Moderation starts.

Laurel(P) Good morning everyone. The Moderation Funciton has been turned on and the chat has started. Go ahead and post your questions.

TSK(Q) Good morning Laurel!

Laurel(A) Good morning

TSK(Q) From:MannysWife: My husband's friend is from El Salvador. He EWI'd at least ten years ago. He qualified for TPA due to mudslides in his country. He renews it every year. If he decides to try for a Green Card, does he have to leave to adjust status and do Consular Processing in ES?

Laurel(A) I think you mean "TPS". Just a typo. Also, "adjust status" is a particular legal term which means that a person is applying for permanent residence from WITHIN the US. By definition, one does not adjust status at the consulate. Ok, now to actually answer your question. If he does not qualify for 245i then he will not be able to adjust status as he last entered without inspection. He would have to apply for an immigrant visa at the consulate. If he was unlawfully present for more than 180 days before he was granted TPS status then he would require a waiver, yes.

TSK(Q) from Mary0508: I EWI to the U.S in 1990 at age 4 from Mexico. I have never left and have no criminal background. I filed the I-130 in 2008. I have my visa interview in two weeks and wanted to know if I could pay a fine for my illegal presence in the U.S instead of leaving the country. I've heard of three cases that have done this recently.

Laurel(A) You can only pay the fine from within the US in lieu of applying for a waiver at the consulate if you qualify under 245i. In order to qualify, you would have had to have had an I-130, I-140 or Labor Certification application filed on your behalf (or on behalf of a primary beneficiary such as a parent while you were a derivative) prior to April 30, 2001. The people you know who were able to just pay the fine are people who qualified under 245i.

tx(Q) Does field officer has sole decision on waiver approval or denial? Does refile increase the chance of approval if it was refile after 2 years with different field officer?

Laurel(A) The USCIS filed officer has discretion to approve or deny the waiver. His authority on the waiver is not quite as absolute as the consular officer's authority on the consular processing aspect of the case, but for the most part it is in the hands of the individual adjudicator who receives your case. Each time you re-file you essentially have the same chance as you did the first time as it is a 'de novo' review on a re-file.

waiver(Q) Is US university degree favorable factor for waiver?

Laurel(A) Usually not. And it may lead the government to investigate whether you applied for federal student loans fraudulently.

TSK(Q) From mrs_salazar09: Hello Laurel. The buzz we have been hearing is that Yolanda Miranda is the only adjudicator in CDJ at this time. Do you know of this is true? Have you also heard any more information on when USCIS will be getting more help to CDJ? Is is also safe to assume that will only one adjudicator we will see the wait time increase significantly from the current 12-13 weeks? Thank you!

Laurel(A) I don't know whether Yolanda is already the only one there, but I knew she would be the only one there by the end of the month. I have confirmed that second part with USCIS. It is true. The government is promising that the wait time for initial decision will not significantly increase, but I don't see how that is humanly possible. I do know they are working very hard to get more people down there, but people have to be approved for an abroad assignment and have to be trained. As always with the government there are lengthy procedures that have to be followed. Lockbox filing should help alleviate the problem and they are working on that. But as I understand it, Lockbox filing is the second priority after getting more people down in Juarez. This major, major staffing issue in Ciudad Juarez is the focus of the attention at the International Operations division of USICS in Washington, DC. They are aware of the problem and it's importance in their department and are taking it seriously.

Laurel(P) Another note: While I am known to complain about the government at least as much as any other immigration attorney, I have respect for the work done by the International Operations division of USCIS. When they say they are aware of the problem and are doing their best to resolve it quickly, I actually believe them.

TSK(Q) from kiko: Hi Laurel, in advance thank you for your time, I had my appointment Nov. 3rd and I wanted to know if when the lockbox filing becomes available the cases not resolved by then will be transferred to the new system.

Laurel(A) I do not know, but I expect that cases will NOT be transferred to Nebraska unless they were filed at the Chicago Lockbox.

Laurel(P) That's just based on past experience of what happens when a new procedure is implemented.

TSK(Q) from ktmnep: Hi laurel , In Question # 24(b,d&e) of I-864 b. Income you are using from any other person who was counted in your household size, including, in certain conditions, the intending immigrant. (See step-by-step instructions.) Please indicate name, relationship and income. Name Relationship current income d. ( )The persons listed above have completed Form I-864A. I am filing along with this form all necessary Forms I-864A completed by these persons e.( ) The person listed above............................................. ...does not need to .complete Form I-864A because he/she is the intending immigrant and has no accompanying dependents. I am the only joint sponsor of applicant. On b do i have to write down my husband name and relationship and his income and do i have to put his name on 'e' what is question(d) and (e) about.

Laurel(A) I am hesitant to use the chat to tell people how to fill out the forms. It is too particular and I would have to know more about the rest of the case to feel comfortable answering such a particular question. I will say that if you are using your husband's income to meet the income requirement, he has to complete a form I-864A and you have to supply his documents as well, such as a US birth certificate.

Laurel(P) Sorry. Got disconnected for a few seconds. Been a while since that happened.

Laurel(P) I lost just the question I was working on at the time. Someone was telling me that they did not know until the consular interview that an I-601 would be required and wanted to know whether he husband could travel to the US after they filed. The short answer is 'no'. He is inadmissible on any type of visa until the waiver is approved, which may take 3 to 18 months. And of course, there is always a chance of denial.

Vs(Q) Vs: Hi I recently got married and am interested in applying for residency for my husband. He has been here for 15+ years without status and has worked all these years and also filed taxes.How are his chances of getting permament residency and what issues can go against him?

Laurel(A) I would have to do a full consultation and ask a lot of questions in order to assess his chances of success.

Sammi(Q) Good morning Laurel. Have you ever handled a case succesfully in which your client had TPS, left on advance parole, was admitted, adjusted and filed a waiver in country? Thank you.

Laurel(A) Yes.

tx(Q) Do you know how long does USCIS field officer take to approve or deny the waiver after they open the file(waiver package). I have heard they usally take couple of days, is it true

Laurel(A) They usually make a decision within an hour or two of opening the file. The problem is there may be 9 months of files ahead of your and you will be waiting those 9 months for that one hour of the adjudicator's time.

TSK(Q) From LAZ11: Hi Laurel! I'm one of your clients. Our case was referred in CDJ on March 28th. Since we are approaching our 8 month mark without any news, would you suggest we send an inquiry?

Laurel(A) They are now saying 10+ months.

Laurel(P) No questions currently under review. I will take this opportunity to say a few things about what's going on with the firm.

Laurel(P) We are still offering reduced fees in the month of November for those who are able to pay upfront. The offer does end Nov 30, so get your consultations in as soon as possible.

Laurel(P) Also, I will be spending all day tomorrow filming some informational videos about the waiver process. These videos will be available for purchase in about a month. The videos will be like a seminar or class, lasting 5 to 6 hours in total, describing the waiver process, how to prove your case, costly mistakes, etc. The videos are meant to be a companion to legal representation, not a replacement for it, though the information would of course be useful to pro se applicants as well. It will be priced like a course - several hundred dollars - rather than like a Hollywood Blockbuster. It will be given free of charge to clients of our firm.

tx(Q) wow!!!!! that's lot of waiting for an hour or 2 days process and not gurantee for approval ::sad

Laurel(A) Welcome to my nightmare.

Dankat(Q) What would be the full price?

Laurel(A) Our current standard fee for a waiver is about $9000. For this month, it would be $7500, broken up into $6250 flat fee and $1250 retainer in case you want extra communications and extra follow-up work. If you don't use any of the retainer, you get it back at the end of the case, making your total fee $6250.

TSK(Q) from dankat1: Hubby was married in CHURCH in MX.. we need to find out if it is a legal marriage??

Laurel(A) For that you need a family lawyer licensed in Mexico.

tx(Q) Laurel you are offering only for thanksgiving what about more good offer for chrismas lol

Laurel(A) We are offering in November because for some odd reason business usually slows down around Thanksgiving. It then pick up again around Christmas. I don't know why. This doesn't mean I'm bored or anything. I've got work to do. I'm just talking about new clients.

Laurel(P) No questions pending. Last week I closed that chat with like 20 questions pending. It's so unpredictable.

Laurel(P) We are going to shoot the video against a green screen. We can pick our background. What do you think the background should be? Volcano? Beach? Soccer game?

Laurel(P) The video will be in English. Dubbing is very expensive. After we sell about 100 we will go back and have it dubbed into Spanish and put in a 'language' menu at the start of the video so you can pick your language. If people buy the English version and later want the dual-language version, they will be able to mail it in and exchange it. Unfortunately, dubbing is just too expensive for us to offer any other languages. We wouldn't be able to sell enough in Russian, French, Arabic or Portuguese to justify the cost.

Dankat(C) Beach, we need happy thoughts!!!

Sammi(C) More patriotic looking. American flag maybe, Constitution.

Laurel(P) The currently planned segments are: Introduction to Waivers, Grounds of Inadmissibility, Process and Interviews, How to Prove Your Case I, How to Prove Your Case II, Simple But Catostrophic Mistakes, Working with Your Attorney, and Surviving the Process. We may also have a special "Ciudad Juarez" segment if time allows. Other things people would like to see in there?

Laurel(P) If there are no more questions, I may close the chat early.

alba(Q) hi !! Laurel. I just want to know if you can take my case at this moment if my 1-130 was aprove and i FILL OUT the forms by my own. i am very worried about the waiver

Laurel(A) I can probably take it, but I need you to do a consultation. If you have questions, you can call the office and speak to Gloria 713-467-5800.

TSK(Q) Will you be holding the chat next week or enjoying the holiday break?

Laurel(A) I will hold the chat. I will have my kids with me, but should still be able to do it. I will not be in the office.

Dankat(Q) Laurel Could hubby call the court house in MX to see if a license of marriage was applied for? He states that it was just by church and never went to the court house. But we don't want any thing to hender this process. You help is appricated!!

Laurel(A) I am not an expert on Mexican Family Law.

Sammi(Q) My uncle came to the US back in 1992 and left around 1998. He attempted to re-enter in 1999 and was caught and sent back to Mexico and stayed. His soon will be a USC soon; will he be eligible for a visa since he's been out of the US for 10 yrs?

Laurel(A) He may have never needed one, depending on what month in 1998 he left. Or, he may need to file an I-212 to get 9C waived after spending 10 years abroad. It all depends on whether he left the US before April 1, 1998.

Laurel(P) So now people are posting. Why the 10 minute lull?

Sammi(Q) son, not soon. Sorry

Laurel(A) Got it

Dankat(Q) Ok thanks

Laurel(A) No prob

Laurel(P) No pending questions. I am going to close the chat five minutes early today. I will see you all next week.