Where to file our I-601?

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ukgirl26 - 26 Oct 2006 00:21 GMT

Hi, I have posted before and got some great help and some not so great
comments so i am hoping that this time i might just get some help:)

this is my story:

i came here in 97 as part of the au=pair in america and stayed a year. I
came back in 2000 on a visa waiver and overstayed until September 2003
then went back to england for a 8 week vacation. I then came back in
November 2003 through the visa waiver, overstayed then met my husband in
2004, we got married in March 2006. Just had our immigrationn interview
yesterday in Chicago and we now have to file an I-601 because i left in
2003!!! Our I-130 did get accepted.

We are now in a real dilema. We lie in Chicago and i have spoken to 3
lawyers and 2 have said that in Chicago it is hard to get the I-601
approved as we really only have a 10-15% success rate here, whereas
in Mexico it is basically a 80% success rate. We really don't know
what to do.

We don't have any children, we don't have a house. The only thing is
that my Husbands father passed away 4 years ago and he is really close
with his family and can't leave his Mom or sister or any of the family
because they are so close. Basically, our hardships are not extreme
harships in the eyes of someone working in Immigration.

Does anyone know the approval rate if i was to go to London and file
from there? I know that we would be taking a risk because if i leave and
it doesn't get approved then i am stuck there for 10 years but if it
gets denied here and i end up in deportation proceedings then i may as
well have went to England and done it. Can i apply here in Chicago then
if it gets denied appeal in England?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

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ian-mstm - 26 Oct 2006 00:48 GMT

> Hi, I have posted before and got some great help and some not so great
> comments so i am hoping that this time i might just get some help:)
[quoted text clipped - 29 lines]
>
> Any help would be greatly appreciated!

If you leave the US, I believe that whatever options you might have are
reduced. I also believe that the waiver must demonstrate a hardship to
the US citizen - not to you both as a couple... and, unfortunatley, not
being able to live with your spouse is insufficient. Good luck to you.

Ian

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ukgirl26 - 27 Oct 2006 00:51 GMT

> If you leave the US, I believe that whatever options you might have
> are reduced. I also believe that the waiver must demonstrate a
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>
> Ian

thanks for the info...this is going to be an uphill climb...anyone else
have any answers to my questions? Please:)

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workboresme - 27 Oct 2006 03:25 GMT

> thanks for the info...this is going to be an uphill climb...anyone
> else have any answers to my questions? Please:)

Honestly, if I were you, I'd find a lawyer that is somewhat experienced
in the I-601 process.
I've already pm'd you with what I am going through, and I sure as hell
wouldn't do this without a lawyer.

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Folinskyinla - 27 Oct 2006 10:48 GMT

Hi there:

I know that you spoke to the lawyer I recommended.

I would caution you against relying on just statistics -- it is YOUR
case that counts. [Watching the baseball post-season -- the pitcher's
spot in National League play is statistically an "easy out" -- but Jeff
Suppan hit a home run against the Mets.]

Also, with no intention of being rude -- please remember it was YOU who
violated the immigration laws by the prior overstay. Also, it IS a
statistical anamoly about I-601's in CDJ -- but you are not processing
through CDJ.

Putting in a poker analogy, you have already drawn the deck of cards --
now the betting comes. And if you don't bet, you can't win.

Signature

Certified Specialist
Immigration & Nat. Law
Cal. Bar Board of Legal Specialization

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ukgirl26 - 28 Oct 2006 01:08 GMT

> Hi there:
>
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
> Putting in a poker analogy, you have already drawn the deck of cards
> -- now the betting comes. And if you don't bet, you can't win.

I understand all that and thanks for your referral.....we just can't
afford $7,000 ($5,000 for the lawyer and $2,000 for a family based
psychological report.) We are going to bet but i just wondered if my
odds would be better to go to London or stay in Chicago and bet.

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Folinskyinla - 28 Oct 2006 01:31 GMT

> I understand all that and thanks for your referral.....we just can't
> afford $7,000 ($5,000 for the lawyer and $2,000 for a family based
> psychological report.) We are going to bet but i just wondered if my
> odds would be better to go to London or stay in Chicago and bet.

Hi:

The stakes you are betting for are quite high -- is it worth it? That
is your decision to make. You are talking about whether you want to
live in London or Chicago in order to be with your husband. I know the
law is harsh -- but Congress intended it as such.

Good luck.

Signature

Certified Specialist
Immigration & Nat. Law
Cal. Bar Board of Legal Specialization

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ukgirl26 - 28 Oct 2006 04:20 GMT

> Hi:
>
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>
> Good luck.

thanks, i appreciate all your help and commments:)

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meauxna - 28 Oct 2006 04:04 GMT

Won't moving wind up costing you that much anyway? Time for a night job,
as my ole dad would say.

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ukgirl26 - 28 Oct 2006 04:19 GMT

> Won't moving wind up costing you that much anyway? Time for a night
> job, as my ole dad would say.

It is alot of money to bet with no guarantee, that is what i am getting
at! We don't have that kind of money to just get our hands on in a few
weeks, there is no job out there that would allow us to save that kind
of money. We have some savings but not that much.

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workboresme - 28 Oct 2006 08:03 GMT

It is a lot of money, but if you want to stay and not go back home, I'd
find a way to find the money.
Hubby and I figure if we get denied, an appeal is futile, but I don't
want to spend the next 5-6 years going 'through the system' without
being able to go back to England to see my family.
At this moment in time, we're assuming we will be denied (even though we
have a lawyer, it's not up to him, he can only protect us within the
boundaries fo the law).

I would rather move back to the UK, and fight from there (to be fair,
within the last week I got a rather decent windfall/inheritance/cushion
so we can afford it).

I suggest you that you should expect the worst, but anything else is a
bonus.........the law is the law, and it's there for a reason.
Like Folinskyinla said - we overstayed, came back as inadmissible - we
have nobody to blame but ourselves. Sorry if that sounds harsh.

If it helps......we're using my husbands blood pressure problems, his
dads emphysemia and his mothers utter inability to cope ('cos she's
thick as two short planks - really, she is!). That's all we have. But
we've accepted that it may not be enough.

Oh, and to anyone who tells you it's not fair etc..........I've heard
that the last 2 1/2 weeks, but it doesn't change a damned thing.

Good luck, Caro :D

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ukgirl26 - 28 Oct 2006 15:54 GMT

> It is a lot of money, but if you want to stay and not go back home,
> I'd find a way to find the money.
[quoted text clipped - 23 lines]
>
> Good luck, Caro :D

Believe me, if we could get that kind of money, we would! My husbands
doctor is going to write a report about his blood pressure and
cholestorol. He is going for a CT heart scan on Monday because there is
heart disease in his family.

We are going to try and see if we can do it and just make every argument
as strong as we can and then pray. I know i did something wrong, i just
never thought i would end up meeting my husband and wanting to stay
here, forever. Are you going to post a copu of your HSL on
www.immigrate2us.net like alot of other people do?

Good luck

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Immigration Forum / USA Marriage Base / October 2006

Where to file our I-601?