Free flow of money and ideas, but not people
July 6, 2007 12:08 PM Subscribe
We're Canadian. Cousin did semester in Hawaii a few years ago, fell in love with a boy. A few months ago they got married, hoping to ease the green card situation so she could work there legally & they could continue to be together while he finishes school. But now she can't leave and doesn't have a viable sponsor, so she's stuck in limbo.
She can't leave the US until the application is processed, so she can't come home to work, because I get the sense that if she leaves then she can't re-enter the US, or that she'll be barred from entering the US for a period of X years, something like that.
He's a student, third year university, with minimal income, so he can't sponsor her. His parents and parents' friends won't sponsor them - they all make money in a variety of ways probably-not-completely-disclosed-on-their-tax-forms, and they're understandably concerned about their financial situations being investigated by the government. And his parents recently put an illegal addition on their house, and this is a problem because in that area of Hawaii there are strict planning controls or somesuch, and they don't want to give themselves away. (I'm not sure why an immigration officer would care that you'd put an extra room on your house, but this is his parents' biggest worry.)
The cousin is working, doing three different under-the-table jobs, is able to support herself and the boy. But there is the ongoing obvious desire to be working legally, get a legit career path going, put down some roots with her husband and really start living. And with no sponsor her application is in complete limbo.
The obvious answer might seem to be that she find a job where the employer will sponsor her. Unfortunately the area of Hawaii where she lives is a bit depressed and there are no big employers. Not much of a tourist economy. She's there because the boy is there, and he'll be there for another 1.5 - 2 years finishing school. And further, most people make their living in some portion through barter or work they don't declare on their taxes. She's been working at finding someone (anyone, at this point) to sponsor her via employment for the last eight months and has come up with a big zero. Most local people would love to have a solid full-time job, and they're few and far between, so she's basically at the back of the line for anything like that.
I get the sense that the sponsor's role is to kind of take responsibility for bailing her out if she were ever to get in trouble financially. To kind of assure the government of the US that as someone working in the country she won't be a burden - but if she does need help, the sponsor will step in. Realistically, if she ever got into unexpected financial trouble she'd be able to call the family here in Canada, so she knows she has a safety net, but that means zip to the American government.
Basically she's a bit trapped. Can't really come home to work or wait out the process. Obviously doesn't want to tank her marriage by leaving, either. The application can't go forward until she gets a sponsor. People of Hawaii, what would you suggest she do? Is there an NGO that helps with this kind of thing? ("We'll sponsor your green card application because you look like a nice person"?)
I am quite aware that there are a great many people wanting to bum around on the beach in Hawaii for a few years. She's not in this category. And of course there are the thousands and thousands and thousands of illegal workers who come to the US and live in horrendous limbo and have no rights and toil away for a few dollars a day. I am really cognizant that my cousin has it really great by comparison. I get all that.
But we're still looking for a solution to her limbo. What options haven't we thought of?
She can't leave the US until the application is processed, so she can't come home to work, because I get the sense that if she leaves then she can't re-enter the US, or that she'll be barred from entering the US for a period of X years, something like that.
He's a student, third year university, with minimal income, so he can't sponsor her. His parents and parents' friends won't sponsor them - they all make money in a variety of ways probably-not-completely-disclosed-on-their-tax-forms, and they're understandably concerned about their financial situations being investigated by the government. And his parents recently put an illegal addition on their house, and this is a problem because in that area of Hawaii there are strict planning controls or somesuch, and they don't want to give themselves away. (I'm not sure why an immigration officer would care that you'd put an extra room on your house, but this is his parents' biggest worry.)
The cousin is working, doing three different under-the-table jobs, is able to support herself and the boy. But there is the ongoing obvious desire to be working legally, get a legit career path going, put down some roots with her husband and really start living. And with no sponsor her application is in complete limbo.
The obvious answer might seem to be that she find a job where the employer will sponsor her. Unfortunately the area of Hawaii where she lives is a bit depressed and there are no big employers. Not much of a tourist economy. She's there because the boy is there, and he'll be there for another 1.5 - 2 years finishing school. And further, most people make their living in some portion through barter or work they don't declare on their taxes. She's been working at finding someone (anyone, at this point) to sponsor her via employment for the last eight months and has come up with a big zero. Most local people would love to have a solid full-time job, and they're few and far between, so she's basically at the back of the line for anything like that.
I get the sense that the sponsor's role is to kind of take responsibility for bailing her out if she were ever to get in trouble financially. To kind of assure the government of the US that as someone working in the country she won't be a burden - but if she does need help, the sponsor will step in. Realistically, if she ever got into unexpected financial trouble she'd be able to call the family here in Canada, so she knows she has a safety net, but that means zip to the American government.
Basically she's a bit trapped. Can't really come home to work or wait out the process. Obviously doesn't want to tank her marriage by leaving, either. The application can't go forward until she gets a sponsor. People of Hawaii, what would you suggest she do? Is there an NGO that helps with this kind of thing? ("We'll sponsor your green card application because you look like a nice person"?)
I am quite aware that there are a great many people wanting to bum around on the beach in Hawaii for a few years. She's not in this category. And of course there are the thousands and thousands and thousands of illegal workers who come to the US and live in horrendous limbo and have no rights and toil away for a few dollars a day. I am really cognizant that my cousin has it really great by comparison. I get all that.
But we're still looking for a solution to her limbo. What options haven't we thought of?
She should talk to an immigration lawyer, and stop working illegally. She may even have to return to Canada.
If she gets in trouble with the immigration authorities, you may be posting another question later, asking how to get her husband into Canada.
posted by oaf at 12:48 PM on July 6, 2007
If she gets in trouble with the immigration authorities, you may be posting another question later, asking how to get her husband into Canada.
posted by oaf at 12:48 PM on July 6, 2007
She may have to return to Canada if the application doesn't succeed, and if she can't get an extension on her permission to stay in the U.S.
posted by oaf at 12:49 PM on July 6, 2007
posted by oaf at 12:49 PM on July 6, 2007
Sounds like he needs to transfer schools somewhere where she can get legally sponsored.
posted by konolia at 1:56 PM on July 6, 2007
posted by konolia at 1:56 PM on July 6, 2007
if she is applying legally for a green card, she can also apply for 'advance parole'. The visajourney link above would have info on it.
Basically, once granted, it allows you to leave the US and then return, without resetting the Green Card application.
I don't have experience with this, but I will soon.
oh, and I'm pretty sure the job thing is a no-go till you get the green card. Immigration is a tricky thing, and really, encourage her to follow the rules as best as she can so when she goes for her interviews she won't have anything to hide. They really don't like that.
Good luck
posted by johnstein at 5:37 PM on July 6, 2007
Basically, once granted, it allows you to leave the US and then return, without resetting the Green Card application.
I don't have experience with this, but I will soon.
oh, and I'm pretty sure the job thing is a no-go till you get the green card. Immigration is a tricky thing, and really, encourage her to follow the rules as best as she can so when she goes for her interviews she won't have anything to hide. They really don't like that.
Good luck
posted by johnstein at 5:37 PM on July 6, 2007
I re-read your post and my advice only holds true once you have actually applied for the green-card. Yes, I agree with the others now that a lawyer is definitely the next step.
posted by johnstein at 5:57 PM on July 6, 2007
posted by johnstein at 5:57 PM on July 6, 2007
One option is for the both of them to move to Canada. He can get a student visa here (meaning Canada) more easily than she can get a US green card. His degree from a Canadian school will have every bit as much value as from any university in Hawaii.
posted by ethnomethodologist at 3:44 PM on July 7, 2007
posted by ethnomethodologist at 3:44 PM on July 7, 2007
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posted by slavlin at 12:42 PM on July 6, 2007