John Bold
Jul 19, 2011, 08:44 PM
Foreigner who is holder of f-1 (student) visa. After 3 years of studying in US, met a girl and then got married on February 2011.Very happy with my marriage :).
After I got married, I gave a copy of marriage certificate (she is An American citizen)to the school where I got my I-20 & studied. After I talked to couple of my friends and did some research online, I decided to apply for Green card without hiring any lawyer. It was just filling out forms right?
With taking Green card application process little less serious and having problem with finding a job, I couldn't put $1400 together which is necessary amount in order for me to apply for green card.
2 days ago 2 police officers knocked my door at 6 Am in the morning to ask my passport papers etc. After they checked my I-20 and marriage certificate they said that I'm out of status and they are going to arrest me. I said that I'm married an American citizen and filled green card application but couldn't send it to the government just because I couldn't find that money. To make long story short:
I'm arrested and taken to federal gov. building where they put me in a room with illegal immigrants.Talked to officers bunch of time they said I had to send the application right after I got married. By the way, be careful when you use telephone in jail. I made 3 phone calls and each was 2 minutes long They charged $60 for that.You can consider it as rip off.
Thank god, my father in law bonded and paid $1700 to took me out of there and now I'm out and waiting for court date.
My documents says:
I entered Us as a student legally.
My I-20 terminated on February
Since then (for 5 and a half months) I've been staying illegally in Us.
Judge will decide whether I can remain in US or deported.
Questions, questions questions...
1) should I apply for green card immediately so I can show it to judge that I applied and it's in process?
2) should I hire a lawyer to figure out my options (couple of my friends said court may not be as easy as I thought and can take 2-3 years)
3) is there anything I should do immediately before it's been too late ?
4) how the process works usually and how it ends typically ?
5) extra information and experiences would be highly appreciated!!
After I got married, I gave a copy of marriage certificate (she is An American citizen)to the school where I got my I-20 & studied. After I talked to couple of my friends and did some research online, I decided to apply for Green card without hiring any lawyer. It was just filling out forms right?
With taking Green card application process little less serious and having problem with finding a job, I couldn't put $1400 together which is necessary amount in order for me to apply for green card.
2 days ago 2 police officers knocked my door at 6 Am in the morning to ask my passport papers etc. After they checked my I-20 and marriage certificate they said that I'm out of status and they are going to arrest me. I said that I'm married an American citizen and filled green card application but couldn't send it to the government just because I couldn't find that money. To make long story short:
I'm arrested and taken to federal gov. building where they put me in a room with illegal immigrants.Talked to officers bunch of time they said I had to send the application right after I got married. By the way, be careful when you use telephone in jail. I made 3 phone calls and each was 2 minutes long They charged $60 for that.You can consider it as rip off.
Thank god, my father in law bonded and paid $1700 to took me out of there and now I'm out and waiting for court date.
My documents says:
I entered Us as a student legally.
My I-20 terminated on February
Since then (for 5 and a half months) I've been staying illegally in Us.
Judge will decide whether I can remain in US or deported.
Questions, questions questions...
1) should I apply for green card immediately so I can show it to judge that I applied and it's in process?
2) should I hire a lawyer to figure out my options (couple of my friends said court may not be as easy as I thought and can take 2-3 years)
3) is there anything I should do immediately before it's been too late ?
4) how the process works usually and how it ends typically ?
5) extra information and experiences would be highly appreciated!!