Please help! husband detained in el centro,ca

[pepito08]

I married my husband in sep 07, he is canadian citizen, i am us. we are in the process of completing the paperwork for his papers and he just needed to get a physical. He was arrested 1/15 at border patrol in san clemente, ca. we live in san diego. Even tho he showed them his canadian ss card and green card they wanted his us green card and he explained hes in the process. So they questioned how long he has been here and he told them since sept and since he was in seatle first then california they charged him with fraud....entering us illegally with intention to stay for a few days. After being transferred from one place to another he is now in el centro ca awaiting his paperwork to be submitted for bail hearing. to make matters worse they never transported his wallet with him with all his information so i am trying to track that down. i hired an attorney and have paid $2450 for consultation and request for bail hearing and nothing has happened! my question is why they arrested him in the first place especially if he is married to me a us citizen. y couldnt i just go there and show them our marraige cert. He now sits and waits to hear something and we are both going nuts. Has anyone been through this? if so any advice for me? im so scared this is going to ruin our life especially if he is deported to canada. please help! im losing my mind! my husband is not a criminal!!!!

[Laura]

Hi Pepito - I'm not clear on all the specifics of your situation, but marriage to a U.S. citizen does not, by any means, make someone lawfully present in the U.S. What papers had you filed? Adjustment of status - I-485/I-130, etc?

I know Canadians are allowed to come and go without visas, but if he entered as a tourist and then married he had immigrant intent and technically that is misrepresentation/fraud. I hope someone else is able to answer more questions.

If not, next Wednesday at 11:00 am central time you can attend a free chat with attorney Laurel Scott at her website, visacentral.net.

[pepito08]

thanks for responding. he was here a few months back visiting friends and family and i was actually living in nj. i came for my yearly visit when i met him. i was here for 3wks and we basically fell in love.(believe it or not) he offered for me to move to canada but if i relocated i wanted it to be california. so i went home to nj packed my stuff and moved here and told him if he wanted to be with me to do the same. he left sept 2 and returned sept 12. We married on sept 17 hired an attorney but nothing was ever processed b/c it took some time retrieving all of his background(born in yugoslavia) this marraige is 100% for real. the only regret i have is letting him handle this on his own....i never thought this could happen. now im learning the hard way. do you think he will be deported, or will the judge grant him temp residence to get his papers processed. I really dont want to move to canada. this is mentally and emotionally draining. i tried joining the chat today but couldnt. hope to hear back from you soon. thanks for your time. your an amazing person for helping everyone in these situations. god bless

[pepito08]

that is a touching letter and i feel for you. in the past i would not have any sympathy but now being in similiar situation its heartbreaking. good luck

[gaby]

I am sorry for your husband, but as laura said being married to USC does not entitle of be free in US, till you have a green card.
From cases I have read here he might get deported, but there are waiver to fix the situation.
Ask your question to laurel next wednesday.
Choose a good attorney to handle his case, because if you say you already pay 2400 for a consultation and nothing happened, then you shoould be careful.
I have been in Canada before and is even safer and better than USA, in my opinion.

[Salsa2]

Not that it helps you now, but I think you should have applied for a fiance visa for him when he went back to Canada in September. He needed to enter the US with that kind of visa, not a tourist visa. A tourist visa is a NON-immigrant visa. You are not allowed to enter the country on a tourist visa if you are coming to get married b/c you intend to become an immigrant.

Not sure what the judge will do. He may be deported while his AOS goes through and you may need a waiver to get around the fraud charge. You can ask Laurel at her chat for direction, but she will doubtless tell you to get a good lawyer!

I know he did not intend to commit fraud, but technically, he did.

My heart goes out to you. I am seperated from my husband right now too b/c of immigration issues and I know it is very hard.

I think this can be fixed, but you may be seperated for a bit or you may need to move to canada temporarily (sorry).

[Laura]

thanks for responding. he was here a few months back visiting friends and family and i was actually living in nj. i came for my yearly visit when i met him. i was here for 3wks and we basically fell in love.(believe it or not) he offered for me to move to canada but if i relocated i wanted it to be california. so i went home to nj packed my stuff and moved here and told him if he wanted to be with me to do the same. he left sept 2 and returned sept 12. We married on sept 17 hired an attorney but nothing was ever processed b/c it took some time retrieving all of his background(born in yugoslavia) this marraige is 100% for real. the only regret i have is letting him handle this on his own....i never thought this could happen. now im learning the hard way. do you think he will be deported, or will the judge grant him temp residence to get his papers processed. I really dont want to move to canada. this is mentally and emotionally draining. i tried joining the chat today but couldnt. hope to hear back from you soon. thanks for your time. your an amazing person for helping everyone in these situations. god bless

If it's possible, try and do a consult with Laurel Scott. It's like $100/125 depending if you e-mail or talk to her on the phone. I think she'll be able to better clarify. If he's deported you will need a waiver but I'm not really certain what will happen at all. Canada is different because people can come with no visa, but it really depends if he has accumulated at least 6 months of unlawful presence. Anyway, if you go to visacentral.net and click on consultation you will see the info on talking to her.

Good luck!

P.S. my husband is a resident now, so we are through all of this. I just hang out on this site because it helped me so much in the past and it's also a good place to glean little bits about the immigration system...

[JMRJ]

Pepito, calm down.

Your husband is being detained right now because the INS wants to see if he is removable from the U.S. He is likely being interviewed right now regarding his immigration status. The INS will then file the Notice To Appear hearing with the immigration court, thereby initiating the removal proceedings. Only then you'll find out what is his immigration violation really. For now, it does not make sense figuring out what kind of relief he'll get. Not until the issuance of Notice to Appear.

For now, the most important thing you can do is to get him out in jail asap. It's nasty inside the jail. Contact the INS where your husband were in custody and ask them if he is eligible to be released on a delivery bond. Meaning you'll put a set amount of money so he can get in jail while waiting for his court hearing. If he is not subject to mandatory detention, the INS should be able to set an initial bond. If you can't afford the bond, then you can ask for a bond redetermination hearing. But if you can afford it, it's better than staying and waiting inside the jail. He can get out today or tomorrow if you are willing to pay. You'll get the money back as long as he will show up at the court hearing and follow the judge's order.

Come back for more questions.

[blueblue]

Here's a list of other lawyers too that have been recommended on the site. http://www.immigrate2us.net/forum/showthread.php?t=889

Good luck, it will take some time to unravel, but it should come out well. Come back and ask questions as needed.

[JMRJ]

Don't let him sign anything or don't let him get deported. You need to go and rescue him and tell the INS that he will fight for his case in court and at the meantime, ask if he can be released from custody pending a decision in his removal hearing.

[pepito08]

thank you for the support and advice I appreciate it. My attorney e-mailed me letting me know the NTA has been submitted so in the morning he will schedule the hearing date. Wish me Luck! thanks again