Waiver Reform NOW

My name is Dionne Dupre D'mello. I am a United States citizen, married to an Indian national. My husband is ineligible to receive a visa to the U.S. and is banned from re-entering the U.S. for the rest of his life.

What sort of horrible crimes must have he committed to receive such a harsh punishment? NONE. His only transgression is the overstay/misuse of his valid visa- a simple civil offense, NOT a crime. My husband has been away from me, our family and our happy little home for over 2 years now.

I support fair laws and family unity!

Hundreds of thousands of other U.S. citizen spouses, parents and children also suffer the same forced separation of family due to their loved one's ban for non-criminal immigration violations. These bans, anywhere from three years to a lifetime, are disproportionate to the violations they punish. I don't dispute that some punishment may be in order, but the current bans are cruel and UNJUST. Regardless of your stance on immigration in general, can you sincerely say that this isn't so?

I support waiver reform!

As a member of American Families United, an organization lobbying in D.C. for waiver reform, I call for comprehensive immigration reform to treat me, a U.S. citizen, as well as all the others who may get relief in these changes. Please don't forget all the immediate relatives who have ALREADY left the country.

I call for sensible and just laws that value family unity!

"Broken homes make broken people. Please mend our Immigration Laws!" Dana Forrester, Vice President, American Families United

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Our Timeline

01/09   husband arrived in U.S. on valid C1D transit visa
03/09   we met
05/10   got engaged
06/10   met with immigration lawyer #1
10/10   wedding day!
11/10   Shanold returned to Bombay
12/10   immigration paperwork step 1: I-130 petition with USCIS
05/11   petition approved
06/11   next stage is NVC affidavit of support, payment and something else??
11/11   visa interview appointment. DENIED. Surprise!* Waiver of inadmissibility immediately available (immediately available to apply but it takes 3 months to prepare, 3 or 6 or 8 months to adjudicate depending on caseload and holidays and cat videos availale on youtube, and then it may be approved or denied).
01/12   hire lawyer #2 for 1-601 waiver. Must prove extreme hardship to US citizen spouse (me) if husband not allowed back in U.S. A depressing, degrading, demoralizing, gut-wrenching process.
04/12   submit waiver of ineligibility to consulate
06/12   Received letter of additional inadmissibility for misrepresentation. LIFETIME bar. Additional evidence requested within 30 days. Lawyer #2 says it's a waste of time and money so we represent ourselves.
07/12   additional evidence submitted
08/12   Waiver DENIED.
09/12   Hire Lawyer #3 to submit whole new waiver packet via new process
11/01/12   waiver received

 * This should not have come as a surprise seeing as it it clearly written (albiet buried) in the law and we paid an immigration lawyer $3,000 for his expert advice.  Come to find our it's immigration law 101. Illegal presence (overstaying a visa or entering without inspection) by more than 365 days is almost always an automatic ban of 10 years. Being a regular ol' US citizen though, I had no idea. Just like you, I used to think, "if you are married, then doesn't he automatically......NO! There is no guarantee that my husband and I will EVER be able to live a life united.

All my life, WAITING...

1 comment:

  1. Great article. Some quality information provided here. Immigration is such a difficult and bureaucratic process particularly as the US policies seem to change perpetually. Will be sure to let people know about your services as this comes from time to time amongst my friends.

    Denied Entry to USA

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