are they going to ask...

[jsierra1982]

ok. a month ago my fiance (ewi from mexico) was arrested (and immediately released to his own custody) for driving without a license. the really unfortunate thing is that he has his "foreign resident" appointment at the dmv on aug. 15 to get his maryland drivers license...he almost made it without problems...

i recently started freaking out. we still don't have a court date, but i'm assuming it will be in mid to late august (we'll be married by then, on aug. 4th). when he goes to court, are they going to ask him if he's illegal and then detain and deport him? i know of several other latinos in this area who have been to court for traffic violations and have only had fines imposed and were let go without immigration status being an issue, but i feel like more and more people are being arrested and deported now.

anyone have experience with this?

also, if he is sentenced to jail time for this (stupid to waste jail space for people who were driving without a license, if you ask me, but you can get up to 2 months--we live in the city with the HIGHEST MURDER RATE IN THE NATION and they're jailing people for driving without a license...) will we have to file an i-212 for him when the time comes because he'll be a "convicted criminal?"


sorry for being long-winded...

[skamiri]

I'm very sorry for what's happening to you guys. Bringing the thread up, hope someone that knows will chime in and help.
Good Luck!!!

:include:

[nsoto]

will he be able to get a drivers license in Maryland? Then there shouldn't be a problem as far as the traffic stop goes.

I don't think traffic court cares if you are legal or not, they will go in and say do you plead guilty or non guilty, yes or no, you either have a drivers license or not, you pay the fee and your done.

IF..by chance they detain him, you need to make sure he asks to go before an immigration judge. Tell him NOT to sign anything. Cause he may be signing something for them to deport him.

Good Luck!!

[angela256z]

My husbands cousin was caught driving without a license, and intoxicated. He went to court and he just got a fine for it. I think your husband will be fine, but we are also in WA state which may have different laws. According to the police dept here ther police have nothing to do with Immigration and do not report them until a 3rd strike.

[jsierra1982]

thanks for the reassurance guys...keeping my fingers crossed.

at least we'll be married by then because it says somewhere on the directions for the i-130 or something that marriages that take place once immigration proceedings have started don't count for the whole process...God forbid anything like that would happen, though.

[hectorswife]

My husband had been pulled over for speeding (80 in a 55) :whoa:, not having a license, and providing a fake id (it was his friend's id and he gave it to the guy b/c he knew he'd find it anyway... he'd been using it to get into dance clubs... this was before we met... I'd kill him now!! haha) Anyways, the officer couldn't understand my husband so he called immigration to translate... then arrested him, took his prints, and put him in jail overnight. WOW! And all of this was in his friend's name... talk about confusing! He never went to court b/c he thought that he'd get deported... so, when we went to the immigration attorney to start the process, we told him about my hubby's "run-in" with the cops. We hired a criminal attorney for a thousand bucks to defend him b/c we had to get it cleared up before going to the appt even though it was seriously like 5 years old! We went to court and they dropped all of the charges but speeding, put the case in his real name and charged us the going rate for a speeding ticket! We had to pay bail before going to court just so that they knew that he'd go, but we got that back when we were done. They didn't ask about his immigration status at all, an immigration had been called when he was initially pulled over, and it said that on the police report! He was a lucky duck that night!! If you can, I would say hire a criminal attorney to defend you and you shouldn't have a problem... If you're from Minneapolis, I can give you our's name... Hope that helps!

[workboresme]

Well, I can't tell you what is or isn't going to happen, but this may give you some peace of mind.
Way back before I met the hubby, I smacked the crap (alright, I b**** slapped him) out of my ex boyfriend as he had beaten me up severley a couple of weeks previously. I was arrested on domestic violence charges - misdemeanour. Case was dismissed (thank you judge who looked like Steve Martin!) but my immigration status was never brought into it. (1 night in jail)

2004, stupidly got myself a DUI. (another night in jail). Neither of the above are even an issue with immigration.

2005, got busted for driving without a license - no jail time this time (huzzah!), just a fine.

Good luck!
(P.S. I'm not proud of the above (apart from smacking my ex) but just wanted to let you know it will probably be ok))

[milomito]

My hubby got a DUI in Virginia in 2004 before we met. He spent the night in jail and paid a hefty fine, but no one questioned (or if they did, didn't care) him about his immigration status.

He was driving on an international driver's license, and got his license suspended for a year, had to go to alcohol education classes.

I think your fiance will be fine.

JSierra1982, how does an illegal get a driver's license in Maryland? It's not possible in Virginia.

A lawyer we met with told us we would need to file a 212 with the 601. Not sure if that's true or not.

So for JSierra1982's question about filing a I212 w/ I601 or just I601? anyone?

[kitkat1]

A lawyer we met with told us we would need to file a 212 with the 601. Not sure if that's true or not.

Was your husband deported? I212 is for deportation or removal. If his was not deported/removed and the lawyer you met with still said you need to file a 212, do not go back to him.

[jsierra1982]

JSierra1982, how does an illegal get a driver's license in Maryland? It's not possible in Virginia.


oops, i thought an i-212 was for any kind of criminal record, not deportation. good to know.

ok, milomito, here's how it goes (and this is current because my husband's appt at the mva--maryland language for dmv--was TODAY!!!). and there are only 2 or 3 states where you can do it as an illegal--md is one of them, but i have heard a rumor that the laws are going to change in january to prohibit this.

here is what we did, if anyone is in md and can use this:
1. made an appointment for "international applicants"- this takes 3 months or so.
2. gathered documentation- mexican passport, mexican license, and at least two proofs of md residency- i put his name on my electric bill, plus he has his cell phone bill. just to be on the safe side, we brought a bank statement (bank of america does not require a ssn) and a sworn statement that i was his wife and knew where he lived, hehe.
3. he went and took a 3-hour drug and alcohol education class.
4. at the mva, they checked the documents--carefully. the woman paged through all these mexican license examples for about 10 minutes to see if his was fake or not. finally, she approved the papers.
5. once the papers are approved, you can take the written and road test like anyone else, without need for further appts. only difference is that they mail you the license once you pass instead of handing it to you.

where in va are you?

[corazoncita]

Have you had court yet? My husband has been caught 5 times in NC driving without a lisence (you'd THINK he would have LEARNED by now!!). The first 2 times he was fined, the 3rd time, we paid a lawyer $250 to go to court FOR us, and we paid court costs, no fine. The 4th time, we had a lawyer and it got dropped, and the 5th time an accident was involved. He totaled the car but ran away on foot because he KNEW he'd get busted again. He turned himself into the police the next day, was in the hospital for 2 weeks (surgery for internal bleeding from the wreck), then he was let go on a signature bond. The hearing was a couple weeks ago, and the judge was TICKED since it was his 5th time... to prison he went. In prison for 6 months and then getting deported. I love the crap outta my husband, but I HOPE he has learned!!!

Sorry for the long story, but I just wanted you to know that it generally takes a felony to get deported. I think your man will be OK! :)

[jsierra1982]

wow that's quite a story...we hired a lawyer, and we'll find out in september...

your daughter is adorable!