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Daddio · 05-21-2013, 09:56 AM

Hello legal minds, please help me if there are any options.

I have a girlfriend who is an illegal immigrant. She has been here for about 9 years, no tickets or any problems with the law. She has one daughter who was born an american citizen. She has another daughter that lives in Central American where she is from with her grandparents. Her grandparents are aging and she wants and needs to bring her daughter to the U.S. Is there any way of this happening or any way she can speed up a request for her daughter to come to the U.S legally?

Short of marrying her we don't know of any way this can happen.

Please assist if you can. Thank you,
Daddio

speeedracer · 05-21-2013, 06:40 PM

immigration through family members goes only up and down, not side to side [meaning, a legal parent can apply for their children, or legal children can apply for their parent, but a legal brother cannot apply for his sister.] so, in order for the other daughter to come into the country, the legal daughter would have to apply for legal status for her mom, then the mother would have to apply for her other daughter. this could take several years, or even decades.

it also really depends on the status of the mother. if she's ever been in trouble with the law, even if it was just a minor traffic ticket, her chance of getting legal status is almost nil. and if she speaks english really well, her paperwork has a higher chance of being processed quicker. it's sad, but true. she'll also have to be ready to pay a hefty fine for being here illegally when she waits for documentation. then, when everything is approved and processed, she has to pick it up only from the country she's a national in. so, she has to leave the country to get back in legally. but here's the tricky part.

my S.O. is an immigrant, so we did months of research into the good, bad, and ugly laws and schemes of the system. sometimes, if your paperwork is denied, they won't tell you, because you'll just be like, 'well, whatever then' and end up staying illegally again. and they don't want the expense of deporting you either. so, they just lie to you saying that the paperwork is ready, and when you go back to your country to get it, you find out it was really denied, so you basically end up deporting yourself.

if you do go about doing the whole 'getting married for the greencard' thing, then you have to provide concrete evidence beyond a shadow of a doubt that you two are really in love and she's not in it for the immigration status. so that means, lots of pics/scrapbooks of the two of you together, on vacation together, you and the daughter doing stuff together as a family, etc. also, they ask both of you extensive questions about the other person's life. names of friends and family, eye colors, city and state info about there they live, if you've ever met them, etc. even what side of the bed you and her sleep on. it gets kinda crazy the things they ask.

also, it's fairly easy to do all the paperwork yourself instead of paying out the nose for an immigration lawyer to do it for you. most people are too scared about messing something up that they're willing to pay. we did ours our self. just make sure you make multiple photocopies of ever letter and form you receive and send, every check you send, the front and back of every id, etc. make. multiple. copies. of. everything. make sure you're never late with any payment, to any appointment, and always, always, have everything in order when you go to your appointments. if you're missing even a single thing, they won't even meet with you, and you'll have to wait another month or more for another appointment to open. anywho, hope that helps.

ShysterJon · 05-21-2013, 06:57 PM

No offense, but I don't think the best way to get good advice is to post on this board, considering the gravity of the issues. I suggest that you do some research and find a few good attorneys in your area who specialize in immigration law. Then go meet with them and pick one. There should be no charge for the initial consultation.

Daddio · 05-22-2013, 10:10 AM

Thanks for the input men. Much appreciated. Any other words of wisdom?

ck1942 · 05-25-2013, 06:40 AM

fwiw - the offshore daughter theoretically could apply for a tourist visa, most likely along with one or both grandparents and then visit the U.S. see the mom and possibly forget to return home.

A possible temporary solution, legal, as well, might be for the child to come to the U.S. as a foreign exchange student.

Yes, I know, two wrongs don't make a right, but perhaps when the immigration rules get further along there might be a "compassionate" exception for children.

Best of luck in all of this, and SJ's advice is spot on.

Mojojo · 05-25-2013, 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daddio

Hello legal minds, please help me if there are any options.

I have a girlfriend who is an illegal immigrant. She has been here for about 9 years, no tickets or any problems with the law. She has one daughter who was born an american citizen. She has another daughter that lives in Central American where she is from with her grandparents. Her grandparents are aging and she wants and needs to bring her daughter to the U.S. Is there any way of this happening or any way she can speed up a request for her daughter to come to the U.S legally?

Short of marrying her we don't know of any way this can happen.

Please assist if you can. Thank you,
Daddio

SJ's correct, considering the complexity of this issue this board wont be your best bet. I'll pm you some referrals.

Legal Tender · 05-25-2013, 11:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daddio

Hello legal minds, please help me if there are any options.

I have a girlfriend who is an illegal immigrant. She has been here for about 9 years, no tickets or any problems with the law. She has one daughter who was born an american citizen. She has another daughter that lives in Central American where she is from with her grandparents. Her grandparents are aging and she wants and needs to bring her daughter to the U.S. Is there any way of this happening or any way she can speed up a request for her daughter to come to the U.S legally?

Short of marrying her we don't know of any way this can happen.

Please assist if you can. Thank you,
Daddio

It appears that the solution to the problem is simple. Marry her! With a good prenup, there is virtually no risk. And contrary to what has been written, the standard for family based change of status by marriage is simply was the marriage entered into SOLELY for immigration purposes. I'm not implying that monogamy is a material element of the agreement. But I do know that helping this mother reunite with her children guarantees good karma and probably a lot of gratitude pussy, which I believe is the best kind.

speeedracer · 05-26-2013, 08:22 AM

before my S.O. received her work visa, she worked under the table as a nanny in a more affluent end of town, so the kids she was nannying had friends that also had nannys/aupairs. anywho, one of the aupairs was paying someone $10000 to marry so she could get a greencard, but since they weren't 'in love', she also had a real boyfriend. the three of them always hung out together, because she needed pictures of her and her 'fiance' for immigration proof. it was kinda wierd, actually

instfixer · 05-26-2013, 09:32 AM

Be aware if going by the 'marrying route' the authorities WILL check up on the 'couple'

My brother-in-law married [for real] a lady from Guatemala

Months later the authority visited them at their house to make sure they are still together

Might be 6 weeks or 6 months could even be two years or even later BUT they WILL check

speeedracer · 05-26-2013, 03:55 PM

and if you do marry her, you have to be married for a certain amount of time. if you get divorced or if they find out you two are separated/live apart before the amount of time is over, they deport her

Legal Tender · 05-27-2013, 12:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by speeedracer

and if you do marry her, you have to be married for a certain amount of time. if you get divorced or if they find out you two are separated/live apart before the amount of time is over, they deport her

Several people have suggested that you consult with an immigration attorney. With the well meaning, but poor advice that you're getting, I second the suggestion that you obtain competent legal advice and assistance.

The chances of a home visit is slim and none. The agency has limited resources. The legal issue is whether you entered into the marriage solely for immigration purposes. The best evidence of bona fides is to have lived together as husband and wife and have evidence to support that. Lease agreements together, utility bills, etc. After two years of receiving a "green card" - it's actually a light pink - absent unusual circumstance, both husband and wife must file a joint application for a non restricted green card.

speeedracer · 05-27-2013, 03:07 PM

did you just quote me and then tell him he's getting poor advice? wtf. i've been through the process, and have several friends who have married immigrants, so, yes, i do know how it works, and no, i haven't given him poor advice, contrary to your opinion.

if you actually read who posted what, you'd see that i never stated that they'd be visited at home. that was someone else. but what they do do, is run your names through the system looking for possible records of divorce. they explained how they did that during one of our post-greencard appointments, while we were sitting there watching the guy's computer.

what i did say, is that he didn't need to pay an attorney to file the paperwork. if he wants to get professional counsel, more power to him. getting advice from an attorney and having them handle the whole sha-bang are two completely different things.

joesmo888 · 05-28-2013, 06:49 AM

be careful with immigration attorney's. they are typically just a waste of money. when my dad came here back in the 70's he spent his life savings and every penny on these attorney's and went nowhere. it isn't like hiring a lawyer to a settlement where the lawyer gets a %.. they are gonna charge you upfront and you usually won't get anything out of it.

getting married is the best way if they truely want their papers. and overstaying your visa is a way to stay in the country, but won't get you your papers any faster. children can stay but you had to have been here a minimum amount of years so she wouldn't be part of that

ShysterJon · 05-28-2013, 06:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joesmo888

be careful with immigration attorney's. they are typically just a waste of money. when my dad came here back in the 70's he spent his life savings and every penny on these attorney's and went nowhere. it isn't like hiring a lawyer to a settlement where the lawyer gets a %.. they are gonna charge you upfront and you usually won't get anything out of it.

Let me get this straight...

Your father came to the U.S. maybe 40 years ago. He spent his life savings on an immigration attorney and received poor service. From this you conclude that immigration lawyers are "typically just a waste of money"?

Un-uh. I don't wanna get all lawyerly on your ass, but that's a logical fallacy called a "hasty generalization," the fallacy of examining just one or very few examples and generalizing that it/they are representative of the whole class of objects.

Here's another hasty generalization: "I done grewed up in Harelip, Okiehomo. I done never seen a girl tale I put on det TV box and saw Ashley Tisdale. Ize SO GLED wammins typically look lack her."

I assure you, there are many experienced, intelligent, and ethical immigration lawyers in practice. Typically, a lawyer doesn't charge for the initial consultation. Should a person decide to hire a lawyer, there should be a written fee agreement that spells out what the lawyer will do and how much it'll cost.

Jewish Lawyer · 06-06-2013, 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Legal Tender

It appears that the solution to the problem is simple. Marry her! With a good prenup, there is virtually no risk. And contrary to what has been written, the standard for family based change of status by marriage is simply was the marriage entered into SOLELY for immigration purposes. I'm not implying that monogamy is a material element of the agreement. But I do know that helping this mother reunite with her children guarantees good karma and probably a lot of gratitude pussy, which I believe is the best kind.

I believe the literature is filled with many stories of ingratitude and pissed off suckers, also.

Caveat Emptor

As Nancy Reagan once said, "Just say no!"