New & Freaked Out-I212 or I601 Pls HELP

[Aussie-Amero]

Hi All,

I have spent 7 solid hours of inernet trawlling to end up here in tears. I am hoping someone who knows far more than I do will offer some/any advice. I will give you some background to help...

I overstayed on a visa waiver from Oct 02 to Dec 04 in the US ....dumbest most stupidist thing I have ever done. In Dec 04 in love with an emerican, I returned to australia unable to deal with being 'illegal anymore'. Now we are married and he is living here - all 100% legal and no problems there.

In the US I recieved some incorrect legal advice whilst there which was an attributing factor to why I overstayed this long. Last week I went to see a lawyer here. They both looked at my passport and I told them I overstayed 600 days crying my eyes out...they started laughing, asking what the problem was as this was only a mister minor and I should legal entry within 7 months tops...I was totally skeptical when I heard this as it sounded too easy but they was SO confident and almost mocking towards me for being so upset about my situation. Well yesterday they called and completely reversed they're position. They told me I would be looking at 10 years refusal of entry and that it would cost over $15000 and there was only a SLIGHT chance of winning.

I have no criminal record nor does my American husband anywhere in the world. I am university educated as is my husband. It is not clear if they have a record of me overstaying as I left via JFK just before the to US visit exist program was begun at JKF.

We haven't filed for a spousal visa yet..

Can anybody please help me as I have no faith in this Australian Attornery considering what they didn't tell me or know when I first met them.

Can anybody recommend an immigration attorney specialist in I212 or I601's.....Pink Pig and any other immigration informed human beings
...please what do you see in your immigration crystal ball. How bad is this all going to be?

I will also post this under the I212 incase this is in the wrong location.

Thanks for anyone responding...I need all the help I can get right now:shy::shy:

[slubberry]

The bad news is that you do have a 10 year ban. However, the good news is that it is waivable with an I-601 waiver. The waiver must include an extreme hardship letter that describes the hardships to USCs. The grey area is in the term "extreme hardship" and it is at the discretion of the reviewing officer. I'm not sure what the statistics are for your country.

The process begins with an I-130 (immediate relative immigration petition ) or I-129F ( fiance petition ), approval of the petition, denial of the visa due to overstay, then I-601 review and hopefully approval.

Start gathering up hardships for USC involved and make sure to gather up evidence also.

[jerrys]

you came to the right place for help, its going to be a long Journey so be patient as best you can. as far as them having any record of you over staying is unknown.

there are so many good people on here will to help and i think they know more than the average immigration attorney's out there, like pinkpig for one. personally i think she should be working with laurel scott who is a very very good 601 attorney on here, check her out too if you want to hire an attorney.

If not you will get all the help and advise on here you need. these folks on here been to war and after going to war you know what wins battles and what loses battles, so take there advise and knolage.

good luck:thumbup:

[Pinkpig]

Hello,

Take a deep breath and dry those tears. Take this a step at a time.

My best advice is to run all the facts of your case by a trusted, experienced, US immigration attorney, who has experience with waivers and your consulate (if at all possible). Immigration law is federal so your attorney's USA location is not relevant.

The reason I say this is that what seems like minutia to us can really get you in a mess with immigration. The only way to really know this is to HONESTLY lay all the facts on the table to said attorney and then let them ask you the relevant questions. We can all quote what has happened to us and try to see what we think might apply but only said attorney can really tell you. It can get very tangled.

And then again some cases are very easily navigated. Lawyers are not cheap. The risk/reward is just one of the decisions you will have to make.

Here is compilation of folks on this site who have filed thru Australia. We don't have many:

screen name - location- status- date filed - date decided-reason- Y=212-
s=spouse
f=fiance
over=overstay
cimt=crimes involving moral turpitude
f/m=fraud misrepresentation


americankiwi Bangkok Aukland, NZ Pending 14-Jun-07 Over S Law Laurel Scott

HwaRang Bangkok Australia Denied 10-Apr-03 21-Aug-03 Over S Law denied 11 days after RFE submission

HwaRang Bangkok Australia Approved 1-Nov-04 2-Dec-04 Over S submitted new waiver after denial

Koukla07 Bangkok Australia Den'd/BanOver 1-Nov-04 5-Jul-05 Over F ban over 3/06, setting new appt. fiance application denied, getting married will DCF August

lillyfire25 Bangkok Australia Approved 1-Feb-05 22-Feb-05 Over S Law

Shel Bangkok Australia Denied 31-Mar-05 19-Apr-05 CIMT F own

jandd Bangkok Australia Approved 1-Nov-05 29-Nov-05 Over S Law

bellabarb Bangkok Australia

You should read Laurel's memo on her site at visacentral.net and also take a look at our lawyer's website. Tons of information there. Her link is in my signature.

Just read and read and read some more. Your best offense is to educate yourself.

Good Luck. There are so many wonderful helpful folks on this site...so just ask away and someone will probably know the answer or at least where to look for it.