Redeye
08-21 03:08 PM
Even though you wanted to file a lawsuit against EB3( I am EB3 2004, with US Masters and Indian Bachelors both in Computer Science) I will still go ahead give you some suggestions.
1) I am guessing since you are working for consulting company, you might have worked at client places here in US. Nowadays everyone is in the fashion of opening their own India office like Target, BOA etc. So if you have worked with these clients and have good references from a PM or VP then you might be able to get in India office fairly easily and with really good pay. You could try for managerial roles.
2)As someone suggested Real Estate is another option
3) Otherthing to look in to is opening a school, this will help serve the community and also make money for you. Schools in India are going nowhere, so very less risk.
Hope this helps you...but what I am not sure from your statements is, are you frustrated with the wait for GC or are you frustrated with making less than what you should be making or are you frustrated in general?
Do not know your age, could be mid life crisis :D think about it....take a vacation....
I am almost there and expecting green card approval anytime. But now I am having second thoughts now. The desi consulting company I work for had eight people a year ago and two of them now going back (and one more is negotiating) at salaries 20-35 lacs. Has anyone explored Indian job market, if yes then what is hot?
1) I am guessing since you are working for consulting company, you might have worked at client places here in US. Nowadays everyone is in the fashion of opening their own India office like Target, BOA etc. So if you have worked with these clients and have good references from a PM or VP then you might be able to get in India office fairly easily and with really good pay. You could try for managerial roles.
2)As someone suggested Real Estate is another option
3) Otherthing to look in to is opening a school, this will help serve the community and also make money for you. Schools in India are going nowhere, so very less risk.
Hope this helps you...but what I am not sure from your statements is, are you frustrated with the wait for GC or are you frustrated with making less than what you should be making or are you frustrated in general?
Do not know your age, could be mid life crisis :D think about it....take a vacation....
I am almost there and expecting green card approval anytime. But now I am having second thoughts now. The desi consulting company I work for had eight people a year ago and two of them now going back (and one more is negotiating) at salaries 20-35 lacs. Has anyone explored Indian job market, if yes then what is hot?
wallpaper in a 91 dodge colt hatch.
tonyHK12
10-04 02:45 PM
The problem with accounts in India is the requirement to declare it here.
I don't think so, only Green cards and citizens are taxed on world wide income.
I meant the public provident fund run by the govt. We should check with a India tax expert on that, if non residents can contribute. don;t think they should have issues. PF allowed tax deduction for residents on 10% of the income, but you could always contribute as much as you wanted and top it up.
I don't think so, only Green cards and citizens are taxed on world wide income.
I meant the public provident fund run by the govt. We should check with a India tax expert on that, if non residents can contribute. don;t think they should have issues. PF allowed tax deduction for residents on 10% of the income, but you could always contribute as much as you wanted and top it up.
immi_enthu
08-28 09:05 AM
That is correct. You do not get to sign the 140 as it is has to be applied by the employer. You however, have to sign your approved Labor which will be attached to the 140 application.
what would happen if the approved labor is NOT signed and attached to the I 140. Any experiences like this?
what would happen if the approved labor is NOT signed and attached to the I 140. Any experiences like this?
2011 Dodge Colt from about 1996
wellwishergc
08-02 02:36 PM
I agree with logiclife. Consulting a good lawyer like Rajeev Khanna or Murthy is the best approach to go forward.
Although perm2gc has many of the questions answered correctly, every case may be unique. There may be possibilities that your brother can still come to US. The lawyer may be able to help you with a legal way of going about it.
If I were you, I would spend a couple of hundred dollars and do a paid phone consultation with a lawyer, probably a good one at that. And send questions ahead of time so that the lawyer too does his research before talking to you on the phone.
When you decisions can have a lasting effect on your career, you may not want to rely on advice on forums. Members here are not lawyers.
If you do get advice here, then be aware of the chances that it could be not applicable to your situation.
Good Luck.
Although perm2gc has many of the questions answered correctly, every case may be unique. There may be possibilities that your brother can still come to US. The lawyer may be able to help you with a legal way of going about it.
If I were you, I would spend a couple of hundred dollars and do a paid phone consultation with a lawyer, probably a good one at that. And send questions ahead of time so that the lawyer too does his research before talking to you on the phone.
When you decisions can have a lasting effect on your career, you may not want to rely on advice on forums. Members here are not lawyers.
If you do get advice here, then be aware of the chances that it could be not applicable to your situation.
Good Luck.
more...
saimrathi
07-02 06:00 PM
There is hope....
Was this your case? Did you get approved in two months? Whats your PD?
Was this your case? Did you get approved in two months? Whats your PD?
NKR
08-14 04:46 PM
Please note that, this is no more the issue of not-paying me at all-- He cleverly cleared recently the amount which is stated on my LCA H1. What he is actually withholding, is the difference of this and the actual salary (percentage) that was agreed upon, at that time.
Then I am afraid you have no case. If the vendor has paid your employer and he is not paying you after you told them you are quitting then it is unethical, but legal, sometimes I wonder how do they even feed their family and clothe them with all this ill gotten money.
Then I am afraid you have no case. If the vendor has paid your employer and he is not paying you after you told them you are quitting then it is unethical, but legal, sometimes I wonder how do they even feed their family and clothe them with all this ill gotten money.
more...
qualified_trash
06-29 03:13 PM
Without getting into specifics of shady companies etc., I can tell you this. The GC process sponsored by an employer is indeed employ-centric in the sense that, it has to be initiated by an employer.
As long as they provide you with the necessary paperwork to enable you to travel (such as h1 or advance parole specific documentation), I see no issue with them not giving you this documentation.
I completely agree with you that it feels a lot better when you have a copy to look at.
However, if they do not give it out as a matter of policy, but, make sure that you have everything you need in case you want to travel, you should be okay.
As long as they provide you with the necessary paperwork to enable you to travel (such as h1 or advance parole specific documentation), I see no issue with them not giving you this documentation.
I completely agree with you that it feels a lot better when you have a copy to look at.
However, if they do not give it out as a matter of policy, but, make sure that you have everything you need in case you want to travel, you should be okay.
2010 2 of 2: 1974 MG MGB GT.
raj1998
05-20 09:55 PM
Its been real fast. Yesterday I received my Approval letter, today I received my Card in mail.
Application was approved on 13 may after opening SR on 6th may. So canceling INFOPASS... :)
Application was approved on 13 may after opening SR on 6th may. So canceling INFOPASS... :)
more...
san3297
09-02 09:17 AM
I went to border and security deffered inspection site at Raliegh NC from this url
http://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/toolbox/contacts/deferred_inspection/deferred_inspection_sites.ctt/deferred_inspection_sites.pdf.
The Immigration Officer said to me I 94 can be given only till visa date.He said that you can stay as long as you want in US as you have 797 valid after your H1 stamp date.He said everything is fine not to worry.What shall i do now? I am confused.Can some one point me to site or link on USCIS which states this law.Can some attorneys point this link.
http://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/toolbox/contacts/deferred_inspection/deferred_inspection_sites.ctt/deferred_inspection_sites.pdf.
The Immigration Officer said to me I 94 can be given only till visa date.He said that you can stay as long as you want in US as you have 797 valid after your H1 stamp date.He said everything is fine not to worry.What shall i do now? I am confused.Can some one point me to site or link on USCIS which states this law.Can some attorneys point this link.
hair 2 of 2: 1974 MG MGB GT.
sathyaraj
11-01 10:45 PM
Let us assume that we have totally 70,000 Nurses pending now.
a. PD <= 2006 is 10000
b. PD > 2006 is 60000
This would not help much of ppl waiting in EB3 with PD earlier than Nov 2006 bcoz it takes only 10,000 of their queue. But it really helps the ppl with PD > 2006.
Also it depends on whether 7% country limit is applicable. It would help RoW better than retrogressed countries.
In either case, it is a win-win situation for EB3 India 61,000 * .07 = 4270. Still it is worth of about 1 yr worth of EB3 visas for retrogressed countries.
Any thoughts or corrections?
Could you please explay why is that? What if there are nurses with PD 2002, 03, 04 or 05
a. PD <= 2006 is 10000
b. PD > 2006 is 60000
This would not help much of ppl waiting in EB3 with PD earlier than Nov 2006 bcoz it takes only 10,000 of their queue. But it really helps the ppl with PD > 2006.
Also it depends on whether 7% country limit is applicable. It would help RoW better than retrogressed countries.
In either case, it is a win-win situation for EB3 India 61,000 * .07 = 4270. Still it is worth of about 1 yr worth of EB3 visas for retrogressed countries.
Any thoughts or corrections?
Could you please explay why is that? What if there are nurses with PD 2002, 03, 04 or 05
more...
lostinbeta
10-04 01:20 AM
Hopefully it works....haha :)
hot 1974 Dodge Diamond Class (I-25
Templarian
08-27 11:45 AM
^Perfect :fab:
more...
house 1969 DODGE DART GT CONVERTIBLE
gumpena
08-03 10:21 PM
http://www.uscis.gov/files/pressrelease/ReceiptingTimes080307.pdf
Per this press note, Nebraska has issued receipts for I-485 upto July 11 and Texas 26th June....
Per this press note, Nebraska has issued receipts for I-485 upto July 11 and Texas 26th June....
tattoo “Dodge Colt”
redcard
12-19 12:10 AM
Hi All,
One of my friend is in a bad situation, I am posting on behalf of him,
Thanks in Advance
AJ
My Friend, My Friend' Friend and Friend.. and the story goes on. I am sure you Friend has access to net and can express himself... ask him to post here and I am sure he will get ton's of first hand advise..
One of my friend is in a bad situation, I am posting on behalf of him,
Thanks in Advance
AJ
My Friend, My Friend' Friend and Friend.. and the story goes on. I am sure you Friend has access to net and can express himself... ask him to post here and I am sure he will get ton's of first hand advise..
more...
pictures 1978 Dodge Charger
theMan
05-24 01:04 PM
Only last week I saw an article that said something to the effect that " Want US GC, get Masters". At that time, we all laughed at how these reports are compiled and brushed them off as tabloids.
Unfortunately , this time IV has got the right message and the publicity, but how will an average reader decide which article is saying the truth. People will understand/interpret the news the way their minds wants it to be , regardless of what the absolute truth is.
Regardless , a step in the positive direction for us
Unfortunately , this time IV has got the right message and the publicity, but how will an average reader decide which article is saying the truth. People will understand/interpret the news the way their minds wants it to be , regardless of what the absolute truth is.
Regardless , a step in the positive direction for us
dresses Dodge Colt (Twin-Stick)
kumar1
09-16 02:50 PM
Then what is the point asking others? You already know the answer.
I got past strip bars or junk like that long time back... I am going to do something similar to what you said. I am going to become more responsible citizen and would start enjoying life more..
I got past strip bars or junk like that long time back... I am going to do something similar to what you said. I am going to become more responsible citizen and would start enjoying life more..
more...
makeup 1974-1978 Dodge Monaco Wiper
rnanchal
02-05 06:27 PM
Received and emailed back
girlfriend 1998-2003 DODGE Colt 1986
lostinbeta
10-04 12:10 AM
Ok, Hold the CTRL key on your keyboard then click on the layer that contains your original rectangle.
Like where it says, make sure you have the marquee tool active in the tools menu on the left side, otherwise the rest won't work. The marquee tool is the first tool on the upper left hand side. It is a dotted rectangle.
Press the up arrow once and the left arrow once (on your keyboard)
Create a new layer...self explanitory
Fill it with white... self explanitory
Hold CTRL again and select the layer with your original rectangle again. Like you did earlier in this step. Make sure the new layer you created with the white fill is still active (it will be blue or something ,you will know if it is selected).
Hit the delete key on your keyboard (or go to edit/cut or something, it also might be backspace on a MAC).
Deselect with CTRL+D - self explanitory
Now the next part of this I don't really agree with. Just keep the lines layer selected and use the down and right arrows on your keyboard to move it into place so it looks like the image in the tutorial.
Hope this helps. That was only step 2! If you have any questions about the other steps, just post I guess :)
mmm, photoshop......... its the best. I eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner:)
Like where it says, make sure you have the marquee tool active in the tools menu on the left side, otherwise the rest won't work. The marquee tool is the first tool on the upper left hand side. It is a dotted rectangle.
Press the up arrow once and the left arrow once (on your keyboard)
Create a new layer...self explanitory
Fill it with white... self explanitory
Hold CTRL again and select the layer with your original rectangle again. Like you did earlier in this step. Make sure the new layer you created with the white fill is still active (it will be blue or something ,you will know if it is selected).
Hit the delete key on your keyboard (or go to edit/cut or something, it also might be backspace on a MAC).
Deselect with CTRL+D - self explanitory
Now the next part of this I don't really agree with. Just keep the lines layer selected and use the down and right arrows on your keyboard to move it into place so it looks like the image in the tutorial.
Hope this helps. That was only step 2! If you have any questions about the other steps, just post I guess :)
mmm, photoshop......... its the best. I eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner:)
hairstyles Dodge Colt (Twin-Stick)
tkasi
07-27 12:04 PM
Hi,
My I-94 which was issued 2 years ago in the port of entry got expired(this I-94 was based on my previous employer "ABC". I have applied for H1 extention and got my 797 extended with new I-94 recently with my new employer "XYZ".
My question is which I-94 details should I use while filing my 485. Obviously my labor was filed by "XYZ" company.
Regards
Kasi
My I-94 which was issued 2 years ago in the port of entry got expired(this I-94 was based on my previous employer "ABC". I have applied for H1 extention and got my 797 extended with new I-94 recently with my new employer "XYZ".
My question is which I-94 details should I use while filing my 485. Obviously my labor was filed by "XYZ" company.
Regards
Kasi
purgan
11-11 10:32 AM
Randell,
Congratulations on getting the attention of the Times, and your tireless efforts in spreading word of the broken legal immigration system.
===
New York Times
Immigration, a Love Story
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/12/fashion/12green.html
WHEN Kenneth Harrell Jr., an Assemblies of God minister in South Carolina, invited Gricelda Molina to join his Spanish ministry in 2000, it didn’t take him long to realize he had found the woman he had been waiting for. On the telephone and during romantic strolls they talked about their goals, their commitment to God and how many children each would like to have. Six months flew by, and he asked her to marry him.
“She’s a beautiful woman with a beautiful spirit, very gentle, very sincere,” Mr. Harrell said. But Ms. Molina, a factory worker, was also an undocumented immigrant from Honduras, who had crossed into the United States twice, having once been deported. Mr. Harrell, the pastor of Airport Assembly of God church in West Columbia, said he was not too concerned. “Whatever came, we would walk through this path together,” he said.
Mr. Harrell and Ms. Molina, both 35, married in 2001, in a large wedding attended by family from both sides and blessed by pastors in English and Spanish. But the Harrells no longer live together, not because of divorce, but because Mrs. Harrell, now the mother of two sons and four months pregnant with their third child, has been deported. She had applied for legal residency, or a green card, with her new husband as her sponsor, Mr. Harrell said, but she was sent back to Honduras 20 months ago because of her illegal entries and told she would have to wait 10 years to try again.
“Illegals are pouring over the border,” said Mr. Harrell, who has visited his family five times. “We meet them, we fall in love with them, we marry them. And then the government tears your family apart, and they take no responsibility for letting them in, in the first place.”
Falling in love and marching toward marriage is not always easy, but a particular brand of heartache and hardship can await when one of the partners is in this country illegally. The uncertainty of such a union has only been heightened by the national debate over illegal immigration. Whether the new Democratic leadership in Congress will help people like the Harrells remains to be seen.
It is hard to quantify how many people find themselves in Mr. Harrell’s situation, but with stepped-up enforcement in recent years, deportations have increased, and so have fears of losing a loved one in that way. (There were 168,310 removals in 2005, compared with 108,000 in 2000, immigration officials said.)
And that is only one byproduct of love between two people with such uneven places in society, immigration lawyers say. Many relationships strain under the financial burden of hiring lawyers for what can turn into years of visiting government offices, producing pictures, tax records and other evidence of a legitimate marriage in the quest for legalization. And while instances of immigrants faking love for a green card are in the minority, according to immigration officials, some couples feel pressure to marry before they are ready, hoping that marriage will prevent a loved one’s deportation.
Raul Godinez, an immigration lawyer in Los Angeles, said: “I ask people, ‘How much do you love this person? Because immigration is going to test your marriage.’ If you don’t feel it’s going to be a strong marriage, I wouldn’t do it.”
Many people may still believe that obtaining legal status through marriage is easy, because of periodic reports of marriage scams. In a three-year investigation called Operation Newlywed Game, immigration and customs enforcement agents caught more than 40 suspects in California for allegedly orchestrating sham marriages between hundreds of Chinese or Vietnamese nationals and United States citizens. But such fraud occurs in only a minority of cases, federal officials said.
In reality, immigration lawyers said, marrying a citizen does not automatically entitle the spouse to a green card and is only the first step in a long bureaucratic journey. The lawyers noted that changes in the law in the last five years have made this legalization path increasingly difficult, one worth choosing only if true love is at stake. (Other routes include sponsorship by immediate family members or an employer.)
The Harrells said they had no idea how difficult it could be and were shocked when Mrs. Harrell’s application for permanent residence was turned down, leaving them only 12 days to prepare for her departure. In that time, Mr. Harrell said, they decided that the children, now 4 and 3, would go with her. So Mr. Harrell obtained passports for them, and the church held a farewell service.
“It was very traumatic,” he said. “Our whole world was crashing around us.”
In Yoro, in north central Honduras, where Mrs. Harrell and the children live with her parents, she said the older boy constantly asks for his father, begging, “Let’s go to my papa’s house.” She has coped with her own dejection, too. “I know how much work he has over there,” she said by telephone. “He needs his wife.”
But even in the best of circumstances, when an immigrant enters the country legally, couples may have to rearrange their lives and defer their dreams.
Paola Emery, a jewelry designer, and her husband, Randall Emery, a computer consultant in Philadelphia, said they delayed having children and buying a house for the nearly four years it took the government to complete a background check for Mrs. Emery, who had entered the country from Colombia with a tourist visa and applied for permanent residency after they married in 2002.
Mrs. Emery, 27, said lawyers advised them it was not wise for her to risk trouble by visiting her close-knit family in Colombia and then trying to re-enter this country. She said she was absent through weddings, illnesses and even the kidnapping and rescue of an uncle.
“I felt like I was in jail,” Mrs. Emery said.
Officials with the Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Homeland Security Department say that delays lasting years are rare, but some immigration lawyers say they see clients who wait three to four years for security clearance. Mrs. Emery and her husband, 34, sued Homeland Security over the delays, and she was finally cleared last May. By then Mr. Emery had helped form American Families United, a group of citizens who have sponsored immediate family members for immigration, and which advocates immigration-law change to keep families together. Immigration Services officials say they are not out to impede love or immigration. Nearly 260,000 spouses of citizens received permanent residency through marriage last year, out of 1.1 million people who became permanent residents, according to the Immigration Services office. “The goal is to give people who are eligible the benefit,” said Marie T. Sebrechts, its spokeswoman in Southern California. She said the agency does not comment on individual cases.
When a legal immigrant is sponsored by an American spouse, she said, the green card can be obtained in as little as six months. But with complications like an illegal entry, laws are not that benevolent, Ms. Sebrechts said. In those cases, the immigrant usually must return to the home country and wait 3 to 10 years to apply for residency, though waivers are sometimes granted.
Such obstacles are far from the minds of couples when they meet. And for some, so is the idea to question whether the beloved feels equally in love with them.
Sharyn T. Sooho, a divorce lawyer and a founder of divorcenet.com, a Web site for divorcing couples, said she has represented American spouses who realized too late that the person they married was more interested in a green card than in living happily ever after. “They feel conflicted, used and abused,” she said. “It’s a quick marriage, and suddenly the person who was so sweet is turning into a nightmare.”
But more often, said Carlina Tapia-Ruano, the president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, couples marry before they are ready because “there’s fear that if you don’t do this, somebody is going to get deported.”
Krystal Rivera, 18, a college student in Los Angeles, and her boyfriend fall into this group. Ms. Rivera is set on marrying in April 2008, even as she worries that it may put too much pressure on the relationship.
“I never wanted to follow the Hispanic ritual of getting married early,” said Ms. Rivera, a native of Los Angeles whose parents emigrated from Mexico.
She said she fell in love at 13 with a Mexican-born boy who sang in the church choir with her. “He started poking me, and I said ‘Stop it!’ ” she remembered.
Ms. Rivera is still in love with the boy, now 19, who was brought into the country illegally by his mother when he was 12. He goes to college and wants to become a teacher, while she hopes to become a doctor.
But for those plans to work, Ms. Rivera said, she needs to help him legalize his status. She said she has witnessed his frustration as he dealt with employers who didn’t pay what they owed him or struggled to find better jobs than his current one as a line cook. Because of his illegal status, he is unable to get a driver’s license or visit the brothers he left in Mexico. “We want to be normal,” Ms. Rivera said.
The Harrells, too, have decided to take charge. After months of exploring how to reunite the family and spending thousands of dollars on lawyers, Mr. Harrell has decided to leave his small congregation, sell his house and join his wife in Honduras. He will be a missionary for his church for a fraction of the $40,000 a year he makes as a minister.
Congratulations on getting the attention of the Times, and your tireless efforts in spreading word of the broken legal immigration system.
===
New York Times
Immigration, a Love Story
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/12/fashion/12green.html
WHEN Kenneth Harrell Jr., an Assemblies of God minister in South Carolina, invited Gricelda Molina to join his Spanish ministry in 2000, it didn’t take him long to realize he had found the woman he had been waiting for. On the telephone and during romantic strolls they talked about their goals, their commitment to God and how many children each would like to have. Six months flew by, and he asked her to marry him.
“She’s a beautiful woman with a beautiful spirit, very gentle, very sincere,” Mr. Harrell said. But Ms. Molina, a factory worker, was also an undocumented immigrant from Honduras, who had crossed into the United States twice, having once been deported. Mr. Harrell, the pastor of Airport Assembly of God church in West Columbia, said he was not too concerned. “Whatever came, we would walk through this path together,” he said.
Mr. Harrell and Ms. Molina, both 35, married in 2001, in a large wedding attended by family from both sides and blessed by pastors in English and Spanish. But the Harrells no longer live together, not because of divorce, but because Mrs. Harrell, now the mother of two sons and four months pregnant with their third child, has been deported. She had applied for legal residency, or a green card, with her new husband as her sponsor, Mr. Harrell said, but she was sent back to Honduras 20 months ago because of her illegal entries and told she would have to wait 10 years to try again.
“Illegals are pouring over the border,” said Mr. Harrell, who has visited his family five times. “We meet them, we fall in love with them, we marry them. And then the government tears your family apart, and they take no responsibility for letting them in, in the first place.”
Falling in love and marching toward marriage is not always easy, but a particular brand of heartache and hardship can await when one of the partners is in this country illegally. The uncertainty of such a union has only been heightened by the national debate over illegal immigration. Whether the new Democratic leadership in Congress will help people like the Harrells remains to be seen.
It is hard to quantify how many people find themselves in Mr. Harrell’s situation, but with stepped-up enforcement in recent years, deportations have increased, and so have fears of losing a loved one in that way. (There were 168,310 removals in 2005, compared with 108,000 in 2000, immigration officials said.)
And that is only one byproduct of love between two people with such uneven places in society, immigration lawyers say. Many relationships strain under the financial burden of hiring lawyers for what can turn into years of visiting government offices, producing pictures, tax records and other evidence of a legitimate marriage in the quest for legalization. And while instances of immigrants faking love for a green card are in the minority, according to immigration officials, some couples feel pressure to marry before they are ready, hoping that marriage will prevent a loved one’s deportation.
Raul Godinez, an immigration lawyer in Los Angeles, said: “I ask people, ‘How much do you love this person? Because immigration is going to test your marriage.’ If you don’t feel it’s going to be a strong marriage, I wouldn’t do it.”
Many people may still believe that obtaining legal status through marriage is easy, because of periodic reports of marriage scams. In a three-year investigation called Operation Newlywed Game, immigration and customs enforcement agents caught more than 40 suspects in California for allegedly orchestrating sham marriages between hundreds of Chinese or Vietnamese nationals and United States citizens. But such fraud occurs in only a minority of cases, federal officials said.
In reality, immigration lawyers said, marrying a citizen does not automatically entitle the spouse to a green card and is only the first step in a long bureaucratic journey. The lawyers noted that changes in the law in the last five years have made this legalization path increasingly difficult, one worth choosing only if true love is at stake. (Other routes include sponsorship by immediate family members or an employer.)
The Harrells said they had no idea how difficult it could be and were shocked when Mrs. Harrell’s application for permanent residence was turned down, leaving them only 12 days to prepare for her departure. In that time, Mr. Harrell said, they decided that the children, now 4 and 3, would go with her. So Mr. Harrell obtained passports for them, and the church held a farewell service.
“It was very traumatic,” he said. “Our whole world was crashing around us.”
In Yoro, in north central Honduras, where Mrs. Harrell and the children live with her parents, she said the older boy constantly asks for his father, begging, “Let’s go to my papa’s house.” She has coped with her own dejection, too. “I know how much work he has over there,” she said by telephone. “He needs his wife.”
But even in the best of circumstances, when an immigrant enters the country legally, couples may have to rearrange their lives and defer their dreams.
Paola Emery, a jewelry designer, and her husband, Randall Emery, a computer consultant in Philadelphia, said they delayed having children and buying a house for the nearly four years it took the government to complete a background check for Mrs. Emery, who had entered the country from Colombia with a tourist visa and applied for permanent residency after they married in 2002.
Mrs. Emery, 27, said lawyers advised them it was not wise for her to risk trouble by visiting her close-knit family in Colombia and then trying to re-enter this country. She said she was absent through weddings, illnesses and even the kidnapping and rescue of an uncle.
“I felt like I was in jail,” Mrs. Emery said.
Officials with the Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Homeland Security Department say that delays lasting years are rare, but some immigration lawyers say they see clients who wait three to four years for security clearance. Mrs. Emery and her husband, 34, sued Homeland Security over the delays, and she was finally cleared last May. By then Mr. Emery had helped form American Families United, a group of citizens who have sponsored immediate family members for immigration, and which advocates immigration-law change to keep families together. Immigration Services officials say they are not out to impede love or immigration. Nearly 260,000 spouses of citizens received permanent residency through marriage last year, out of 1.1 million people who became permanent residents, according to the Immigration Services office. “The goal is to give people who are eligible the benefit,” said Marie T. Sebrechts, its spokeswoman in Southern California. She said the agency does not comment on individual cases.
When a legal immigrant is sponsored by an American spouse, she said, the green card can be obtained in as little as six months. But with complications like an illegal entry, laws are not that benevolent, Ms. Sebrechts said. In those cases, the immigrant usually must return to the home country and wait 3 to 10 years to apply for residency, though waivers are sometimes granted.
Such obstacles are far from the minds of couples when they meet. And for some, so is the idea to question whether the beloved feels equally in love with them.
Sharyn T. Sooho, a divorce lawyer and a founder of divorcenet.com, a Web site for divorcing couples, said she has represented American spouses who realized too late that the person they married was more interested in a green card than in living happily ever after. “They feel conflicted, used and abused,” she said. “It’s a quick marriage, and suddenly the person who was so sweet is turning into a nightmare.”
But more often, said Carlina Tapia-Ruano, the president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, couples marry before they are ready because “there’s fear that if you don’t do this, somebody is going to get deported.”
Krystal Rivera, 18, a college student in Los Angeles, and her boyfriend fall into this group. Ms. Rivera is set on marrying in April 2008, even as she worries that it may put too much pressure on the relationship.
“I never wanted to follow the Hispanic ritual of getting married early,” said Ms. Rivera, a native of Los Angeles whose parents emigrated from Mexico.
She said she fell in love at 13 with a Mexican-born boy who sang in the church choir with her. “He started poking me, and I said ‘Stop it!’ ” she remembered.
Ms. Rivera is still in love with the boy, now 19, who was brought into the country illegally by his mother when he was 12. He goes to college and wants to become a teacher, while she hopes to become a doctor.
But for those plans to work, Ms. Rivera said, she needs to help him legalize his status. She said she has witnessed his frustration as he dealt with employers who didn’t pay what they owed him or struggled to find better jobs than his current one as a line cook. Because of his illegal status, he is unable to get a driver’s license or visit the brothers he left in Mexico. “We want to be normal,” Ms. Rivera said.
The Harrells, too, have decided to take charge. After months of exploring how to reunite the family and spending thousands of dollars on lawyers, Mr. Harrell has decided to leave his small congregation, sell his house and join his wife in Honduras. He will be a missionary for his church for a fraction of the $40,000 a year he makes as a minister.
indianabacklog
07-30 10:11 PM
Are you saying that a child will age out if the child's 485 cannot be immediately adjudicated due to retrogression and the child is over 21 when that 485 is eventually processed?
Yes assuming after the deduction of the time it took to adjudicate the I140 the child is still over 21. If this occurs the childs application will automatically be transferred to the respective family based category and processed that way and we know how long the waits are for those dates to become current.
Yes assuming after the deduction of the time it took to adjudicate the I140 the child is still over 21. If this occurs the childs application will automatically be transferred to the respective family based category and processed that way and we know how long the waits are for those dates to become current.
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