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View Full Version : Examples of Approved HSLs for waivers adjudicated in Asia


Marie
06-26-2007, 07:38 PM
Resources for your extreme hardship/I-601 waiver packet:

Tips for Writing the HSL (http://immigrate2us.net/forum/showthread.php?t=83)

Laurel Scott's Memo on the I-601 (http://immigrate2us.net/forum/showpost.php?p=709&postcount=1)

Some Supporting Document Tips (http://immigrate2us.net/forum/showthread.php?t=3142)

Help for HIV Waivers (http://immigrate2us.net/forum/showthread.php?t=96)


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HSL Courtsey of Maekju

Here's Maekju's approved HSL for CIMT. It was approved in 6 weeks 4 days in Seoul, Korea.

From: USC on behalf of SKC

Case# XXXXXXXXXXX
Ref: XXXXXXXXX

To: U.S. Department of Homeland Security
C/O American Embassy
Unit# 15550
APO, AP 96205-5550

I USC, declare under penalty of perjury, under the laws of the United States, that the forgoing is true and correct.

Subject: Hardship Letter

SKC has been denied a visa under section 212(a)(2)A(ii)(I) of the Immigration and Nationality Act for having been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude. She is seeking relief under the discretionary waiver I-601.

USC is SKC’s husband and a citizen of the United States. They met in December 1997 while USC was working as a contractor for the U.S. Army in South Korea. They dated for four years and were married in October 2003. USC’s employer’s contract in South Korea ends July 31, 2005. His company offered him a position in Colorado Springs, CO. USC and SKC planned to move to Colorado Springs, CO. with SKC’s two children and his father buy a home and harmoniously raise their family.
USC writes this letter in support of the waiver.
Because of his commitment to their marital bond, USC would be compelled to move to his wife’s country and in doing so will suffer extreme and unusual hardship.

There are several interacting hardships:

MEDICAL

From: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/hypertension/htm/_no_50_no_0.htm

USC has hypertension. Hypertension is also called the “Silent Killer” because it often has no symptoms and can cause serious diseases or death if left untreated.

Hypertension can cause a stroke which can lead to paralysis, speech problems, and even death. Blockage of blood vessels in the kidney can lead to kidney failure. This will lead to death unless dialysis is performed three to five times a week to clean the blood. Blockage of blood vessels in the eye can lead to impaired vision and even blindness. Blockage of an artery of the heart leads to a heart attack, where the part of the heart that was supplied by the blocked artery dies. This weakens the heart and can even lead to death.

USC monitors his blood pressure several times a day and takes medication daily (Exhibit A). If he moved to his wife’s country, he would have to quit his job and therefore wouldn’t have health insurance to cover medical expenses in South Korea. He would have to pay cash for medication to control his hypertension and, if need be, other medical services. He would not have the financial resources to get proper medical care. His hypertension would go untreated and could cause serious diseases mentioned above putting him in a life threatening situation.

FAMILY TIES

USC has no family ties in South Korea except for his wife and her two children. He is an only child and has one surviving parent, his father who suffers from multiple medical problems that are progressively worsening. His father suffered a massive stroke which paralyzed his complete right side and confined him to a wheel chair. His father is now seventy eight years old, diagnosed with chronic kidney failure and needs dialysis treatments three times a week to survive. His father also has problems with a vascular disease in his legs and non healing ulcers on his feet and ankles. These require frequent dressing changes and regular appointments at the wound care center for debridement (Exhibit B).

While USC was working in South Korea, his uncle helped care for his father. His uncle is also elderly, has his own health issues and works full time. USC’s’ uncle must sometimes miss hours from work to take USC’s father for his doctors’ appointments and run daily errands. His uncle is finding it harder to be a dependable source of transportation for USC’s father’s doctors’ appointments and run daily errands (Exhibit C).

When USC returns to the U.S., his father will be living with him and will depend on him to take him to the doctor for his dialysis treatments and appointments at the wound care center. When his employer needs him to travel in performance of his job duties, his wife would be there to care for his father. If USC moved to his wife’s country, his father would not have dependable transportation for his dialysis treatments and non healing wounds. If his father misses one of his dialysis treatments, he would suffer kidney failure which would result in death.

USC’s father greatly depends on him and they both enjoy a strong father son relationship.

By moving to South Korea, USC would suffer enormous psychological and emotional stress. His hypertension could exacerbate increasing his chance of suffering a stroke, heart failure, or possibly death.

LOSS OF EMPLOYMENT

USC is employed by Company Inc. in Palm Bay FL. He’s a Field Service Engineer specializing in Strategic Aerial Reconnaissance Systems for the U.S. military. His profession is extremely specialized. There are not many companies worldwide that manufacture these systems and the employment resources that possess the necessary skills to operate and maintain these systems are extremely small. Special security clearances granted by the U.S. government are required to perform his duties. Additionally, he is called on to travel to U.S. military bases world wide in performance of his duties. These skills, by their very nature, are not transferable to other countries.

At age 54 and with his profession being such a narrow field, finding employment even remotely related to his career in South Korea would be impossible. By not being a Korean citizen, he would not be granted the necessary security clearances. He doesn’t speak or write Korean. If he found any work at all, he would only be eligible for entry level or minimum wage type work.

If USC moved to South Korea he would suffer extreme and unusual hardships. The loss of his career that took him over twenty years to build would be devastating for him (Exhibit D). Not only would he lose his tenure and security clearances but also the excellent benefits such as health insurance, retirement plan, education assistance, vacation, etc and it would be impossible for him to ever recover his standing in his current profession.

FINANCIAL

As a result form USC’s previous marriage; he pays a total of $1553.00 per month in alimony and child support payments (Exhibit E). If he moved to South Korea, he would be unemployed and could not meet his lawful financial obligation to his ex spouse and pay child support. Therefore, he would be subject to criminal charges in his own country.

He could not pay his credit debt which would ruin his credit rating and his credit cards would be revoked. Paying with cash isn’t always possible. Cash on hand may not be readily available in case of medical emergencies or serious accidents. If USC returned to the States, he would not be able to buy a home, rent or buy a car, etc. His ability to find a job to support his family would be severely limited.

USC has one child in college and another one starting this year (Exhibit F). At present he gives the one in college an allowance of $900.00 per month (Exhibit G). His children depend on this allowance to continue their studies, pay rent, utilities, and other living expenses. If he moved to his wife’s country, his children would be denied this allowance and could not attend the college of their choice. Lose credits transferring to another college that may not be as good as the one their now attending. His children would have to work instead of focusing on their studies. His children’s college education would be greatly compromised.

The expenses involved in traveling between the U.S. and South Korea would be beyond his financial capabilities. He could not travel to the U.S. to spend time with his natural children or visit his ailing father.

USC would have no choice but to use his retirement savings if he moved to his wife’s country. In doing so, he would be subject to a 20% mandatory federal income tax withholding and pay a 10% early withdrawal penalty (Exhibit H). After the depletion of his retirement funds, the future of USC and his family are left with a serious dilemma of uncertainty and at worst, left with nothing to live off of and totally destitute.

EDUCATION

Due to constantly changing technical advances in his field of work and to advance in his career, it is necessary for USC to continue taking education courses on a regular basis. In the U.S., he takes advantage of his company’s education assistance program that pays for tuition and books. Engineering and lab classes desperately needed are closed to him in South Korea because of the language barrier. Without taking classes of higher learning his career now as well as any future career opportunities would be completely ruined.

PSYCHOLOGICAL / EMOTIONAL

If USC were to move to his wife’s country in fulfillment of his solemn marital vow, His natural children will not only miss his physical presence but they will lose his support as a loving and supportive father. Permanent isolation from his children and ailing father would result in tremendous stress, anxiety, and depression. The psychological / emotional impact on USC would be devastating. His hypertension could exacerbate reaching dangerous levels increasing his chance of suffering a stroke, heart failure, or possibly death.

USC has developed a strong parental bond with his stepchildren. Their father doesn’t phone, visit or provide any financial support. He has totally abandoned them. For the sake of his stepchildren’s upbringing, he provides the fatherly guidance, support, and love a child needs while growing up. They look up to him as the only father they ever had. He does not want to separate the bond between his stepchildren and their natural mother. USC wants to keep his family together. He already knows the tremendous amounts of tension, depression and despair associated with family separation due to his previous divorce. The psychological and emotional stresses are overwhelming.

KOREAN CULTURE

For a foreigner, especially an American, Korean culture can be intolerable. The society is basically closed to outsiders. Anti-American Semitism is steadily increasing. Many times movement for Americans is restricted for personal safety due to Anti-American demonstrations.

Since USC can’t speak or read the language, it would be very difficult to accomplish anything on the Korean economy. Simple task such as shopping, dinning, entertainment, or just asking for directions becomes monumental. \r\n\r\nUSC is an African American. He knows first hand the hardships of living in a homogenous, conservative, and highly discriminative country like South Korea. He would not integrate into Korean Society and would be virtually exiled.

From: http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27776.htm

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2003

Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor

February 25, 2004

National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities

The country is racially homogeneous, with no sizable populations of ethnic minorities. Except in cases of naturalization, citizenship is based on parentage, not place of birth, and persons must show their family genealogy as proof of citizenship. Naturalization is a difficult process requiring detailed applications, a long waiting period, and a series of investigations and examinations. Because of the difficulty of establishing Korean citizenship, those not ethnically Korean remained "foreign," thus disqualifying them legally from entering the civil service and, in practice, being hired by some major corporations. According to a Human Rights Commission survey, 50.7 percent of foreign workers reported that they experienced mockery and verbal attacks in the workplace. Amerasians faced no legal discrimination, but informal discrimination was prevalent.

From: http://www.seoulsearching.com/magazine/antiamerican.html

South Korea is perhaps one of the most dangerous places an American can travel to at present. Why? Because on face value everything seems fine to someone who is not trained to spot trouble. Unlike the Middle East where danger is a factor of daily life that also gets huge media attention, South Korea can fool many people, and it often has. South Koreans have assaulted, kicked, slapped, punched, lit on fire, spit on, and even kidnapped Americans, to include American soldiers serving in South Korea. Places of business have refused to serve Americans or let them into bars, restaurants, and other public establishments.

GOOD CHARACTER AND ADMISSIBILITY OF SKC

The incident that happened five years ago was an isolated and unusual circumstance for SKC. This was totally out of her character. She is deeply repentant and remorseful, a changed woman. She has paid dearly for her mistake. She came close to losing her children, job, self esteem, and respect from her peers. The memories still come back to haunt her to his day. She is goal directed, focused, thoroughly ethical, has good character, and law-abiding. She presents no danger whatsoever to the interests of the United States of America (Character Refs. Attach).

SUMMARY

This marriage of two years has come full circle and needs to be recognized for it’s family unity which is one of the foundations our nation was built on. Because the marriage has occurred in its full sense, profound forces will move USC to leave his homeland. Yet, if he goes to his wife’s country, he would be unemployed and couldn’t afford medical insurance therefore; he couldn’t buy the medication necessary to control his hypertension putting him in a life threatening situation. There would be no income to support his family, provide for them a good standard of living, and ensure their good health. The opportunities to continue his education and advance in his career are no longer available to him. He would be unavailable to family, especially in regard to his ailing father and natural children. Furthermore, he would not integrate into Korean society because he’s African American and would be virtually exiled.

If SKC is not admitted to the United States of America, USC will be placed in the midst of an impossible dilemma. If he moves to South Korea, which he would do bound by the marital bond he shares with his wife, powerful forces would set into motion emotional, social, and medical forces that would prove life threatening to him.

USC and SKC respectfully ask that this waiver be approved.

This is the "I''M sorry letter" my wife wrote. I was against it at first but glad I included it with my letter.

To whom it may concern.

I do not want nicely explain excuse about my case. I was totally wrong I made big mistake but I’m only human. I am so miserable about my pitiful act. It hurts me even now and I will not forgive myself forever of my mistake. I was so foolish, so silly, and totally out of my character of conduct. I almost lose my kids, my job and big damage to my finances.
But most shock to me is what I did. How come I made that kind mistake I can not believe myself. I am still scared to driving car. I think about accident every time I use car. It so hard to drive because my legs shake when I think about accident I have. If another person forgives me still I can not forgive myself. I never want to hurt somebody. I love peace and want to be honest and show kindness and than I’m happy. I did my best for everything but I made one big mistake. It will never happen again to me because the shame as mother and disgrace to my children and mother. I don’t want to hurt my husband he loves me so much he can’t live without me. My heart has so much pain and sorrow and I’m very remorseful for what I did. I ask you to let our family stay together. This is all I want in my life.

I met my husband USC three years after I started working for the Morale Welfare and Recreation (MWR) system at Camp Red Cloud Army Garrison in Uijongbu, South Korea.

We were together four years before we got married. My two children and mother lives with us. I love my husband and sure he will not hurt me and take good care of my children.

While we were dating, I found out that he is good man and very prudent and very strong sense of duty and considerate person. And our love grew stronger and we trust each other and cannot live without each other. So I want to be with my husband until I die. We have been married two years.

I never had this much happiness in my life. I did not know a couple could be this happy. And my two kids never had good time with their father and they do not know what daddy is supposed to be. They did not know what feels like with father to do some things because they never do anything with their natural father. But my husband he is being a father to my kids. He cooks, play with my kids, go out dinner, and watch T.V. and movie together. He makes them laugh, travel, teach bowling, and gives them presents for birthday and Christmas.

Sometime he gives a scolding when they not behave, no homework, no shower, comeback home late and too much computer game. Now we are a real family living together. I didn’t marry him just because he is American. I didn’t marry him because he is rich. Me and my husband have to work for living then we can take care of family. We work hard for living but we are happy because we can take care of family and we are together. I am in heaven now because I’m with my husband and my kids. This is my only happiness. What am I going to do if I go to the states? I will live like now as mother and wife and work for living and help take care of our family happily together. We just love each other so much and we just want to be together for the rest of our lives.

Sincerely,

SKC

Cynthia
06-27-2007, 05:48 PM
This letter was written by Lillyfire25. It was approved in Bangkok, Thailand.

1. My husband recently went for his interview for a K-3 visa and was told that because he had spent about 2 years in the U.S. after his visitor visa expired, he was inadmissable and needed a waiver.

2. My husband and I have been apart now for over a year and a half waiting for his visa to be approved. We have been told that it can take up to another year. This has been devastating news for me.

3. XXXXX and I met in June of 2000 in XXXXX. We quickly fell in love and I became pregnantthat August. I had our son, XXX, in May 2001. XXXXX remained in the U.S. beyond the expiration date of the I-94 card because he wanted to be with me through the pregnancy. We annted to start our family, and we were married in September 2001.

4. XXXXX wanted to return to NZ, so we never filed his AOS. We went to NZ in August 2002 and then moved to Australia in Sept. 2002. While there, XXXXX (son) and I were unable to get any sort of medical coverage. We could not afford to keep paying for doctors visits ourselves without any sort of insurance. We applied for a visa under the NZ Citizen Family Relationship section, but the wait was extremely long, and it still did not make us elgible for medical coverage.

5. When I became pregnant with our daughter in Dec. 2002, I knew I needed to come home. Not only could we not afford the medical bills of my pregnancy, I also wanted the support of my family and to be cared for by my doctors. I left Australia in June 2003. We assumed XXXXX would be able to get his visa in a few months time and then join us; but we quickly learned how long the process was going to take. It was never brought to our attention that his K-3 would be denied based on his overstay. If we had, we would have filed for the waiver at the same time.

6. XXXXX and I now have 2 small children together: XXXXX is 3 and XXXXX is one year old. It has been extremely difficult for me to provide for the children. I currently work 2 jobs and go to school.

7. Not only are we struggling financially, but our son XXXXX has been recently diagnosed with Global Developmental Delays, as well as Ehler Danlos Syndrome. His speech therapist and special education teacher are concerned that he may be autistic, and now I have to take him to XXXXXX for yet another evaluation. His special education teacher is also recommending that a Sensory Integration Specialist evaluate him as well. He requires speech and language therapy, as well as phisiotherapy for the Ehler Danlos. (see enclosed letter from XXXXX CPNP) Medicaid covers the majority of the costs of XXXXXX treatment here, and we can't afford to lose that coverage if we were to go to Australia to be with XXXXXXX, where we have already learned that we are not elgible for state-sponsored insurance.

8. It is very difficult to express the enormous amount of stress this causes me. I have been optomistic for a very long time, but how long can you keep a happy face when you haven't seen your husband in a year and a half? My daughter does not even know her father. My son only sees pictures of his daddy.

9. I can't begin to explain how difficult it is for me to do all of this alone. My Mother is my nearest family member and she lives in XXXXXX which is over 2 hours away. The rest of my family lives on the west coast in XXXXXXX. XXXXX condition not only worries me and causes me financial stress, but it also means that he requires so much more attention than I have time to give him, which breaks my heart. I am completely overwhelmed with the thought of not having my husbands support for another year. I have had to hire countless babysitters to care for my children, and besides their costs, the quality of their care has concerned me and caused me incredible stress. The children are so young, and need so much mre attention then they are getting now.

10. I am struggling both financially and emotionally without my husband. I work 2 jobs and attend school. Although I am trying my best, it is extremely difficult to raise my children alone, to see them growing up and not know who their father is, to work all night and to be too tired to spend time with them, to go to bed each night without my husband at my side, and to live without knowing when this will all get better, when we will be a family again. It is hard to hear the sadness in my husbands voice when I tell him that XXXXX had an adverse reaction to the sedation for his MRI, and just as hard to tell him that his daughter is almost walking now. I am trying to be the strong one in reassuring him that he can hold us all very soon and to not give up hope that we will be together again. But to be quite honest. I feel as though I am about to have a nervous breakdown. It is an enormous job to raise an infant, a child with a disability, work 2 jobs and go to school without any support or help.

11. I can't begin to tell you how much I miss my husband and the family we are just beginning. The children and I just want XXXXXX here with us. I love and miss him tremendously. If there is any other information you need, please do not hesitate to contact me.

india601
02-23-2008, 07:04 AM
I had a couple of users request a copy of my letter since I told everyone that our 601 was approver. Below it is. I used a lawyer and he also prepared a letter that summaried this and the additional hardships of living in India.

After reading some of the stuff on immigrate2us.net i can see that we made a couple of the common errors in our letter. but o'well. it is almost over now!
______________________________________-


I currently reside xxxx. My telephone number is xxx. My husband has now been in India for 6 weeks. I am left in the U.S. trying to manage our business, my full-time job and our 11 month old son. Life has been out of control since he has left. I get up at 6am, rush to get ready before my son wakes up, get him ready for the day. My mom who lives with us then watches him while I am at work. I leave for work at about 7:30AM and get home at about 6:30pm. When I get home I then feed my son, give him a bath, play for a little bit, and put him to bed at 8:30pm. My mom then stays at home with my son, while I go and check on our business. I go to the Subway restaurant, check on the night crew, see if any notes were left by the morning crew, open the safe, prepare and make a deposit and then head home. On early nights I get home at 9:15. On late nights, when I have to enter inventory (every Tuesday) or calculate weekly reports (every Wednesday) I get home at 10:30 or 11pm. I then also make sure all the bills are paid for the business. My husband was able to sit at home and watch the surveillance to make sure someone was opening in the morning. I do not have the luxury since I am at work so I have to add more people. In between my full time job the business and taking care of my son, I have also had to find time to do yard work. My house which used to be clean is now a mess because I have no time to clean it. In addition, I find myself not being able to concentrate when I am at work because I am thinking about my husband not being able to come home, I can’t sleep and I have had a loss of appetite. When my husband was at home he was able to get our son ready in the morning and he would just go to Subway to look over everything, do the deposits and come home to our son. I did not have to worry about the business. We purchased the Subway restaurant 7 months ago. We borrowed $xx on a home equity loan and borrowed $xx from a friend.

If my husband is not able to return to the United States I have two options. The first is to stay in the U.S. without him or relocate with my son to India. If I were to choose not to relocate and stay in the United States I would need to sell the business quickly since trying to hold a full time job and be a single mother is hard enough. I will not be able to run the business on top of that. However, there is no question the business will have to be sold at a loss I will have to take a loss. We still owe $xx (statement attached). I would also need to pay back the loan from our friend. We purchased the Subway for $xx (purchase agreement attached). I have invested another $xx in surveillance equipment. I am still not taking a management salary because the business can not afford it. If you were to use the most common method of valuing a restaurant business ( 1 ½ to 3 times the (profit plus depreciation expense plus interest expense) our restaurant would be valued at any where from $xx to $zz (profit and loss statement from 2006 is attached). We bought it based on the price of the equipment and franchise license. If you were to value it this way the business would be worth approximately $xx, due to further depreciation of equipment. I would not be able to recoup this loss. Since we have taken over the business sales have increased over the same month in the previous year from $xx to $xx a week (combo report included). When we took over in the middle of the summer the previous owner only had three people on staff. We now have six people on staff. We have created jobs for U.S. Citizens. (ADP report included) The business is currently paying off its debt. However, it takes time to grow a business so I would take a loss if I had to sell it at the beginning of the growing stage.

In addition, my mother now cares for my son but she is older (65) and can not take care of him for 11 hours a day. Eventually (within the next year) I would have to put my son in day care which will add another financial burden. On top of this my husband and I have credit card debit of approximately $xx. (Credit card statements included). We used this money for the trip to India and we had to waterproof our basement. We also have two car loans which total payments are $xx (car loan statements included). In addition, I received a letter dated March 29, 2007 from the Pennsylvania State lottery stating that we owed them $xx due to some incorrect settlements they had done when we owned a convenient store and sold the lottery in 2005. My husband dealt with the Management of the lottery and I have no idea even where to start to figure out if we really owe this money or not. I need my husband to figure out if we owe this money (he can’t do that from India) and then if we really do owe this money, I need him to help in the repayment of this money. (Letter included) Right now I am able to pay down my debt, however, with the investment in day care and the sale of the business I will only go further into debt and I will not be able to recoup these financial losses. Besides these financial losses, I planned on returning to college at night to get my MBA in the fall. I will not be able to due this if my husband does not return. For one, I will not be able to afford it, and secondly I will not have anyone to watch our son. This will lead to further economic losses (loss of advancement of career). It is extremely importance that I get my MBA since I am currently on a financial/accounting career path, and my major in college was Marketing (Human resources profile included). I was told when I took my most current position as the Supervisor of xxxx and xx that I am expected to return to school for my MBA in order to get a degree in Accounting. Also, this is something I have always wanted to complete just for my own personal achievement. In addition, part of my current job is the requirement to work one Saturday each month during the financial close. It is extremely hard to find babysitters for all day on Saturday and daycares are not open. If I am unable to work on one Saturday of the month I risk losing my job (e-mail detailing close schedule included). This all adds up to our son being brought up in a day care or someone other than his parents which would not be the case if his father were in the country.
Our son spent most of the day with my husband and is extremely attached to him. Everyday my son calls out for his Dad and I tell him that he will be home soon. When I show him pictures of his Dad he smiles and laughs. I can’t even describe the losses my son would suffer from not having a relationship with his Dad. There is countless research on the importance of a father in a child’s life.

My mother currently depends on my husband and I financially. We purchased her e home from her in November of 2005 because she could not longer afford it (title included with her name as previous owner). We have two cars, however, my husband did not have a license during his last year and a half in the states. The second car is for my mom, as she cannot afford to buy a new car. We do not charge her rent and she does not pay any of the utilities. She uses here social security check for her gas, health insurance, groceries, and miscellaneous expenses. In addition my mother does not deal with stress well. Therefore my husband and I have not been able to tell her about this situation. Right now she thinks that my husband is in India visiting family and helping his sister. If this process takes much longer, I am going to tell her that my husband’s mother is ill so my husband is staying to take care of her but will be home in the next couple of months. She would not be able to deal with the stress of not knowing what is going to happen to me and to her. I cannot put this added stress into her life.

My nephew xxxx also has a close relationship with my husband. He is in seven years old and has known my husband for four years. He made his first communion on May 7, 2007. He called me on May 6, 2007 when he figured out that my husband was not going to be there. He was upset. He asked me why Uncle xx was not going to be there and asked if I could call him and tell him to get on a plane so he could come. My niece, xx (eight years old), gave him a father’s day present last year and told him that he was here Uncle/Dad. These kids would be very upset if they could not see xx anymore they have grown much attached to him over the past four years.

The Second scenario is that my son and I relocate to India. Again, I will have to sell the business, and as described above I will take a loss and will definitely not be able to recoup this loss. In addition, I would have to sell my property as I would not be able to afford it, I have the home equity loan for the business which I am taking a loss on and I have only had this house for 1 ½ years I will not make any money on the sale of the home. I will not be able to repay the debt described above as well. I have a little over $9000 invested in a pension account through work. I am not vested in yet, so if I left the company I would lose this money. Moving to India also causes a problem for my mother. There is no one else in my family that is able to take in my mom and care for her, as she gets older. She will have no where to live. In addition she will be unable to move to India. She is afraid of the disease. She would not be able to adjust to the climate change, she would not be able to handle the plane ride, and she would not be able to adjust socially as well. She has told me that she is not even willing to visit India. We live in Ohio where there is a reported to be about 60 sunny days a year and my mom has to have skin cancer removed sometimes up to twice a year. There is no way she could deal with the sun year round. I have no idea what would happen to my mom.

I visited India for two weeks in April of 2007 with my son. I cried for two weeks. I felt trapped. I was unable to go out alone due to safety concerns. I did not have a vehicle and felt as if my freedom had been taken away from me. The language barrier also was extremely hard for me to deal with. I was unable to communicate with my husband’s parents and most of his friends. When I was able to communicate with extended family members or members of the community, I felt as if I was being interrogated at times for numerous things one of which was why I was not breast feeding my son. I was even told at one point that “In India it is considered very bad if you do not breast feed.” I had to rely on my husband for everything. It was extremely frustrating. I was extremely uncomfortable due to the heat, and was constipated for the better part of two weeks. The cultures are extremely different. I feel as if the Indian culture does not have the same sense of privacy as America does and I had a very hard time with that as well. I felt as if I could never be alone. My opportunities will also be virtually non-existent in India. I will have less job potential. I do not speech the local language or Hindi. I will lose opportunities for higher education. I thought living in Pennsylvania was too far away from my family. Even if by some miracle I could get a job in India, I will hardly ever be able to afford to come home. I honestly don’t know how I could handle living in India both physically and emotionally. I have a fear that both my son and I will be socially ostracized from the community in India. I have a close relationship with my church and I fear that I will not be able to develop such a relationship with a church in India.

My son did not adjust well during our visit to India as well. He slept for 18 hours of the day due to the heat and had a prickly heat rash from the minute we stepped outside of the airport in India to the time we left India. He was also constipated for the better part of the two weeks. We were unable to find white grape juice or prune juice for him to relieve his discomfort. We visited the pediatrician 1 week before we left for India and my son weighed 18 lbs and 6 ozs. When we returned I took him to the doctor again (five days later) he had lost 3 ozs. I took him to the doctor again two weeks later due to a cough and he had gained over a pound (19lbs 5ozs) In addition, he was emotionally impacted. My son had never used a pacifier since he was three months old /(he was ten and half months when we left for India), however, I had brought one for the plane ride hoping he would use it so his ears did not bother him. While we were in India he wanted his pacifier the whole time. He sucked on it day and night. In addition, he would cry if anyone but my husband or I tried to pick him up. He normally is very social and will let people hold him if my husband and I are in viewing distance. He would not let anyone hold him in India even if my husband or I were standing right next to him. I thought that maybe my son just liked the pacifier so when we returned to America I purchased two new ones so he could use them. He used it the first day we got home and has not used it since. When I tried to give it to him after that he clinched his mouth closed and shock his ahead away from it. Even after two weeks of living with my husband’s parents my son would not go to them. The original plan for my husband and I was that I was going to leave my son with my husband for an extra month and then go back and pick my son up. However, due to the above-described circumstances, it was an easy decision for both my husband and I to decide that I should take him home immediately with me upon my departure from India. On top of these circumstances, is it well documented that India is known for disease for small children. My son has a much higher risk of getting sick in India than in the United States. He will lose school opportunities. His standard of living will be much lower. In addition, my son will also lose the close relationships he has with my immediate family and his grandmother. My niece, Paige, even tries to tell me that my son is her brother because they are so close. If I relocate my son I will be taking a huge risk.

If my son and I move to India or if my son and I stay in the U.S. without my husband, our lives will be utterly devastated we will experience extreme hardship. I will can not be able to handle either situation emotionally, or financially and it would destroy my son. Either way I lose career opportunities and education opportunities for both me and my son. For my son’s sake, for my sake and for my mother’s sake, please allow my husband to return to the United States_

douginguam
06-09-2008, 02:27 AM
I have edited the document to remove references. A lawyer gave me the affidavit concept, but all the work is my own.
The submitted document was 1 ½ spaced and contained a line between each numbered point to make it easy to read. It has been condensed significantly for this posting.
AFFIDAVIT
I USC-Spouse, first being duly sworn, depose and say;
1. This AFFIDAVIT is submitted in support of my wife’s I-601, Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility. The matters set forth herein are based upon my knowledge.
2. I was born in Another-country on birthdate.
3. I reside at , Home address , My mailing address is, Mailing address
My phone number is phone-number
4. I am a Naturalized US Citizen. Certificate No. aaaaaaaaa. I was naturalized on date. My CIS Registration number was Anumber.
5. If my wife Alien-spouse is refused admission to the United States I will suffer extreme hardship. This is demonstrated in the substance of this Affidavit that follows, and supported by the Affidavits and evidence attached hereto.
6. I am aa years of age.
7. I have resided in the United States of America for the last aa years (refer Exhibit I). aa years represents aa% of my life so far, and aa% of my worked years.
The US first became my (temporary) home in year, when I was asked to come here as a role and join the staff of an employer.
The US then became my permanent home on a date when I was granted permanent residency status.
On a date I swore the Oath Of Allegiance and proudly became a United States Citizen. Under Oath I renounced all allegiances to my country of birth, and I write this document as a proud and loyal US Citizen.
FAMILY HARDSHIPS
8. I am the father of four young sons (refer Exhibit ):
Son-1 – US Citizen – born a date – Age aa;
Son-2 - US Citizen – born a date – Age aa;
Son-3 - US Citizen – born a date – Age aa;
Son-4 - Another-country Citizen – born a date – Age aa.
9. My sons live in two separate family units:
Son-1 and Son-2 live with their mother, my ex-wife. They reside in the US (refer Exhibit );
I am the sole provider of financial support to these two of my sons at levels ordered by the Superior Court of State. It would cause me extreme hardship because of my son’s significant suffering if I was to be unable to continue providing the current child support because I had to move from The US if my wife is unable to immigrate here.
Son-3 and Son-4 live with their mother, my wife, the Applicant, Alien-spouse in Another-country.
10. My wife Alien-spouse, the applicant, and I, were married in Another-country on a date. We first met in a month-year subsequent to my separation from my second wife. We fell in love, became inseparable and committed to a life together. Prior to formal marriage, we lived in a defacto relationship that commenced in a month-year.
Our two sons remain babies, at ages aa and aa, in need of a father’s love, guidance and support.
11. I suffer great anxiety resulting from the fact that I cannot provide an adequate level of emotional security, affection or direction for my children. I cannot provide that support during their formative years, because of the dysfunctional life that results from our geographic separation for frequent and lengthy periods. This situation exists because I must continue my career and employment in The US so that I can support them financially; they need to be reared by their mother; and, their mother cannot currently enter, visit, nor live in the US.
12. I travel to Another-country once a month to try to give some support to my wife and sons and to be a little part of the husband and father they deserve. I work on The US for three to four weeks each month, surviving the depressing loneliness.
I then spend 24 hours in airplanes and airports traveling from The US to Another-country to be the husband of my wife and father to my children. That is all for one brief week before returning to The US, to recommence the grind and monotony.
During those brief periods in Another-country I am able to provide some affection, education and direction to my sons, but it is never enough and whatever good is done is heavily discounted upon my departure. The whole process is extraordinarily hard on me, my wife and my sons – which further stresses me. My baby sons hate me leaving and are initially uncertain of me upon my return. Son-3, my aa year old, is able to recognize the day of my departure. He starts crying and tightly hugging daddy, and saying “daddy come back” as I prepare to go. This causes deep pain in a father, a pain worsened by 18 hours of travel to return to weeks of loneliness 3,500 miles away
13. Being the head of multiple households is extremely demanding. Issues that would be manageable if tackled as they occur multiply in size when they must be undertaken from a distance or in a brief period. Relatively simple things, like the phone being disconnected (by a garbage truck), a nest of wasps in the garden (my son was bitten), mice migrating from a newly demolished house, and a smoke alarm that needs the batteries replaced, create great stress when the head of the house, the father and husband is away from home.
14. I have had two previous marriages.
I divorced first-wife on a date after aa years of marriage. She currently lives in Another-country. We had no children together. I separated from my first wife in a year because I determined that my life would be unfulfilled without children.
I separated from second-wife (“ex-wife”) on a date and we were subsequently divorced on a date after years marriage. She resides in the US with my two older sons, along with her two daughters from a previous marriage of hers. We divorced due to irreconcilable differences.
15. I was granted the joint legal custody of sons Son-1 and Son-2 and reasonable visitation rights in Divorce Settlement with their mother (Ex-wife).
Ex-wife relocated them to the mainland US in a year in breach of the Divorce Settlement Agreement and Consent of Divorce (refer Exhibit ) which stipulates that The US shall maintain jurisdiction of the minors and shall remain the domicile of the children without written agreement of both parties to the relocation.
My dislocated family situation – having a wife and sons in Another-country and a constantly traveling father – makes it impossible to challenge Ex-wife’s relocation of the children from The US. The lack of family normality of a father living in The US with his wife in Another-country further precludes me from seeking physical custody of my Son-1 and Son-2.
If I were to relocate to Another-country to be with my family there, I would be prevented from undertaking any contest of the breach of their domicile by their mother. Additionally I could not challenge for their custody, nor affirm my visitation rights if their mother does not comply with the Settlement, since to do so would require me to appear in the Superior Court of The US, the jurisdiction of the minors.
16. I fully comply with my child support obligations to Son-1 and Son-2 as documented in the Divorce Settlement with Ex-wife. I pay dollars per month in child support and I make a further payment of dollars per month to enable Ex-wife to provide their health insurance (refer Affidavit II).
These child support payments are not only significant to the welfare of Son-1 and Son-2, the money is also intrinsic to the support of their mother, Ex-wife, and the boy’s step-sisters. Ex-wife recently requested that I provide her a statement regarding the payments which she told me she intended to use to seek a mortgage loan for a house in State (refer Exhibit ) for her and my sons to live in. My ex-wife has shown constant and ongoing financial dependence on me to provide for my sons welfare, seeking supplemental financial support on a number of occasions (refer Exhibit ). The ability to support my State based sons financially is of fundamental importance to them and to me, as well as being a legal order. Continuing support at a sufficient level, especially in US Currency, would be a major problem for me if I was forced to give up my career and relocate from the US.
Any change to the current child support order, necessitated by a drop in income resulting from relocation from The US, would require me to return to The US to appear in The US Superior Court, the jurisdiction of the divorce and court ordered child support. To appear in The US to readdress the matter, which could only be done subsequent to any departure, would add further considerable costs and further exacerbate the hardships suffered.
17. I remain in contact with Son-1 and Son-2 in State through telephone communication. Ex-wife breached her obligation under the Divorce Settlement to provide unfettered telephone communication when she first relocated to the mainland. During a two month period I was unable to establish where they were residing. Contact was only re-established through the boy’s grandmother.
18. I have been unable to visit with Son-1 and Son-2 and see them in person since I last saw them in year on The US. After that visit their mother relocated them from The US to the mainland United States. To visit with Son-1 and Son-2 on the mainland is extremely difficult. Every available travel opportunity is taken up with traveling to see my wife, Son-3 and Son-4. Sufficient time does not exist to look after my young family in Another-country, see my State based sons, and to earn a living to support them all in The US.
19. If I left The US I would become further isolated from Son-1 and Son-2. Ex-wife has told me that she may allow my son’s to travel to Another-country for a visit if I escorted them both ways. However, it would be very difficult for me to travel to the US because I could not undertake that travel as a family unit. My wife (Alien-spouse) and sons (Son-3 and Son-4) would be unable to accompany me. Undertaking such significant travel on my own, leaving my wife and children in Another-country, and being required to meet with my ex-wife during that absence, would be impossible for my wife to support. (Such travel would also involve the empowerment of Ex-wife and provide her opportunities to sabotage my efforts – example: If I arrived in the US to collect my sons, Ex-wife could tell me she had misplaced the boys’ passports and that I had to visit them there or wait for new passports before they could fly. To stay would be unacceptable for my current wife Alien-spouse. At the same time I would have no recourse against Ex-wife – other than through legal action in the Superior Court of State).
20. If I have to relocate to Another-country it is quite probable that my son Son-3 will be unable to benefit from his birthrights as a US Citizen. The personal and financial hardships that would have to be incurred by the family in order to enable return to the US after the expiry of my wife’s ban are likely to be simply be too great for the family to bear (refer also paragraph 23. below).
CAREER HARDSHIPS
21. I am employed by employer …. I have been working with employer since year.
On date I was promoted to the position of job. I attained a salary level of dollars per year plus benefits. Before my promotion I carried out the role of job (refer Affidavit III).
22. I received a Degree in Course from the University in year. After working for four years in a dddddddd office, as a role, I joined Company. Since joining Company (month-year), I have built a career in the profession, specifically with ….. expertise.
I was employed by Company from aa year to bb year, a career spanning aa years. With Company I worked in both Another-country and The US.
My US career began in year when I was asked to come to the US as an expatriate role to improve the performance at Company’s facility here. When asked by Company if I could remain with them I chose to continue my US based career.
I changed status and became a US permanent resident. I subsequently filled the roles of aaaaaaaa, bbbbbbbbb, ccccccccc and ddddddd within Compnay during my aa year career with the Company.
23. At aa years old I am no longer a young man. I graduated from University aa years ago. I have committed aa years of effort, the whole of my working life, to my career in the ffffffffff industry. aa years of that career have been committed to developing specialized experience in the the local fffffffff industry.
If a waiver is not granted I will be forced to give up an established career, then attempt to twice start over again, during the next seven years.
The first move, to join my family in Another-country, would require me to give up my long established, specialist career in The US and move to a location where my The US experience and ffffffff Industry specialty have little or no value (refer Affidavit IV). I would be leaving an established and thriving career of over aa years duration, with the likelihood of possibly never finding commensurate employment. .
Whether or not I could establish a new career in Another-country is a matter of speculation. However, even if it were possible, a further major dislocation would again be forced upon me four to six years later in preparation for the expiry of my wife’s 10 year bar. The bar expires in year xxxx.
In order for her to immigrate to the US upon the expiry of the bar, and for our family to resume life here, I must re-establish an employment history to enable me to sponsor her as an immigrant (to provide an Affidavit of Support). This would necessitate re-entry to the US in year-1 or year-2 (at age aa), to provide the time needed to find employment and establish employment history and the required US based income levels. This reestablishment would demand another life altering employment/career change. What, if any, employment might be available to me at that time is a matter for speculation. While reconnecting with my past may be possible it has to be considered unlikely.
Being asked to make decisions for my family, considering such uncertainty and the stability of my existing career and ties to The US is an extreme hardship. Even if employment was to be had on a return to The US, reestablishment in the US would entail ongoing hardship. At the very least it would entail a further significant period of isolation for me, separation from my wife and (at that time aa and aa year old) sons and a further lengthy period of financial hardship when employment is being sought, and, when two households must be funded and costly but essential travel to provide some degree of affection and support to my children during these still formative years, is afforded.
24. To leave The US and my employment here means abandoning my job, and everything I have worked for throughout my aa year career. Doing so will permanently harm my ability to support all my family and my life. In any alternative career I have no confidence that I can attain an income level that will be sufficient to maintain the current levels of child support and health insurance payments I currently make. Such an inability would require me to return to The US, at considerable cost in dollars and time, to undertake the legal process to reduce the child support payment levels. Leaving my employment would jeopardize any chances I have to give any of my sons a quality education and the opportunity for a college degree.
MEDICAL HARDSHIPS
25. I have no health insurance on The US. Because I am funding two health insurances – (1) for Son-1 and Son-2 (dollars/month) and (2) my Another-country based family (dollars/month), a third outgoing for The US health insurance for me alone is very difficult to justify - given the current demands on available funds. This imposes a significant and concerning risk since as the oldest party I support I am the most likely to be in need of expensive health services. (refer Exhibit ).
I have a family history of colon cancer (my mother died at 65 from colon cancer) and have had a colonoscopy in year. Three benign polyps were removed during that treatment. Given my family history of colon cancer colonoscopy screening is recommended at 3 to 5 year intervals.
FINANCIAL HARDSHIPS
26. I am funding two residences and I am the primary source of income for a third.
I own an apartment on The US in which I live (Mortgage dollars per month, plus dollars per month condominium fees) (refer Exhibit ). At the same time I must rent a unit for my wife and two younger sons for their shelter in Another-country. (Rent dollars per month). (refer Exhibit ) Additionally hundreds of dollars are paid to duplicate utilities and services to each home. I am also the key provider to the household of my ex-wife in State through child support payments to my sons (dollars per month – refer above).
Consuming these funds this way, instead of saving the money for my son’s college or my future retirement is a significant hardship.
27. I have to travel to Another-country once a month to try to give some support to my wife and sons and to be a little part of the husband and father they deserve. Each monthly round trip comes at a personal cost of between dollars and dollars, consuming more of the future on current expenditures.
28. Moving to Another-country for aa years would mean that I would have to cease to contribute to Social Security and that the accumulation of Social Security benefits would cease. Because of the loss of career continuity, future salary level, if any, is also likely to be significantly lower, further reducing the level of retirement pension.
My current projected benefit at full retirement is dollars per month assuming a future earnings projection at current levels. If I were forced to move to Another-country for 5 years, and lost the wage premium associated with my skills, the Social Security impact is estimated as a reduction of dollars to dollars per month. If I were unable to continue employment at all in the US after the end of current year, the projected benefit would be reduced by 30% to dollars per month. (refer Exhibit )
29. I have a Traditional IRA valued at approximately dollars. I have also become eligible for company sponsored and company supplemented (aa%) 401K plan since date.
My current life phase is recognized as the prime period for accumulation of retirement savings. This period is made even more significant in my case because of my very young family. I have no second chance to accumulate savings other than over the next 10 years.
When I reach sixty years of age I will have two sons nearing college age and two sons in middle school. My two younger sons will reach college age around the time I reach my full retirement age for social security of years.
Being forced to move to Another-country would have a major impact on my outlook for retirement as well as on my ability to fund the education of my sons. My employment would cease upon the move, (and again on relocation back to the US) requiring at both times that savings be drained to fund day to day living, instead of being built for retirement.
In addition, if I have to move to Another-country and become a resident there for tax purposes my IRA savings will be significantly impacted.
If I was an Another-country resident I have to either pay Another-country income tax at marginal rates (≈40%) on the IRA earnings (because Another-country does not recognize the deferred tax status of an overseas retirement savings account) in addition to paying US Federal tax when any accumulated savings are withdrawn after age 59 ½ or, in the alternative, withdraw the savings from the IRA on relocation, and pay the early withdrawal penalty tax (10%), along with regular Federal income tax (≈28%) totaling approximately dollars. The depleted balance (dollars) would then be placed in an Another-country tax advantaged (15% tax) Retirement Fund, but to add further pain, as a US Citizen, I must file a US Tax Return each year. Since the IRS does not recognize the special tax status of the Another-country Retirement system, I would lose the tax advantaged status of all retirement investments, even though both countries have recognized the need for, and legislated, such accounts. Under any case where I was forced to leave the US my existing retirement savings would suffer a significant diminution, of in excess of 17% (dollars) as a result (refer Exhibit ).
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT AND MITIGATING FACTORS
30. I have been an active supporter of The US and I have strong ties to the community. I have been an active participant in the fffffffff Industry’s community involvement and response groups on The US since year. I undertook a lead role in the development of the ffffffffffff organization that satisfies the demands of law and have remained an active participant in that group to this time (refer Affidavit V).
When event occurred in year, causing a problem and stopping things I worked in a lead role with Government agencies to enable fixing the problem with great success.
IN SUMMARY
I would dearly love to be capable of writing so profound a paragraph that the extreme hardship I am suffering today would literally “jump off the page”. Whatever such a paragraph so eloquently said, I still cannot believe it could come close to expressing the extreme pain and suffering I can expect to face if my wife’s application for a waiver of her inadmissibility is denied. To be forced to choose between sons Son-3 and Son-4 in Another-country and sons Son-1 and Son-2 in State, to have to choose between a developed career with an Employer that needs me and an unknown future, and to have to choose between my need to be with my wife Alien-spouse and my sons and my need as a husband and father to financially support my whole family, is a dilemma I find beyond contemplation.

DATED this _________ day of month, 2008.

____________________________________
USC-SPOUSE

A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T

THE USA_______________________ )
) ss:
CITY OF zzzzzzzzz______________ )

ON THIS ____ day of month, 2008, before me, a notary public in and for THE USA, personally appeared USC-SPOUSE (SSN: aaaaaaaaa), known or identified to me to be the person whose name is subscribed to the foregoing instrument, and acknowledged to me that he executed the same as his free and voluntary act and deed for the uses and purposes therein contained.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed my official seal the day and year first above written.

________________________________________
(official signature and seal of notary)
Affidavits
I. Affidavit of USC-Spouse (this document)
II. Affidavit of Ex-wife
III. Affidavit of Boss
IV. Affidavit of Associate (re-employment prospects in Another-country)
V. Affidavit of Community Associate
Exhibits
Exhibit Birth Certificates of USC-Spouse’s four sons
Exhibit Email from 2nd wife, Ex-spouse, stating her address in State
Exhibit Judgment of Divorce-Property Settlement Agreement
Exhibit Copy of Facsimile sent to Ex-wife dated date
Exhibit Copy of emails from Ex-spouse requesting monetary assistance
Exhibit Another-country Health Insurance Tax Statement to date
Exhibit Mortgage of The US Apartment
Exhibit Rent receipts for Another-country Unit
Exhibit Social Security Benefit documents
Exhibit IRA statement and taxation rules for early withdrawal