Travel

(please forgive this double posting if that is not allowed on other
immigration forums)

Hello I have a story I hope you could bear with, I need your
educational opinions and advise for a friend who has made a foolish
mistake and doesn't know what to do now. I understand none of your
opinions is to be considered legal advice. All your responses are
confidential for my education only.

If an overseas woman had an immigrant male visa
lottery winner sign that she was his spouse to allow her
to come to the us, is there a way that mercy may
be shown to the woman if she wanted an annulment and
would like to reapply for status in the us in a legal
way through a job offer? Or at least for a tourist visa, and not be
procecuted in any way, or be blacklisted?

The woman's father had the lottery winner sign for her, she did not
understand how serious it was to have someone sign her
as his wife in this way and wants to come clean as
she has found out about an interview to "proove" her
marriage existed prior to arriving and then again after 2 years in the
us as well.

Apparantly her father in her home country desired her
to go to the US to make money to send back to him
and her family members, she felt pressured to do this
and didn't understand it was a major crime to have
a fraud marriage arranged for her to go to the us.

She never was married as her home country forged the marriage
documents. She just came here to live with her sister who lives here
legally and work to make money to send back to her father.

Her father arranged for the visa lottery winner to "sign for her" as
his spouse once she came here, and she has not seen him since then
about a year ago. She lives with her sister who is a legal resident in
the us.

Do visa lottery winners who bring an alleged spouse to the states
still have to go through the exact same interview process after 2
years of the spouse's arrival to proove their marriage in the same way
as if someone gets a finace visa and marries in the states? (The
lottery winner claims she was married to him from their home country
from about 2 years before).

She is very sorry after she found this is a major crime and will
certainly break down in any ins interview. I just want to advise her
on her options so she won't get imprisoned, deported or blacklisted.
She is quite an ignorant person, but I don't think what her father
arranged for her should get her blacklisted for life, she is no threat
to anyone and wants to come clean if it is possible without being
blacklisted or deported.

She wants to stay with her sister and find a job but wants the
"marriage" to be annulled (or divorce if the only way) and for
her to stay with her sister in the us.

Please, can you help me with educational advice or where to go to
ask someone about this. I am so sorry I cannot afford lawyers
fees to answer this question, but if you could answer these questions
of your own opinion without providing legal advice, I would so be
indebted to you and appreciate your kindness very very much.

Thank you so very much.
Please email me as well at
travel2004 AT hushmail DOTCOM

Mrraveltay

travel wrote:

    > If an overseas woman had an immigrant male visa
    > lottery winner sign that she was his spouse to allow her
    > to come to the us, is there a way that mercy may
    > be shown to the woman if she wanted an annulment and
    > would like to reapply for status in the us in a legal
    > way through a job offer? Or at least for a tourist visa, and not be
    > procecuted in any way, or be blacklisted?

Maybe she will, maybe she won't.
I suspect it will be difficult to get a visa if this information is
found out.

    >
    > The woman's father had the lottery winner sign for her, she did not
    > understand how serious it was to have someone sign her
    > as his wife in this way and wants to come clean as
    > she has found out about an interview to "proove" her
    > marriage existed prior to arriving and then again after 2 years in the
    > us as well.

How can someone not think it is a serious offense to pretend to be
married in order to get an visa to the US?
    >
    > Apparantly her father in her home country desired her
    > to go to the US to make money to send back to him
    > and her family members, she felt pressured to do this
    > and didn't understand it was a major crime to have
    > a fraud marriage arranged for her to go to the us.
    >
    > She never was married as her home country forged the marriage
    > documents. She just came here to live with her sister who lives here
    > legally and work to make money to send back to her father.

    > Her father arranged for the visa lottery winner to "sign for her" as
    > his spouse once she came here, and she has not seen him since then
    > about a year ago. She lives with her sister who is a legal resident in
    > the us.

It sounds
    >
    > Do visa lottery winners who bring an alleged spouse to the states
    > still have to go through the exact same interview process after 2
    > years of the spouse's arrival to proove their marriage in the same way
    > as if someone gets a finace visa and marries in the states? (The
    > lottery winner claims she was married to him from their home country
    > from about 2 years before).

What actions USCIS will take would be just guessing from our part.
An attorney would be recommended.

    > She is very sorry after she found this is a major crime and will
    > certainly break down in any ins interview. I just want to advise her
    > on her options so she won't get imprisoned, deported or blacklisted.
    > She is quite an ignorant person, but I don't think what her father
    > arranged for her should get her blacklisted for life, she is no threat
    > to anyone and wants to come clean if it is possible without being
    > blacklisted or deported.

There is no guarantee of what will happen.

    >
    > She wants to stay with her sister and find a job but wants the
    > "marriage" to be annulled (or divorce if the only way) and for
    > her to stay with her sister in the us.

This is confusing. Above you noted that this is an "alleged spouse".
Are they legally married, or not? If the marriage didn't take place,
then filing for divorce or anullment in court would also be illegal.
Then she would be fraudulently telling the court she was married.

    >
    > Please, can you help me with educational advice or where to go to
    > ask someone about this. I am so sorry I cannot afford lawyers
    > fees to answer this question, but if you could answer these questions
    > of your own opinion without providing legal advice, I would so be
    > indebted to you and appreciate your kindness very very much.
    >

She needs an attorney. That is the best advice I can give.

    >> Thank you so very much.
    >> Please email me as well at
    >> travel2004 AT hushmail DOTCOM

Interesting. The "from" header contains your address, so it makes no
sense to put a spam avoiding address in the body of the post.

Travel

Thank you very much mrraveltay. Oh you are right, shouldn't have
posted the email in the form, I got 4 spams in one day and I just
opened that email last night to post here only.



    > > The woman's father had the lottery winner sign for her, she did not
    > > understand how serious it was to have someone sign her
    > > as his wife in this way and wants to come clean as
    > > she has found out about an interview to "proove" her
    > > marriage existed prior to arriving and then again after 2 years in the
    > > us as well.
    >
    > How can someone not think it is a serious offense to pretend to be
    > married in order to get an visa to the US?

I know, she is just from one of those ignorant 3rd world countries
where this kind of stuff is normal without imprisionment or
deportation as I told her it is in the states.

    >
    > > Her father arranged for the visa lottery winner to "sign for her" as
    > > his spouse once she came here, and she has not seen him since then
    > > about a year ago. She lives with her sister who is a legal resident in
    > > the us.
    >
    > It sounds

Please finish after "it sounds"


    > > She wants to stay with her sister and find a job but wants the
    > > "marriage" to be annulled (or divorce if the only way) and for
    > > her to stay with her sister in the us.
    >
    > This is confusing. Above you noted that this is an "alleged spouse".
    > Are they legally married, or not? If the marriage didn't take place,
    > then filing for divorce or anullment in court would also be illegal.
    > Then she would be fraudulently telling the court she was married.

Well as I understand, there was never a ceremony in her home country
or the us, the papers were made up by her father to show she was the
lottery winner's spouse of 2-3 years prior or so.


    > She needs an attorney. That is the best advice I can give.

Is there any place I can read up on cases similar to this one, I would
like to know how many of these types of cases are deported every year.
I read somewhere that hundreds of thousands of people are deported
every year.

I also read that if she divorces the man here and voluntarily leaves
the country before the 2 year spousal interview, that she will be able
to reapply legally without being blacklisted, and won't have to answer
any further questions about this man or her relationship to him ever
again. Is this correct? This sounds like her safest alternative to
make this work without her being deported and blacklisted. Though her
father will no doubt do untold things to her for her coming back
without any money for him and him loosing all the money he paid to the
lottery winner.

If anyone else can give opinions on this (not legal, don't worry I
only consider them educational) I would greatly appreciate it.

Andrew Defaria

travel wrote:

    > If anyone else can give opinions on this (not legal, don't worry I
    > only consider them educational) I would greatly appreciate it.

I know there will be flames for this however how about she just go home
and stay there? Why do we (US) need her here? She's already participated
in numerous illegal acts and, as we say, ignorance is no excuse. You
can't tell me she doesn't know that it is wrong to commit such obvious
fraud, to trick people, to deceive people for her own selfish benefit.
Or if she does think that it's OK to do so then again why should we
allow such people here? What would stop her, for instance, to continue
to think it OK to fraud somebody else, or to further fraud the system
for freebies? I know that at least I, a tax paying USC, do not want such
people immigrating to my country. We have enough legitimate, hard
working, productive immigrates here already and more who want to come
that we should concentrate on them first before considering people who
show such little regard for right and wrong.

(Stepping off the soap box now...)