Thank you, DAVDAH, once more. I will see if there are any law schools anywhere near us, even as far away as Philly. I'm confident there should be something! When we come into contact with a law school or an attorney, I will let you know what comes of this, ok? I'm sure everyone else out there that posted replies will also be wondering what happened in the end, too.

Check out Catholic Charities too. They are said to have very good free immigration lawyers. You don't have to be a Catholic either:

Catholic Charities USA

Ramona, delete your email in a post before. I am sure davdah saw it if he wants to contact you, or he can use private messaging provided by this site.

This is a sensative issue you are dealing with and you don't want some hate mail to end up in your mail box.

quote:

Originally posted by Ramona:
In response to ENGLISHINTERN: I really don't appreciate what you are insinuating against my wonderful daughter-in-law. She entered this country with a student visa, and her parents were already here under a foreign investment status. She came here from Germany in Aug.'01.
Her parents had come in 1999. I cannot speak re: her parents, but I CAN and WILL address the motives and intentions of my son and daughter-in-law. It doesn't even make sense what you're implying (saying it looks suspicious)...for one thing: she didn't even WANT her parents to know anything bad about my son's past, or that he was divorced and had child support to pay. They were distraught enough when she wanted to quit college, in order to be with my son, who lived 3,000 miles away! She never even told them they had gotten married until some time afterward. They had never even met my son until way later, after they 'cooled down'...and BTW, they DID grow to love him and regard him highly because of his good qualities, once they met him! She had quit college in California and a high-end lifestyle (her parents live in Bel Air)to come to dumpy Delaware, to live with a guy with no money, divorced, with a *** offender status, and two children to pay child support for, and to scrimp out a meager existence (working as a waitress), living WITHOUT all she'd been accustomed to in a Bel Air mansion. Now who in their right mind would opt for all of that, UNLESS it was out of pure love?!!!! They had had a long distance relationship over the phone and internet for quite a while, and she had come to Delaware twice to see him before moving here permanently. She FELL IN LOVE, DUH! You don't know this fine girl at all...and she IS FINE, beautiful inside and out. My son doesn't even deserve such an angel, what I've called "God's Gift to Kevin" (my son's name)!!! Yet, he's since made some amazing changes in his life, and I'm very proud of him for it! Yes, he made a very poor, stupid mistake being with that particular girl briefly, back in 2001, during a low, dark period in his life. But he's not some 'predator' at all, who seeks out 'young girls'. He paid for his sin and mistake, repented for it, got counseling and help, and made spiritual progress, end of story! And he still suffers from depression from time to time...I personally believe he's possibly bipolar...but he's doing marvelously
and coping well, despite all the pressures he has in normal, daily life. I'd appreciate only 'real help'...not personal attacks, because they are really offensive and don't apply here at all.

Wake up and smell the coffee Ramona she wants the green card why do u not see this?? she had no intention of completing the college course she ddint transfer to a college in Delware she left college outright violating the terms of her visa and under the terms of the F1 Visa if you QUIT college you have to leave the country IMMEADATELY . You never mentioned she was here on an F1 visa thats puts a different spin on things she was an illegial immigrant when they got married. As an illegial she can ONLY ADJUST STATUS BY MARRYING A U.S CITIZEN her parents would not have been able to complete sponorship of her green card but now her overstay can be forgiven BECAUSE of the MARRIAGE to a U.S CITIZEN. Of course immigration will look at things closely of course immigration will ask what kind of a woman stays with a *** offender it doesnt look good that she has stayed with him it looks like she wants the green card that she probably has a failed green card application under her belt wont help her cause either. I am sorry for this situation I truly am but I am just saying that u should not be suprised that things have headed this way like everyone else says you need a good lawyer best of luck

Usually I would agree with this assessment but the dates and country don't support it. Germany isn't a 3rd world cesspool everyone is trying to flee. More than likely the parents were still solvent at the time of marriage and had no indication things were going south. That being the one rebuttable presumption. At the time there would not have been any reason to suspect their daughter's eventual GC wasn't forthcoming based on their own efforts. She could very well have gotten an H1b visa to work in the family business once she was done with school which leads to a GC.

The only item that might be an avenue of suspicion is the financial position of the parents prior to the time of marriage. If inclined, the OP might want to check into that if there is even the slightest hint that this might in fact be too good to be true for her son.

She was illegial the minute she left college and didnt leave the country the h1B was never an option at this point I dont think what your saying davdah is a realistic option for the parents the daughter sponsoring for their green cards at their age they must be at least in their mid to late forties. It would be a number of years to get them their green cards and that is assuming she is successful. The question is simple would she have stayed with a german *** offender in Berlin? That is tough to answer I grant you but like I have said that is the reason UCSIS will look at it closely imho. Its time for the lawyers

...are you saying that what this boils down to to is WHY SHE MARRIED my son...and that they will need to PROVE THEIR RELATIONSHIP in order to successfully satisfy USCIS? I also want to point out that the ONLY REASON she quit college in CA was because she moved to DE to be with my son. She did NOT quit college and then look for some way
to justify her being allowed to stay in the USA.
And, living with my son, they both needed to work fulltime in order to pay their rent, etc.
Her parents were NOT supporting her any longer--that's why she didn't transfer to a college in DE. They were mad that she left CA in order to be with her boyfriend. And it was ME who encouraged them to get married...they had been living together for a little over a year...and I wanted them both to gain God's blessings, by studying the Bible and to make their union legal (by getting married). I knew that once they did so, things would start working out for them and God would be able to bless them. Well, they did start studying the Bible and going to congregational meeting regularly and got married, and have been receiving God's approval and spiritual blessings ever since! Their marriage has gotten a lot stronger (and my son has been able to cope better with his bipolar tendencies, too) because of the kind help from the elders in their congregation. My daughter-in-law has progressed spiritually to the point of baptism, which she had to work hard to pass spiritual requirements for. Her baptism was in June, 2008.
My son also had worked hard for his baptism, and his was almost a year prior to hers, in April 2007. (He had had a little bit of a 'head- start' in Bible instruction than her, because of his childhood studies, which aided him later.)
You all see his ***-offender status and judge him based on that. He made that one mistake, and it was at a time in his life when he was lost in grief over his first marriage and with no help for his mental state at the time. His "label" has NOTHING to do with who he is as a wonderful son and husband. It is something he's ashamed of and has paid for, and everyone keeps throwing this up as if my daughter-in-law
has something wrong with her by LOVING THE PERSON HE IS. She would have not have even given him a chance with her, if she was not in love with him. It was MY SON who pursued this relationship with her, not the other way around. He was living with me at the time they were dating, so I know! I have been very close to both of them. His bipolar tendencies were difficult for her to cope with, and it was me who helped her see my son's real personality. She was a 'gift from God' for my son. I always knew it would take a special person to be able to put up with the difficult ways he was at times....and she's been an angel with him, which, no doubt, has helped him cope and progress. With her by his side, and with all the strong spiritual assistance they both have received through their congregation, his bipolar tendencies have subsided immensely...and the meek, wonderful little boy
he used to be as a child has emerged once again.
I still encourage him to seek medical help, but it is financially difficult for them, still living very frugally. She did go back to college for a while here in DE (part-time), but then couldn't afford to keep it up. And with the economy the way it is, she is doing better keeping her waitressing job, anyway. It has also allowed her to put more time in our 'ministry' work, as well. As far as lawyers go, one from NYC has very recently contacted me and my daughter-in-law is seeking his assistance. I am hoping he will provide the right help she will need.

No such thing as unreviewable. Federal courts always claim the power to review.

In any event the Walsh Act itself has not been reviewed. Unlikely to stand equal protection review, especially given Lawrence v. Texas.

Not likely these people have the financial ability to appeal the case through to the circuit courts.

One item does stand out. The walsh act as it applies to immigration is intended for protection of the sponsor's or beneficiary's children. In the present case there aren't any. USCIS just applied it without regard to the nature of its purpose.

Ramona, I am so sorry that your family is facing this painful and terrifying time. I empathize as we have just received our deportation orders (on my birthday)due to the same thing. Your son made a mistake at a young age - as did many men (and women although not usually charged). Unfortunately, this "term" or "label" is frightening to many people and, as much as it hurts and offends us, we do need to understand.
PLEASE, have your son and daughter-in-law see a lawyer. We provided everything that USCIS had asked of us in the RFE except for certain documents that we were told we could not gain access to as they were the government's property. However, we did provide authorization for USCIS to obtain them on our behalf. As far as we know, these documents were never requested by USCIS.
The Adam Walsh Act is new and, as a result, it is difficult to find any guidance. What has been an extremely helpful forum (and certainly much less judgemental) is the VisaJourney site (search "Adam Walsh"). There are numerous posts that can assist you there and from what I observed, it appears that all I-130 applicants have received notice of a delay as USCIS had halted processing for quite a time due to the implementation of the Adam Walsh Act.
A few states have actually rejected implementing the Act until it has been more refined by Congress as it "blankets" those individuals considered to be a "Tier 1" offender and complain that it drains resources that could be more focused toward "Tier 3" (predatory) offenders.
To those individuals that were so judgemental towards this ladies family, please keep this in mind: if your son is 17 and his girlfriend is 15, regardless of whether or not they have "consentual" ***, he could very likely end up on this registry. One gentleman had made this mistake more than 20 years ago, served his time, has been out of trouble since then and is now about to be seperated from his wife and 2 children. Please.... "Judge not, lest ye be judged"
Good luck and best wishes to all.