mandymoochops

Or Cheese Whizz!!!!

Xebedee

We have cheeze whizz here.
Bring snow and bacon.
The kids are bored and American bacon is lousy.

Shana131

Oh, no snow, please! LOL I'm hoping to get rid of that here. I, too, much prefer the butter tarts.

kins

How badly does she want to marry you? Badly enough that she will sign a sponsorship form saying that she will support you potentially forever, and that if you claim any benefits from the US government then she can be sued for repayment?

The sponsorship form is a wonderful test of a relationship

Shana131

If someone is getting something in return for sponsorship, like say, $5,000 or $10,000, they usually don't mind signing a paper saying the government can sue them. I can't agree that it's any test at all of a relationship between husband and wife. The only reason one person should marry another is for love, however, we all know marriage fraud does occur. I just hope the USCIS gets better at spotting it and stopping it.

ian-mstm

I know you probably meant this in relation to immigration, but realize that there are many reasons, other than love, that would compel a couple to marry... and none of them describe a fraudulent marriage. Indeed, as far as USCIS is concerned, as long as the marriage is not solely for immigration benefit, there is no fraud... even if it's not for love. To quote Tina, "what's love got to do with it?"

Ian

BethOK

My husband is the American half of our marriage and boy do the USCIS make you jump, basically your life is in their hands and you have to abide by all their rules and regulations. We did all the immigration paperwork ourselves, you have to be very thorough, its pretty tough going and can be intimidating, but the USCIS do have to do their job. When my hubby and I were married, must of been for about 6 months, we were almost sure we were being followed by the men in suits, if not, thats how paranoid you get when going through the immigrations system, we knew we had and still have a bona fide marriage, but I am sure the USCIS have to check up, just in case. Anyway we have been married for 5 years this April and are blissfully happy.

Shana131

Yes, I do agree with that, Ian, and quite frankly, trust and respect and mutual interests are more important to me than romantic love. I could live without romance in my marriage, but not trust and respect and some fun enjoying mutual pursuits. But yes, I did mean in respect to immigration.

Shana131

Yes, they can certainly make you jump, Beth, and you do have to be thorough, and the paper work can be a real work out, but they really aren't looking for a way to deny bona fide marriages.

I'm glad you have a happy marriage and that it's been five years now. I hope you have a lovely anniversary in April.

kins

There's no way I'd sign a form saying I could be sued for the repayment of someone else's benefits for the rest of their life for a mere $10k...

Shana131

I wouldn't do it, period. For any amount of money. It's illegal and I'm not into doing illegal things. I have no inclination to do anything illegal, for one thing, and secondly, even if I did, the fear of jail would put me off. However, I have known people who've signed an I-864 for less than $5,000. Sadly, it's a common occurrance, which is one of the reasons the USCIS has to be so thorough in investigating those of us who are totally honest and truthful. I don't have the current figures, but I did locate an article here:

http://www.law.fsu.edu/journals/lawr.../jonefram.html

...that states, according to the USCIS, approximately thirty percent of all marriage petitions involve marital fraud. Now, that sounds high to me, but it's all I can find right now. The actual percentage doesn't matter. Marital fraud, with the intent of gaining immigration benefits and nothing more, happens on a daily basis and very sadly, lots of sponsors can be "bought" for less than $5,000.

Signing the I-864 doesn't obligate you to support the intending immigrant for the rest of his/her life. It's until he/she becomes a citizen or is credited with forty quarters of work under the Social Security Act, I think, which is about ten years, or until he or she leaves the US, or becomes subject to removal proceedings in which he or she files a new petition requiring a new Affidavit of Support. (I might not have worded that last one correctly, but if I didn't, I'm sure someone will correct me.) But it's not the rest of someone's life.

I sponsored my own husband, of course, but we have a bona fide marriage and intend to build a life together for the rest of our lives. Nothing illegal there. No amount of money could induce me to do something illegal, but it's a fact of life that for many people, it can and does.

BethOK

You know with the amount of paperwork we had to file, for my two sons and myself, was endless, but we did it, and there was not one form we screwed up, but we did do proof reading over and over and over again to get it correct, in the end me eyes were wobbling Also the fees now for filing have gone up so much, so darn happy we got in before USCIS increased them!

Thanks for your kind words, and I'm sure my hubby and I will do something wonderful in April, you take care now you hear

Shana131

Thanks, Beth. I'm glad your mountain or paper work went smoothly. The forms can be confusing. My husband and I didn't file until the fees increased. But that's okay. As long as the outcome is good, the fees don't matter to me.

hobbes79

After our interview with the USCIS in Dallas, TX for our marriage based GC, I had the rest of the afternoon off so we headed to Pier One to pick out fascinating things like lamp shades, etc. Anyway, while we were there the lady who interviewed us also walked in! Turned out we were the last person she interviewed that day and just happened to have the same thought.

She joked that finding us picking out lamp shades and cushions together clearly showed we were genuine

BethOK

Of course the fees don't matter when its about love and being together

Yep it seemed loads as it was for the 3 of us, also my 3rd son, he's 18 now, came over Dec 06, it didn't work out with him staying with his Dad and his partner, so we filed for him, he went for his final interview before Christmas and now we are just waiting for his PR card to be approved, so like you want it to be a good outcome. My son is flourishing here and is so happy, he wishes he had decided to come over with me in the first place, but hey, there is always a reason why things happen, but at the end of the day he is here with us now and he knows he is wanted, needed and most importantly loved

How long have you been in the system? I am sure everything will turn out wonderful for you and your hubby and your lives will be filled with so much happiness. Just seen your last post, see things happen for a reason, the lady that interviewed you has seen for herself that you are a typical married couple doing typical married couple stuff, great.

We started off filing in TX, I met my hubby when he lived in Nederland TX, but because we moved up to OK, had to transfer all out paperwork up here. I want to sit my USC test this June, thats when I qualify, bit nervous about the questions, but I did get around 80% correct from the test paper my hubby tested me on. Anyway Shana, you have my very best wishes and wonderful tbhoughts going your way. Take care girl