Wasn't sure where to post this...NEED ADVICE

[ashaloha]

I really could use some good advice!

My boyfriend is an illegal immigrant from Central America. He's the most amazingly wonderful man I know and I love him dearly. I could go on and on, even the story of how we met is like something out of a romantic comedy movie.
He has no papers here, he entered the US via Mexico without inspection. He has no government issued photo ID or passport from his country. Only his birth certificate.
I don't think we can even get married without an ID, can we? Then I just started researching what would happen if we could and all the I-601 waiver stuff. It made me feel a little sick to my stomach. Like, what if its not approved and will I be able to wait with him in his country. I don't think I can bear to be separated from months and months waiting for something like that and my heart goes out to every person in that situation.
So here is what I was thinking...maybe it would be better for him to go back to his country through Mexico and then the US would never know he had been here. I could fly to his country and we could get married and apply for the visa. I guess that would involve some dishonesty and that is wrong but I don't know what other options I have. Please help me.

[mymexicanman]

well first off welcome...

can u pls give a little more info as how old he is and when did he enter....

[ashaloha]

he's 23 years old. he's been in the US for almost 2 years.

[Cherokee]

Did he cross through the desert or through a port of entry? Has he had any contact with the police or worked under his name?

If you sneak him back to his country, he will have to prove that he has been there this whole time. It would be complicated and dangerous I think

[ashaloha]

i guess that would be complicated.
he went through the desert. he works under his last name and his first name as a middle name. he works with a fake first name only. i think he should at least start to pay taxes here. he's had no contact with the police. aside from working illegally, follows all the laws. is it impossible for us to ever get married because he has no ID?

[Glühbirne]

Your boyfriend will not be able to get legal without first leaving the country. You will have to file the I-601 once he's out of the country because the ten year bar will apply to him. You can file the I-601 for the fiance visa and then marry once it goes through and AOS in the states, or you can marry before hand and file the I-601 for a spouse visa.

[Cherokee]

You should look up the webpage of the city hall near you to see what ID they require for marriage. We used my husband's passport. He can get a passport from his country while he is in the US. He just needs to contact his consulate and apply for it.
He'll need one anyway if you guys decide to go through the legalization process.

[Laura]

It doesn't matter that it would be complicated, because we don't recommend lying to USCIS on this forum. There are hundreds of people here attempting to do things the right way (in this case with the I-601 waiver) and what you are suggesting is fraud. Sorry to be harsh, but this cannot turn into a discussion on how to trick the government into believing he was never here.

Besides, if you really sent him back to his country, it's not that you would have to prove he was living there that whole time, but you would have to prove how you met when you filed the fiance visa, and that would be more than complicated. You would have to plan a trip there and come up with a reason and then plot out how you are going to lie to the official so they don't even suspect your boyfriend had been to the U.S. There are a million things that could go wrong with that plan.

If you are committed to doing things the right way, read the guide in my signature. From what you are describing, he doesn't have any complicating issues that would make a denial of his I-601 likely at all. Since you aren't married and there is an issue with the ID, you can file the fiance visa and when he gets his interview (6-9 months) he would return to whatever country he is from (where is he from?) and interview. His visa would initially be denied for unlawful presence and then he would submit the I-601 waiver to prove the extreme hardship you would suffer if he were barred for ten years.

Generally, the consulates in Central America have a reputation for being rather lenient, so you don't need to be dying or anything to be approved. There is tons of help on this forum in the I-601 forums. Depending on where he was from sort of determines where this thread should moved. There are a lot of people here filing through Mexico, and growing numbers through Guatemala and Honduras.

Please don't freak out about the I-601. With good preparation and a simple case (like yours) it's more than do-able. If you are determined to get married first, he should be able to use whatever ID he brought with him from home to get a passport from his country. The IDs required for marriage vary by municipality, so if you can't marry in your city you probably can somewhere else.

[ashaloha]

Oh, sorry. I guess my whole post was silly. I never really intended to have a discussion on how to fraud the US government. You put it into perspective. I guess my whole main concern is him having no ID. I will do things the right way, I don't want to lie to any official.

[Laura]

Yeah, you really don't need to worry too much about that. Does he have any ID here or any vital documents from his home country?

[ashaloha]

He does have his birth certificate. But no photo ID.

[Laura]

What country is he from? He will probably want to go to the consulate for that country and try to get a passport. But either way you should look into what will be required to get married. It might just be a birth certificate. You never know.

Or you could do the fiance process...

[ashaloha]

He is from Nicaragua. Thank you for all your help.

[Laura]

In that case his waiver will be adjudicated by the consulate in Honduras. That is good. There are a good number of people going through that consulate and there have been approvals lately. I will move this thread. Also I believe it is Jess8fs (something like that) whose husband is from Nicaragua as well.

[y14gemini]

:wave: and :welcome:! What I would do is contact the nearest Nica consulate to see about him getting a passport. (http://www.consuladodenicaragua.com/consulate.asp#fl) It shows where they are located. You can even contact them to ask what is needed. Like it was stated before he will eventually need it when he travels back for his interview. What is his timeline again? When did he enter (year)? How old was he? How many times has he EWI? And once again any pronlems with law while here in the US?