what should I do?
May 5th 2006, 4:15 am
#1
Guest
Posts: n/a
what should I do?
Here is the situation. I am a US citizen. My wife is Indonesian. She
came to this country around 10 years ago as a student legally. 8 1/2
years ago we got married and sent in the paperwork to get her green
card. She was offered a good job and we thought it would be any day now
to get the work permit so she took the job. All paperwork was lost and
she was essentially working illegally. Her passport is no longer valid
and she is now an illegal immigrant working illegally.
Our marriage is not a sham. 8 1/2 years is a pretty decent amount of
time and we have a 5 and 8 year old also. I do volunteer work from home
and take care of the kids and she works as she has the masters degree
and would make alot more money than I ever could. Currently she makes
49k a year. What should we do in this situation? Is there a possibility
of deportation or would think consider the long marriage and 2 kids? If
we do apply(and we have nobody that could do the affadavit of support)
then could her own income count? Thanks
--
Posted via http://expatforums.com
came to this country around 10 years ago as a student legally. 8 1/2
years ago we got married and sent in the paperwork to get her green
card. She was offered a good job and we thought it would be any day now
to get the work permit so she took the job. All paperwork was lost and
she was essentially working illegally. Her passport is no longer valid
and she is now an illegal immigrant working illegally.
Our marriage is not a sham. 8 1/2 years is a pretty decent amount of
time and we have a 5 and 8 year old also. I do volunteer work from home
and take care of the kids and she works as she has the masters degree
and would make alot more money than I ever could. Currently she makes
49k a year. What should we do in this situation? Is there a possibility
of deportation or would think consider the long marriage and 2 kids? If
we do apply(and we have nobody that could do the affadavit of support)
then could her own income count? Thanks
--
Posted via http://expatforums.com
May 5th 2006, 4:55 am
#2
MODERATOR
Joined: Apr 2003
Location: Phoenix, Arizona
Posts: 58,679
Re: what should I do?
Originally Posted by Nwidjaja
Here is the situation. I am a US citizen. My wife is Indonesian. She
came to this country around 10 years ago as a student legally. 8 1/2
years ago we got married and sent in the paperwork to get her green
card. She was offered a good job and we thought it would be any day now
to get the work permit so she took the job. All paperwork was lost and
she was essentially working illegally. Her passport is no longer valid
and she is now an illegal immigrant working illegally.
Our marriage is not a sham. 8 1/2 years is a pretty decent amount of
time and we have a 5 and 8 year old also. I do volunteer work from home
and take care of the kids and she works as she has the masters degree
and would make alot more money than I ever could. Currently she makes
49k a year. What should we do in this situation? Is there a possibility
of deportation or would think consider the long marriage and 2 kids? If
we do apply(and we have nobody that could do the affadavit of support)
then could her own income count? Thanks
--
Posted via http://expatforums.com
came to this country around 10 years ago as a student legally. 8 1/2
years ago we got married and sent in the paperwork to get her green
card. She was offered a good job and we thought it would be any day now
to get the work permit so she took the job. All paperwork was lost and
she was essentially working illegally. Her passport is no longer valid
and she is now an illegal immigrant working illegally.
Our marriage is not a sham. 8 1/2 years is a pretty decent amount of
time and we have a 5 and 8 year old also. I do volunteer work from home
and take care of the kids and she works as she has the masters degree
and would make alot more money than I ever could. Currently she makes
49k a year. What should we do in this situation? Is there a possibility
of deportation or would think consider the long marriage and 2 kids? If
we do apply(and we have nobody that could do the affadavit of support)
then could her own income count? Thanks
--
Posted via http://expatforums.com
First of all, I'd consult with a good immigration attorney just to make sure her lengthy stay here and working w/o authorization will be a hinderance. My personal opinion (and it's just an opinion) is that since she's been married to you all this time, those things will *probably* be overlooked. But she shouldn't leave the USA until she gets her green card in hand. But, your very best bet is to get a professional opinion. It will be worth a consultation fee to get an attorney's input.
Best Wishes,
Rene
May 5th 2006, 4:58 am
#3
BE Site Lead
Joined: Aug 2004
Location: MA, USA
Posts: 92,170
Re: what should I do?
Originally Posted by Nwidjaja
...What should we do in this situation? Is there a possibility
of deportation or would think consider the long marriage and 2 kids? ...
of deportation or would think consider the long marriage and 2 kids? ...
www.aila.org to find one in your area...
May 5th 2006, 5:01 am
#4
MODERATOR
Joined: Apr 2003
Location: Phoenix, Arizona
Posts: 58,679
Re: what should I do?
Originally Posted by Bob
...though why you haven't done this sooner I don't really know....
Rene
May 5th 2006, 5:04 am
#5
Account Closed
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 16,266
Re: what should I do?
Originally Posted by Nwidjaja
Here is the situation. I am a US citizen. My wife is Indonesian. She
came to this country around 10 years ago as a student legally. 8 1/2
years ago we got married and sent in the paperwork to get her green
card. She was offered a good job and we thought it would be any day now
to get the work permit so she took the job. All paperwork was lost and
she was essentially working illegally. Her passport is no longer valid
and she is now an illegal immigrant working illegally.
Our marriage is not a sham. 8 1/2 years is a pretty decent amount of
time and we have a 5 and 8 year old also. I do volunteer work from home
and take care of the kids and she works as she has the masters degree
and would make alot more money than I ever could. Currently she makes
49k a year. What should we do in this situation? Is there a possibility
of deportation or would think consider the long marriage and 2 kids? If
we do apply(and we have nobody that could do the affadavit of support)
then could her own income count? Thanks
--
Posted via http://expatforums.com
came to this country around 10 years ago as a student legally. 8 1/2
years ago we got married and sent in the paperwork to get her green
card. She was offered a good job and we thought it would be any day now
to get the work permit so she took the job. All paperwork was lost and
she was essentially working illegally. Her passport is no longer valid
and she is now an illegal immigrant working illegally.
Our marriage is not a sham. 8 1/2 years is a pretty decent amount of
time and we have a 5 and 8 year old also. I do volunteer work from home
and take care of the kids and she works as she has the masters degree
and would make alot more money than I ever could. Currently she makes
49k a year. What should we do in this situation? Is there a possibility
of deportation or would think consider the long marriage and 2 kids? If
we do apply(and we have nobody that could do the affadavit of support)
then could her own income count? Thanks
--
Posted via http://expatforums.com
Hi:
Her income counts. If she has 40 quarters of her own social security earnings, an I-864 is not even needed! From YOUR description, I really don't see any problems. You might want to discuss this with a competent attorney to see if there are problems.
May 5th 2006, 6:39 am
#6
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: what should I do?
> Here is the situation. I am a US citizen. My wife is Indonesian. She
> came to this country around 10 years ago as a student legally. 8 1/2
> years ago we got married and sent in the paperwork to get her green
> card. She was offered a good job and we thought it would be any day
> now to get the work permit so she took the job. All paperwork was lost
> and she was essentially working illegally. Her passport is no longer
> valid and she is now an illegal immigrant working illegally.
> Our marriage is not a sham. 8 1/2 years is a pretty decent amount of
> time and we have a 5 and 8 year old also. I do volunteer work from
> home and take care of the kids and she works as she has the masters
> degree and would make alot more money than I ever could. Currently she
> makes 49k a year. What should we do in this situation? Is there a
> possibility of deportation or would think consider the long marriage
> and 2 kids? If we do apply(and we have nobody that could do the
> affadavit of support) then could her own income count? Thanks
Yes. The combined income of both you and your wife could be used. The
complication is her illegal stay.
--
Posted via http://expatforums.com
> came to this country around 10 years ago as a student legally. 8 1/2
> years ago we got married and sent in the paperwork to get her green
> card. She was offered a good job and we thought it would be any day
> now to get the work permit so she took the job. All paperwork was lost
> and she was essentially working illegally. Her passport is no longer
> valid and she is now an illegal immigrant working illegally.
> Our marriage is not a sham. 8 1/2 years is a pretty decent amount of
> time and we have a 5 and 8 year old also. I do volunteer work from
> home and take care of the kids and she works as she has the masters
> degree and would make alot more money than I ever could. Currently she
> makes 49k a year. What should we do in this situation? Is there a
> possibility of deportation or would think consider the long marriage
> and 2 kids? If we do apply(and we have nobody that could do the
> affadavit of support) then could her own income count? Thanks
Yes. The combined income of both you and your wife could be used. The
complication is her illegal stay.
--
Posted via http://expatforums.com
May 5th 2006, 3:10 pm
#7
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: what should I do?
> Yes. The combined income of both you and your wife could be used.
> The complication is her illegal stay.
Thanks for your replies. I will go consult an attorney. We did follow
up on this as best we could but were afraid she would at the least
lose her job and at the worst be deported. Since she already had the
job the risk was too great. We did consult with some state
representatives(Mr. Kucinich and Mr. Stevens) but they tried and were
unable to help. After that we just layed low. I thought about using
her income but then thought that if she was working illegally then her
income would not count.
--
Posted via http://expatforums.com
> The complication is her illegal stay.
Thanks for your replies. I will go consult an attorney. We did follow
up on this as best we could but were afraid she would at the least
lose her job and at the worst be deported. Since she already had the
job the risk was too great. We did consult with some state
representatives(Mr. Kucinich and Mr. Stevens) but they tried and were
unable to help. After that we just layed low. I thought about using
her income but then thought that if she was working illegally then her
income would not count.
--
Posted via http://expatforums.com
May 5th 2006, 3:51 pm
#8
Homebody
Joined: Jan 2005
Location: HOME
Posts: 23,181
Re: what should I do?
Originally Posted by Nwidjaja
> Yes. The combined income of both you and your wife could be used.
> The complication is her illegal stay.
Thanks for your replies. I will go consult an attorney. We did follow
up on this as best we could but were afraid she would at the least
lose her job and at the worst be deported. Since she already had the
job the risk was too great. We did consult with some state
representatives(Mr. Kucinich and Mr. Stevens) but they tried and were
unable to help. After that we just layed low. I thought about using
her income but then thought that if she was working illegally then her
income would not count.
--
Posted via http://expatforums.com
> The complication is her illegal stay.
Thanks for your replies. I will go consult an attorney. We did follow
up on this as best we could but were afraid she would at the least
lose her job and at the worst be deported. Since she already had the
job the risk was too great. We did consult with some state
representatives(Mr. Kucinich and Mr. Stevens) but they tried and were
unable to help. After that we just layed low. I thought about using
her income but then thought that if she was working illegally then her
income would not count.
--
Posted via http://expatforums.com
This is all very puzzling. Do you not have the receipt notice/NOA from the original I-485 filing? Did your wife ever go for fingerprinting?
If you have either one of those, your wife would have been in legal status, and all she had to do was ask for an interim EAD at her local CIS.
If you did not get a NOA, was your check ever cashed - do you have the cancelled check?
I cannot understand why you guys did not follow up on all this years ago...
May 5th 2006, 7:57 pm
#9
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: what should I do?
> > > Yes. The combined income of both you and your wife could be used.
> > > The complication is her illegal stay.
> > Thanks for your replies. I will go consult an attorney. We did
> > follow
> > up on this as best we could but were afraid she would at the least
> > lose her job and at the worst be deported. Since she already had the
> > job the risk was too great. We did consult with some state
> > representatives(Mr. Kucinich and Mr. Stevens) but they tried and
> > were
> > unable to help. After that we just layed low. I thought about using
> > her income but then thought that if she was working illegally then
> > her
> > income would not count.
> > --
> > Posted via http://expatforums.com
> This is all very puzzling. Do you not have the receipt notice/NOA from
> the original I-485 filing? Did your wife ever go for fingerprinting?
> If you have either one of those, your wife would have been in legal
> status, and all she had to do was ask for an interim EAD at her
> local CIS.
> If you did not get a NOA, was your check ever cashed - do you have the
> cancelled check?
> I cannot understand why you guys did not follow up on all this
> years ago...
> --
We sent in the info but it was lost. We did not follow up because we
were afraid she would lose her job. There is more to this complicate
story but then it would stretch the unbelievable so I prefer to stick to
the facts at hand. Thanks
--
Posted via http://expatforums.com
> > > The complication is her illegal stay.
> > Thanks for your replies. I will go consult an attorney. We did
> > follow
> > up on this as best we could but were afraid she would at the least
> > lose her job and at the worst be deported. Since she already had the
> > job the risk was too great. We did consult with some state
> > representatives(Mr. Kucinich and Mr. Stevens) but they tried and
> > were
> > unable to help. After that we just layed low. I thought about using
> > her income but then thought that if she was working illegally then
> > her
> > income would not count.
> > --
> > Posted via http://expatforums.com
> This is all very puzzling. Do you not have the receipt notice/NOA from
> the original I-485 filing? Did your wife ever go for fingerprinting?
> If you have either one of those, your wife would have been in legal
> status, and all she had to do was ask for an interim EAD at her
> local CIS.
> If you did not get a NOA, was your check ever cashed - do you have the
> cancelled check?
> I cannot understand why you guys did not follow up on all this
> years ago...
> --
We sent in the info but it was lost. We did not follow up because we
were afraid she would lose her job. There is more to this complicate
story but then it would stretch the unbelievable so I prefer to stick to
the facts at hand. Thanks
--
Posted via http://expatforums.com
May 5th 2006, 8:42 pm
#10
MODERATOR
Joined: Apr 2003
Location: Phoenix, Arizona
Posts: 58,679
Re: what should I do?
Originally Posted by Nwidjaja
We sent in the info but it was lost. We did not follow up because we
were afraid she would lose her job. There is more to this complicate
story but then it would stretch the unbelievable so I prefer to stick to
the facts at hand. Thanks
were afraid she would lose her job. There is more to this complicate
story but then it would stretch the unbelievable so I prefer to stick to
the facts at hand. Thanks
Rene
