Where do I begin?

[Rocio80]

My fiancé is still detained. I have not been able to speak to him yet. All I know is that he is charged with immigration violation and that he has been assigned a lawyer. So if I can delay his deportation I may be able to help. What forms do I need to start filling out???? Please help!!!
Thank you
Rocio

[Laura]

Can you provide more information? How did he enter? Did he come here multiple times? Any visas? And crimes? How long has he been here?

[Rocio80]

Hi Laura my fiance entered with a student visa. He's been here since 2000. He was married before but it didn't work out and they never went to there last appointment. So he pretty over stayed his visa. He was trying to cross into canada and thats where he was picked up. I called the detention center where he's at and the only thing they will tell me is that he status is immigration violation. If you need more info please let me konw. I need help!

[Rocio80]

I forgot to mention this is his first time here, and has commited no crimes except trying to cross the border. Also his bond was set at 20,000 and the next day it was raised by border patrol to 50,000. I don't know what I should do.

[Rocio80]

I didn't mean to post my question here and I posted it in other questions. Now is say my message has been move, how do I know where it has moved it to?

[Pinkpig]

Hi Laura my fiance entered with a student visa. He's been here since 2000. He was married before but it didn't work out and they never went to there last appointment. So he pretty over stayed his visa. He was trying to cross into canada and thats where he was picked up. I called the detention center where he's at and the only thing they will tell me is that he status is immigration violation. If you need more info please let me konw. I need help!


Generally speaking, if he did not complete his immigration process and/or left the country for any length of time, the process would be canceled and any visa that he did have would be revoked. If he tried to enter with that old visa, he would be denied at the border.

[katy_brovig]

Hi Rocio,

Sorry to hear this is happening to you. It happened to me and my husband, too, before we got married. Since every case is so different, I'm not entirely sure if I have any useful advice to give, but maybe I can tell you what happened with us and see if that gives you any ideas.

First and foremost, you're going to need an attorney. Your fiance is probably dealing with court-appointed attorneys while he's inside the detention center. You're going to want to do some research and find a reputable one who can help you once he's out, if he's able to post bond. We were lucky in that my husband's sister is a naturalized citizen, and so we used her lawyer in Boston to help us once he got out. Where, exactly, are you located? There are a lot of people on here from all over, so someone might have some advice for where to look.

For practical matters, does your fiance have an A# and do you know what it is? I was lucky that I had that at the time, and was able to call the court information line (800.898.7180) and find out when my husband's hearings were. I also was able to see him when I flew out to the detention center (in this case, El Paso). If you know where he is, and are nearby, you can call them and see when their visiting hours are.

SIDE NOTE: I know at the detention center in El Paso, they were real Nazis about following the rules. E.g., I checked out of my hotel the morning of my husband's final hearing, and unfortunately my bag wouldn't fit in the lockers at the detention center where everything is supposed to be checked. The desk clerk wouldn't hold my bag for me so I could go into the hearing no matter how much I begged, so I basically just sat outside and cried ... It was so horrible. Just horrible. Moral of the story: Take only your IDs to the detention center and follow the rules. They won't do you any favors.

Anyway, I wasn't able to sit in on my husband's meetings with the court-appointed attorneys at the time, so I know very little about those deliberations inside the detention center. But I know that the judge set a bond of $5k, my husband filed for asylum, and then they let him out as soon as he paid the bond and set a court date for nearly a year hence so that he could build his asylum case.

About your fiance's bond. I am only familiar with one case, unfortunately, but my husband's bond was only $5k. I'm trying to remember if it was high at some point, and then lowered to just $5k, but I simply can't recall. Anyway, $50k seems high to me. Are you sure that's the correct amount? Is there any way that you can talk to the attorney of record on your husband's case to determine if there's any rhyme/reason to the bond amount and if it's expected to be lowered? (The only way I found out the attorney of record on my husband's case was sitting in the reception area during his hearing and waiting for the attorney to come out and speak to me. My husband had to give her permission to talk to me b/c we weren't married at the time.)

If the bond is lowered and your fiance is able to pay it and get out, then I suppose if you guys were ready to get married, you could go ahead and file the I-130 and start the process while his case is working its way through the courts. We did not do that (my family had a lot of reservations about me marrying someone who was here illegally, so we had to take our time, get everyone comfortable with the idea ... and then we married about a year and a half after he was picked up by ICE). While we were waiting to get married, his asylum case was pending and is still pending. And I think this is the ONE INSTANCE where I was grateful that immigration proceedings are so painfully slow b/c it gave us the time we needed.

Beware, marrying someone who's in removal proceedings means that your case will be met with a lot more scrutiny and take a lot more time to be adjudicated. The very first step in the process is filing the I-130, and we've been told it could very well take up to 2 years until we find out if it's approved. Only when it's approved can we file for adjustment, work permit, etc. So be prepared for your lives to be put on hold for that long. My husband can't work, can't drive (can't get a driver's license), etc.

OK, so I know that's a terribly long-winded response. But I just remember how scary it was when my husband was picked up by ICE. I was utterly terrified, no kidding. So I really feel for what you're going through ... Good luck, and please keep us posted.

[dianna832]

Hi,

I'm sorry for what has happened to your fiance... katy has given you great advise... i would recommend that you ask your fiance's lawyer to request a bond redetermination hearing. At this hearing, the lawyer can ask the judge to reconsider the bond and have it lowered.... When my husband (at that time fiance) was detained, he was given no bond... so he was not able to get out of detention... our lawyer asked for a hearing and the judge gave us a $3000 bond!! Once he got out of detention we got married and filed the i-130 and now we are just waiting... Good luck... i wish you the best.

[katy_brovig]

i would recommend that you ask your fiance's lawyer to request a bond redetermination hearing.

That's very useful advice, Dianna! I'm wondering if she's been able to get in touch with her fiance's lawyer yet.

I see that both of our husbands had pretty low bonds once they were set. I wonder if setting bond can be a pretty arbitrary thing and that's why Rocio's fiance's was set so high (maybe one of the attorneys will chime in with insight).

I remember so few details from when my husband was in detention (I was so out of my head with worry; everything's fuzzy). I did ask him, though, if he'd ever had a higher bond and he didn't think so and I also went through our files and couldn't find anything to the contrary. So I think it was initially set at only $5k. My goodness, if it had been $50k, we would've been up a creek ...

[Caribbeanman]

Hi Guys,having a high bond could mean many things..1.being a flight risk 2.No ties to the United States 3.Criminal charges 4.How you entered the U.S.

[Rocio80]

Hi everyone, I have an update. I was finally able to speak to my fiance. He's been transferred to franklin county jail. He told me that while he was being held by border patrol they did not know he spoke english. He over heard them say that my fiances case is an easy case and he could get out jby getting a lawyer. So they said lets raise his bond so we can keep him longer. When I heard that it really made me mad. There's probably nothing that can be done about that, but I know that we can get his bond lowered. He still doesn't have a court date, but hopefully he will be soon. Thank you everyone for your help and concern. I will keep you guys updated.

[1MessedUpSourPatchKid]

Hi everyone, I have an update. I was finally able to speak to my fiance. He's been transferred to franklin county jail. He told me that while he was being held by border patrol they did not know he spoke english. He over heard them say that my fiances case is an easy case and he could get out jby getting a lawyer. So they said lets raise his bond so we can keep him longer. When I heard that it really made me mad. There's probably nothing that can be done about that, but I know that we can get his bond lowered. He still doesn't have a court date, but hopefully he will be soon. Thank you everyone for your help and concern. I will keep you guys updated.

Oh wow!! just wow!!

That's crazy that these people are such jerks. Can you afford an attorney? Possibly just pay the bond if in fact it is true that he can just get out by paying the bond??

That's insane!! I was just getting angry as I read your post. :gaah::angry::pullinghair:

[Rocio80]

They are jerks, but unfortunatly thats how they treat people. Hopefully the judge will lower his bond so he can come home to me and his little girl. I can't afford an attorney, but I've been searching for ones that are not too expensive. Thank you for replying.
Rocio