To the forum I want to ask...

[JOPER]

I want to share my situation with all of you hoping someone will shed some light on this very confusing process.
My husband's assylum case was denied even after several appeals, this was in 1997. So he leaves the US to await consular processing, because we were waiting for a visa to become available(I-130 approved in 1995) In the meantime I was just waiting and did not know I needed to submit I-824. Anyways, I finally did it on March/03. I contacted my state's senator hoping she would make an inquiri on my behalf, they told me they were going to do it. That was about 3 weeks ago, they replied back asking for the copy of the approval notice I-797 because NVC could not find his file. According to the new processing dates BCIS is now working on I-824 filed on March/03. This brings me to my questions to you, once we start consular processing will my husband need to file a waiver/permit to enter the US? He left the US in 1997. He originally entered the US w/out inspection , but left the country when told. He was not removed , he left on his own. If indeed he needs to file a reentry permit, which form will this be? And could we do it now, before he starts consular processing? Is anyone aware of a waiting period for the approval of this type of permits? Will he be allowed to reentry legally, after 7 years or will he denied? I am a GC holder. Your answers will be highly appreciated. Thanks to those who take the time to read and to reply.

[This message was edited by JOPER on February 07, 2004 at 05:05 PM.]

[JOPER]

I want to share my situation with all of you hoping someone will shed some light on this very confusing process.
My husband's assylum case was denied even after several appeals, this was in 1997. So he leaves the US to await consular processing, because we were waiting for a visa to become available(I-130 approved in 1995) In the meantime I was just waiting and did not know I needed to submit I-824. Anyways, I finally did it on March/03. I contacted my state's senator hoping she would make an inquiri on my behalf, they told me they were going to do it. That was about 3 weeks ago, they replied back asking for the copy of the approval notice I-797 because NVC could not find his file. According to the new processing dates BCIS is now working on I-824 filed on March/03. This brings me to my questions to you, once we start consular processing will my husband need to file a waiver/permit to enter the US? He left the US in 1997. He originally entered the US w/out inspection , but left the country when told. He was not removed , he left on his own. If indeed he needs to file a reentry permit, which form will this be? And could we do it now, before he starts consular processing? Is anyone aware of a waiting period for the approval of this type of permits? Will he be allowed to reentry legally, after 7 years or will he denied? I am a GC holder. Your answers will be highly appreciated. Thanks to those who take the time to read and to reply.

[This message was edited by JOPER on February 07, 2004 at 05:05 PM.]

[JOPER]

Does any one have an answer ? Thanks

[sup]

Was your husband served with any paperwork upon his departure? The waiver(s) question will depend on that.

From that paperwork you can determine if it was a voluntary departure(not sure about waivers), if he was deported(most likely waivers needed) or no paperwork.

How did he depart? Did he just bought a plane ticket and flew out? Was he escorted by a BCIS officers? These little details should tell you if you need to file a waiver(s) or not.

The processing time of these waivers will depend on your husband's country of origin.

Some embassies have a BCIS section as a part of the outpost structure(usually large countries). If an embassy has a BCIS section then waivers will be processed in a few months. If not then the embassy/consulate will send them for processing to BCIS and it could take a long, long time(not sure how long but at least a year).

[aceIaw]

He did the right thing back in 1997 and he should be admissiable at this time. But there are a lot of tiny parts that can grind into the engine...it all depends;
- was he granted voluntary departure in a court of law?
- Did he return to the country that he was previously claiming Asylum from and that country is still in the same politcal status if so he will have "some" explaining to do about his previous credibility, lying to INS officers is a serious and almost unforgivable offense.
- Does he have proof where he's been since 1997 (other than the U.S. and with a good work history and good moral character proof etc.)?

Usually a waiver is necessary if he wants to return during the first 5 yrs. after a unsuccesfull attempt to get a status in the U.S., but you need to be exactly sure on what grounds he left; a voluntary departure granted from a court is usually 5 yrs. an involutary removal, or any "just" leaves are 10 to permanent yrs. of inadmissiability, waiver availability depends on the individual case. so if there were no formal things happening, you should file for the waiver of inadmissiability just in case.. I believe some amendments to the law changes of 1997 made parts of that mandatory but I'm not sure if that part has been repeeled or not.

Another thing is that you as a GC holder (instead of a U.S. citizen) have a lesser priority to sponsor your spouse to the U.S. (especially if he has some "red marks" already. So, even if you file everything correctly and if the circumstances are all ideal, it will take a minimum of 5-7 years AFTER your application is acepted by BCIS for processing. Your best bet is to get naturalized and update your spousal sponsorship, but it's all going to take 1-3 yrs. Consult an attorney, it's a complicated case with a previous unsuccessfull sponsorship. Good luck!