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Hi Mr. Ternieden, we went to our interview early today. I was able to see him but not touch him. :*(Our I-130 got approved!!! :) But the I-485 they needed more time to review, their supervisor will make the decision. Is there anything that we can do now to get him released pending the decision of the I-485? I know that the ICE officers thought that not even our I-130 was going to be approved, and that was one of the reasons they gave us why they wouldn't release him. :*( Thank you so much for all your help!-ANA
Optional Information: State/Country relating to question: Massachusetts
Hi Ana,
I'm so very happy for you. I expected the I-130 to be approved of course. As that website that you last noted, mentioned, USCIS apparently continues to take the position in most places that they retain jurisdiction to adjudicate the I-485, despite the controversy (which is surprisingly odd as they normally take a harsher stance).
As to custody, I think it might be worth a while to seek to speak with the DRO/ICE officer about the approved I-130 and the pendency of the I-485 to consider his release. Because of the order of removal, an Immigration Judge has no jurisdiction over a bond hearing for him. So you're left between DRO/ICE and a habeas corpus before the Federal Judge (which, unfortunately, even if successful (which I can't guarantee) would still take about 180 days).
So, my best advice is to have your attorney (or you) to keep on requesting expedited adjudication of the I-485. Normally, this should be decided very soon anyways - like in the next week, that's been my experience, anyways.
Hi Cesar, thank you so much for your answer...
Our lawyer did nothing that I told him to do at the interview... He sat quietly, didn't tell the interviewer that we have a stay of removal from the federal judge, and didn't even question anything about him being released under supervision. :( I was really mad when my husband called last night and told me about the lawyer's poor performance.
So, my question is, should I let USCIS know that we have a stay of removal ?(set up an infopass or send them a fax) Do you think that would help with the Green Card decision?
The interviewer didn't mention about any documents that might be missing, or anything else he might need for the adjudication of the i-485. He didn't even mention about any Deportation letter or order; nor anything in that matter. He said he needed to pass that along to his supervisor because Daniel is in custody.
Is there anyway that I could get Daniel's passport with ICE?
Well, thanks again for anaswering me. I really appreciate that. I just wish you were here so we could work personally. :(
I hope you have a great day!
-ANA
Dear Ana,
I don't think that an infopass with USCIS appointment would help at all at this time. Also, I don't think that bothering the USCIS with the stay of removal would help: There is a thin separation between ICE and USCIS: ICE tries to deport someone and USCIS considers granting a benefit to stay in the country. Your husband's file already contains the order of removal, and I am sure that the USCIS officer is aware of Federal stay.
It is correct that the USCIS officer has to pass the case along to his supervisor because of the need to coordinate internally. So, this is the right process. I would never expect a decision on the I-485 realistically to be make right there and then.
Now, because custody is decided by ICE, and not USCIS, I can't really fault the attorney for not questioning about your husband's release right there and then. It's best brought separately to the DR Supervisor at ICE, they are real hard heads, but worth it to be contacted. Either your lawyer/you call them directly, or you can go there (expect to sit around and wait).
As to additional documents, normally at the interview, the USCIS officer asks questions that aren't answered, which tips the lawyer to get additional documentation. Also, if the officer believes that additional docs are needed, he turns to the lawyer and states so. Alternatively, he writes up a request for documents to be submitted within 30 days. If the materials were properly submitted, then it is usual for the USCIS officer to ask for nothing additional. In the last case, sometimes, they sit on a case and then later they send in an RFE (Request for Evidence). Now, seriously, considering that your husband is in custody, the USCIS officer probably understands that no one wins by taking this long road, so normally it is handled quickly. So it could easily be that it's now a matter of just waiting for them.
But a request to the USCIS officer for expedited adjudication is definitely in order, and it is usually submitted by fax from your lawyer.
Good luck.
Thanks Cesar.
*We are very nervous and anxious!*
Specially my husband bc he thinks I am not doing everything he says,... He doesn't see all that is being done, and I understand his concerns, he is sitting in jail. :(
ICE is being very harsh on us... My husband's detainment was never mandatory, and we have eveything gong for us, but they refuse to give us an alternative to detention.
I am going to talk to the lawyers, and maybe even go to the ICE office and try to talk to someone.
At this point, do you think we have a chance of being approved for the green card? (in your professional opinion, bc I know it is hard to tell).
Thank you so much for all your help.
I think that if you had no chances of being approved, they would have deny it already. So it appears that USCIS is considering and wants to make no mistake.
As to your husband being nervous and anxious, you know, I have had about 1 to 2 thousand clients in detention, with the families fighting as hard has they can from the outside. I have never, ever, seen a client that actually understood really, how hard people were fighting from the outside. He needs to relax, because making you nervous will not change the process at this point. So don't be more upset than necessary.
I do think it is a good idea to go talk to the lawyers and maybe even go to the ICE office to try to talk to someone - in the end, they also have a drop of blood in their heart too.
:)
THANK YOU AGAIN!!!
I know, you must see clients in my situation everyday, and it is extremelly hard! :(
Its sad how our immigration issues are right now.
"in the end, they also have a drop of blood in their heart too." hihi. Loved it!
I will do all of it... Thanks again!!! :)
PS.:(I will leave this question open for now, that way along the day, if I have any more questions I will post it here.
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!
I hope you have a great day!!!
Hi Cesar, how are you?Today, I got the answer for our i-485.It got denied. :(The reasons are:-deportation letter-Some confusion about where he worked. They called to confirm that he worked there and for some odd reason they said he didn't. So there was this discrepancy. :\ But I will try to get this one straightened out.-Some charge that I was able to get DISMISSED W/O prejudice. I don't understand why they held that against him, since it was dismissed. :(The decision was discretionary, and there is a way to appeal through the "administrative side".So, let's see what happens. :(What do you think? The work thing, our lawyer said he has never seen a green card be denied bc one worked illegally,... and the charge was dismissed. For some reason my lawyer said they put up a red flag in our case. :( What do you think...? Do you have any advice you could give me?I hope you have a great weekend. Talk to you soon.
Correct, there is a specific exemption of unlawful work. This seems very strange. Definitely appeal.
Hi Cesar, ...
I was wondering...
Can my husband be deported while we are doing the administrative appeal? If he is sent away, would it be moote? Would it still have a chance of being approved even though he is already outside the country?
The reason I ask is because we can't stand him being locked up anymore... Its been too long, and I don't want him to have to wait months in there... ICE has already filed two motions to remove the stay from federal court, I don't think it will take long until we lose that stay, and they can deport him.
My husband wanted to be deported to the country where he was born, but ICE only has his passport to the country where he is a citizen and came in from and they want to send him there (Italy)... Do you think they could deport him to his country of birth instead if I give them his passport?
I know that we can apply for a waiver once we are outside the country... Do I need a lawyer here or there for this? The reason I ask is because I would love to hire you to help us... If we can... :)
Thanks for all your help.
No, an adjustment of status only works while he is in the US.
But, once he is out, you can then request that the USCIS transfer the I-130 to his Consulate so that you two can apply for a green card based on the consular process. It takes longer, but he is not in jail.
The difficulty will be that he would be inadmissible for 10 years because of the deportation, so he would have to apply for a waiver of the 10 years. There is a pardon in his case since he has a spouse that is a US citizen.
However, to be eligible for that pardon, he has to prove that you will suffer EXTREME HARDSHIPS if he were denied the waiver/pardon. Usually mere separation and emotional/financial difficulties from the separation are not enough. You two really need to document all types of hardships resulting from his not getting the green card. Usually we consider psychological/psychiatric hardships to the family member. If there are children, we consider how the harm to the children would affect you. Again, the actual harm to the children being separated from him is not considered, only the direct harm to you that is a US citizen spouse.
However, if are generally healthy and there are no children to make the harm to you greater, then it is really easy for the US consulate abroad to deny the waiver/pardon. If they deny, then he will have to stay outside for the 10 years.
As to his country of birth, if you give them his passport, they could consider, although it could be that the deportation country is already locked in by the deportation order stating the country of return. But you can try to speak with a DRO, that's one of those things that might turn out to be easier and cheaper for them, so they might agree.
As to having a lawyer, the waiver process is one that is so hard to do by yourself that you really should have an attorney to guide you through it.
As to hiring me, I only do appellate work nowadays, and I answer questions at JustAnswers to keep me updated on a full range of issues. However, I can definitely refer you to a few attorneys that I am 100% sure that they will do their best and also be very honest, attorneys that I trust fully, if you'd like their names.
It has been a pleasure. Let me know if you would like the referrals. I wish you and your husband only the best in the future, and please consider dropping another feedback. Thank you.
Experience: Almost 10 years practicing US immigration law. Hablo español, de veras! Eu falo português.
Hi Cesar,
Yes, I would love to have some referrals....
My dad has a heart problem and I am worried about him if we are not able to come back.
I am really scared of what the future may bring us... :(
I don't know what to do anymore, if we should do the i-290B, or what... :\
Money is extremelly tight, and as far as I can see (and many other people) they were looking for every excuse to deny him his green card.
:(
Thank you for all your help! I will definitely refer back to you (even if I am out of the country) for advice. You have been great!
How do I do to communicate with you outside of the website? (For the referrals and all).
I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Hi Cesar,....
A few things came up today and I was wondering if you could help me understand...
My husband was talking to this French guy in detention, he also came in on the Visa Waiver Program... Has no criminal record... He has seem an Immigration Judge 5 times in a period of ONE month... He's been in detention for a month and does not have a lawyer.... He has seen the judge 5 times, and already even has a new court date... How can that be?
His A number is XXXXX the immigration system... My husband's ins't!
Even the jail ICE case worker, told my husband once that it was really weird that his number was not even in the immigration system (not the one that are for the courts, the immigration system in general). He wrote an e-mail to someone, but we never got the answer.
Is there ANY way that we can see an immigration judge?
Things are extremelly weird... The ICE case worker told my husband a few days ago, that he could have been out already if we hadn't been the way we were... (He said there were times that we acted a little arrogant and as if we had authority while speaking to his DO)... the guy also said that we pissed "them" off by contacting "the boss" (DD), and if we hadn't done so much to annoy them he would have been out long ago... He said that our lawyers never knew what they were doing, and took "wrong roads".
This is all extremelly weird!!! :\
What does a deportation letter look like? Does it have to be signed by the person who is being deported? I have different people telling me different things about it and it makes me confused.
Another thing that also makes us think, they have his Italian passport... I call the Italian consulate constantly to check if they have any info on my husband, they say that they don't bc he is not a national of Italy, and they they would not even allow them to deport him to Italy bc he has noone there that can support him when he arrives. Does the consulate need to be notified even though thety have a valid travel doc? The Brazilian consulate only got to know about my husband's existence this week bc I contacted them to talk about my hsband and to ask for help in regards XXXXX XXXXX him to Brazil instead of Italy.
I know there are a lot of questions here... Thank you so much for your time and for all your help. You have been great!!!
Hi again,
Ok, let me see. There are situations when someone could be both French and Brazilian, for example, and have entered on the Brazilian passport, so the person actually didn't enter on the VWprogram.
Another situation is if someone actually entered the US on a VWP, but now is applying for political Asylum, then they have the right to see an immigration judge.
Finally, ICE is not perfect and also makes mistakes. They can also put someone in proceedings and after many hearings realize that they can simply file to terminate and get the person deported. I've had many cases like that.
As to whether you two pissed ICE off, you can't think of that. Any time someone is not deported, that pisses them off. What they are saying is, let us do the way we want and everything will be all right; but after someone is deported, and you didn't fight for his rights, you would be feeling you should have fought. So either way, you will always question whether you did things right, so the real issue is, after everything is done, do you think you will feel better when you can look back and say "I did everything I could do for my husband." or will you feel better when you look back and say "I did nothing because I thought I'd get ICE upset." Clearly, ICE wants to do things their way, and along the way people get bruised, but that's life, you two still fought hard, that's what matters.
You know, most of the time when ICE wants to deport my client and I win, of course they get pissed off, tough. Now, if they actually treated you two differently because you were fighting for your rights, then this only shows how unprofessional the ICE officers might have been.
Now finally, the case worker is not a lawyer, he works for either the jail or ICE, so there are many things he knows, and many things he does not know. Most case workers have only 2 hours of legal training. He should stop screwing with your husband's head. There is nothing wrong or special about asking a supervisor to make sure things are done promptly and correctly.
A deportation letter does not have to be signed by the person being deported. People have an old concept of "signing for deportation" because it used to be that people would be deported and they are handed their papers so they sign only the receipt of the paper, while others would sign a paper accepting voluntary departure. So it all got confused as an urban myth that one "signs" deportation, but if one could stop a deportation by not signing it, no one would ever be deported. So an order is an order, and it is signed by the supervising ICE officer and does not have to be signed by the person being deported.
Thank you (again!)
I just spoke with my husband and the guy is not in asylum proceedings.
The bad part of all of this is that my husband starts thinking that there are things that are happening that are wrong, and that we should do something about it, and he tells me to go places and do things that are just going to lead to nothing. He thinks he should be able to see an immigration judge, regardless of what all the lawyers say, bc he says he is right and what he sees there is what it is, not what is written. That anyone who came in legally and was arrested by immigration bc was out of status, sees a judge and he is the only one who didn't get to see a judge yet.
There are some weird things that happened, and I know it is hard to argue with a few... So I am trying to find an organization to help me with the motion to reopen and se where that goes... :\
I really appreciate you being with me along the way, and on this difficult journey.
Thank you so much!
I hope you have a great weekend!
Hi Cesar, how are you?
Question: Have you seen the new Immigration Policy?? They are saying that they will release and dismiss all those who have no criminal record and are able to adjust status... Do you think my husband fits in that criteria??? (I know our i-485 got denied, but we still have the i-130!) It is a bit confusing for us... :(
Thanks in advance!!!
Hope you have a great day!
Hi,
Yes, I have seen that policy. To a certain extent it as an extension of a policy that already existed before. The idea is to not go through a process of deportation before an Immigration Judge and clogging the immigration courts with cases that can be easily resolved before the USCIS. This way, they open up space in the immigration courts.
However, your husband is not generally part of the topic of that policy because 1) he is not before an immigration judge; and 2) he already has an order of deportation from ICE. So, I don't see the policy affecting his case. Sorry,
Ternieden
Hi Mr. Ternieden,I am writing because something came up, and it gave me a little hope...Since we removed the stay and his clock started "ticking" again, we are going to have our 90-day review coming up next week. I am preparing a letter so we can get the review done, otherwise I am pretty sure they will forget... Is there some kind of application/form that I can do to request his release from custody? I know that they might just ignore it, but I think it won't hurt to try.thanks in advance!!!
The 90-day review is for those who cannot be removed/deported for lack of deportation papers or country agreements. But what I don't understand is why hasn't he been deported yet?
Hi,We don't understand it either. :(I already gave them both his passports, and we still have no date nothing.The case worker at the jail says they have nothing on file for them, not even a deportation order... nothing...His A number is XXXXX in the system he says.It is weird... we are coming up on the 90-day review, and they have no reason to keep him in there... we have no date, not even a chance of a date... nothing at all... :(What is the form that I could fill out to request his release? (I know they might just ignore it, but it is worth a try!)
Hi Cesar, how are you?I have a few things that I am a bit concerned about... - Can the green card be denied if it was applied for BEFORE the person is ordered removed?(our got denied bc of the deportation letter, but the REAL deportation letter was only served almost a month after we applied for the green card).- remember I told you about the FAKE letter, YES, it was fake... and that was signed by the district director and everything... Even an ICE person told my husband that it was fake! - Can they bring people in the airport and in the plane in handcuffs? Thanks Cesar.