shepslady

Im trying to help someone who entered the US on a visa waiver with his US girlfriend whom he had been living with overseas. The plan was to stay here for a few weeks so she could spend time with her family while gathering her belongings & then moving back overseas together. However her family had other plans & these two are now married & wanting to stay in the US. I know it wasnt there intention to get married when he entered on his visa waiver so am I right in thinking that they can file an I-130 & I-485 concurrently? Ive researched it but come up with confilicting information.
I know its not the ideal situation but whats done is done & now Id like to offer them as much help as I can. I did suggest they seek out a good immigration attorney but their finances arent all that great right now & they would like to try to do this themselves.
Wow if I thought this was hard when we were doing it ourselves I think its just as hard trying to guide someone else.
Heres what Ive told them to look at to begin with so please all you wonderful experts out there steer me on the right track if Ive gone wrong anywhere.
As well as the I-130 & I-485 Ive told them they need to look at the I-864 for her to fill out & as her income isnt high enough to support him her father who has agreed to co sponsor him should fill out the I-864A. Ive told them to get a medical done at a civil surgeon & to include the sealed envelope with their application. I also mentioned they might like to file for AP & EAD but not really sure when they should file these. Can they all be filed together or should they wait to file some?
Any & all help will be greatly appreciated. Just when I thought my days of dealing with USCIS were over for a few years Huh & here I am trying to help someone else deal with it......guess one never gets away from it completely huh?

Thanks in advance
Cheers
Shepslady

Noorah101

Hi Shepslady,

If the joint sponsor lives in the same household as the sponsor, his income can be included on the sponsor's I-864, and the joint sponsor fills out an I-864A. If the joint sponsor lives separately, he fills out his own separate I-864.

Yes, they can (and probably should) file the I-765 and I-131 along with the whole AOS package. It's taking about 3 months for the EAD, and 2 months for the AP. How long the whole AOS will take depends on their local office backlog.

Best Wishes,
Rene

shepslady

Cheers for that Rene
Funny to admit but helping someone else is more nerve wracking than when we did it ourselves. Id really hate to put them wrong. They are living in Omaha Nebraska so am I right in thinking they will be dealing with the Lincoln Office or is there one in Omaha??
Re the sponsor thing, they are living with her parents until he can get documented & gets a work permit so will tell them what you said above. Thanks so much for your quick response. Ive just had three phone calls within the last 30 minutes from them asking if they are filling things out right. Looks like I might be in for a long night

Regards
Cindy

Noorah101

Hi Cindy,

According to USCIS, there is no district office in Lincon. The district office for Nebraska is Omaha. Of course they'll send their AOS package to the Chicago lockbox, but interview will be held in Omaha. http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/fieldo...anchorNEBRASKA

Rene

Rete

All the petitions should be filed at one time and to the Chicago lockbox address listed on the forms and/or on the USCIS website. Remind them about the $70 fingerprint fee which must accompany the petitions. They can send one check for all or separate checks for each petition.

Cindy, it would be easier if they had access to a computer for them to research a bit online as you did long time ago.

Also note that if he files for advance parole, he should NOT use it, even if given by the USCIS, if his overstay is 180 days or more. At that point, he will incur a ban of x number of years depending on the length of the overstay.

Also the EAD will give him the ability to obtain a social security number which in turn is helpful for a driver's license, i.e. the EAD is proof of status.

Rete

shepslady

Thanks Rete I did forget about the fingerprint fee so have passed that one on to them as well. Apparently he has no intention of leaving until things are finalised so dont think they will bother with the AP. I agree re the use of a computer to do their own research & for now while they have limited access I am only too happy to help them but have already told them due to the seriousness of this I would feel better if they were to research everything I am able to tell them etc. If something doesnt work out Id really rather they were up on things & that it didnt fall at my feet.
WIth you mentioning EAD & it being helpful with drivers license etc I think that is something else they should be researching. I know every state is different so Im not too sure how long he can drive on his overseas license so that too is something they need to look into.
Thanks again for you help & advise

Regards
Cindy

Totally off topic but something I want to share with you, Hubby & I are currently in the process of being trained to be licensed to be foster parents. There are so many children in this area crying out to find good homes we have decided that we want to do our bit to help give a child a good home. I know we will get a lot out of it & hope that whoever we foster gets a lot from us too. Its all very exciting & will be so nice to give something back to our community.

ian-mstm

This is a very good point... one which I'm glad you made. It's very important that you not tell them what to do - as that might come back on you with unexpected and unfortunate results. If possible, print off copies of stuff from the USCIS websites and give it to them and let them act on that information. Do the research for them, if they truly don't have access or the skills to do it for themselves, but let them do the work. Actually, this is probably good advice for everyone who's helping a friend.

Ian