newbieme

Newbie here - hoping this is in right place. My kids and I are British. I brought my kids here and married a USC. We are still raising the funds to file the necessary paperwork and expect to have enough by the New Year. However, my children's passports will be out of date in February 06. How might this affect us when we file the papers? Can I send them off to UK for renewing even though they contain out-dated visas? If anyone knows what we should do, please let me know as this is causing us concern. Kindly, NEWBIE

ian-mstm

I don't believe their expiring passports will be an issue when you file. By the time of your adjustment interview, the passports will probably need to be valid.

Now, if you plan to travel outside the US and, in conjunction with your application for adjustment you also filed for travel authorization, their passports will need to be valid prior to actually travelling.

Oh, out-of-date visas are quite common as passports expire all the time! In such cases, most people carry both the expired and a valid passport when travelling.

Ian

simon bland

You don't need to send the passports back to the UK, they can be renewed via mail at the British Embassy in Washington DC

Elvira

There you go :

http://www.britainusa.com/sections/...i=10080&d=1

Passport and Consular Services

Welcome to the Consular and Passport Services section of the website. In this section, you will find information about applying for or renewing a British passport and about the services we provide for British citizens in the USA. Please click on the boxes to the left or use the links above to navigate to the information you require.

It is not necessary for British Nationals/Citizens living or working in the US to register with the Embassy or their local Consulate General.

British passports are issued by the British Embassy in Washington D.C.

Completed applications should be sent, or brought in, to the Passport Office at the address below:

Passport Office
British Embassy
19 Observatory Circle, NW
Washington, DC 20008

crg

Until you file the papers you are an illegal alien. You may want to put the passport renewal money towards the adjustment application. Good luck.

Elvira

I read her post to mean that they came here on valid visas but just haven't filed for AOS yet. If this is wrong and you are right, she does indeed have to get this sorted before even thinking of travelling outside the US.

crg

I believe she entered on the 90 day visa waiver. It is a bad situation to be out of status, especially after being admitted VWP. She waived her rights to judicial review of removal and could be ordered and barredfor 10 years without ever seeing judge.

newbieme

We came here on vacation visas and ended up getting married. It was totally unplanned. I was going to return home as per my travel arrangements until a day after the marriage when my husband was unexpectedly made homeless. At that point he had been totally unwaged for 2 years pending the award of his disability, and was living with a relative who suddenly died, thereby making him homeless. My passport is valid for several more years, but my kids passports expire early next year. Is it as simple as just sending them to Washington DC? We expect to have enough money to file the INS paperwork by early new year and have engaged a charity lawyer we managed to find. However, because this lawyer is charity she isn't aware of how we go about renewing, nor if its really necessary to bother doing so. Thanks to all who replied before.

ian-mstm

Just because a lawyer does charity work, there's really no excuse for not being able to answer your questions. If she doesn't know the answer, you should either expect her to find out... or find a different lawyer! Being charitable is not the same as being incompetent.

Ian

Elvira

OMG you HAVE got yourself in a pickle!

Seeing that neither you nor your children will be able to leave the US until all this is sorted, passport renewal probably isn't of a high priority.

Seeing that you are relying on a charity lawyer, it might be a good idea to acquaint yourself with the details of immigration law as it applies to your case, as I doubt that a charity lawyer has the time to do all the legwork for you. (USCIS.com and visajourney.com might be good places to start.)

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe at this moment in time you are actually deportable, so I would not wait to file for AOS. Beg or borrow the money, but do it without delay. At the very least start gathering all the documents you need (birth certificates, marriage and divorce decrees relating to your first marriage etc - see instructions for I-485).

All the best.

crg

I don't know how someone on disability with a spouse who isn't supposed to work can manage to successfully complete an affadavit of support. Also, I'm sure these kids are soaking up a free public education, assistance, and medical care.

Maybe I should send this woman money to renew the passports. I'm already paying many of her other expenses with my tax dollars.

I vote that she packs it in and leaves the country.

andrea874

Too bad your vote doesnt count

newbieme

* * * * * * * * * * * *
Well, firstly I want to clarify a few FINE points; My spouse is disabled after several major surgeries. We applied for disability and it took the US Government 4.5 years to hear his case and pay him the award. During this time, I supported the entire family of 5 people with my own funds from my own country. I get a small pension from being medically retired, about $500/month - it was hard to manage - but we did it. We live in a house owned by my family. I ensured that my spouse was given ONLY the disability payments for a SINGLE person - otherwise, at some point, we would have had to repay it because I learned that we are "not to be a burden to US Public Funds" - hence we also have made NO CLAIM for public assistance!

Secondly, my kids are homeschooled - and I would have it no other way!

Thirdly, whenever we have needed medical care, my family back home have wired the necessary funds. They are not wealthy, and it has been a hardship for them, yet they have vowed to help us with such costs for the overall benefit of our family.

Your tax dollars HAVEN'T supported my family at all since we have been here - in fact, I have supported a US Citizen who was disabled and left unwaged, unable to work, and abandoned for 4.5 years by their own country!

I am told by authorities that If I had been Hispanic (or one of another select race that I cannot remember), then I would have been eligible for many US public benefits that a European is not entitled to.

Personally, I want to go back home! I have been faced with this kind of descrimination since I arrived here and am tired of it! I don't feel welcomed at all when people make inaccurate accusations without taking the time to even ask more about the situation - they just assume. I understand that communities get mad when they are unable to take care of their own because their Goverment is so keen to give benefits to foreigners - this happens in my own country - but this is NOT the case in our situation. My spouse has been unsuccessful in obtaining permission to travel to my country because of a previous conviction in early youth - we are trying to overcome this, but until then we need to work on saving enough cash to deal with the situation as it stands.

If you would like to do as you suggested and help us out with a contribution, then I say "thanks", feel free to contact me privately.

Ray

So you drag your kid to a foreign country so you can marry your ex-felon boyfriend and your new husband became homeless from a house owned by your family ... Marvellous story ... best one for ages ...

scrubbedexpat099

You are here illegally and are liable to deportation. You chose this course of action. You need to file asap to avoid the consequences. Why the big issue with passports?

You will need a co-sponsor from the way you describe your finances, that sounds the biggest issue.

Not sure how many children you have but it is family size overty line x 125%.

You do not need a lawyer, unless you have other issues, plenty of information out there - www.visajourney.com has a good FAQ and of course the USCIS web site.

If you can home school then you should have no issues with the form filing. Not rocket science. Most people on this site did it themselves.