disappearing

[Son of Clyde]

I have a Russian friend who told me about a girlfriend if hers who moved to Chicago and moved in with a guy. As of several years ago, she had done no paperwork whatsoever for Adjustment of Status. I think she has been here 5 years or close to 5 years and is still living with the guy but they never married. Will she ultimately be forgiven like the thousands of illegal Mexicans? What becomes of Russian immigrants who just disappear? I am sure if she has a job it cannot be any high profile job where she might risk being discovered or need a SSN. There are so many strange situations out there.

[catzenmouse]

I'll bet there are a LOT of people in Brighton Beach wondering the same thing right about now.

 It will be very interesting to see how this pans out. Personally I think that if they do some kind of an amnesty then all of us who have done it legally should file a class action suit to get our money back for all the paper work that we had to pay for.

 I'm sure that there is some law to restrict this course of action but it does piss me off that we get screwed six different ways and jump through more hoops than a circus dog to get what will probably be given away for free.

 Rant over,
  Ken

[Captmonk1]

I'm with you Ken. Sign me up once the Class Action Lawsuit starts.

Brad

[PeeWee]

I have a Russian friend who told me about a girlfriend if hers who moved to Chicago and moved in with a guy. As of several years ago, she had done no paperwork whatsoever for Adjustment of Status. I think she has been here 5 years or close to 5 years and is still living with the guy but they never married. Will she ultimately be forgiven like the thousands of illegal Mexicans? What becomes of Russian immigrants who just disappear? I am sure if she has a job it cannot be any high profile job where she might risk being discovered or need a SSN. There are so many strange situations out there.

No. The Mexicans have priority. Special dispensation, if you will. All others will still be deemed illegal aliens and when apprehended sent back to their homes. What I wonder about is those Canadians. While we have hoards of Mexicans fooding across our boarders the Canadians are staying put. Seems like those Canucks are one smart group of people.

Peewee

[olterry]

I have been in the process of adjustment of status for almost 3 years in California!! I came here under k-3 visa (spouse). Does anyone know what I can do to push things through?!! It is really annoying and it affects my life. I don't think I will be able to find a good job without a green card. And I did't get financial aid at my school because of this. This is not fair!!!
Please tell me whatever you know about the case!

[Bruce]

olterry - I feel for you.  My wife is going through the same thing now well into our third year of marriage. 

PeeWee - you hit the nail on the head.   I only will add that I believe after the illegal Mexicans go first, they will be followed by Arabs, Blacks and other Spanish.  Whites come last in our system  .

[Zhena]

No. The Mexicans have priority. Special dispensation, if you will. All others will still be deemed illegal aliens and when apprehended sent back to their homes. What I wonder about is those Canadians. While we have hoards of Mexicans fooding across our boarders the Canadians are staying put. Seems like those Canucks are one smart group of people.

Peewee

Yes they are considered illegal aliens. I heard of some girls who ,being in this status,wanted to marry some guy and they were looking for a lawyer; but its very difficult process and any garantee that you will be forgiven after breaking the immigration laws;though in some low percent cases it happens,after a tough fight.

[ScottinCrimea]

I am hearing several second hand reports of Russian women in this situation who pay an attorney anywhere from $10,000-$50,000 and end up with legal status.  How they accomplish this I don't know.  As long as there is a network of Russians who will employ others without documents and help them in other ways, just as there are such networks among Mexicans, these people can live without documents indefinitely.

[Bruce]

Pay a lawyer - I've heard up to 30K per person and you will go from illegal to legal, and a lot faster then my wife ie. claim religious persecution and go from there........

[catzenmouse]

This is why I get so burned up when I hear any talk about amnesty for the illegal Mexicans here.

We did it legally, the gov't screwed up royally and we payed 3 times for Sergei to get his GC which took almost 2 years, Jet and Bruce have been going through hell for years with these morons and silly us, all we had to do was change their names to Juan, Juanita, & Maria claim they are lettuce pickers on our farm and "voila" they be set up for instant status! 

Ken

[Kuna]

This is why I get so burned up when I hear any talk about amnesty for the illegal Mexicans here.

We did it legally, the gov't screwed up royally and we payed 3 times for Sergei to get his GC which took almost 2 years, Jet and Bruce have been going through hell for years with these morons and silly us, all we had to do was change their names to Juan, Juanita, & Maria claim they are lettuce pickers on our farm and "voila" they be set up for instant status! 

Ken

Ken,  out of interest how much does the visa process cost in the US?  Just government fees...

I believe (and I'm no expert) from what I've read on the Aus Government Website that the government fees here are $1,390 for either the spouse visa or the prospective marriage visa.  Prospective Marriage Visa is a two step process and the one fee covers both reviews.

Kuna

[Son of Clyde]

Here are some of the fees and form numbers.

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=db029c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD&vgnextchannel=db029c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD

[Jet]

Ken,  out of interest how much does the visa process cost in the US?  Just government fees...

In a textbook case with no additional benefits sought (work permission / travel permission) a K-1 will run $970 plus photo and translation fees

[Wayne B]

So far I have spent for K-1 $170 USCIS. U.S. Embassy Kiev Interview $100. Medical exam $70. excluding air-fare. 

[catzenmouse]

In a textbook case with no additional benefits sought (work permission / travel permission) a K-1 will run $970 plus photo and translation fees

That's per person isn't it Jet? I'd have to go dig up the info now and when I see it my blood pressure tends to go up a few hundred points so I hesitate to open that file drawer.

Ken

[William3rd]

per person? No 129F filing fee for a K2 derivative so it would be the overseas fees and medical only for kiddies.

AOS is a different horse-those fees are per alien seeking adjustment. Currently about 7 Cs with fingerprinting. . .

[catzenmouse]

Hey William,

 I was looking at the whole package through the AOS 2 year GC. It seems to me (without looking at the reciepts) that it was $1200+ average for each of them to get to this point.

Ken

[William3rd]

DOS is med fee plus visa fee plus vaccinations if you want to- maybe 300 per alien.

K1/k2- gets the $170 total package for 129F.

Then comes the marriage. . . . .

then it goes by age of the k2 for the AOS filing fee with EAD and 131 fees the same per alien.

Biometrics are 70 per.

I always divided it up between fiancee and AOS since about a thrid to a half didnt marry.   

[Jet]

My figure was based on:
$170.00.....I-129
$100.00.....required medical
$100.00.....visa fee
$325.00.....AOS fee (with conditions)
$70.00...... biometric service fee
$205.00.....AOS removal of conditions
$970.00......total

Actually I forgot about the required vaccination report on form I-693 which is usually worth another $100 +/- depending on the civil surgeon

Now if you're us, you can add:
$180.00 X 4.....EAD (work permission) 3 Lil/1 Kolya
$170.00 x 7.....AP (travel permission)  4 Lil/3 Kolya
$9.00 X 11......required photos for above
$5.00 X 13......return reciept certified postage for all above
$10.00 X 10.....parking fees for various required visits

for a rough grand total of $3839 for 2 applicants, or an average of $1919.50 per. 

[Son of Clyde]

I have heard from a very reliable source that once the lady enters on a fiance visa, and marries, she is legally in the US, period. It is the visa and the marriage that makes it legal. You can wait 10 years to adjust status. As long as the lady does not leave the US she is a legal resident  of the US. This info came from a USCIS agent.

[Maxx2]

Man you people haven't been listening to me. Just have your wives claim abuse and she gets to jump ahead of the line. She'll get her LEGAL PERMANENT RESIDENCY CARD good for 10 years instead of the lame CONDITIONAL Green Card AND avoid allot of those fees, worries and interviews. And think of all the taxpayer paid benefits she can get like job training and job placement.



AOS in late March of 2004

VAWA claim in September 2005

LPR status granted October 2006

And in 2009 she can apply for her United States Citizenship and then laugh at all you people with your USCIS hassles...


Maxx