After 11 years of marriage we spent the last two, trying to get my wife allowed in the US from the Philippines. I am retired and she is 9 years my younger. We have no children and we lived together until the USCIS quoted the Adam Walsh Act and denied my wife entry. The case was a consensual case, but i took the plea deal, served no prison and six month in county. No recommendations for ” rehabilitation” in file as i am not a predator . One crime in my entire life and im sentenced to a death sentence. It has bee 21 years and my pardon has been oked by the Dept of Probation as a recommendation of Pardon, but its nowhere. The people in sacramento say, its pending and its been 8 months already…
My wife is now away from me in the Philippines and its so heartbreaking… I have to support my wife in our house there and i am here… I cant believe this system. I have not been in California for over 8 years and will never return. I want to be with my wife and the system will not allow. How unjust is this? For twenty plus years i have gotten one driving infraction for no lights on in the day on the desert freeway… oh my… I am here in our home, just waiting for a Pardon from the three judges who will look at my case… What a mixed up crazy system.. I was on the tier system for years and had to reg only once a year. Now Nevada requires me to reg every three months and they changed my tier just like that… and now I have no friendly neighbors any longer.. Can you imagine what we go thru as well? I am praying that they give me a Pardon from this nasty law…. Its unjust, unfair and unconstitutional, in my eyes..
We 290 registrants, should not be all grouped into one category… There are predators who need to be watched for sure.. For people who have not committed any crimes for ex: over twenty years should get a quicker consideration… Very very sad…
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I read of one Filipina who found a Filipino lawyer who was successful in arguing her husbands case in Manila to allow his entry.
Your wife would need to travel there to participate but it can be done, according to one registrant posting here a while back.
Yes it’s much easier to paint everyone with a broad brush than taking the effort to be fair on moral ground.
Your circumstance seems a bit backward. Normally, it’s the registrant denied travel. Don’t think I’ve ever heard of a spouse being denied travel under the AWA. Maybe Janice could take a deeper look into your case.
And while there may be predators who “need to be watched”, the registry is not the means of doing that.
The punitive system definitely has tier knee on this man’s neck. How long will this go on.
been in this situation for 5 years trying to figure a way out as well, was going to hong kong but with china flexing doesnt look feasable for much longer. Going to by a sail boat and say …. it and just live in the sea tradeing stocks and visiting countries. Dont let this hold you back if there is a will there is a way. Under poverty level for 10 years just about to make this happen though getting ready to take some sailing lessons, get a boat and be gone. double check on this but I believe a person on this forum or travelmatrix said he told them he was leaving the country and never coming back, supposivly they took him off the list. if that is true and he comes back pretty sure he will be put right back on. Finaly off the list and going to try to fly to the philippines first, but dont think they will let me in but sure going to try
I was married to my wife in 2011 while she attended graduate school. After requesting and appealing her immigration to the US it was denied due to the AWA. In 2016 we moved to India but congress passed the IML that same year and I was one of the first people to have notifications sent on arrival. Fortunately I was allowed entry but later received visits from he police and the countries version of the FBI. After this I have been black listed from reentry into the country.
My visa is expiring in a year and my wife does not have an immigration visa to the US. Soon we will not allowed to live in the other’s respective home country. We have been married 9 years and have 2 wonderful innocent boys.
Families should be together but many countries see this as a secondary issue. We are now waiting to see what we need to do for the next step in our married life.
This is a sad situation any way you look at it, but it can’t be emphasized to registrants enough: KNOW THE LAWS. Learn the laws before you make any major decision like buying a house or marrying a foreign citizen. The Adam Walsh provision, stating a registrant can’t sponsor a foreign spouse for a green card, has been around for a while now. This guy should have known. Marriage is fine. But your sweet heart can’t stay in the US of ay.
Chris ~ Would your wife be able to come to the US as a permanent immigrant worker? There are some criteria she would need to meet, but it might be a possibility? Here is a short paragraph from the USCIS website:
“There are insufficient available, qualified, and willing U.S. workers to fill the position being offered at the prevailing wage
Hiring a foreign worker will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers”.
Just a thought.
First, I am so sorry to hear this happening to you. My heart breaks hearing this because I have been in a very similar situation and overcame it recently. We got denied twice! Then on the 3rd attempt, we finally overcame it and got AWA approval, ultimately leading to my wife’s green card.
If I can give some tips from my experiences, here you go…
– Get yourself a really good qualified lawyer. We got a really good one that really understood the AWA.
– I went out and got two different professional evaluations, one showing how I’m “not a threat” to my wife, while the other one showing how my Static 99 is really low and my chance of “repeating any offense” is essentially non-existent. I also utilized the court appointed Psych eval from the time I was forced to take it during my parole. This eval was a positive one and highly recommended I have a shortened parole period.
– When we got a NOID (notice of intent to Deny), we disputed nearly every negative aspect of the report that immigration issued on the NOID. We disputed it with additional evidence and a re-eval of the Static 99 and a point-by-point rebuttle from a professional Psychologist.
– Not sure if it means anything, but time is on your side. My wife and I have been married for 10 years…. 3/4 of the time we were fighting the AWA.
– I got a stellar recommendation from my ex PO (parole officer), as well as a retired criminal district Judge. In addition, got certified recommendations from a retired Psychologist that worked in Social Service, several business owners, as well as a Spiritual Advisor (looks good on paper).
While the chances of getting a AWA clearance is extremely low, it is still possible. You’ll be climbing Mt. Everest without a jacket or ropes and blindfolded, but it can be overcome. I am a testament to that, even with two counts on my criminal record that qualifies me for the upcoming Tier 3 on CA Tier system.
Good luck and please do not lose hope.
Hello there….this was posted a long while ago….any positive news to report?