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HELP! I'm in love with an ILLEGAL Englishman who overstayed visa...how do we marry?

HELP! I'm in love with an ILLEGAL Englishman who overstayed visa...how do we marry?

Old Sep 17th 2002, 12:28 am
  #1  
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Question HELP! I'm in love with an ILLEGAL Englishman who overstayed visa...how do we marry?

Hello, BritishExPats posters...

I'm new here, and I'm EXTREMELY concerned. I am a legal, United States citizen. My boyfriend (we'll have been together 2 years in October) is an illegal immigrant who overstayed his visa. He's from the UK, & he's been here for about... ...FOUR YEARS illegally!

To make a long story short, we're in love, and would like to get married. He's been consistently working here (illegally, obviously) in the U.S. the entire time he's been here. So of course, he's never paid taxes.

He also had an illegal Driver's License that expired this month. Also, he managed to get a bank account and car insurance!!!! He got no renewal forms in the mail for his drivers license, so he went to the DMV fill out the forms himself. He then got a letter from the Social Security Administration basically saying that his driver's license # & his social security number didn't match up. It wasn't antagonistic, but they asked him to send the correct info. There was no deadline on the letter.

Obviously, he doesn't want to do ANY MORE illegal stuff (fake id, bank account, car insurance), but how do we get married now? What do we do? Of course, we definitely need an immigration lawyer, but what will they do to him for overstaying his visa for SO LONG? Will the fake ID make his situation worse? Please help me if you can offer advice...I'm nervous. I appreciate all and any responses.
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Old Sep 17th 2002, 3:14 am
  #2  
Nouveaux78
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Default Re: HELP! I'm in love with an ILLEGAL Englishman who overstayed visa...how do we marry?

You could easily get a marriage license and marry. The next step of course
would be INS and trying to adjust him to legal status.
There is a law in place for the past five years Waiver 245i that allows illegal
aliens the opportunity to adjust to legal status without having to leave the
United States.
There are some penalties involved, monetary as well, but most are washed out
when it involves a us citizen spouse.
However, since your boyfriend has not paid taxes and had an illegal drivers
license, I don't know what bearing that would have on the case.
I would suggest at the outside, to at least consult an immigration attorney.
Anyone else have info/feedback??

Good luck!

Abraham
 
Old Sep 17th 2002, 3:53 am
  #3  
Shannon
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Default Re: HELP! I'm in love with an ILLEGAL Englishman who overstayed visa...how do we marry?

I don't know about all the illegal stuff other than "get a good lawyer". I don't believe the overstay in itself is any problem as long as he does not leave the US for any reason. If so, he will incur a ban on re-entry for many years.

Does he have any ID in his own name that is valid? Even a passport might do. If I were in yoru situation i would marry, without basing it on any fraudulent info, which could render the marriage invalid then consult a good immigration attorney in order to legitimize his status, if possible.

You will need to be able to prove your ability to support him.

shannon

Originally posted by lovecrumpet:
Hello, BritishExPats posters...

I'm new here, and I'm EXTREMELY concerned. I am a legal, United States citizen. My boyfriend (we'll have been together 2 years in October) is an illegal immigrant who overstayed his visa. He's from the UK, & he's been here for about... ...FOUR YEARS illegally!

To make a long story short, we're in love, and would like to get married. He's been consistently working here (illegally, obviously) in the U.S. the entire time he's been here. So of course, he's never paid taxes.

He also had an illegal Driver's License that expired this month. Also, he managed to get a bank account and car insurance!!!! He got no renewal forms in the mail for his drivers license, so he went to the DMV fill out the forms himself. He then got a letter from the Social Security Administration basically saying that his driver's license # & his social security number didn't match up. It wasn't antagonistic, but they asked him to send the correct info. There was no deadline on the letter.

Obviously, he doesn't want to do ANY MORE illegal stuff (fake id, bank account, car insurance), but how do we get married now? What do we do? Of course, we definitely need an immigration lawyer, but what will they do to him for overstaying his visa for SO LONG? Will the fake ID make his situation worse? Please help me if you can offer advice...I'm nervous. I appreciate all and any responses.
 
Old Sep 17th 2002, 6:39 am
  #4  
Mrtravel
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Default Re: HELP! I'm in love with an ILLEGAL Englishman who overstayed

Nouveaux78 wrote:
    > You could easily get a marriage license and marry. The next step of course
    > would be INS and trying to adjust him to legal status.
    > There is a law in place for the past five years Waiver 245i that allows illegal
    > aliens the opportunity to adjust to legal status without having to leave the
    > United States.
    > There are some penalties involved, monetary as well, but most are washed out

If he overstayed his visa, there is no penalty.
The penalty you refer to is for people that weren't inspected at the
POE,
and this also not the CURRENT law. Uninspected aliens currently can not
file for adjustment unless/until Congress passes additional legislation.

1. They apply for adustment
2. He doesn't leave the US until AOS.
 
Old Sep 17th 2002, 9:44 am
  #5  
Des
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Default Re: HELP! I'm in love with an ILLEGAL Englishman who overstayed visa...how do we marry?

Hello there,

there's some good news and some bad news.

The piece of good news is that illegal work and illegal overstay may
be forgiven when marrying a USC and filing for adjustment of status. I
simply assume that he was inspected when he arrived from the UK, was
admitted under the Visa Waiver Program, and overstayed.

In any case, just to clarify: When you state "illegal", does this mean
he came to the US on the Visa Waiver Program and simply overstayed? Or
does this mean he crossed borders without inspection?
If he crossed borders without inspection, INS has no record of his
ever arriving in the US, which means you have to wait for the LIFE 2
act to pass (if ever). Which could be a while. I hope you have the
first scenario.

Nonetheless, the piece of bad news is that your fiance has committed
fraud by using a fake ID, driver's license etc. and that is serious.
And it is considered a serious offense by INS.

You absolutely need to get a lawyer to sort through that issue!

As a last word of caution - should you get married, don't allow him to
leave the country before his final adjustment. If he does, he will be
banned from returning due to his long overstay. Once he has his
conditional green card, he can travel freely.

IMHO, your issue is probably solvable with the help of a good
immigration attorney.

Good luck!
- Des
 
Old Sep 17th 2002, 6:30 pm
  #6  
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Default Re: HELP! I'm in love with an ILLEGAL Englishman who overstayed visa...how do we marry?

Dear Nouveaux78,

Thanks so much for your input, I cannot tell you how much it eases me to know there are people out there who can at least comment on the situation.

True, my boyfriend hasn't paid taxes because he was here illegally and not getting paid by a paycheck, but in cash or w/ a personal check.

I'm into the whole "don't ask don't tell" thing re: the fake ID, but i feel like it'll catch up with him some how. He tried to renew his driver's license and couldn't. So he won't have one until he can have a proper one. He too would like a legal, proper driver's license. He does have a passport, but it's expired. His sister's sorting out his driver's license next week. I think he had a ticket or something outstanding that needs to be taken care of, but since he's been here for 4 years he hasn't driven on that license.

His sister was saying for him to come back to London to take care of his status, then reenter and i said NO! He should NOT leave this country without taking care of the legal INS stuff HERE; otherwise, he may get the 10-year ban and not be able to come back in.



Originally posted by Nouveaux78:
You could easily get a marriage license and marry. The next step of course
would be INS and trying to adjust him to legal status.
There is a law in place for the past five years Waiver 245i that allows illegal
aliens the opportunity to adjust to legal status without having to leave the
United States.
There are some penalties involved, monetary as well, but most are washed out
when it involves a us citizen spouse.
However, since your boyfriend has not paid taxes and had an illegal drivers
license, I don't know what bearing that would have on the case.
I would suggest at the outside, to at least consult an immigration attorney.
Anyone else have info/feedback??

Good luck!

Abraham
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Old Sep 17th 2002, 6:37 pm
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Default Re: HELP! I'm in love with an ILLEGAL Englishman who overstayed visa...how do we marry?

Dear Shannon,

I appreciate your reply...thank-you!!!

He does have a license in London, but he had a ticket on it that he left before appearing in court on. That was four years ago. His sister believes that she can take care of it next week and see what needs to be done. Then he'll have a legal, valid driver's license from London, England.
His passport has expired, but there should be a way for him to renew that, shouldn't there?

That's the thing he does not want to marry me with a fraudulent license, we want to marry, of course, w/ a legal valid ID. His sister's actually here now visiting with him, but leaves tomorrow morning. She said she'd look into what needs to be done to take care of his London driver's license and renewing his passport.

I'm already on top of getting a good immigration lawyer. My friend referred me to one who I called and e-mailed yesterday. I'll call and e-mail him again later today.

But, Shannon, what do you mean when you say, "You will need to be able to prove your ability to support him?" I don't understand what you mean...please explain when you get a moment.

Thanks for all your helpful insight!



Originally posted by Shannon:
I don't know about all the illegal stuff other than "get a good lawyer". I don't believe the overstay in itself is any problem as long as he does not leave the US for any reason. If so, he will incur a ban on re-entry for many years.

Does he have any ID in his own name that is valid? Even a passport might do. If I were in yoru situation i would marry, without basing it on any fraudulent info, which could render the marriage invalid then consult a good immigration attorney in order to legitimize his status, if possible.

You will need to be able to prove your ability to support him.

shannon

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Old Sep 17th 2002, 6:47 pm
  #8  
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Default Re: HELP! I'm in love with an ILLEGAL Englishman who overstayed

Dear Mrtravel:

YIIIIIKES! Remember I'm new to this stuff, so I don't understand the terminology. What is AOS?
What is the POE?

Another question: is it best for us to marry as soon as possible, or should we wait? I mean would it be better for us to marry sooner as opposed to later? Before all this craziness started w/ his driver's license, he'd said he wanted to take me to Hawaii. I thought it'd be too expensive but he insisted. Now I found out that he'd planned a surprise proposal and he wanted to propose in Hawaii; however, he can no longer travel by air in the U.S. because of the expired license.

I just was wondering if it matters when we get married. Can we take our time and plan a real wedding, or is it best to do the Justice of the Peace marriage type of thing and plan a more elaborate wedding later???

Any comments on this would be appreciated.


Originally posted by Mrtravel:
Nouveaux78 wrote:
    > You could easily get a marriage license and marry. The next step of course
    > would be INS and trying to adjust him to legal status.
    > There is a law in place for the past five years Waiver 245i that allows illegal
    > aliens the opportunity to adjust to legal status without having to leave the
    > United States.
    > There are some penalties involved, monetary as well, but most are washed out

If he overstayed his visa, there is no penalty.
The penalty you refer to is for people that weren't inspected at the
POE,
and this also not the CURRENT law. Uninspected aliens currently can not
file for adjustment unless/until Congress passes additional legislation.

1. They apply for adustment
2. He doesn't leave the US until AOS.
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Old Sep 17th 2002, 6:56 pm
  #9  
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Default Re: HELP! I'm in love with an ILLEGAL Englishman who overstayed visa...how do we marry?

Dear Des:

Thanks for your cyber-support..

I'll have to get the exact wording from him (I'm printing out all your wonderful responses and showing them to him). The way he says it is that he came here on a visa and overstayed. I'm GUESSING (mind you it's just guessing) that he means the "visa waiver" program you speak of. Unless there's some other kind of visa. He surely did NOT come here w/ a work visa.

He definitely was inspected when he came here, and someone (I'm guessing it's the INS) has a record of his arrival here for a certainty. He flew over here from London, and actually had a problem w/ customs because all he had was what little clothes he had, 1,000 pounds, and 2 boxes of tea. I think the tea is called "Typhoo." Anyway, when they saw the tea they thought he was smuggling drugs! They made him put his hands against a wall. He actually got a strip search...with horrible rubber gloves and all! The same thing happened to other friends of his who are legal citizens now. I definitely do NOT think he crossed U.S. borders without inspection.

He does NOT want to leave this continent without a temporary green card.

You're sweet to e-mail me this. And I do believe our situation is solvable. I've just never encountered this before being a U.S. citizen. This is all new to me, and I feel for all the friendly foreign people out there who fall in love with U.S. citizens. It's so awfully hard for foreign people who want to be honest, kind, hardworking citizens. The bad people make it hard for all the good ones. It's such a lengthy procss.

Thanks, again.

Originally posted by Des:
Hello there,

there's some good news and some bad news.

The piece of good news is that illegal work and illegal overstay may
be forgiven when marrying a USC and filing for adjustment of status. I
simply assume that he was inspected when he arrived from the UK, was
admitted under the Visa Waiver Program, and overstayed.

In any case, just to clarify: When you state "illegal", does this mean
he came to the US on the Visa Waiver Program and simply overstayed? Or
does this mean he crossed borders without inspection?
If he crossed borders without inspection, INS has no record of his
ever arriving in the US, which means you have to wait for the LIFE 2
act to pass (if ever). Which could be a while. I hope you have the
first scenario.

Nonetheless, the piece of bad news is that your fiance has committed
fraud by using a fake ID, driver's license etc. and that is serious.
And it is considered a serious offense by INS.

You absolutely need to get a lawyer to sort through that issue!

As a last word of caution - should you get married, don't allow him to
leave the country before his final adjustment. If he does, he will be
banned from returning due to his long overstay. Once he has his
conditional green card, he can travel freely.

IMHO, your issue is probably solvable with the help of a good
immigration attorney.

Good luck!
- Des
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Old Sep 18th 2002, 4:50 am
  #10  
Ben Johnson
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Default Re: HELP! I'm in love with an ILLEGAL Englishman who overstayed visa...how do we marry?

"lovecrumpet" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:417884.1032289005@britishexpats-
.com
...
    > It's so
    > awfully hard for foreign people who want to be honest, kind,
    > hardworking citizens.


    >The bad people make it hard for all the good
    >ones.

You mean the ones who grossly overstay their visa, who use Fake ID's and
work for years without paying taxes or without authorization ??
 
Old Sep 18th 2002, 4:52 pm
  #11  
Support Immigration
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Default Re: HELP! I'm in love with an ILLEGAL Englishman who overstayed visa...how do we marry?

"Ben Johnson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
newsCTh9.1628$L-
[email protected]
...
    > "lovecrumpet" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    > news:417884.1032289005@britishexpa-
    > ts.com
    ...
    > > It's so
    > > awfully hard for foreign people who want to be honest, kind,
    > > hardworking citizens.
    > >The bad people make it hard for all the good
    > >ones.
    > You mean the ones who grossly overstay their visa, who use Fake ID's and
    > work for years without paying taxes or without authorization ??
Give him a break - they just want to live here.
Make him a citizen and he will pay taxes.
 
Old Sep 18th 2002, 10:13 pm
  #12  
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Default Re: HELP! I'm in love with an ILLEGAL Englishman who overstayed visa...how do we marry?

You don't have to be a US citizen to pay taxes. Many illegal immigrants who entered the US at the time SSA was handing out cards like sidewalk hawkers hand out flyers, have jobs and pay taxes. IRS and INS don't communicate so they have had nothing to fear all these years regarding discovery. In fact four years ago he would have qualified for a SS card just for the purpose of obtaining a driver's license. He would have also be eligible for a ITIN from the IRS for the purpose of reporting income and paying taxes.

He is getting a break. He is going to marry a Yank and apply for his residency. He can obtain a passport through his Consulate in the US without having to return to the UK. What more does the man want? We should frost the cake and light the candles for his next birthday?

Rete


Originally posted by Support Immigration:
"Ben Johnson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
newsCTh9.1628$L-
[email protected]...
    > "lovecrumpet" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    > news:417884.1032289005@britishexpa-
    > ts.com
    ...
    > > It's so
    > > awfully hard for foreign people who want to be honest, kind,
    > > hardworking citizens.
    > >The bad people make it hard for all the good
    > >ones.
    > You mean the ones who grossly overstay their visa, who use Fake ID's and
    > work for years without paying taxes or without authorization ??
Give him a break - they just want to live here.
Make him a citizen and he will pay taxes.
Rete is offline  
Old Sep 19th 2002, 12:29 am
  #13  
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Default Re: HELP! I'm in love with an ILLEGAL Englishman who overstayed visa...how do we marry?

Dear Ben:

I don't think he was trying to be evil when he overstayed, but thank you for sharing your opinion with me. Obviously, something in my post upset you...and perhaps I miscommunicated what I was trying to stay. I was trying to be nice, but apparently I've struck a nerve. I'm new to all this, and certainly not interested in exchanging sarcastic words with anyone.

Thank-you for taking the time to post a reply. I will leave you alone, but I do appreciate the information you've shared with me.

Have a great rest of the day.

Originally posted by Ben Johnson:
"lovecrumpet" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:417884.1032289005@britishexpats-
.com
...
    > It's so
    > awfully hard for foreign people who want to be honest, kind,
    > hardworking citizens.


    >The bad people make it hard for all the good
    >ones.

You mean the ones who grossly overstay their visa, who use Fake ID's and
work for years without paying taxes or without authorization ??
lovecrumpet is offline  
Old Sep 19th 2002, 12:34 am
  #14  
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Default Re: HELP! I'm in love with an ILLEGAL Englishman who overstayed visa...how do we marry?

Dear Rete:

He's interested in reporting his earnings and paying the back taxes.

Again, apparently I'm not wording things in the correct way or something. I'm not sure why you respond with "what more does the man want?" These are my questions re: his situation, not his. My goodness!

Well, thanks for taking the time to reply to me in any case.


Originally posted by Rete:
You don't have to be a US citizen to pay taxes. Many illegal immigrants who entered the US at the time SSA was handing out cards like sidewalk hawkers hand out flyers, have jobs and pay taxes. IRS and INS don't communicate so they have had nothing to fear all these years regarding discovery. In fact four years ago he would have qualified for a SS card just for the purpose of obtaining a driver's license. He would have also be eligible for a ITIN from the IRS for the purpose of reporting income and paying taxes.

He is getting a break. He is going to marry a Yank and apply for his residency. He can obtain a passport through his Consulate in the US without having to return to the UK. What more does the man want? We should frost the cake and light the candles for his next birthday?

Rete


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Old Sep 19th 2002, 12:43 am
  #15  
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Talking Re: HELP! I'm in love with an ILLEGAL Englishman who overstayed visa...how do we marry?

Dear Support Immigration:

Thank-you for understanding what I was trying to communicate (and failing, apparently)!!! Good grief, it seemed to be getting a little icy in here! Does somebody need a hug? Just kidding!

The questions I'm asking are all mine. I was trying to be open about my situation not for sympathy, but to know exactly what the deal is. I heard the people on this board had been through the mill, and that it was a supportive, friendly online environment. I have no idea how all this works.

Again, thanks for getting the point I was trying to make. Geez! He's trying to "right the wrong," in any case. I guess when people do that it's open season for them to be judged. Fair enough.

Oh, well...no matter. It's really a gorgeous day today--hope you had a beautiful one as well.

Take care, ya big sweetie!

Originally posted by Support Immigration:
"Ben Johnson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
newsCTh9.1628$L-
[email protected]...
    > "lovecrumpet" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    > news:417884.1032289005@britishexpa-
    > ts.com
    ...
    > > It's so
    > > awfully hard for foreign people who want to be honest, kind,
    > > hardworking citizens.
    > >The bad people make it hard for all the good
    > >ones.
    > You mean the ones who grossly overstay their visa, who use Fake ID's and
    > work for years without paying taxes or without authorization ??
Give him a break - they just want to live here.
Make him a citizen and he will pay taxes.
lovecrumpet is offline  

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