Amber*

Hi there,
My husband and I are in a very difficult situation right now and we're
hoping that someone here might have some advice, or perhaps has
experienced this before.

I am in Australia and hubby is in the US.
A few months ago my husband had to leave his job and go back to his
home town to care for his grandfather who had cancer.
His grandfather had several major operations and now requires 24hr
care.
His grandmother is also there but is too frail to take care of him
herself. No one else in his family will help in the slightest so he is
doing this on his own.

Now it's looking like he may be needed there permenantly.

I want to be with my husband desperately, but on top of that they
could really use my help over there. He barely gets 15 mins to himself
and is lucky to sleep more than 2 hours straight. I want so much to be
able to help him.

Because his grandfather can not be left unattended, my husband has no
way of getting any work. There is no one who can/will sponsor me and
he spent all his savings on plane trips and phone calls.

Is there anything we can do??
We would be most grateful for any advice.

DCMark

You need a sponsor, that is for sure. What about the grandfather? Could he be a co-sponsor with you husband?

Amber*

I dont think what he has would add up to enough to satisfy the
embassy.
On top of that, i couldnt bring myself to ask.

Does this mean there is nothing we can do??
I cant take this anymore.




On Thu, 21 Aug 2003 14:11:44 +0000, DCMark
<[email protected]> wrote:

    >You need a sponsor, that is for sure. What about the grandfather?
    >Could he be a co-sponsor with you husband?

doctor scrumpy

Does your hubby not count as earnings any monies he is paid as the sole carer for his relative ?

Amber*

He doesnt get paid for being the sole carer.
He has a tiny bit of money left but it's basically just room and board
with his grandparents while he takes care of them.

To Seadave who posted the other reply...I wrote to the Sydney
consulate a couple of weeks ago to let them know what was going on and
when they phoned back they pretty much said I needed a sponsor.

I don't risk phoning them anymore as it's such a stressful experience,
and virtually everytime we have contacted them we get told something
different...if they give us an answer at all.


On Sat, 23 Aug 2003 15:26:14 +0000, doctor scrumpy
<[email protected]> wrote:

    >Does your hubby not count as earnings any monies he is paid as the sole
    >carer for his relative ?

Alzerom

Amber:
This story doesn't ring true. If Grandpa and grandma were indeed
indigent (without money) grandpa would be on "medicaid" and grandpa
would have a free ride in a nursing home.
The probable options in this case are:
1- grandpa still has an estate, which WILL be be spent on his care by
law...
2- someone isn't telling you the truth.
3- your 'sponsor' isn't needed or about to get a reality check.

You have a winning situation, although you may not like the answer.

Matthew Udall

Hi Amber,
There are various options. Do you intend to come over on a short term basis, or do you want to permanently move to the U.S. and establish permanent resident status?

If the later, than an option your husband has is to file an I-130 for you, either directly with the U.S. Consulate (I believe that is an option for him), or at his local BCIS service center here in the U.S.

I believe the U.S. Consulate in Sydney does direct consular filing (your husband should check with them first to confirm this), and if so than your husband could visit you and file his I-130 directly with the Consulate. This is an attractive option as it is usually processed faster than an I-130 filed with the Service Center (which has jurisdiction over where your husband lives), but I believe it would require a trip to Australia, something your husband might not be able to do at this time.

He could always file the I-130 with the Service Center here in the U.S. (thus avoiding the need to travel), and ask them to expedite the case. They may or may not expedite the case for him, however it might be worth a try.

I posted the expedite criteria in another thread yesterday, and I’ll post them again below for you. These particular criteria come from the Vermont Service Center, and I believe all of the Service Centers use a similar set of criteria.

1. Humanitarian Situation where compelling humanitarian needs are present as exists when a U.S. citizen or LPR petitions for a relative (where the visa number is available) who is requiring medical treatment or special care, or in cases where the petition is for a minor child who lacks appropriate supervision or security. Medical documentation may be required.
2. Extreme Emergent or Unforseen Circumstances such as when a petitioner, through no fault of his own, is faced with an emergency as occurs with nonimmigrant petitions for members of the arts such as when a musician, singer or other performer approved for a nonimmigrant classification is suddenly stricken with an illness and must be immediately replaced.
3. Severe Financial Loss To Company or Individual such as when failure to adjudicate a petition within a specific time frame would cause severe financial harm or loss to a U.S. entity and no other remedy exists.
4. Service Error such as when the service has made an error in processing a case and that error has delayed the receipt of a lawful benefit.
5. Dept. of Defense or National Interest Situation: The request must come from an official U.S. Govt. entity and state that the delay will be detrimental to our government.
6. Nonprofit status or requesting organization in furtherance of the cultural and social interests of the U.S.
7. Compelling interests of the service.

Perhaps the Extreme Emergent Circumstances prong could be argued in favor of granting expedited processing of his I-130. I would assume he would want to provide evidence to substantiate the emergency nature of the situation.

Perhaps the Severe Financial Loss to Individual might be found compelling by the Service Center. Again, it would be wise to spell out the situation, and then submit evidence to back up that assertion.

It is OK to argue both reasons, however I would address both issues (and document them) separately in the expedite request materials he would send along with his I-130.

Of course, you still have other issues to deal with such as the I-864 sponsor, however I just wanted to point out the expedite criteria to you in case you were not aware of it.

Good luck.

M.U.

Amber*

I was told that their medical expenses are being covered mostly by
insurance..

Hubby came out here late last year and handed in out petition at the
sydney consulate. I was to go there a few weeks later for my interview
but my sponsor at the time (mother-in-law) got cold feet at the last
minute and pulled out (we're still not sure exactly why).
I get the feeling his family isn't that fond of me :-\
The truth is I dont think his grandparents want to sponsor me.
It a complicated, messy process that people don't understand unless
they are going through it. When the topic comes up, people can't get
away fast enough. We have both been quite shocked by the lack of
support or understanding from both our families. We are very much
alone in this.



On 23 Aug 2003 14:03:40 -0700, [email protected] (alzerom) wrote:

    >Amber:
    > This story doesn't ring true. If Grandpa and grandma were indeed
    >indigent (without money) grandpa would be on "medicaid" and grandpa
    >would have a free ride in a nursing home.
    > The probable options in this case are:
    >1- grandpa still has an estate, which WILL be be spent on his care by
    >law...
    >2- someone isn't telling you the truth.
    >3- your 'sponsor' isn't needed or about to get a reality check.
    >You have a winning situation, although you may not like the answer.