I-601 in Honduras (w/ criminal record)

[corazoncita]

:bluesad::bluesad::bluesad:


My husband is in jail right now for a non-violent, non-drug-related felony offense. He was very cooperative, and he did not flee the country... he faced the consequences of what he did and went to all his court dates. He also has a few minor traffic offenses/ misdimeanors from before we met. Yesterday he was sentenced to 6-8 months, and the lawyer (also consequently an immigration attorney) said they would most likely deport him after the time was served.

1st) We filled out paperwork for the I-130 over a year ago, but I never sent it off because I found out I was pregnant, and I wanted him to be in the US for the birth of our child. Now that he is in jail and is inevitably going to be deported, should I go ahead and send off paperwork for the I-130? I'm worried that his hearing date in Tegu will be scheduled while he is still in jail... if that is the case, would we be able to postpone the appointment?

2nd) I have very amazing, significant hardships... I have been a member of this forum for almost 2 years (for some reason, I had to re-register), and I have read all the i-601 approvals. I definitely have what it takes to get my husband approved for a waiver, as long as he is still elegible for a waiver after you take his record and deportation into effect. Does anyone know if an EWI with a not-so-good record has been approved in Honduras?

[wanaads]

Hello there and welcome to our little Honduran family! I'm going to take a stab at answering your questions though I'm sure others with more info will pipe in soon.

1) As you can see from my timeline, it took six months to get my I-130 approval - that was nearly two months ago and I still haven't recieved the last two forms I need to submit in order to get my husband's appointment which, according to the embassy's website is usually 1-2 months after the receive the packet from NVC. In short, I think it would be safe for you to file your I-130 now even if your husband is in jail for the full 8 months. Also, someone on the other thread mentioned postponing their appointment a few times - I think they just contacted the embassy and asked and it didn't seem to be a problem. Email addresses for the embassy are also on the other thread.

2) I'm fairly certain that you can still file a waiver under the circumstances you describe, as long as your husband does not have multiple entries which would prohibit you from even applying for a waiver for 10 years. I know there is additional paperwork involved if your husband has been deported (is it a 212 form or something like that?) I don't know much about this, but others will. If you feel like you've got a good case, I think you should send in that I-130 and get the process started. You'll have to deal with another separation while he waits out the waiver in Honduras but, optimistically speaking, he could be back here with a visa in less than two years if you get started now.

[corazoncita]

Thank you so much for your help! I will get started right away. Since we filled out the I-130 stuff back in May of 2005, I will have to update the apps. I don't know how I will get his signatures on them... I surely won't sign them for him, as I don't want to be caught "forging" by USCIS. I don't know if the prison/jail/whatever-the-crap-it-is will let him receive something like an immigration application.

Fortunately, he has never entered more than once-- so at least we have that going for us.

However, if he is deported, I wonder how long that process takes. Like, after his sentence is finished, will immigration come pick him up from the correctional facility and then take him to another place until they round up enough Hondurans to send a plane full of them to Tegucigalpa? I wish I knew more about the deportation process as well... I am just so sad. I know jail must be horrible enough, but I'm not as upset as much about that as the deportation afterwards... I've heard that those immigration officers are really rough on people.

[wanaads]

Yes, I actually didn't think about how long it would take for him to be deported. I just don't know very much about this. I'm assuming since he'll be coming from jail they won't let him do a voluntary departure. Have you spoken with a lawyer? Since you'll have the deportation issue, it would be worthwhile to at least have a consultation with someone so they can explain the process to you (what will happen once your husband is released from jail). You can always ask during Laurel Scott's weekly chat. Unfortunately, this week's was today but she does them every Wednesday at 11am CDT. She might be able to give you a better sense of the timeline. There are also threads here for people in the same or similar circumstance as you that I'm sure would be helpful. Have you looked through the I-212 thread?

Hang in there. I know it's hard but you'll get through and your family will be together again. Just stay focused on that.

[corazoncita]

Well I took your advice and just talked to the attorney's office... this was the attorney who represented him in the criminal offense, and he is also an immigration lawyer. His paralegal, Wendy, is awesome-- and she just gave me a whole bunch of free advice.

She said that he won't "necessarily" be deported. She told me that immigration has to pick him up within the 48 hours preceding his release date, and if they haven't come by the moment he is supposed to be released, they must turn him free. If they do come pick him up, they will transport him to Louisiana, and he will be held there anywhere from 2 weeks to 6 months... just until they get enough Hondurans to fly a plane there.

She told me to go ahead and file the I-130. There is a place on the back of the app to ask where we would like to pick up the visa. Normally you would write, "Tegucigalpa, Honduras" but in this case, I would put something like "Charlotte, NC." His I-130 would be approved from within the US (usually takes about 3 months for the ones Wendy files) and since no other steps of the process can be completed from within the US, the paperwork will just sit there until I have it moved. I will leave the paperwork in the US until I know whether he will be deported or not.

If he is released, I will then file the i824 (all this does is move the paperwork from the US to Honduras) and they will set an appointment date for us in Tegucigalpa. He will leave voluntarily for the appointment, and of course after that I will file the i601 waiver app.

If he is deported, I will wait until I know he is back in Honduras, then file the i824 to move the paperwork; then I will fly to Tegucigalpa to attend the appointment with him. Following that is the i212 (b/c of forced deportation) AND I need to send in the i-601 at the same time.

She said that if we file in the US, the paperwork just sits there once the i-130 is approved. The i-824 will keep us from missing our appointment in Tegucigalpa. It will also allow me to file the I-130 right away so that some of the waiting process will happen during the time he is in jail-- knocking out two birds with one stone.

Hopefully he will be able to contact me soon, so that I can tell him all this.

[aguafria]

Hi corazoncita,
I'm also a Honduras filer. I just want to tell you good luck and from what the lawyers office stated it sounds very promising.

[catrachowife]

Like the lawyer said, I wouldn't be concerned about him being deported. My hubby has a Mexican friend here in Wisconsin who has been in jail a couple times for drunk driving, has been in trouble for domestic abuse and a bunch of other problems, and still remains here illegally. And I'm sure it would be easier to get a plane full of Mexicans to deport than one full of Hondurans, just because there aren't as many around here. But definetly get your I130 our there because it can take some time, depending on if you have all the paperwork needed, for instance does your husband have a passport? We ended up delaying the whole process several months just waiting to get his passport to send a copy to immigration. Good luck. And by the way, your daughter is adorable!!! Mine was born in April and she looks like she could be your daugher's sister!

[wanaads]

Great to hear you have a lawyer and paralegal who seem to know what they're doing! A few months ago when the immigration bill still looked like a possibility, I had a lawyer tell me that we could slow down the process as much as we wanted to by taking our time to turn in the various forms that come after your I-130 approval. Though I don't want things to move any slower than they already are, it was good to know that if anything came up we would have some measure of control. Sounds like you've got a good plan going though. Best of luck and keep us posted!

[corazoncita]

[QUOTE=catrachowife;10838] for instance does your husband have a passport? We ended up delaying the whole process several months just waiting to get his passport to send a copy to immigration.[QUOTE]

Yes, he did have a passport, but I sent it to him a few weeks ago (for the past few months, I've been in Missouri, and he has been in NC) because his non drivers lisence was about to expire. It got LOST in the mail!! :mad:Of all things, US Postal Service lost the single most important document we own. I don't know how to get him another passport... What do I need?

[wanaads]

Wow! That's terrible about your husband's passport! I'm not 100% certain about this, but I think he needs to be present to get a new passport. He would need to take the photos and present his birth certificate, sign it, etc. My husband got one at the Honduran consulate in DC, but he had to wait in line on three separate days to do it. It was a huge pain. Maybe they do it differently at different places??? I don't know. I lost my passport once and had to go through the whole process again - it's not like they just replace the one you had.

Ugh! That's really just awful that the post office lost it. You don't have a copy by any chance???

[corazoncita]

Nope... I sure don't have a copy. :( I don't know what I'm going to do... especially if he gets deported. In order to get my passport, all I had to do was send in my birth certificate, my social (I think... this was a good 5 years ago) and a picture. What I do have is an original birth certificate and a passport picture. I am screwed...

[corazoncita]

WOOOO-HOOOO! Check this out, ladies!

http://immigrate2us.net/forum/showthread.php?p=11497#post11497

[Laura]

Like the lawyer said, I wouldn't be concerned about him being deported. My hubby has a Mexican friend here in Wisconsin who has been in jail a couple times for drunk driving, has been in trouble for domestic abuse and a bunch of other problems, and still remains here illegally. And I'm sure it would be easier to get a plane full of Mexicans to deport than one full of Hondurans, just because there aren't as many around here. But definetly get your I130 our there because it can take some time, depending on if you have all the paperwork needed, for instance does your husband have a passport? We ended up delaying the whole process several months just waiting to get his passport to send a copy to immigration. Good luck. And by the way, your daughter is adorable!!! Mine was born in April and she looks like she could be your daugher's sister!

Wisconsin, Milwaukee anyway, is "notoriously" lax on connecting criminal issues with those of immigration. I also know a number of immigrants who have had DUIs or other misdemeanors and there has never been any talk of immigration becoming involved. From some of the stories I have heard from members from other states, this is somewhat unusual. I think it depends on the municipality. Also, there might be a difference in the amount of background checking they do for a longer jail sentence compared to a nice in jail for intoxication, for example. In any case, corazoncita, it seems you are well-prepared. Good luck!

[wanaads]

Hey corazoncita! Great news about not needing the passport. I could have swore I sent a copy of my husband's but, you know, I have copied and mailed off so many damn pieces of paper over the last 8 months, who knows?? Anyway, glad to hear that you can get things going - and that the consulate was so nice when you called!