AB's Immigration Status

Kamille,

Thanks so much for this thread! I've always believed the photos in front of the white sheet were DIY passport photos. LE's been very, very quiet on AB's immigration status but my impression, based on all we've learned so far, is that no application for residency was made. Maybe thought about, possibly started, but never seen through IMO.

According to MF: AB, EB, and Zahra arrived in NC from Oz in December of 2008. IF he had a tourist visa issued it would have allowed him only 6 months and he would have had to show he intended to return to Australia as well as having sufficient funds for the length of his stay. Under the VWP he was only entitled to stay 90 days. IMO he was not issued a tourist visa - came in under VWP - and overstayed.

This would have been a mark against him in terms of a residency application but add to that the sheer volume of paperwork; the huge expense and AB would have to prove he had permission to remove Zahra from Oz...I just don't think it likely AB and EB went the legal route in terms of immigration. JMO
 
Kamille,

Thanks so much for this thread! I've always believed the photos in front of the white sheet were DIY passport photos. LE's been very, very quiet on AB's immigration status but my impression, based on all we've learned so far, is that no application for immigration was made. Maybe thought about, possibly started, but never seen through IMO.

According to MF: AB, EB, and Zahra arrived in NC from Oz in December of 2008. IF he had a tourist visa issued it would have allowed him only 6 months and he would have had to show he intended to return to Australia as well as having sufficient funds for the length of his stay. Under the VWP he was only entitled to stay 90 days. IMO he was not issued a tourist visa - came in under VWP - and overstayed.

This would have been a mark against him in terms of a residency application but add to that the sheer volume of paperwork; the huge expense and AB would have to prove he had permission to remove Zahra from Oz...I just don't think it likely AB and EB went the legal route in terms of immigration. JMO

Did you read the link I posted BritsKate? She tried to get their immigration papers through an online website! But they were ripped off. Okay that part is funny.

MOO
 
BIG SLEUTH there Kamille!

What a dumb one she is. First of all if paper work came to me with that many mistakes, I surely would question this company and did further checking into. I would not have even given that company a second chance. What a dumb***
 
Did you read the link I posted BritsKate? She tried to get their immigration papers through an online website! But they were ripped off. Okay that part is funny.

MOO

I did! Karma in action. That's why I think the intention was there to go through it legally and maybe once they realised what was involved, and after having lost so much money, they abandoned the idea.

A big sticking point for me would be custodial orders...short of forging Australian court papers which would be checked out by USCIS they would have been between a rock and a hard place. Our visas weren't approved by the British Consulate until they had a court order in hand granting me permission to remove the kids from the States. I really don't know how they would have gotten past that.

ETA: I managed my own visa applications. It is a lot of work - but anyone could do it. However, it is recommended if there are potential problems with an application for residency (like overstaying or illegal entry) you hire an immigration specialist. FWIW and JMO
 
Oh what a shame, they were scammed….Best laugh I've had in days.

I wonder if they went ahead with another agency or filed themselves after getting burned. Somehow, like BritsKate, I very much doubt it, and having already overstayed his visa would most likely have been denied anyway.

O/T while I find it hard to much care about the Bakers’ bad experience, in general I would warn anyone wanting to use one of these internet immigration services to save themselves some money. I know from people who have used them that even the ‘legit’ ones, who don’t just run away with your money, basically do little more than make you pay through the nose for a bunch of forms you can download at the USCIS website for free . Yes, they might throw in a cd or a booklet of instructions as to how to complete the forms but once again, the USCIS helpline for guidance is also free and, I know from experience, the agents there are extremely courteous, patient and informative. Using one of these paid services is costly on top of what is already an expensive process and you still have to complete those forms yourself and compile all the supporting evidentiary documentation, those services won’t do any of that for you.
 
AB and Zahra's immigration status was probably another reason why Zahra didn't receive medical attention. AB was more than likely working under the table as I'm sure AB and EB wouldn't want to bring any attention from the IRS by filing a W2 form or filing taxes. Any attempt at SSI would also need documentation. With DSS on their tail EB and AB probably felt that Zahra needed to be out of the school system where records of shots and immunizations are required and attention to signs of abuse would be observed.
 
Kamille,

Thanks so much for this thread! I've always believed the photos in front of the white sheet were DIY passport photos. LE's been very, very quiet on AB's immigration status but my impression, based on all we've learned so far, is that no application for residency was made. Maybe thought about, possibly started, but never seen through IMO.

According to MF: AB, EB, and Zahra arrived in NC from Oz in December of 2008. IF he had a tourist visa issued it would have allowed him only 6 months and he would have had to show he intended to return to Australia as well as having sufficient funds for the length of his stay. Under the VWP he was only entitled to stay 90 days. IMO he was not issued a tourist visa - came in under VWP - and overstayed.

This would have been a mark against him in terms of a residency application
but add to that the sheer volume of paperwork; the huge expense and AB would have to prove he had permission to remove Zahra from Oz...I just don't think it likely AB and EB went the legal route in terms of immigration. JMO

That's not correct IMO. If you arrive in the US on any visa, whether tourist, or visa waiver, and and are given entry across the border, then your status in the US is legal. Once here, it's also legal to apply for a change of status from tourist/ visitor to permanent resident. Depending on how backed up the State is in which you file with application, it can take up to 18 months or more to process the green card, and that's the priority fast track for spouses and their dependents, others can take much longer, up to 5 years. During all that time, the applicant is without a visa, but that doesn't mean they are in the US illegally, not at all. Illegal means you swam into the country, kwim?

As part of the approval for change of status, finances, tax returns, criminal records blah, blah are all reviewed, and at that point, they would be looking for a signature of consent from biomum that she gave her permission for the child Z to be removed permanently from the home jurisdiction. She would retain joint custody (if that had been originally granted), but it would be under the laws of the US from then on, not Australia.

Without Biomum's signature agreeing to the application (I don't believe it requires a court order unless rules have changed recently), then their application to bring Z into the US would be rejected, it's a non-starter. Then the only way to get Z in without Biomum's approval, would be to battle it out in the Australian Courts and prove beyond a reasonable doubt that it would be in the child's best interests to be living in the US with EB and AB, rather than staying in Australia with Bio-mum. That would never have happened because of her medical condition - apart from anything else.

By the way, while an application for change of status is being processed, they couldn't leave the country without special permission, called parole. (I kid you not). Well, they could leave the US, but they wouldn't get back in again.

This post at the complaint site by EB was a great catch, since it adds more credence to the theory that they came over on a visa waiver or tourist visa, but never filed change status to permanent resident. The first time we discussed this topic, Biomum had not come forward, and we now know there is no way she consented to remove Z to the US and there's no way they could have proved they could provide a better life for her in the US than staying where she was with National Health Service freely available.

I think they only made a half hearted attempt to fix the visa problem because they were on a road going nowhere and they knew it, and the reason why they ended up with a scammer was because no reputable immigration attorney would touch them with a bargepole, and their application was doomed to fail, at least for Z.

Put another way, if they had followed the system, it would have provided the safeguard Z needed to prevent her from being removed from Australia, or would have resulted in her being returned to the Australian courts for due process there, thereby averting this tragedy.

I was on the fence about AB's involvement a week ago, but I now despise them both equally, for they are both equally culpable in this decision, which proactively put his own selfish interests ahead of his child's best interests, even to the extent of denying her proper immigration process. When he put her on that plane for NC, he knew he was doing wrong and didn't care. That was an evil act, by both of them, they should have left her behind:furious:.

Thanks for posting. :twocents:
 
Now if EB divorses AB....where does AB stand?
Will AB or can AB be deported BEFORE he is charged wth ANY crimes here???
 
Sorry about the long post, but I need to get this off my chest as there seems to be a lot of confusion about this visa stuff. Let me also add to the post above, that I oversimplified the change of status approval process for Z. EB and AB would not only have to prove that they had Biomum's approval (easy to forge I suppose), and to prove they had a reasonable level of income to support the family (the threshold is not that high), they would also have to go through a medical. Why? because Immigration want to know that the person they are letting in is not going to be a burden on the state, and that includes Zahra's medical costs. So, it's not so much that they couldn't get medical treatment here for her once they had arrived, they could, same as any other person who is seriously ill with no benefits. I just don't think they would have granted her any form of permanent visa in those circumstances, and certainly not without a US relative of high standing in their own right (wealthy) guaranteeing her medical costs for a period of approximately 10 years. I doubt any of EB's relatives were in that kind of position.

This information is all based on personal experience bringing a 10 yr old into the US 12 years ago, and if anything, it's got harder since 9/11, not easier.
 
Great question Passion! I'd want the answer to that one myself!
 
In the state of NC employers are required to have new employees fill out and verify their authorization for employment. These forms verify their US legal status or immigrations status plus their identification. Once the forms are filled out and the employer has verified the identification is correct the employer has to sign stating he verifies the future employees legality to work in the state of NC.

Which brings about this question - the company AB was working for was he working for them with a legal status or under the table? If I were the LE I would want to see that paperwork and see if he was hired legally.

If not then did AB discuss his immigrations status with his employer prior to being hired?

Just a thought...
 
During all that time, the applicant is without a visa, but that doesn't mean they are in the US illegally, not at all. Illegal means you swam into the country, kwim?


:

Wrong! If you overstay a visa you are technically illegal! The law is you must leave before your visa expires. You can then apply from out of the country for another visa. The minute you overstay a visa you are in the US illegally.
 
In the state of NC employers are required to have new employees fill out and verify their authorization for employment. These forms verify their US legal status or immigrations status plus their identification. Once the forms are filled out and the employer has verified the identification is correct the employer has to sign stating he verifies the future employees legality to work in the state of NC.

Which brings about this question - the company AB was working for was he working for them with a legal status or under the table? If I were the LE I would want to see that paperwork and see if he was hired legally.

If not then did AB discuss his immigrations status with his employer prior to being hired?

Just a thought...

Additionally you must prove you are legal in the US to get an NC drivers license.
For non citizens, including perm residents the restriction box is filled in with I-9 restriction. This means you can't use your NC license for an I-9. Additionally NC licenses expire for non citizens on the date their visa or even Green card expires rather than being tied to your DOB. Green cards now have to be renewed every 10 years even if you have an original one (actually green)with no experation date. Thats just a money maker for the fed gov't.
 
Wrong! If you overstay a visa you are technically illegal! The law is you must leave before your visa expires. You can then apply from out of the country for another visa. The minute you overstay a visa you are in the US illegally.

Yes and no. The law is that you must leave or file for change of status before your current visa expires. If you file for change of status, it's not a requirement to leave and then reapply from the home country. You can stay and that's a fact. They will also give you work authorization while the permanent residency application is being processed. I happen to agree that AB almost certainly did let their visas expire, but we don't actually know that for a fact. If they came in on a 90 day visa or 6 months visa in Nov 09, and this complaint was filed June 10, then it's arguable they took action before their visa expired, which was all within legal boundaries (notwithstanding they didn't have consent to remove Zahra in the first place). Equally, we don't know if they went to a proper immigration attorney after this attempt failed, and in all likelihood, they did. So while I may feel that in all likelihood, they don't have an application going through, and that AB is here illegally, it's possible they he is in the middle of some application we don't know about, even if that application is ultimately doomed to failure.

Now if EB divorses AB....where does AB stand?
Will AB or can AB be deported BEFORE he is charged wth ANY crimes here???

I can throw more confusion on that question also... :waitasec: It depends on his current status. If he has already been granted permanent residency, (highly unlikely), then she could divorce him and he could stay in his own right. Abused spouses also have the right to stay, but he would have to prove that she abused him. If he's in the middle of a change of status application, then he'll get denied and have to leave. If he's illegal, he'll get deported, except the criminal case would take precedent. I think they'll wait to see how the murder case plays out before Immigration acts, but I don't understand why they are not throwing his butt in jail as he seems a high flight risk to me. If he runs back to Australia, I wouldn't expect them to agree to extradite him back here unless there's a guarantee they won't seek the death penalty. Otherwise Aus Gov will let things run their natural course and he'll get jailed here for life.

Jut my opinion, yours may differ.... I'll duck now... :)
 
Additionally you must prove you are legal in the US to get an NC drivers license.
For non citizens, including perm residents the restriction box is filled in with I-9 restriction. This means you can't use your NC license for an I-9. Additionally NC licenses expire for non citizens on the date their visa or even Green card expires rather than being tied to your DOB. Green cards now have to be renewed every 10 years even if you have an original one (actually green)with no experation date. Thats just a money maker for the fed gov't.

I'm on a roll here, as finally I feel I have something to contribute to this case, but please just ignore me if i'm being annoying or too opinionated...

Re green card expiry dates, it's a common misconception that when they expire, the right to permanent residency expires with them. Not so. You can lose your right to permanent residency for lots of reasons, but expiry of the green card isn't one of them, it just probably makes it a little inconvenient to travel across the border, that's all, you're still in their system. The reason why they put a 10 yr limit on the green card is because of all the high tech changes, they like to upgrade the card you carry, which is embedded now with all kinds of things - thumbprints, retinal scans and even those chips that track where you are on gps coordinates - scary stuff I don't want to even think about. And yes, it's also a cash cow for Feds since application fees are not cheap - maybe $675 or something these days?

AB's Driving license....very interesting....I'd like to see that. I'm not in NC, but around here, I'm told they're pretty cheap to buy, all the illegals have them, so I don't see that as any great hurdle.
 
That's not correct IMO. If you arrive in the US on any visa, whether tourist, or visa waiver, and and are given entry across the border, then your status in the US is legal. Once here, it's also legal to apply for a change of status from tourist/ visitor to permanent resident.



Bolded by me and respectfully snipped. You may want to run that by USCIS before you go advising any visiting tourists to stick around and apply for a change of status while here on the visa waiver program. The only way they can do so is if they are married to or marry a US citizen before or within 90 days of arrival and they still have to file the petition within 90 days of arrival.


http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextchannel=92f2

"...You may not apply to change your nonimmigrant status if you were admitted to the United States in the following categories:
* Visa Waiver Program· Crew member (D nonimmigrant visa)
* In transit through the United States (C nonimmigrant visa)
* In transit through the United States without a visa (TWOV)
* Fiancé of a U.S. citizen or dependent of a fiancé (K nonimmigrant visa)
* Informant (and accompanying family) on terrorism or organized crime (S nonimmigrant visa)....
"

Depending on how backed up the State is in which you file with application, it can take up to 18 months or more to process the green card, and that's the priority fast track for spouses and their dependents, others can take much longer, up to 5 years. During all that time, the applicant is without a visa, but that doesn't mean they are in the US illegally, not at all. Illegal means you swam into the country, kwim?

My Green Card took less than 6 months to be processed start to finish, guess I was lucky and filed on a good day but I do know people who have waited more than a year. The applicant is not without a visa during that time, they are issued an Alien Registration # and the original visa is extended pending the outcome of the petition, usually for a year. They may take the official letter from USCIS to their local DMV and ask for a state ID card or drivers license and they may also at this stage apply for a SS#.
 
Yes and no. The law is that you must leave or file for change of status before your current visa expires. If you file for change of status, it's not a requirement to leave and then reapply from the home country. You can stay and that's a fact. They will also give you work authorization while the permanent residency application is being processed. I happen to agree that AB almost certainly did let their visas expire, but we don't actually know that for a fact. If they came in on a 90 day visa or 6 months visa in Nov 09, and this complaint was filed June 10, then it's arguable they took action before their visa expired, which was all within legal boundaries (notwithstanding they didn't have consent to remove Zahra in the first place). Equally, we don't know if they went to a proper immigration attorney after this attempt failed, and in all likelihood, they did. So while I may feel that in all likelihood, they don't have an application going through, and that AB is here illegally, it's possible they he is in the middle of some application we don't know about, even if that application is ultimately doomed to failure.



I can throw more confusion on that question also... :waitasec: It depends on his current status. If he has already been granted permanent residency, (highly unlikely), then she could divorce him and he could stay in his own right. Abused spouses also have the right to stay, but he would have to prove that she abused him. If he's in the middle of a change of status application, then he'll get denied and have to leave. If he's illegal, he'll get deported, except the criminal case would take precedent. I think they'll wait to see how the murder case plays out before Immigration acts, but I don't understand why they are not throwing his butt in jail as he seems a high flight risk to me. If he runs back to Australia, I wouldn't expect them to agree to extradite him back here unless there's a guarantee they won't seek the death penalty. Otherwise Aus Gov will let things run their natural course and he'll get jailed here for life.

Jut my opinion, yours may differ.... I'll duck now... :)

I'm not picking on you but a lot of the info you are giving here isn't entirely correct. He has only been here for 2 years so IF he has a Green Card it is a conditional one still with at least another 6 months to go before it expires at which time they would have to JOINTLY apply for the conditions to be lifted in order for him to be issued a permanent one. The condition is that they have to still be married and still living together so, no, she couldn't divorce him and he could stay in his own right. Yes he could get around that by claiming to be a victim of domestic violence but the burden of that proof would be on him and involve police reports, hospital reports and a restraining order. There's also the small matter of him having outstanding arrests and charges on his record that would mean almost certain denial of a permanent Green Card.

Also LE has precedence over immigration regarding jurisdiction of a foreigner facing charges, those charges must be answered and any sentence served before immigration takes over and can start deportation proceedings.
 

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