ivoryboy

If the information you received regarding the overstay not being a problem for attaining a Green Card came from the same source that told you a joint bank account is crucial, then you have your answer. They are both incorrect.

And by the way, a SSN is not necessarily needed for a joint US bank account. I have held a joint account with my USC partner for 12 years as a visitor.

mikeymike68

Hello,

FYI...my spouse and I submitted our green card application in the middle of December 2013. We just had our green card interview yesterday. It was as I had hoped....a slam dunk. The interview lasted was approved for a green card on the spot. It was a pretty quick 2 and 1/2 month process without any hiccups, problems or issues whatsoever.

I thought I'd bring this up with you because the alarm you raised in response to my post back in October was truly unwarranted and it was riddled with misinformation and hearsay. My own research was correct all along, and my attorney I consulted confirmed that U.S. law provides for a relatively easy process for any foreigner (EVEN those that overstay) to obtain a marriage-based green card provided it is a bonafide genuine marriage. Please be careful with the advice you are giving to people on here.

Speedwell

We are careful. You are the one who wasn't careful.

mikeymike68

You're right! I was careless in that I actually took seriously the unnecessary alarm and misinformation people on here were spouting.

My originally research was correct all along that our case would be a slam dunk and it was.

Noorah101

We tend to give the worst-case scenarios on here, with words of warning, because everyone's case is different. Just because it worked out for you, does not necessarily mean it works out for everyone else as easily. It is just as damaging to say "you will succeed", because they might not!


I agree that others should take the advice on here with a grain of salt...after all, we are mostly laymen on here, just sharing whatever we know, either from having done research, hearing others' stories, or using our own experience.

As always, a consultation with a competent immigration attorney is the best thing to do when one has questions/issues/concerns.

Rene

civilservant

Again - bye!

Noorah101

If the AOS had been denied, I bet you'd be saying something different now.

In your case, it was. That may not be the case for everyone else. You cannot generalize all cases based on the outcome of your case.

Rene

Trixie_b

Congratulations to you both.

No one on here said that you would encounter problems, but if you did they would be serious.


It's easy to sweep those problems under the table if you glide right through with no consequences.

You might think it's scaremongering, but it's not. Think of it more like telling you you're about to swim in shark infested waters. No one said you were about to be bitten, but on a site like this, it's prudent to tell people what they could be facing.

If everyone told you that your application had no risks, they would be flat WRONG. Your lawyer must have also told you that also, however, it was a risk that the lawyer got paid for, regardless of if it went well or badly.

the people who advise on this site are 2nd to none.

Good luck for the future.

N1cky

Wow! Congratulations on breaking the law and getting away with it.

People like you make my blood boil.

S Folinsky

Congratulations on the approval.

I've just re-read the thread. With all due respect, I would submit that your annoyance at the posters here doesn't strike me as justified.

When I was in practice, I was often asked "what could go wrong?" I would smile and say "When asked that way, the application could be denied and you get deported. I'm pretty sure that won't happen." Or "What are the odds?" "I'm not a bookmaker, but damn good."

Permit me an analogy, if you will. You are sitting at the Blackjack table and you have a pair of pictures and the dealer is showing a six. You are probably feeling pretty good at that point. Dealer turns over the hole card and it is a ten. You are feeling really good at this point. The only card that will beat you is a five and four is a push [under Las Vegas rules]. In fact, you see that three of your companions at the table are also showing a five. You are really really feeling good. Dealer than draws the last remaining five.

Again, congratulations.

[BTW, I handled an interview here for a colleague involving a gay couple. Any criminal record? "no." Interviewing officer asks what about your 1994 conviction in Orange County? Client slaps forehead, says he totally forgot about it and says it happened in a restroom and it was 10 hours of community service. We got an RFE for the records. After the interview I ask client "it was an undercover cop in the restroom in the park? Right?" Client: "How did you know?" We got the records and the petty offense exception applied.]

S Folinsky

Be nice.

On blood boiling -- I recommend John Scalzi's The Ghost Brigades.

mikeymike68

Um...? No laws were broken on my part. This is standard. U.S. law specifically allows it's citizens to sponsor a spouse for a green card EVEN if that spouse has overstayed. That has ALWAYS been the case.

S Folinsky

True enough. That said, notionally speaking, I would think it is likely that you transported or harbored your husband knowing he was in the United States out of status. Take a gander at section 274(a) of the Immigration & Nationality Act.

Yes, you may very well be an unindicted felon but you were given a civil benefit of having your husband here.

Yes, the law may very well be an ass and I don't see people getting prosecuted on this one unless it is a commercial transaction.

mikeymike68

I have not seen the legislative record on this but I would venture to say that the intent of that law was aimed at organized crime NOT a genuinely married couple and it clearly conflicts with the laws allowing you to sponsor an out of status spouse. Given the clear conflicts with other laws AND the fact there are few if any married couples ever prosecuted under that statute, leads me to believe that prosecuting legitimate couple was never the intent of that law.

lansbury

You come on an Internet forum where you know no-one and have no idea of their level of expertise on the subject. You then come back complaining because you believed what these strangers told you and now think they were wrong. Who is the idiot here?