have heard that they are slightly faster -- only by a few
    > months but a few months is a few months. The actual amount of time
    > depends on which service center you have to use (which depends on where
    > you live in the US) and which consulate she has to use (Germany or
    > Kenya). If she is not an actual "resident" in Germany I do not know if
    > she can go through the German embassy for her visa, and she may have to
    > return to Kenya to process that part of the paperwork. I do not know
    > the answer, just raising the possibility.

I'm starting to think the same thing; I'm going to have to talk to the
lawyer about the procedure for a situation such as this where she's
living in Germany with Kenyan nationality. Hopefully I can start
looking at some firmer datelines sometime soon here, so that I can
figure out what I have to deal with for the situation.

    > Here are some user-reported timelines you may find helpful -- figure out
    > which service center you have to file through and which embassy she has
    > to go through, and you'll get an approximate timeframe based on what
    > other people have reported. As with all timelines, they can speed up or
    > slow down, but at least it gives you an idea. My generic guess is 4-8
    > months, if everything goes smoothly and you do not get RFE'd (request
    > for more evidence).
    > http://www.visajourney.com/timeline/stats.php

Absolutely, this is one of the most useful links I've been tossed.
Thank you much!

    > Re: your son -- are you trying to file a consular report of birth abroad
    > for him and that's the paperwork the embassy keeps losing?

Yes. The senator's office has told me that the Munich embassy is
notorious for this kind of crap and that I should probably not contact
them any more myself, as they seem to be starting to get a short fuse
with me. Evidently they also are known for throwing paperwork away
when too many toes get stepped on. I'm recreating the entire packet
and giving it to my local senator's office whom is going to submit it
with their own method to the embassy, which should hopefully get it
taken care of a little bit better.

I'm in the process of producing a packet describing everything in
detail that has happened with these concurrent situations. I'll have
to post the link here after I get it done and can get it online
somewhere.

Thanks again for the helpful advice!