The Immigration Answers Show - Episode 1040

Hinzugefügt: 2026-05-05

[00:00:03]I'm great about that other than trying to help people who are in a state of invasion now.

[00:00:36]Welcome back to the Immigration Answer Show. My name is Jim Hacking for this early edition of the Immigration Answer Show, episode 1040.

[00:00:45]I'm here with my good friend Julie Hack.

[00:00:48]Today is Wednesday, April 22nd, 2026.

[00:00:50]Doing the show a little early today. We have uh our firm quarterly meeting and I am off to Kansas City for a few days for our entrepreneurial operating system EOS conference tomorrow and Friday with Tim and Adella and Ammani. So that'll be fun.

[00:01:10]>> I have spoken. I have spoken.

[00:01:14]It's a trap.

[00:01:17]It's a trap.

[00:01:36]He's back.

[00:01:42]>> Oh, that's a good one. I like that one.

[00:01:44]What's that from, Julie? That's a good one. Oh, I know. It's from Among Us. is from that game Among Us. Did you ever play that? Uh where somebody's the somebody's the um what do you call him?

[00:01:57]The out the you know the the uh >> sorry I had to jump in. Impostor.

[00:02:05]>> Impostor. Thank you. Thank you. I would have been here all day.

[00:02:07]>> Hi guys.

[00:02:11]>> Never watched Dexter so I don't know that one.

[00:02:13]>> I have spoken.

[00:02:15]>> So those are all of our new uh Among Us.

[00:02:18]Yes. All right. So, uh, anyway, I'll be here for the next 90 minutes. We're going to do the news and then we'll get to some calls. Look like Julie's Julie's already talking to some people. Um, are you testing sounds? Yes, I'm a mixologist. Don't you know, Julian? Hey Carolyn, good morning. Where are you?

[00:02:34]Uh, everybody, good to see everyone. Let us know in the comments if you're new.

[00:02:38]Watch where you're watching from. Yeah, Among Us. Man, I haven't played Among Us in a while. That's a fun game. I like that. Uh, we played this other game too when I was in Chicago at my niece's house where it was almost like Family Feud where they would the person would ask, you know, or person would be asked like what percentage of people say they walk around the house naked and then one player would put in the number on their phone and then you had to say whether it was higher or lower and then however close you were, you um got points. That was a fun little online game. And then uh all right, so let's get to the news.

[00:03:13]Where is it?

[00:03:16]That ain't it. I got too many tabs open.

[00:03:22]Here we go.

[00:03:25]A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration's attempt to punish an immigration attorney for fighting to stop his client's deportation. The case involves attorney Joshua Shrader who filed emergency motions in multiple courts to halt the removal of his client, a Leaian uh immigrant named Vanlure um who was from Laos. The Justice Department sought substantial monetary penalties against Trader, arguing he knowingly made false claims in those filings. But US District Judge Francis Tedenko Gatewood rejected that request.

[00:03:58]The judge wrote that while Shrader's legal arguments did not succeed, they were made in good faith and that is not a sanctionable offense. This was the first real test of a Trump executive order targeting what the administration calls frivolous litigation against the government. For now, the court has drawn a line saying zealous legal advocacy is not the same as misconduct. The DOJ has already sought additional sanctions against Shrader in a separate appeal, so the fight is far from over.

[00:04:25]This next story is very upsetting. The Trump administration is in talks to send more than 1100 Afghans, men and women who risk their lives helping US armed forces to the Democratic Republic of Congo. This group includes former military interpreters, members of special Afghan members of Afghan special operation forces, family members of American service members, and more than 400 children. They have been living in limbo at a former US military base in Qatar and they were brought there in late 2024 and promised a path to the United States. That promise was effectively canceled when the Trump administration ended policies that would have allowed them to resettle here. Now, according to an aid worker briefed by State Department officials, these Afghans are being given a choice. return to Afghanistan and live under the Taliban, where of course they'll be tortured or killed, or go to the Congo, which is currently experiencing one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

[00:05:20]Critics say neither option is acceptable for people who served alongside American troops. Can you believe this? This is how we treat the people that helped the army. What people in any other country Iran or anywhere else are going to help armed for US armed forces now if we can't even honor our commitments to make safe the people who helped us when we occupied Afghanistan.

[00:05:46]And our last story of the day uh if your business employees workers listen closely because this affects you. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement has quietly rewritten the rules on form I9 violations. So, anybody who's applied for a new job or anyone that works in HR knows about I9's, that's the form that you use to document that someone has the authority and the legal ability to work in the United States. Employers could now face immediate fines for paperwork errors that they were previously allowed to correct. For nearly 30 years, I9 errors fell into two categories.

[00:06:20]technical or procedural violations, which employers could fix with notice, and substantive violations, which carried immediate monetary money penalties. ICE has now updated an online fact sheet, again, of course, without formal rulemaking or public notice because they don't believe in such things. Reclassifying many previously correctable errors as substantive violations. We're talking about things like a missing date of birth on section one, a missing date of hire on section two, incomplete preparer or translator data, and missing employer signature dates. Previously, if a document copy was on file, certain missing information was excusable. Under the new fact sheet, that exception appears to be gone.

[00:07:00]Immigration law practitioners are raising serious legal questions about this change, including whether ICE had the authority to rewrite enforcement policy simply by updating their web page. That's what they like to do. They don't like to follow the rules. The bottom line for employer though is now is the time to audit your I9 files and make sure they are complete before ICE comes knocking. And that is the news for today, April 21st. 21st. 22nd. How about that? All right, let's do it. Guy is here. Hello, Guy.

[00:07:33]>> Yes. Hello.

[00:07:34]>> Hi.

[00:07:36]>> Hi.

[00:07:38]>> Go ahead.

[00:07:39]>> Yes. Uh my name is Guy Dilva.

[00:07:45]>> I was in I was in USA.

[00:07:48]I was in USA in Dallas, Texas.

[00:07:54]I came in in 200 I came in into in 2018 and I went out of Texas in 2020 20 because I came I came back in Europe for matter of uh helping a family member.

[00:08:26]When I was to go back, the COVID situation didn't allow me to go back to Texas.

[00:08:41]And then today, I'm just I was connected with your social media.

[00:08:53]I got the number from I got the number from the social media and I found a lady who said to me what do you want? I said to to her that I would like to renew my employment authorization.

[00:09:19]And she goes, she asks me when that was issued.

[00:09:26]When that was expired.

[00:09:31]That was issued on 17 of July 2018 and expired on 16 of July 2020.

[00:09:49]She got the point. She said to me, "Okay, I going to connect you. I'm going to send you the link of Mr. Jimmy."

[00:10:05]>> That's me.

[00:10:06]>> Yes.

[00:10:08]I'm so happy to see you.

[00:10:09]>> I'm happy to see you too, guy. So, when you came in 2018, what kind of a status did you have?

[00:10:18]I flew as a Irish citizen.

[00:10:23]when I get a uh my status was like I get in as a uh uh an asylum and that helped me to meet with uh one Congalles person who helped me how to how to seek this asylum and he made an application.

[00:10:52]So the immigration helps me to get an employment authorization document.

[00:11:04]>> Okay. So >> Oh, okay. So hold on. I'm going to I'm going to slow down a little bit. Okay.

[00:11:10]>> Yes.

[00:11:12]>> What was the date of your entry into the United States?

[00:11:19]Uh the date was uh it was around uh February the 15 of February 20 20 Yes. 20 16.

[00:11:41]>> Okay. And when you entered on February 15, 2016, you entered on visa waiver or you had a visa?

[00:11:49]>> Yes, with the ESTA visa.

[00:11:51]>> Okay. All right. And then when did you apply for asylum?

[00:11:56]>> Apply for asylum because I didn't know yet. I applied for asylum six maybe eight months after.

[00:12:04]>> Okay. So when if you had to guess when did you apply for asylum?

[00:12:09]apply for the the asylum like uh on uh on 20 20 17 around November.

[00:12:22]>> Well, that would be that would be more than a year. That would be that would be 23 months or no a year and nine months.

[00:12:35]Yeah, that would be 21 21 months.

[00:12:40]So you think you filed in 2017?

[00:12:46]Yes. when when I uh we introduced with uh this asalam application by I was waiting for waiting then the immigration has sent me has asked me to send my my identification which identification I was holding so I've to send my passport and they sent back to me the passport.

[00:13:22]Then 15 days after they wrote me to confirm my full address where I was living in Dallas.

[00:13:34]>> Right. Right. But hold on. Hold on. So what country were you born in?

[00:13:40]>> Born in Angola.

[00:13:42]>> Okay. And how did you come to have Irish citizenship?

[00:13:50]>> I got the Irish citizenship from uh because I made an application here >> in Ireland.

[00:13:59]>> Yes.

[00:14:00]>> An application for what? Asylum or something else?

[00:14:02]>> Asylum. Yes, sir.

[00:14:04]>> Okay. So, when you enter the United States, you are already granted Irish citizenship.

[00:14:10]>> Correct.

[00:14:12]So then you fi then you come to America in 2016 on visa waiver which means you have 90 days to leave which is um March April May of n May of 2016 you were supposed to leave but you didn't leave in May of 2016 right?

[00:14:29]>> Yes.

[00:14:30]>> And then you didn't apply for asylum until you said like November of 2017.

[00:14:36]>> Yes.

[00:14:38]>> Okay. So that means you had Okay. That means you had been here for more than a year out of status and you also applied for asylum too late.

[00:14:48]Okay. And but anyway, who told you to file for asylum?

[00:14:53]A friend of mine was there because uh basically I have uh a bachelor degree.

[00:15:04]Then when I went online, Mr. Jimmy a bachelor degree. When I went online, it was saying that anybody who has a degree can go and ask for for uh an employment authorization, >> but that was that wasn't true. So So somebody tricked you into applying for asylum. Somebody it sounds like somebody told you that you could get work authorization if you filed for asylum.

[00:15:37]Correct.

[00:15:38]>> Right. But here's the thing. You can't get asylum for Angola when you already became a citizen in Ireland. That's that's the end. There's no This was what's called a frivolous asylum claim.

[00:15:49]It's probably good that you left, but you have a 10-year bar and you filed a BS asylum case that they're going to say never should have been filed.

[00:16:01]So, they're not going to let you come to the United States and they're not going to give you another work card.

[00:16:08]But the the law saying that uh and somebody came in saying that uh you should go out. When you go out and you come back, you have to find a lawyer.

[00:16:19]>> You have a 10ear bar. You have a 10-year bar on coming back.

[00:16:23]>> 10 years.

[00:16:25]>> 10 years. You were here out of status for a whole year. You had no status here for more than a year. That means the moment you got on the plane to leave, you have a 10-year bar.

[00:16:36]But since I left, since I left Mr. Jimmy is almost 10.

[00:16:41]>> Yeah. But they're never going to let you come back because you didn't leave on time when they came on visa waiver and you filed an asylum case that has no merit. It's it's not a winner. It's a loser asylum case.

[00:16:55]>> Okay.

[00:16:58]So that person who told you, "I can get you a work card because you have a degree," they were lying to you and you shouldn't have applied for asylum.

[00:17:16]So uh is there is any uh way to to withdraw the asylum application case?

[00:17:24]that case was over when you filed when you left, but it doesn't matter now. The that is a bell that you can't unring.

[00:17:32]You have filed something that had no merit to it at all. And the other thing is there's no way for you to come back now. They're not going to let you back in the United States. They're not going to give you a visa. They're not going to let you come on ESTA. They're going to be pissed that you filed a fake asylum case. And that's the end of that.

[00:17:57]I think we lost him. Good luck, guy.

[00:18:01]That was something. Thanks for that one, Julie. Um, all good. Three questions.

[00:18:06]N400. Now, I don't help people answer questions, but we can talk generally about the N400. Hello.

[00:18:12]>> Hello. Good morning.

[00:18:13]>> Hi.

[00:18:14]>> Hi, Jim. Thank you for taking my call.

[00:18:16]>> Sure. What's up? Uh, first of all, my condolences to your uh for the loss of your aunt.

[00:18:22]>> Thank you. I appreciate that.

[00:18:24]>> Uh, thank you. I've been watching your show for about five years now.

[00:18:27]>> Awesome.

[00:18:28]>> I really appreciate your work.

[00:18:31]>> Um, I have a pending I751.

[00:18:34]>> Yeah.

[00:18:34]>> And I'll be eligible for the M400 in about two months.

[00:18:38]>> Great.

[00:18:39]>> I have three questions that have been bugging me, so I wanted to get your opinion.

[00:18:43]>> Okay, great. Uh, I wrote them down to be clear, so I will read my questions.

[00:18:48]>> Perfect.

[00:18:50]>> Uh, the first question, I have several international speeding tickets that are more than four years old. They were all paid at the time, but I no longer have any proof of payment or exact amounts.

[00:19:04]How should I list these tickets on the N400 application?

[00:19:09]>> Were you on vacation or what was the dealio?

[00:19:12]No, I was living in a different country for about 15 years.

[00:19:17]>> Yeah.

[00:19:17]>> And and I had those speeding tickets in that country before coming to the US.

[00:19:22]>> They're all in one country.

[00:19:23]>> Yes. Correct.

[00:19:25]>> Could you maybe find somebody like a lawyer or investigator to track those down for you?

[00:19:32]>> I tried and they said that there's no such thing as like driving record in that country. I even try to uh look up my ID in that country online.

[00:19:43]>> Yeah.

[00:19:43]>> And it comes back as no pending tickets.

[00:19:46]That's it. So, it doesn't have any history of ticket or traffic tickets.

[00:19:51]>> Um I don't think it's a huge deal. I would just list the tickets, say that they've all been paid, and then include that that print up that you have, and that should probably be enough.

[00:19:59]>> Okay. Thank you so much. And my second question, uh, I filed my 2025 taxes through Turboax and when I downloaded my transcript from the IRS website, I noticed that there's a line that says main home in the US and the that the the mark or the this was marked as no.

[00:20:21]So when I and Turboax never asked me that question and my I have been in the US for the whole year. When I looked it up, uh it came back that this question only pops up if you are under a certain uh income >> to uh to qualify for earned income tax credit.

[00:20:41]>> Right.

[00:20:43]>> So would this cause an issue in my N400 application?

[00:20:47]>> Did you receive an earned income tax credit?

[00:20:49]>> No, I was above that income threshold.

[00:20:52]>> Um I would reach out to Turboax and say, "Hey, you guys screwed up my tax return.

[00:20:57]Do I need and I would do this all in writing. Don't do it on the phone. And ask them, do I need to file an amended tax return?

[00:21:04]>> I actually reached out to them and they said uh this was an issue in the uh website at that time. They have since fixed it and uh I told them, can I file a tax amendment? They said you can, but it will not update your uh IRS transcript.

[00:21:22]have them put that in writing and tell them you're going to sue them if they don't fix this.

[00:21:27]>> Okay.

[00:21:28]>> I mean, they screwed up, right?

[00:21:30]>> You're right.

[00:21:32]And my last question, uh, I have an old passport where my last name was spelled differently in English, but my name and the native language was never changed.

[00:21:42]It's the same, and I never listed that other spelling in any of my applications. Should I list that old English spelling under other names used in the M400?

[00:21:52]>> So like my last name is H A C K I N G and then I had a password one time when I was like a kid or a teenager and it said H O C K I N G something like that.

[00:22:01]>> Yes, correct.

[00:22:02]>> But the native language was never changed.

[00:22:05]>> Yeah. No, I wouldn't.

[00:22:07]>> So I will not list it in the N400.

[00:22:09]>> Have you ever gone by that name?

[00:22:11]>> It was an old passport like 18 years ago, but I never used it in any immigration applications. But what I mean is, have you ever gone by that name? I don't think the answer is yes.

[00:22:20]Do you?

[00:22:20]>> No. No, I never. It's Yeah, >> I think you're good.

[00:22:24]>> Okay. Thanks so much.

[00:22:25]>> Good luck, buddy.

[00:22:27]>> Thank you. Bye.

[00:22:27]>> Yeah. Yep. Bye. All right. All right.

[00:22:30]Ash is here. Hello, Ash.

[00:22:32]>> Hi, Jim. Can you hear me?

[00:22:34]>> I can indeed. What's up?

[00:22:36]>> Um, first of all, thank you for taking my call. Um, so let me give you a little bit of background and context. So my wife and I are both from Iran and in September of 2024 I filed I130 for my spouse and um then I485 was not current at the time that we were filing I130. So in next year in June of 2025 we filed I485.

[00:23:04]She received she already had received uh her EAD in the September of 2025.

[00:23:09]>> Okay. And now my question is, should I go back and add uh additional documents to my I130 for her? Because ever since we have filed taxes twice together, we have bought a house, I have term life insurance in her name, and I was just wondering if I have to go back and add those.

[00:23:32]>> Why wouldn't you?

[00:23:34]>> Okay, I got my answer.

[00:23:36]>> Okay.

[00:23:37]>> All right. So uh my second question would be that uh right now I think the final action date for F2A is August of 2024 and my priority date for I130 of her is is um um I think I already said that forgot it's just uh September so there's like a 60 days difference between those uh does it help given that both of us are from Iran to join join some of these uh lawsuits that also your firm is offering sometime soon at least when the uh action date is actually pushed over our priority date. What is your advice?

[00:24:18]>> That's when you would want to join it and that's what I would do. Yep.

[00:24:22]>> Okay.

[00:24:23]>> I have a I have a question. How do you do you get your green card through employment?

[00:24:28]>> I got my uh green card EB2 national interest waiver.

[00:24:32]>> I figure. Okay, great. Thanks for the call, Ash. Yeah, I'd be in I'd be in our next lawsuit for sure. and we can add you to the list.

[00:24:38]>> Thank you so much. I appreciate that.

[00:24:40]Jimmy, >> thanks for the call. Have a good day, bud.

[00:24:42]>> Of course. You as well. Bye-bye.

[00:24:43]>> Bye, Ash. Yep. See you. Everyone's like, "Where's that damn list? When are we going to file that second lawsuit? What the hell's going on?" Hello.

[00:24:51]All right. Um, let's go to KBB. Hello, KBBY.

[00:25:00]KBB, are you there?

[00:25:05]You're on mute. Uh, I'm mute.

[00:25:08]>> Hi. Now we can hear you.

[00:25:13]>> So, I called you the last time and then I discussed with you about an incident.

[00:25:19]>> I'm having a hard time. Your audio Hold on. Your audio sort of sucks. Can you put your phone closer to your mouth?

[00:25:27]>> Okay. Can you hear me now?

[00:25:29]>> It's a lot better. Thank you.

[00:25:31]>> It's better. Okay. So, I'm conditional permanent um resident here. I called you at uh the last that I had a wife and I >> can't hear you, bro. Sorry about that.

[00:25:47]Amar Amarath, hello.

[00:25:51]>> Uh hi. Hi, Jim. Can you hear me? Just making sure.

[00:25:55]>> How you doing?

[00:25:56]>> I'm doing well. Thanks for asking, Jim.

[00:25:58]How about you?

[00:25:59]>> I'm good, thanks. What can I help you with? and uh strongly apologize and condolences for the your loss of amps and uh I can understand your bereavement and uh my best wishes for you.

[00:26:10]>> Thank you brother.

[00:26:12]>> Yeah. Uh hey James so I have been following you uh in the Facebook sometimes on Instagram and YouTube and uh uh so I'm a big fan of you and uh whatever you explain for the immigration uh purposes uh means you're very informative about uh to solve the immigration uh problems for the the people. Okay. uh coming to my case. So uh I entered in the United States during uh fall 2021 on the F1 visa. Uh I completed my graduation from University of Bridgeport during 2023. I studied master in computer science. Uh later on I applied for OPT. I got my OPT. Then I started working based on OPT. Then I started working uh in the Seattle city of Washington state. And there I met my spouse at the work like we got introduced each other. We sh exchange our number. We started dating. We introduce our parents to each other. And then uh February 28, 2025, we got married.

[00:27:22]>> Yeah. Then uh on June 6, 2025, my spouse filed I130 for me. uh she filed on her own like logging into her online USCS account and she just filled whatever information she found on the file and she submitted the form and based on that uh next month like uh July 6 I filed I485 paperbased application uh like kind of concurrent filing and also I had also filed for filed for the I765 for the GCAD and the travel document as well >> and she's a US citizen?

[00:28:00]>> Yes, she is a US citizen. She's holding US passports.

[00:28:03]>> Awesome. And was she born in the United States?

[00:28:06]>> Uh no, she born in Mexico. She got uh US citizenship based on naturalization during 2017.

[00:28:12]>> How'd she get her green card?

[00:28:14]>> Uh like she uh her mother um >> I think married to the US citizen and her mother brought her based on the uh green card and 2017 through naturalization she got US citizenship.

[00:28:28]>> Okay. So 45 has been on file since July of last year.

[00:28:32]>> Yeah.

[00:28:33]>> Got it.

[00:28:33]>> Then Yeah. Then uh later on we got the baby. Now we have a birth certificate of our baby and we also uh filed jointly taxes uh 2025 for the year.

[00:28:47]>> Okay. Uh yeah, but later on they expedite our process and on December 11, 2025, uh we were invited to interview to the Charlotte office, North Carolina.

[00:28:59]>> Yeah.

[00:29:00]>> Yeah. Yeah, we went for the interview but on my visa he uh the officer found my status like while on while filling DS160 form that I married earlier and if I married earlier this uh marriage is for the immigration benefits and I said no this is the my first marriage I never been married before and then officer was talking like that this could be the identity misrepresentation because your the form while filling the visa application it says you're married before. I said no I took a help from a particular agency to apply for the visa and then the officer asked me why didn't you disclose this information to the visa officer I said I haven't been questioned regarding my marriage I've been questioned like what's your major uh how you going going to manage your tuition cost and other my field related stuff education related stuff uh I never been questioned about my marriage status to the visa officer and then uh they said okay they will review the case. Then uh they issued me the NOID notice on December 20 that uh like they found there are two listing uh marriages in in your file while applying your visa and since it has not been dissolved so we are denying the case for I485.

[00:30:23]Then I submitted the evidence uh like I never been married before and while filing the uh I140 I took the help from the agency and I only uh went to the interview uh when they scheduled my appointment and I answered the question to the visa officer regarding my F1 status but still uh they issued me the denial notice again uh like last month March 20 something uh and stating that okay you have pro submitted your agency letter that they help you out but it doesn't have any contact information. Um so the there is a question for the authenticity regarding that agency letter and then uh you just submitted the affidavit that you never been married before and these are the oath oath taken there is no strong evidence so they just denying however uh they are ready to maintain my legal status here like they found like uh while applying uh I have a legal status here so I can continue my legal status I can continue my uh extension of the legal status. Uh there will be no removal proceedings but they are denying my I485.

[00:31:42]>> Um I'm sorry to hear that.

[00:31:45]>> Yeah.

[00:31:47]>> Would you mind if I asked how much you make in your salary a year roughly? How much do you make?

[00:31:52]>> Um like uh right now I'm uh making $40 per hour. $42 per hour.

[00:31:58]>> Okay. Why wouldn't you hire an attorney once you got that notice of intent to deny?

[00:32:05]>> Um >> why why would you why would you file anything with them without showing it to an attorney first?

[00:32:12]Uh I honestly like uh I didn't have much knowledge on it and uh my spouse pushing me to file it go ahead and just file it and yeah means like uh uh I didn't have much knowledge on it and once we started serving the no notices we started browsing the information on the YouTube and then I encounter your videos on YouTube Facebook and then I have been following you.

[00:32:40]>> Okay. So um what was the date of the 45 denial?

[00:32:48]>> Uh you want the exact date? I can give you the exact but I I >> What month? What month?

[00:32:55]>> Uh April, you can consider around April 1st to uh the first week of April.

[00:33:00]>> This year?

[00:33:01]>> Yeah, this year only. And of course, since there's questions about whether you were married back home, the I130 hasn't been approved either, right?

[00:33:12]>> Yeah, they denied both I485 and they denied I130. But in in her I130 notice, it says like this notice is not preventing her to file it again. If uh yeah if like uh if it this is like uh mean you are failing the visa officer uh investigate your case inaccurately you can come up with the new evidence and file G 2209 form something like that and reopen the case if you wish you still have 30 to 35 days or uh I can apply from the scratch what because I'm still maintaining my legal status in the United States.

[00:33:48]>> Okay. So for everyone watching, if the government ever accuses you of doing something sneaky, of doing something that you weren't supposed to do, of making a claim of one thing when the opposite was true, if the government ever does that to you, if you ever get a request for evidence, a notice of intent to deny, an officer asking you at an interview, if anyone ever accuses you of doing something wrong, don't ever reply to that without talking to an attorney first. Okay? Never.

[00:34:23]Never. Ever. Because you admitted a lot of things in there that may have been the right thing to admit, but maybe not have been the right thing to admit. So, you said I said, "Why didn't you hire an attorney to do this?" And you said, "Well, I didn't really know anything."

[00:34:36]Well, that's the point. And I'm not I'm not trying to beat you up. I'm just doing this to educate everybody else.

[00:34:42]Okay?

[00:34:44]>> Now, here's what I want to understand.

[00:34:49]On how many visas are they saying that you marked that you were married when you were actually single? One or more?

[00:34:59]>> Uh well so far I have just uh F1 visa for the USA and apart from F1 visa there are no any other visas.

[00:35:08]>> Okay. So >> so back when you came in 2021 for your master's degree.

[00:35:15]>> Yeah. You went to the consulate where?

[00:35:17]What country was this?

[00:35:18]>> India. I'm from India.

[00:35:20]>> Okay. So, you wanted to come to the United States to study.

[00:35:26]>> And at the time that you wanted to come, you were single.

[00:35:31]>> Yes.

[00:35:33]>> And you hired a company to try to help you get a student visa, right?

[00:35:39]>> Yes, that's true.

[00:35:41]And on your DS-160 that the government received, it said that you were married when in fact you were single.

[00:35:50]>> Yes.

[00:35:52]>> Did you realize that was happening or did you find this out now later?

[00:35:56]>> Uh I found this out later because uh I I didn't know honestly. I came here to study. I completed my study then I started applying for the jobs applying for OPT and I was into my stuff.

[00:36:09]Luckily, I met my partner at the work.

[00:36:11]We started dating each other. Our wives got matched. We decided to get married each other. And her parents are agreed to okay, if I want to stay longer with her, she's ready to file for you. And then uh then once we got the denial, I started watching your videos. Then I also came one of the video that I can file for the FOI something like that. It was on YouTube. I did the process for the FOI. I got some documents and then I figured for the application. Yeah, they found some DS160 earlier my application uh and they found uh like the marriage section as marked as a married.

[00:36:53]>> Have you you have you have you actually seen the DS160 that says that you marked that you were married >> uh before applying to the visa? uh I don't know about what is DS160 but once they said like uh in your visa application it is being stated as married and when I started watching your videos like I can apply for FOI and I can get the applica uh like the do documents requested like what I put in the application what are the things in my documents I can uh see it so when uh I applied FOI for online and they uh partially approved um means like they haven't given me the full information.

[00:37:32]They approved partially and partially sent me the documents online. I I was browsing through the PDF and I came up with the the page uh with the DS160 that uh the it it ticked the box ticked as a married.

[00:37:49]>> Okay. And so was that before or after you responded to the notice of intent to deny?

[00:37:55]>> After I responded to the notice of intent to deny.

[00:37:58]>> Okay. And when you responded to the notice of intent to deny, it sounded like you said that you had some kind of a letter or something from that agency. Is that true or was the only evidence you submitted your affidavit?

[00:38:14]>> No. Uh I is that true? I submitted that letter too like hey I uh mean in in the letter the my uh agencies clearly mentioned that we helped him in uh examination like GRE and ILTS then based on the score like the selecting the school which school is better fit for me for my graduation and then yeah uh yeah they have the signature on it and I submitted as >> did it say but did it say they filled out the DS160 and they made the mistake or did it not site say uh this uh in the in the letter it is being stated that they help me to fill the form and booking the uh visa appointment. It is not being mentioned that like uh uh they they uh put information wrongly or they put they just mentioned they help you help me to fill out this form and uh help in booking the visa appointment and selecting the universities in the United States. I think the the the the fact of who prepared the DS160 doesn't really matter because ultimately it's your DS160. And so this is one of those cases that I talk about sometimes on the show where they didn't deny the case because they said uh that you lied to them. They denied it because Well, they did, but they also denied it because they said that you're still legally married and you haven't proven that you're free to marry the person from your job in Seattle, right?

[00:39:41]Yes. And uh yeah in the notice they denied they also stated that yeah even though you submitted like the evidence like uh uh you have taken the help from agency to fill this form but still it is your form and while filling the form it is state uh it is being stated that you didn't took a help. You're just stating it now that you have taken help. uh in in your form or any application it uh never been said that you have taken uh help from anybody. It says that you only submitted your form and it is then they are abandoned like this form is abandoned. Then it >> what did your what did your wife say when she said that or when she found out that they said you were still married?

[00:40:29]uh she said like uh on the interview she replied to the officer like it's kind of mistake or some clerical entry is there or something is like that and uh she was calm and then we were discussing like what are things we can do and yeah yeah that's it.

[00:40:49]>> So so this actually came up at the interview like they confronted you at the interview. Yeah, the at the when they call for the interview uh the officer was grilling me and then during the interview first he asked like uh how many times you married before after the general questions like how did we met when we decided to marry and then we then the interview uh visa officer uh sorry immigration officer questioned me like how whether you married before? I said no. Then this is this is your first marriage. I said yes. Then officer said no but uh while filling application it is stated that you married before and now you're saying uh this is your first marriage so kind of identity misrepresentation but I said no and I didn't fill this form.

[00:41:36]>> So up until that point you didn't know up until the officer showed it to you or mentioned it to you you didn't know that there was a document out there that said you were married back in India.

[00:41:46]>> Yes. And then immigration officer question also me like why didn't you disclose this thing to the visa officer.

[00:41:53]I said I answered only to the question that I have been asked. I never been questioned about my marriages. The visa officer asked me what is your school?

[00:42:01]What's my major? And how are you going to manage your tuition cost? Who is paying for your tuition cost?

[00:42:07]>> The thing that's really unfortunate is this this happens. I'm sure you've seen me talk about it on the show before.

[00:42:11]This happens but usually it happens with B1 B2 visas, not student visas. So, I don't know that you really even gained anything by um by doing by saying that you were married. Well, what's your question for me now? Do you what do you want to do? Uh what what is the best step to then uh fix this issue or I will be ever get denied or this could not be possible again or I can still apply and if I if I want to apply again then what are the best evidences I could submit?

[00:42:45]uh they could uh fix this case and um they could approve. Uh >> well, here here's one other question. Um sometimes when people falsely claim to be married in order to help boost their chances of getting a non-immigrant visa like an F1, >> sometimes those applications actually list someone that they're like an imaginary person that they're married to. Does yours say that or did it just say that you were married?

[00:43:17]>> I'm sorry.

[00:43:18]>> Sure. So on the DS you you have a copy of the DS160 now, right? You've gotten that from >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:43:26]>> The question is does it just say married and not list someone that you're married to or does it say you're married and they like have a fake name of somebody that you're married to?

[00:43:36]>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. There is there there was a name there was a two name listed with the the first name was same uh the middle and last name was different there were uh like while serving the nid they mentioned like we found uh you married to these two different people before so you you've been married like twice and these two marriages are not dissolved so this marriage >> Oh wait a minute wait a minute so that makes it a little more complicated so it's not just that there's a box that says you were married there's a box that says you're married and it lists It lists a spouse or two.

[00:44:09]>> Yeah. Two different names. First name is same, middle and last name was different.

[00:44:14]>> So like Mary Jones, Mary Mary Mary Alice Jones and Mary Alice Smith.

[00:44:20]>> Yes.

[00:44:21]>> Okay. So have you ever known anyone with either of those names?

[00:44:27]>> Never. Ever.

[00:44:29]>> Do you know where those names came from?

[00:44:32]>> I'm not sure. like uh I same respond to the officer as well and I'm same responding to you too like uh I uh got enrolled to the agency they filed for the uh overseas education they helped in overseas education not just United States, Australia, England uh UK or any other European countries or Canada too and first we need to give some competitive examination like GRE ILTS or TOEFL and based on any >> Wait, wait, wait. Forget all that. So, you're telling me that you've never dated or known anyone with those names, right?

[00:45:15]>> Yes.

[00:45:17]>> As far as you know, they're just completely made up. The agency just pulled them out of their butt.

[00:45:22]>> Yep.

[00:45:23]>> Okay. All right. So, um, let me tell you all the things that would have to happen in order for you to get a green card.

[00:45:30]Okay.

[00:45:31]>> Okay.

[00:45:33]So, number one, we're going to have to tell them that that was my DS-160.

[00:45:39]I got a copy of it after after uh the NOID.

[00:45:46]>> Yeah. After the NOID response was due, I'm looking at it now and it clearly says that I said I was married >> and it says that I was married to Mary Jones and Mary Smith. I don't know. And then you're going to have to have a lawyer in India prove to them that you were never married in India and that you were never married to somebody named Mary Jones and you weren't married to somebody named Mary Smith. Right.

[00:46:11]>> Mhm.

[00:46:11]>> So once you do all that then they might decide that you were free to marry the woman from your job in Seattle. Okay.

[00:46:21]>> Mhm.

[00:46:22]>> So that's going to be tricky. Some places, some countries in some regions in some countries do have a mechanism where you can demonstrate that on such and such a day, according to their records, you were free to marry. Okay?

[00:46:37]Which means you weren't married to somebody else at that time. So you may or may not be able to get proof of that.

[00:46:42]Okay?

[00:46:44]>> And then once you admit that, you're going to have to show So they're going to say, "Okay, well, we we finally agree. We believe that you weren't really married to Mary Jones. You weren't really married to Mary Smith.

[00:47:01]>> Um, and so you still though made a misrepresentation. So we might let you get a green card, but you're going to have to file a waiver and show that it would be an exceptional hardship to your spouse if you were deported back to India. So, you're going to have to show there's something about your spouse, like her health or some other serious medical issues as to why you need a waiver of inadmissibility for the prior misrepresentation. So, in other words, they're saying, "You lied your way into the United States, and you're going to admit it and say, "Yeah, pretty much I did, but I have this spouse and she has a big disease or some other reason why it would be especially hard for her if I got deported more than it would be if other people get deported. Does that make sense?"

[00:47:56]>> Yeah. But like that waiver uh filed by my spouse or I have to file the waiver on my own. you and your spouse will file it together after you file a new I130 and a new 45. So, at the on the back end, you can start working on it now. We can meet with you and your wife and talk about, you know, what hardship evidence might be out there, how to develop it, but you need to start all over. And then on the back end, you're going to need to do a waiver.

[00:48:24]>> Okay.

[00:48:26]And yeah, this is the only solution and there are no alternatives, right? The only other solution is you don't get a green card. But in order to get a green card, you're going to need a waiver because of the you lied your way into the United States according to them.

[00:48:42]>> Yeah. Even though like I took a help but this is still my form and while filling form uh they are saying that I didn't say anything like I took a help and still it's my form and then then definitely like uh >> I mean that's always true brother.

[00:48:56]That's always true that you're responsible. I mean, like the other day I was talking to some guy. He's like, "I never swore under," he wanted to go back to his old country where he got asylum.

[00:49:03]He said, "I never swore under oath that I couldn't go back to my country." And I was like, "Brother, you signed the I589.

[00:49:10]That's under penalty of perjury." So, same thing with you. You You swore under oath. It doesn't matter if your mom filled it out, your uncle Harlo, or anyone else. If you signed it, it's yours.

[00:49:23]>> Yeah.

[00:49:25]>> All right. Yeah. Yeah, if you want our help, let me know. Julie can reach out.

[00:49:28]Okay.

[00:49:30]>> Yeah, I need a help and little bit more guidance on it. So, I could prepare my case very well and if is there is something like I will get approval, I'm ready to apply for it.

[00:49:44]>> Thanks for the call.

[00:49:47]>> You're welcome.

[00:49:48]>> Bye-bye.

[00:49:50]All right, that was a long one. That was a lot to talk about.

[00:49:56]I need to make a video that it doesn't matter who signed who filled it out. If you signed it, it's sort of like you break it, you own it like that. Yeah, David, I think he did say that he thinks he can do it himself. I sure as hell hope he doesn't. Oh, Julie's showing me a note. What does it say?

[00:50:12]>> He is set.

[00:50:14]>> Okay. Okay. Thanks. Um, before we get to that, I just want to talk about this word invited. I think the word invited is so funny in immigration because invited is used lots of different ways.

[00:50:25]Uh like I invited my mother to come see me in support of her B1B2 visa. We hear that a lot. Also, um the one I like the most is we got invited to an interview at USCIS. Like I don't know I don't know if you get invited to an interview. Um it's a funny way to phrase it. I just it always catches my ear when someone says that I got invited to an interview.

[00:50:48]Okay, so uh Kab's here. Hello.

[00:50:54]>> Yo. Um hello Jim. Can you hear me now?

[00:50:57]>> I can. Can you hear me?

[00:50:59]>> Yeah, I can hear you. My network was kind of breaking. I'm sorry.

[00:51:02]>> No worries.

[00:51:04]>> Yeah. So, I spoke with you the last time about an incident with my wife. I'm a conditional permanent resident over here that I had an issue with my wife and then the police came over. um they talked um they spoke with us separately and then they confirmed that no crime was committed. So um they left and so I was asking you a question whether this counts as a detention because in I751 attacks have you been arrested cited child detained and then you said no. So um I went to the police station to also ask the same question.

[00:51:38]The police um the police also indicated that um I was not detained. that was not arrested. But this is the fear in me now that so let's say when I check no for the I751 have you been arrested cited detained for breaking a law and then I go to the interview and I mark the same let's say there's a b check and then the officer find outs that um there there has been a police contact wouldn't they say um um I cut off a line of inquiry and then charge me for misrepresentation >> so so just to be clear you called an attorney who's been practicing immigration law for 20 years and he told you he told you oh no that's not a detention then to be extra sure you went down to the police department and said yo >> yeah I've been thinking about it all >> when when I invited you into my house and you came over to see me and to see if a crime had been committed and decided that there wasn't was that a detention and they told you no but even despite all that you still want to call it a detention of course I'm kind of um worried as Once let's say so if this is found on a background check right and then US as this question have you been arrested detained for breaking a law like if they ask the same question like an interview and then I said no and then and the officer comes back and said that oh um there is a police contact like somewhere like tell me what happened and then let's say if I narrate the incident and I give him the I give him the police report and then and then >> yeah we called the cops they came to our house just like you said it at the top of the show we called the cops and they decided there was no crime committed and they left. That's it. That's not a detention.

[00:53:16]His audio.

[00:53:19]>> Yeah.

[00:53:20]>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I got it cuz like I was thinking of say about it because if let's say um I'm applying for I751 and then N400 and um let's say if uh my marriage like situation is material to my um approval wouldn't they say that because I had this incident um I cut off like a line of inquiry like into the >> No. If they said no okay let let's play it out because I've seen situations like this. Let's play it out. So, you say no.

[00:53:50]Okay.

[00:53:51]>> And let's say I'm an let's say I'm an evil immigration officer and I have this incident report where you or at least like a notice that the police came to your and your wife's house on September 12th, 2025. Okay.

[00:54:06]>> Okay.

[00:54:07]>> I'm sitting there and and there's definitely times where USCIS likes to let you lie. Does that make sense?

[00:54:15]>> Okay. Yeah. So, like they like to set it up because they might ask you a question that you might think if I lie about this, I might get out of it, but if I admit it, I'm going to get in trouble, but really it's not something you could get in trouble for for admitting. If that makes sense. So, so let's say they have this notice that on September 12th, 2025, the police came to your house and they say, "Kobe, have you ever been arrested, cited, or detained?" And you say, "No." And then they give you this funny look or they just look some more at their computer and they go, "Hm, are you sure you've never been arrested, cited, or detained maybe back in September?" And you say, "No." And then they say, "Well, what? I see this police report and it says that they came." And you said, "Well, they came to my house.

[00:54:59]There was a domestic issue. They left.

[00:55:02]They didn't charge anybody. I was always free to go." So the answer, the correct legal answer to that question is no, I was never detained. And then be quiet because you're right.

[00:55:13]>> I mean, >> and actually the incident happened in September 8th.

[00:55:18]>> Ah, that's funny. This is one reason.

[00:55:20]This is one one reason why lawyers are sometimes asked to go to interviews because a person might not feel comfortable standing up for themselves in that kind of a situation. And lawyers are listening. I mean, now if they asked you, "Hey, Kobe, did the police ever come to your h? Had the police ever come to your house after five o'clock at night when you and your spouse were both at home? If they ask you that question, then you'd have to say yes. You see the difference?

[00:55:45]>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Um I've been thinking about this like too much. Um but then um since you have confirmed and then the police has also confirmed. I was just like worried um because they like to I've I've read an AAO um appeal where someone um was taken into um um um the police station to be questioned, right? And then and then the person answered no um on the form and then the person got to the interview, answered no again and then and then um and then um and then the immigration officer said that um he has been misrepresented but he wasn't um arrested or anything. So the person filed um um um appealed decision and he won. But going through all that legal stress and and everything like that is what I'm kind of worried about.

[00:56:31]Um, my brother, if you're staying up late at night reading AAO, and just so everybody knows, administrative appeals opinions from like eight years ago or whatever, and you have a 751 pending, which I hate to say it and I don't want to jinx it, is like the easiest case to get approved that there is.

[00:56:51]>> Um, generally, not right now, but generally, it's still one of the more easy cases to get approved. You're you're putting yourself in way too much.

[00:56:59]I mean, I can't believe you went to the police station. But, you know, I would never have told you to go to the police station. But now that you have, I love it because if they say, "Well, you lied to us." And I said, "Well, I went down to the police department to ask them this very question." They said, they said, "No, that's not a detention."

[00:57:16]And then just stop wearing stop doing this to yourself.

[00:57:20]>> Okay. Okay. Thank you very much. I appreciate it.

[00:57:23]>> You got it. You got it. Oh my god, that's so funny. He even called back and told Julie, "Please make sure I get on so I could ask this question which I already answered and which which the police department answered."

[00:57:36]And just because it's an appropriate thing, >> I have spoken. I have spoken.

[00:57:44]>> Flavius is here. Hello.

[00:57:48]>> Hello, Jim.

[00:57:49]>> Hi, Favius.

[00:57:51]>> Uh, yeah. Hello. Yeah, just um called to say thank you for all the help that uh you provide. I called a few times before and uh on April 15 last week, so at the same the same day as the tax day um yeah I went for the O ceremony in uh Moral, New Jersey and everything went well with few friends and yeah so just want to say thank you very much for everything. My pleasure. Is there Do you have a question for me?

[00:58:24]>> Um I mean I I think that's I mean I guess I was thinking about applying for my sister. I don't know if I'm allowed or not or maybe should I wait few years like it's just an idea you know but I don't know like what would you say because my sister is in UK and I know if I apply for her now it probably takes like 10 years or something right?

[00:58:47]>> 20 >> something like that.

[00:58:49]>> 20 >> 20 years. Yeah. And then and then you've demonstrated immigrant intent, so she likes to come to the United States. It might make it harder. I don't know. Does she come and visit?

[00:58:59]>> Um, no, no, she she's there. You know, she actually she's never been here. But I I just thought as an idea, I don't know. Um, but >> yeah, either way. Yeah, but I wouldn't wait. If you want to do it, I wouldn't wait. But I mean, 20 years is a long time. Hopefully, we're all still around 20 years from now.

[00:59:15]>> Okay. But that's how you know that's approximately how much it takes if if I apply now.

[00:59:20]>> Yeah. Right now they're working on cases from um for brothers and sisters of US citizens from uh 2008.

[00:59:34]So what is that 18 years and it's >> okay.

[00:59:38]>> Thanks Favius. Thanks for the call buddy. Appreciate it.

[00:59:40]>> Yeah. Yeah. Thank you so much for everything. Have a nice day.

[00:59:42]>> Bye buddy. I always like it when people call back to give us good news like that. All right, let's go to Joda Apartment. Hello.

[00:59:53]>> Hello. Hello. How are you, Jim?

[00:59:55]>> I'm great. How are you doing?

[00:59:57]>> I'm doing great and I'm I'm glad to see to see you again and uh I'm your big fan from outside the country over the United States. I'm living outside. I'm I'm living in Rwanda, Africa. So my question I have two questions. Um let me summarize those questions about um my issue, my case. on um on the 31st um December 2023, my wife filed for me I30 and um h in April um 2025 my case was approved April 2025 and um but during the completion of the case I30 there was a mistake you know uh there is um where you mentioned that the case will be sent back will be go through to adjustment of status or will go through um embassy processing. So that um on that field she did not mention that I will go my case will go through embassy processing. She left she left that um that space empty. And though the case was approved in April 2025, but it was stuck in in USCIS, it did not my case was not sent back to NVC. And later in May 7, 2025, we filed um I1 I824 to allow USCIS to send my case to US to NVC, >> right? And yeah, after filing that case, we had um um a lost we have a we have lost our our daughter while we have that case to um I mean I I 824 we have lost our our daughter during that hard time. We have tried to to file for expedite of the case but it it it didn't um go through because I was denied a visa a temporary visa because my case was still there desk it was not sent back to NVC. So when I went to embassy, embassy did not approve the visa. They sent me um two um 240b um that when I go there I will not come back and then my case was I'm ineligible for that visa. That was not my problem only um we after during this month good news is that my case was approved. My case was approved and sent back to NVC and um we are now docu documentarily qualified. My case was approved and ready to present it to NVC.

[01:03:14]But still the problem of completing the case during the completion of um a bit of support for the petitioner there is a mistake of birth a death date death date um instead of writing January 1st 1988 we wrote January 1st 1986 there is a mistake of birth date but everything is okay and like I we are um documentary qualified we don't know um my question is that will I disclose the mistake to the interview when I am I'm not asked to about it will I disclose that there is a mistake in on um um on joint I mean affidavit of support of the form of the petitioner there is a mistake on the date. Will I disclose disclos disclose that such things?

[01:04:19]That's first. Secondly, um am I qualified for am I qualif qualified for expedite um the case because though our daughter was lost and uh I did not come to bury her but still we have one year commemoration we are commemorating her her her life.

[01:04:48]So this coming January I mean this coming June um two month ahead of now we will be um commemorating her life. So am I qualified for that if we file for expedite the case because we are now in 75 countries ban visa ban we don't know um those are my questions. Thank you.

[01:05:19]>> I appreciate that very much. Thank you for the call. Um I was going to start with that question about um the what country you were from, but what happened to your daughter? I'm very sad. I'm very sad to hear about that.

[01:05:33]>> Thank you.

[01:05:35]>> Um I'm I'm the country my wife and the kid and the family they are in in US.

[01:05:42]They are US citizen.

[01:05:44]But for me, I am outside the country.

[01:05:47]I'm I'm in Rwanda. I'm in Africa.

[01:05:50]>> Okay. So, um I don't think you want to spend time working on an expedite request because the fact of the matter is even though it's very sad that you lost your daughter and haven't had the chance to bury her yet, um they won't give it to you and they can't give you the they won't give you the visa while that ban is in place. So, I think you need to just pay attention to some of the lawsuits, not mine, but some of the other ones that are challenging that 75 country pause, but I don't think you're going to get a visa until that pause is lifted.

[01:06:34]>> Okay. And regarding the disclosure of the mistake of buff buff buff date of of the petitioner for a bit of support.

[01:06:44]>> I don't think anybody cares about that.

[01:06:46]That's not a big deal.

[01:06:48]>> Uh they they don't care about that.

[01:06:51]>> No, because it wouldn't whether she was born in 1986 or 1988 doesn't change the fact of whether she makes enough money and whether she's your spouse. So no, I don't think it's important. I mean, if it comes up, mention it. But usually by the time you get to the embassy, they're past the affidava support and it's not important and it doesn't matter.

[01:07:10]>> So, uh, which means if if inter if I am interviewing, I'm being interviewed, I would not disclose everything, um, about her her date of birth. So that >> Yeah, maybe if they say something like, is there anything else you want to tell me? you tell them say hey look on the aid of support we put 88 instead of 86 I don't think it really matters but I wanted to tell you but I wouldn't make a big deal out of it >> okay thank you when when when when do you think that um the lift um that that that the 75 75 countries visa ban will end >> when a democratic president is elected >> it is too um 3 years from now, >> right?

[01:08:02]>> Uh do you think maybe um because they are monitoring, they are structuring the way a bit of I mean um uh uh the the big burden to the government of of of America. Um they think maybe if you have strong um joint joint sponsor who is uh who is making enough money will it be very u uh um enough to support the case that maybe there will be ben less.

[01:08:41]>> I don't think they care about that.

[01:08:43]They're just using it as a way to stop people.

[01:08:47]>> Okay. Thanks for the call. Good luck.

[01:08:51]>> Thank you. God >> God bless you too. Thanks so much.

[01:08:56]Asylum AOS. Hello.

[01:08:58]>> Um good morning Jim. Can you can you hear me? Okay.

[01:09:01]>> Yes. Yeah. Thanks.

[01:09:02]>> Um good good morning Jim. Um thank you so much for taking my call and >> Sure. What's up?

[01:09:07]>> You know I'm so sorry about your loss of your aunt. Good. I miss >> Oh, she was 79. She lived a nice life.

[01:09:13]So we miss her but I appreciate the sentiments. Thank you.

[01:09:16]>> Thank you. Thank you, Jim. So, I I'll be quick because I don't want other I don't wants to be waiting for too long.

[01:09:23]>> So, so um my wife and guy got approved for asylum um last September um September 2025 and um we actually from different countries. So, my country uh I'm the princip principal applicant, >> right?

[01:09:42]>> Um my my country is in in the ban list.

[01:09:46]Um but but but hers is not. Um so so I I uh I I was just think I'm sorry. Uh I was just thinking um if she can apply for her uh I485 first and then I can apply for it later. It what do you >> I think you both should apply as soon as you're eligible.

[01:10:08]>> Okay. Okay. So after one year. Um >> yeah. I don't care I don't care about their pauses. I don't care about their I don't care about the I'm doing the next right thing. If I'm you, I'm doing the next right thing. I'm controlling the things I can control. I file my case right on time and then if it gets paused, it gets paused. If it doesn't, it doesn't. But you're not going to have to pay to file another one later. Just get it on file and let them do what they want to do.

[01:10:34]>> Okay. So, so, so we should just apply together then. Um, there's no point in her applying first and then I apply when the >> Yeah. And and in fact, you might look about a month ago, they started floating this that they said that if people got asylum or came as refugees and didn't apply for asylum, didn't apply for a green card a year later, then they were going to come after him for that. So look up that rule. So absolutely, you should apply for the green card on the first day that you can, you spouse.

[01:11:06]>> Okay. Thank you so much, Jim. Appreciate it. Thank you.

[01:11:10]>> Bye.

[01:11:11]>> All right. All right. Let's go to UFK Gaming. Hello.

[01:11:20]>> Hi. Can you hear me?

[01:11:21]>> Hi.

[01:11:22]>> Hi.

[01:11:23]>> Yeah, I can hear you.

[01:11:24]>> How are you?

[01:11:25]>> Great. What's up?

[01:11:28]>> Hi. So, I applied for my husband. I'm a US citizen and he's currently in Pakistan. Um, and he was interviewed in uh September 2024.

[01:11:40]However, the case was sent back to the USCIS for further review. Uh, they just got the case back in January. The reason it was sent back is that he was married prior and the divorce date is after our marriage date and that's basically the conflict. Um, and that's why they sent it back to review again. They were already separated way before the divorce was finalized and that was also during COVID and stuff. So apparently >> but none of that has anything to do with whether he was free to marry. If if he was still legally married to the first spouse even if he was separated for 20 years it doesn't matter. He wasn't free to marry. Mhm.

[01:12:24]>> So, >> right, I mean based on I mean based on Pakistan law, you can marry, you know, even if you were you already have a wife, you can marry the second time.

[01:12:34]>> Um, >> sure you can, but you can't get a green card. You can't get an immigration.

[01:12:39]>> You can't get an immigration benefit here.

[01:12:43]>> So, that that doesn't mean anything.

[01:12:45]>> Have you file a new case? You need to file a new case. That other case is dead.

[01:12:51]Mhm. No, we didn't file yet. So, he was told to either uh remarry or speak to an attorney. Um we embassy.

[01:13:02]>> Yeah. And that's what the embassy told him that he has to either remarry me or he has to speak to an attorney.

[01:13:09]>> So, when did the case get sent back to USCIS?

[01:13:13]>> Uh January 2026.

[01:13:16]they received it back but it was um but the interview was in September 2024.

[01:13:23]>> So you have wasted almost 2 years since no September of 2024. I mean this whole case has been a waste of time. He wasn't free to marry.

[01:13:32]>> Mhm.

[01:13:35]So we have to remarry now >> just like they told you.

[01:13:39]>> I reapplied.

[01:13:40]>> Yes. You should have done that back in September of 2024. You've wasted all this time.

[01:13:45]>> Yeah. Yeah, I mean we spoke to an attorney here and uh she advised us that we can move the uh divorce date back um and get all the you know required documentation to prove that the divorce already happened before we got married.

[01:14:02]Is is that even an option so that we can continue this petition that's already in process?

[01:14:08]>> No, that's called that's called fraud.

[01:14:10]He got divorced after he was married to you. You can't get in a time machine and get a new divorce decree. Whoever told you that >> is probably not a lawyer or if they are, they shouldn't be.

[01:14:23]>> When what was the date of your marriage?

[01:14:24]What was the date of your marriage?

[01:14:27]>> It was 2019 October.

[01:14:30]>> So, dude, you've wasted seven years on a case that was never approvable. From the from the date the day you got married, this case was not approvable. You've wasted six and a half years of your life.

[01:14:40]>> Right. But USCIS approved it and so did you know and that's why they sent it to NVC and then that's how he was scheduled for the interview and stuff.

[01:14:49]>> Okay. Well, what divorce decree was submitted with when you submitted the I130 to USCIS. Did you tell them that he had been married before?

[01:14:57]>> Yeah, we provided the divorce certificate. We we you know provided everything. Even even on our marriage certificate is is states that he is divorced >> but he wasn't right.

[01:15:14]>> I mean yeah but he was but um we did provide the divorce certificate >> to show that he >> after the approved >> it was dated after the marriage.

[01:15:26]>> Yeah. Mhm.

[01:15:27]>> Well, so they were probably confused.

[01:15:29]They're probably confused because you gave them a marriage certificate that said divorced and a divorce decree that they probably didn't look at carefully enough and find out that he was divorced after the marriage. So, I mean, you you should be a little bit careful because they might say you misrepresented the date of the divorce. So, that's a whole other thing. But, but you guys, this case was never going to be approved because he wasn't free to marry when he married you in 2019.

[01:15:55]Mhm.

[01:15:56]So we have to remarry and apply again a whole new petition.

[01:16:01]>> Correct.

[01:16:04]>> Yeah. But here it's like we can't remarry because >> legally >> we already married here.

[01:16:12]So it's like we have to do the divorce and then remarry again. Like a whole >> That may very well be true. That may very well be true. Or you get married someone else. But your marriage under US law at the time that you got married was invalid. So I've had this situation happen before. And sometimes you have to go back to the officials and say this marriage wasn't valid under our law.

[01:16:34]>> We either need to get divorced and get remarried or we need to get remarried.

[01:16:41]>> Mhm.

[01:16:43]Okay. So that's the only option there.

[01:16:46]There's nothing else. a wavier or something that >> you don't have a legally valid marriage.

[01:16:53]They can't give you a green card. They can't give you an immigrant visa. You can stay in Pakistan for as long as you want, but if you want to come to the United States, you have to follow the rules in the United States. And the rules in the United States in 2026 and the rules in the United States in 2019 are you can't be married to two people at the same time. Nobody cares what Pakistan says. I don't know why you keep fighting everybody who tells you what you need to do. You keep thinking you have some other way to do it, some way around it. But you've wasted seven years. He could be a citizen by now. He could have his parents here by now.

[01:17:25]>> Okay. Can we like, you know, move forward through you guys?

[01:17:29]>> Maybe. Yeah. I mean, we got to talk it all through and talk to your you and your spouse, but yeah, we can reach out, but everyone's got to understand this case is starting from scratch. It's starting all over.

[01:17:38]>> Yeah.

[01:17:39]>> Okay.

[01:17:41]>> Yeah. We we tried to to call your office and we were told that the only way to speak to you is through live, not you know just one-on-one like consultation.

[01:17:52]>> Someone wants to hire our firm, they can talk to the intake specialist and they can talk to one of our intake attorneys.

[01:17:56]If they just want advice, if they just want to tell me about the way they've handled their case, they do it on this show because I don't talk.

[01:18:04]>> Okay.

[01:18:05]>> All right. Thank you.

[01:18:07]>> Thank you.

[01:18:13]Um, it doesn't matter what the rules are back in the home country. The rules might say you can marry four people, but if you want to use if you want to file, I mean, what do we say here all the time? I130. The big question is, were both parties free to marry? It's the most fundamental of questions that goes to every case. And then some lawyer tells her, well, you can just get Pakistan to retroactively change the divorce date. Oh, like that's going to work after you've rung the bell and said, "We were married in 2019 and divorced thereafter." And then all of a sudden, oh wait, we forgot about this other divorce decree that we just got. I mean, that's that's a quickest way to never be able to come to the United States.

[01:18:54]TK, hello TK, are you there?

[01:19:04]Oh, yeah. Thank you.

[01:19:07]Carolina is right. I forgot to say >> I have spoken. I have spoken.

[01:19:14]>> Nei. Hello, Nei.

[01:19:16]>> Hey, Jim. Can you hear me?

[01:19:18]>> Yes, I can. What's up?

[01:19:20]>> Okay. I know you've probably heard this a million times, but just please allow me to be number a million and one.

[01:19:25]>> You're not going to ask You're not going to ask me if you can travel, are you?

[01:19:29]>> No, no, no, no, no, no. I was just going to say thank you so much for everything you do for the immigration community.

[01:19:34]>> Awesome. Thank you. I appreciate that.

[01:19:36]Um so my question is or let me start with a bit of background.

[01:19:42]>> Great.

[01:19:46]>> Go for it.

[01:19:49]>> So I am a legal permanent resident married to a US citizen. Right. Our daughter was born with a disability that qualifies her for Medicaid. My wife signed her up for it and on the application one mandatory requirement is to list our entire household. So my wife included me in the application and we were all approved and sent a Medicaid card.

[01:20:14]>> Mhm.

[01:20:15]>> I would like to know if it is safe or recommended for me to use this Medicaid card for my insurance purposes or if it would pose some sort of immigration complication for me. cuz I did a bit of research and um basically what it was saying is I I would be qualified to get Medicaid, but there might be some sort of five-year hold for me to qualify for using all of its benefits. So, I'm hoping that you'd be able to bring some clarification to this.

[01:20:50]>> I would try to avoid using it if I can.

[01:20:52]As the law stands right now, if you already have your green card, you're sort of past all that public charge stuff. I don't know if they're going to try and pull off tricks with citizenship. So, from a from a from a magic wand kind of a place, if I have a magic wand and say yes, you use it or no, you don't, I'd prefer that you don't. But I as things stand now, I think you'd still be able to get your citizenship even if you used it. As long as as long as it was available to green card holders and you didn't make any claim to be a citizen, then I think you're okay.

[01:21:22]Okay. Well, that is all I had. So, thank you very much.

[01:21:26]>> Awesome. Thanks, Niji. See you.

[01:21:29]Did I tell you guys that in our office I, James, have a deportation climate client named Haime? Jim and Haime. And then, um, Casey, one of our attorneys, she has a deportation client named Casey. Isn't that funny? What if I had gotten Casey's case and she had gotten Haime's case? That would be funny. And in fact, when when I took over Haime's case, he was in removal in immigration. He was in detention and his immigration judge was Judge Jamie Salinardi. So, it was Haime, Jamie, and Mr. Jimmy. All right, let's go to Nana. Hello, Nana.

[01:22:09]>> Hello, Jim. Um, can you hear me?

[01:22:12]>> Yes. Yes.

[01:22:13]Um so um first of all let me commend you for this program. Um you're doing a great job especially for immigrants who are trying to adjust. I think I've learned a lot here.

[01:22:25]>> Awesome.

[01:22:26]>> Um so let me give you a quick backstory.

[01:22:30]Um so I came to the US um on a student visa um in 2024 August and um I had been denied a visa because um my first application my scholarship had delayed so I used um an education loan from Empire but my second visa was um approved and I came in August 2024.

[01:22:57]Um, I met my wife in um, late October going into November 2024 and we got married in October 2025.

[01:23:12]Um, >> and you you're still going to school then when you got married?

[01:23:17]>> Yeah, I'm still in school.

[01:23:19]>> Okay.

[01:23:20]>> I'm still in school when I graduate um, this May. So >> um um my first um question was um we were trying to fill out the I485 and there was a part of it that said um are you part of any government organization or a whole lot of other things and um so when I was coming I was volunteering with the Ghana Immigration Service. I had um served with them for a year. So in Ghana when you complete your bachelor's you are required to do a mandatory national service. So I did that and um after my service I had volunteered for the next 6 months before I came here. Um, do I have to state that yes, I'm part of an organization and um, I don't know if I have to follow all my questions.

[01:24:17]>> Was it >> and then um, >> was it >> okay?

[01:24:19]>> I mean, would you consider it an organization?

[01:24:23]>> Um, he asked if it's a government organization or anything. Let me >> I was driving so I had to park. Let me try to pull out the >> No, it's okay. No, don't don't pull.

[01:24:33]Well, you should we shouldn't be talking if you're driving and I gota I got to wrap up the show anyway.

[01:24:37]>> No, I I I parked. So, I I'm I'm parked right now.

[01:24:41]>> Okay. Um I mean, I would say you got to be careful how you answer every one of the questions. So, you know, if they've asked you if you've been a member of any groups, you got to list every single group. If you've worked for anybody, you have to list every single job. And if you haven't listed them in the past, I was just looking at a really tough notice of intent to deny for an Iranian fellow who wants to get his citizenship and they they threw the kitchen sink at him saying that he hadn't listed some jobs at some grad school jobs that he had. So I think you got to be really careful.

[01:25:08]>> Yeah. So um on my BS 160 um I listed that I was volunteering with the Ghana Immigration Service.

[01:25:16]>> That's good. Yeah. So just keep it keep it keep it going.

[01:25:20]>> Okay. And um with the um affidavit of support um support from my wife um she paused work in October when we got married and resumed in February. Is that going to be a problem?

[01:25:36]>> Um is is this case already on file or no?

[01:25:43]>> No, this case is not on file yet.

[01:25:46]>> Okay. So, will will she have had earned enough money each of the last three years to be the sponsor?

[01:25:52]>> Um, the last two years, yes. I don't know. I'm not sure about the last three years.

[01:25:57]>> Yeah. So, you might want to get a co-sponsor, but if she's back at work and making relatively the same amount and making enough, then it should be fine.

[01:26:05]>> Yeah, she's back and relatively higher than um the threshold. Perfect.

[01:26:10]>> Um she's like over 10,000 higher.

[01:26:13]>> Okay. All right. Well, thanks for the call. Good luck.

[01:26:16]Um, thank you. Um, I think I have one more question. Sorry.

[01:26:19]>> Quick, I got to go real quick.

[01:26:21]>> Um, so, um, um, it was about the police thing that the earlier um, people were saying. Is it, um, a warning ticket, um, something to write on the form or just ignore it?

[01:26:32]>> Nope.

[01:26:33]>> All right. Thank you so much. I appreciate you.

[01:26:36]>> Good luck.

[01:26:37]>> Yep. For sure.

[01:26:38]>> All right. All right. Um, somebody was asking, I'm confused. You say you don't work on cases, but then you do work on some. I have a couple. I have my big lawsuit in Boston. I have Himemes's deportation case, which I took because I was pissed.

[01:26:52]I have uh a naturalization case for a fan of the show. What else do I have? Uh I have a couple removal cases. Um and I go to interviews and stuff, but I don't handle day-to-day cases. Um ain't nobody got time for that except the fine people that work at Hacking Immigration Law.

[01:27:09]And I'm going to go talk to them right now. We'll do a show tomorrow live from Kansas City. I'll probably be sitting on the floor of some hotel. Probably just going to be on YouTube tomorrow, not on TikTok. At 11:00 a.m. tomorrow during the lunch break, I will be live. Um, the show is generally an hour and a half.

[01:27:24]Tomorrow will be a little bit shorter so I can eat some grub. So, probably an hour 15 tomorrow. I hope you guys all have a great night. Julie, I'll see you later. Thanks for your help. I'll see you at the meeting. Bye, everybody.

[01:27:39]>> I have spoken.

[01:27:41]It's a trap.

[01:27:46]I'm great about that other than trying to help people who are confused state I heavy.