Moderation starts.

Laurel(P) Good morning everyone.

Laurel(P) It is 11:00 am and the chat is getting started.

tropical(Q) From Therrington: if you have a sponser does the petitioner also have to give last 3 tax information? And the sponser?

Laurel(A) The Petitioner in a family-based case always has to be a Sponsor and complete/sign an I-864, even if you have a Co-Sponsor.

tropical(Q) From cutie81: My husband is a US resident and he filed an I-130 for me in May 2009. in January 2010 my husband and i got in a fight in a public place, even dough my husband didn't press charges against me i got a Domestic Violence dismissed and charge with disorderly conduct per domestic violence when intent to disturb the peace. my question is do i qualify for I-601waiver in Juarez??? thank you so much for you answer.

Laurel(A) In a criminal case, it is always The People vs the Accused, not The Victim vs the Accused. There are two main purposes to prosecuting someone criminally: (1) justice for the victim, and (2) protect potential future victms. For this reason, many criminal persecutions can go forward without the cooperation of the victim. It's just that usually they don't because it can be difficult to present a case if the victim doesn't cooperate. In the past few years, there has been a push to prosecute Domestic Violence cases whenever possible, even without the cooperation of the victim as it is so common for victims to refuse to cooperate in this particular type of crime. The idea is to not only protect the current spouse/girlfriend, but also any future spouse/girlfriend. Gender roles are reversed here, but the principle is the same. Women can and do kill their husbands and men need protection from Domestic Violence as well. The example is exaggerated - you weren't trying to kill him, but I'm making a point. Anyway ... to actually answer your question ... this will lower your chances of approval, yes. It doesn't eliminate your chances of approval, but it does lower them. Domestic violence is taken very seriously in the United States, which is one of the great things about this country. In your waiver, it will be best for you to take responsibility for your actions and show that you understand that what happened was serious.

tropical(Q) From 3501cat: 1st thank you for all the information and resources you and your website provide! My brother-in-law's brother ewi about 1 year ago, no previous attempts, and was severly injured at work (paralyzed from waist down due to a fall 1 week ago); is there any way he can adjust status somehow due to this? Brother-in-law is new permanent resident thru my sister and won't be citizen for 2.5 years. We are attempting Humanitarian Parole visa for his father to visit 1 time, but it didn't look like anything would apply to the injured brother's situation.

Laurel(A) First, I am very sorry to hear about this severe injury. Ok, so you are asking if the paralized alien, who is unlawfully present, can now gain some compassionate relief due to this severe injury? The answer is a firm 'no'. In fact, his chances of legalizing have been severely diminished by this accident as he is now likely to become a public charge. Immigration law is designed to prevent severely disabled people from legalizing and/or immigrating. This hurts, rather than helps his case.

Laurel(P) And also, he does not have a qualifying relative for either Cancellation of Removal or a Waiver, even after his sister naturalizes.

Laurel(P) The views and policies of the US government are not necessarily my own.

tropical(Q) from elenabraginski: Basic Questionnare - Rio, Brazil question. we did not include in the hardship package, but we already had our hardship interview where the same questions were asked. Now the package is under review. It is listed as one of the requirements on the checklist. Will we be asked to send it to Rio now? Can an attorney sign the questionare on behalf of the client if the client is now is outofreach or does it have to be applicants org signature?

Laurel(A) I don't understand exactly where you are in the process. You've sent the waiver packet to the consulate in Rio, but it has not yet been sent to the Lima USCIS office and you are asking me if they will hold it there until they get the questionnaire from you? Yes, that is probably what will happen. It will be held at the consulate until they receive the questionnaire. I don't think the questionnaire has to be signed. The questionnaire is not a standard form, but it is required by Rio.

tropical(Q) Guedez: Panama seems to be on a roller coaster of speeding up and slowing down when it comes to sending out responses. According to what we have knowledge of they had sped up to 7 months and now it's almost back to about 8/8.5 months-ish. Have you heard if there is something going on there to cause this? (We're finally at the 7 month mark and the slow down is killing me!) Thanks!

Laurel(A) Going from 7 months to 8.5 months is not a roller-coaster. That is the norm. Going from 3 months to 12 months as London did last year, now that's frustrating. Processing times are ALWAYS fluctuating, sometimes dramatically. A fluctuation of one to two months is not a dramatic fluctuation. I realize that we're talking about another one to two months of family separation, which is pretty severe when you're the one going through it.

tropical(Q) from cakelette: My questions is my daughters is going to be petitioned by my husband AC and also by her fathers wife, her father is filling in January and I don't know when will be doing it because of some divorce decree missing anyways would it be a problems if there is two different fillings for her? He owes me over 20,000.00 dls in child support, he entered with a tourist visa and has never had any problems with immigration as far as I know, he is still in America, I live in Mexico and I will need a I 601 waiver for overstay.

Laurel(A) It's no problem for her to have two petitions going at the same time, but only one application can be approved and only one immigrant visa issued.

tropical(Q) from jorgemag: I recently was given a 10 year ban at my first Juarez visa appointment, they said because i was caught crossing the border in 2000 and 2003, my wife is the petitioner, at that time i was a minor. An attorney told me he could do a petition or some form that challenges in a way those 2 times i got caught as a minor so that i can continue with this waiver process. Do you believe i have a chance of this ban being lifted due to me being a minor or do you think challenging it will render the same 10 year ban? what are your thoughts? have you ever done this type of petition challenge?

Laurel(A) The current policy of the Department of State is to 'count' unlawfull presence as a minor for purposes of 9C. It's not about how many times you entered without inspection. It's about being unlawfully present for more than a year, departing, and returning without inspection. At this time there is no petition you could file to challenge this finding, especially when you are conceding the facts (if not the interpretation of the law). You could challenge the legal interpretation in federal court, but this would be very expensive and the chances of success are low.

druhand(Q) My fiancee and I attended our K1 visa interview this week in Bogota, Colombia and she was denied a visa based on Section 212(a)(2) (D)(i). She was never tried or convicted of any offense as it occured while she lived in Costa Rica over 3 yrs ago where it was legal (I have always been aware of this), and there are no other aggravating issues. This whole moral judging is rediculous to me, however, we are now forced to apply for a I-601 waiver. Is this a common issue for a waiver, likely to be approved, and is it better to approch it as a hardship case or rehabiltation? Thank you

Laurel(A) No conviction is required for the Prostitution grounds of inadmissibility as Congress intended to make it a ground of inadmissibility even if the Prostitution occurred in a location where it is legal. This is a less common type of waiver. You are more likely to get it approved if it you convince the reader that the alien agrees that Prostitution is wrong.

tropical(Q) what information can the 202# provide?

Laurel(A) They can tell you what is in the Department of State computer.

tropical(Q) from maymont: I have a visitor's visa for 10 year's and have been in a relationship with my fiance for about more than 2 year's, he is a US citizen that will be petiti oning me and i am from Mexico. What is the best way you reccommend we go about this, do we go the K-1 Visa route or get married in the USA to do the I-130 and I-485? Since i have no issues with immigration no criminal background, and have legal entry to the US and have not gotten married yet, which method do you advise? Should we get married in Mexico first? thank you.

Laurel(A) With the fact pattern you describe, I'm presuming you are here now and that you are an 'overstay' who entered lawfully, who did not intend to marry a US citizen at the time of entry, but later met one and is now engaged. The law is designed to allow you to adjust status without too much trouble, but if you proceed abroad to apply for a K1, you will 'trigger' the unlawful presence ground of inadmissiblity and will be required to file a waiver. This one is kind of a no-brainer for an immigration lawyer. Get married here and adjust status and do not depart the US until you have a green card in your hot little hand. All of this presumes that the above facts are correct and there are no important facts that aren't mentioned. The chat is not a substitute for a consultation. Always have a proper consultation before taking action on your case or departing the country.

chrissytina(Q) Good Morning! We have some recent chatter about CDJ consulate not taking passports at the waiver appointment. Have you experienced this...do you know if it's a fluke, new procedure, or what?

Laurel(A) They seem to be changing their procedure by the week. I don't know what's happening down there.

TSK(Q) Oops, sorry, Tropical & I are too efficient for our own good!

Laurel(A) LOL

SgtGutiWife(Q) I have been in mexico since August 2011, My employer gave me the opportunity to telework, and I have been dooing so for the past 5 months. I am a w9 employee no taxes are taken out of my paycheck but I always pay taxes at the end of the year. Do you think this will have a negative effect on my i601 waiver?

Laurel(A) It's hard to say how this would impact the waiver case without knowing a lot more facts. It doesn't instandly concern me.

SgtGutiWife(Q) Do you have any input as to why they are going so out of order on giving answers back. I am a member in the Juarez Waiters FB group and we have seen approvals come for people for as late at mid october yet there are some people from Mid August still waiting. and is it true that if you have been waiting for more than a couple of months its probably an approval cause referrals get answers faster?

Laurel(A) Your guess is as good as mine to be honest.

Sammi(Q) Hi Laurel, my sister-in-law's sister ran into some trouble with the law last week in L.A. and was charged with grand theft of a person, meaning identity theft. Her bail was set at 150K and of course the family could not pay it, even with a bail bonds. She is here illegally; was just told by the jail they will release her on her own recognizance, but now ICE has a hold on her. She was caught by immigration when she entered the country 10 years ago and released, however she never went to a hearing. I told my sister-in-law she will probably be deported because she missed her hearing. She has serious heart problems and will need surgery soon. Do you think there is even a remote chance they will release her here? Thanks for the help as usual.

Laurel(A) If she missed a hearing then she probably has an outstanding order for removal. She may be in Mexico before the weekend. She would probably not be eligible for Prosecutorial Discretion due to the serious nature of the criminal accusation.

MRANGEL(Q) Hi, my husband is waiting on the decision from his I-751 application. He does have the 1 yr extension letter of his green card. Do you think it is ok for him to travel to Mexico? Or he might have problems at the airport when coming back?

Laurel(A) While technically you can travel in this situation, he will run into very serious problems if the I-751 is denied while he is outside the US. I do not recommend travel in this scenario. Sometimes you have to travel and as I said you technically can, but only do it if absolutely necessary. Realize that it is not risk-free.

Laurel(P) No pending questions

Laurel(P) While there is this lull, I can repeat some of the announcements from last week.

Laurel(P) We have had some staff changes. Both my associate of three years and my assistant/accountant of two years departed the firm to go have babies. I also lost my paralegal, who is now purusing her education.

Laurel(P) I have a new receptionist/office assistant. Her name is Ashley. She's from Idaho and so far we love her.

Laurel(P) My former paralegal, Aubrey, who departed about two years ago at the time she adopted a baby, agreed to return on a part-time basis now that her daughter is two.

Laurel(P) I was very happy that Aubrey agreed to come back as she already knows how to do the job and no training is required. She is going through a short re-adjustment period as she re-familiarizes herself with everything after a two year absence.

Laurel(P) My assistant/accountant Gloria (who is also my sister) agree to continue providing some accounting help a few hours a week while she is on maternity leave. So some of you may still hear from her.

Laurel(P) And finally, I have hired a new associate attorney, Stacy Spain. Stacy will be starting on January 2. We are looking forward to welcoming her aboard.

Laurel(P) Things got a bit backed up while we were short-staffed, but we are well on our way to clearing out that backlog and returning to normal.

Laurel(P) But you've probably seen that I haven't had the chance to update the website in some time!!

Laurel(P) I also want to remind everyone that the office will be closed during the week between Christmas and New Year's.

MRANGEL(Q) As for the I-751 to check status, do we use the receipt # from the first letter we received that the application was received or the receipt # from the extension letter? Thanks!

Laurel(A) The first receipt notice.

tropical(Q) When the waiver is received at the embassy then transferred to DHS/USCIS will we receive a receipt notice - formal notice like I-797?

Laurel(A) Usually no. USCIS-RAIO says that the overseas filed office is supposed to send a receipt notice every time, but were surprised when I told them we only get one about half the time, if that. So occasionally we get one, but I consider that to be a special surprise and I don't expect one.

Laurel(P) Slow chat. If there are no more questions, I will close the chat a few minutes early. I will be have the chat next week, but not the week between Christmas and New Year's.

Laurel(P) I'll give it another minute for final questions

Sammi(Q) They don't send always send a receipt, but do they always send the approval or denial notice? How long does it usually take for DHS to send the notice after the case is processed?

Laurel(A) We almost always receive the approval/denial notice. To not receive it is the exception. They usually send it the day the decision is made.

Laurel(P) Ok, that is all then. I will see you next week.