Hello, we really need some help.

[ReAle0805]

Hello,
I am an American citizen and my italian partner and I lived in Venezuela and had our entire lives there. The political situation in Venezuela has been tough for a while and the political persecution of people like us has been strong so we made a plan to come to the US, explore and check out our options, then go back to Venezuela to regroup, make back the money we would spend in the US and fly out of Venezuela (which is way cheaper than from the US) to Italy in order to explore our options there. From there we planned to go back to Venezuela and decide which country we wanted to move to. Then we were going to spend a few months selling our properties in Venezuela while waiting for a spouse visa (whether it was going to be for me in Italy of for him in the US).
We planned a 3 month vacation to the US to do some workaway experiences but about 5 days before we got on the plane to come on our vacation, all hell broke loose in Venezuela and a civil war broke out. We made it to the airport in Caracas just in time and got out before the crazy killing of protesting students and the political persecution of white people from the evil empires of the world (such as Italy and specially the US) began. Venezuela is now under communist rule and the Cuban military has infiltrated the oil rich country. Before we left Venezuela I called the American embassy there to see if the best option for me would be to go to them but they urged me to just safely make it to the airport and get out. We thought that maybe the violent protests would end within a week or two but it is now clear that it will be going on for quite some time and we now have to establish ourselves here in the US.
Because of all this we cannot be spending our money going to Italy to explore, we have to use our money wisely and make a new life from scratch. We have come to terms with the reality that we have lost everything (except our love for each other) and we really do not know if we will ever be able to go back to Venezuela to at least sell our property. We called a lawyer here and explained our situation and he immediately told us that what we need to do is get married. So we got married yesterday!
We are now needing to figure out how to fill out all of the paperwork ourselves since we simply cannot afford the fees the lawyer wants to charge, so we need help. My new husband (OMG!!!) is here on a tourist visa (ESTA) so which forms do we need to fill out? Change of status? Green card?
All your help will be much appreciated, I am sure I will be on this forum a LOT in the next few months
Sincerely,
Alex

[ReAle0805]

Does anyone have any advice for us at all?

[rayb]

Your husband needs to get an immigrant medical exam from a USCIS-listed doctor (go to: https://egov.uscis.gov/crisgwi/go?ac...ffice_type=CIV ).

With the exam results in a sealed envelope, then complete forms I-130, I-485, I-765, I-131 and I-864.

Submit above with supporting documents and fees of $1,070 and $420 to:
USCIS
PO Box 805887
Chicago, IL 60680-4120

--Ray B

Hello,
I am an American citizen and my italian partner and I lived in Venezuela and had our entire lives there. The political situation in Venezuela has been tough for a while and the political persecution of people like us has been strong so we made a plan to come to the US, explore and check out our options, then go back to Venezuela to regroup, make back the money we would spend in the US and fly out of Venezuela (which is way cheaper than from the US) to Italy in order to explore our options there. From there we planned to go back to Venezuela and decide which country we wanted to move to. Then we were going to spend a few months selling our properties in Venezuela while waiting for a spouse visa (whether it was going to be for me in Italy of for him in the US).
We planned a 3 month vacation to the US to do some workaway experiences but about 5 days before we got on the plane to come on our vacation, all hell broke loose in Venezuela and a civil war broke out. We made it to the airport in Caracas just in time and got out before the crazy killing of protesting students and the political persecution of white people from the evil empires of the world (such as Italy and specially the US) began. Venezuela is now under communist rule and the Cuban military has infiltrated the oil rich country. Before we left Venezuela I called the American embassy there to see if the best option for me would be to go to them but they urged me to just safely make it to the airport and get out. We thought that maybe the violent protests would end within a week or two but it is now clear that it will be going on for quite some time and we now have to establish ourselves here in the US.
Because of all this we cannot be spending our money going to Italy to explore, we have to use our money wisely and make a new life from scratch. We have come to terms with the reality that we have lost everything (except our love for each other) and we really do not know if we will ever be able to go back to Venezuela to at least sell our property. We called a lawyer here and explained our situation and he immediately told us that what we need to do is get married. So we got married yesterday!
We are now needing to figure out how to fill out all of the paperwork ourselves since we simply cannot afford the fees the lawyer wants to charge, so we need help. My new husband (OMG!!!) is here on a tourist visa (ESTA) so which forms do we need to fill out? Change of status? Green card?
All your help will be much appreciated, I am sure I will be on this forum a LOT in the next few months
Sincerely,
Alex

[ExperienceIA]

Does anyone have any advice for us at all?

Rayb is right, though you should add to his list of forms the Form I-693 (for your medical exam, which might cost you around $500).

Note that you might be able to secure the assistance of a public interest attorney at low to no cost if you have a compelling background and you can prove your lack of funds.

Another option: you do not seem to have considered for your partner is asylum. You did mention "political persecution." The asylum application is free. Here again, you might be able to obtain the assistance of a public interest attorney.

Shoot me an email for details if you'd like... Best of luck!

[ReAle0805]

Hello ExperienceIA,
We considered political asylum but when I called a couple of lawyers to get free consultations they said that we cannot ask for that because even though he has spent the last 20 years of his life in Venezuela he is an Italian citizen.
Where do I find your email? We could definitely get all the expert help we can get!

Rayb is right, though you should add to his list of forms the Form I-693 (for your medical exam, which might cost you around $500).

Note that you might be able to secure the assistance of a public interest attorney at low to no cost if you have a compelling background and you can prove your lack of funds.

Another option: you do not seem to have considered for your partner is asylum. You did mention "political persecution." The asylum application is free. Here again, you might be able to obtain the assistance of a public interest attorney.

Shoot me an email for details if you'd like... Best of luck!

[ExperienceIA]

Hello ExperienceIA,
We considered political asylum but when I called a couple of lawyers to get free consultations they said that we cannot ask for that because even though he has spent the last 20 years of his life in Venezuela he is an Italian citizen.
Where do I find your email? We could definitely get all the expert help we can get!

Hello ReAle0805,

Yes, it's true that the citizenship issue would be problematic, because your partner should presumably be able to return to Italy, if he is still a citizen. But the devil is often in the detail (for example: if he ever became a naturalized citizen of Venezuela, etc., he may have implicitly renounced his former citizenship). That said, since you spoke with attorneys, I will assume that they covered all those possible issues.

As for finding a public interest attorney or additional professional advice, I would be happy to help and/or direct you toward resources and organizations based on your city of residence, etc.

You can send me a private message by clicking on my name. (I will also send you one in a minute, to which you can reply, in the alternative).

All the best!

[ReAle0805]

Thank you! I figured out how to send you an email so I just sent you one before I saw this

Hello ReAle0805,

Yes, it's true that the citizenship issue would be problematic, because your partner should presumably be able to return to Italy, if he is still a citizen. But the devil is often in the detail (for example: if he ever became a naturalized citizen of Venezuela, etc., he may have implicitly renounced his former citizenship). That said, since you spoke with attorneys, I will assume that they covered all those possible issues.

As for finding a public interest attorney or additional professional advice, I would be happy to help and/or direct you toward resources and organizations based on your city of residence, etc.

You can send me a private message by clicking on my name. (I will also send you one in a minute, to which you can reply, in the alternative).

All the best!