Marriage-based Interview In a couple days - Have you ever falsely claimed to be a US

[throwawayaccount]

Hello Experts,

My interview is this coming Wednesday and need some advise.

I came in to the US on a B2 Visa when I was 8 years old and have never left. Throughout my life I was always under the impression that I was legal, everything my mother told me led me to believe that I had nothing to worry about. She assisted me in getting my Driver Licence, and directed me in applying for employment. I became suspicious of my status when I was applying for a new job when I was 24 (2012), when my mom urged me to check the "A noncitizen national of the United States" on the I-9". After doing so and an argument with my mother, I found out that I was out-of-status. I told my girlfriend (my now wife of 3 years), of this news to me and how devastated I was. With not understanding immigration laws and processes, I continued to obey my mother's advise on not claiming U.S Citizenship going forward the next 2 jobs I applied and worked for. I'm currently employed in New Hampshire-Main

As of 2016, I have married my girlfriend (USC - we've been together 6 years, married for 2). We decided in 2018 that its time I own my past and go forward in getting my GC. We are now at the point in where we will be interviewing this coming Wednesday.

We are not concerned about proving our marriage, we have many documents showing commingling of finances, living together, notarized letters from family and friends, etc. The concerns we have are 3 questions I answered on the I-485:

15) Have you ever worked in the United States without Authorization?
I answered YES, gave explanation that I needed to work to provide for myself

16) Have you ever violated the terms or conditions of your non-immigrant visa?
I answered YES, gave explanation that I overstayed my visa since I was 5 years old, never leaving the country

66) Have you ever falsely claimed to be a US citizen?
I answered NO

I understand that 15 and 16 can be exempted because I am married to a US Citizen. The issue is in question 66.

I answered NO because I never knowingly claimed it. Once I was made aware of my true status, I answered questions never claiming to be a citizen.
I'm uncertain but my recollection on I-9s and my Drivers Licence, previous to me finding out of my true status, I might of claimed to be a US Citizen.

I understand that this is cause of inadmissibility and removability from the United States. I fully plan on bringing up my truth in the interview, making sure I tell my story and to have question 66 changed to YES, with my explanation.

Other points:

- I've lived in the US for 26 years. Its all I know. I dont even speak my native language anymore.
- I know I should of gotten an experienced lawyer for this, but at this point I think its too late.
- I'm not trying to hide this fact, I just want to see if people have any advise on what I should do during the interview. When should I tell the IO?
- I'm coming around to the fact that this is not looking good for me, and the deportation is a real possibility.
- I did not apply for DACA

[nickdog]

Hello Experts,

My interview is this coming Wednesday and need some advise.

I came in to the US on a B2 Visa when I was 8 years old and have never left. Throughout my life I was always under the impression that I was legal, everything my mother told me led me to believe that I had nothing to worry about. She assisted me in getting my Driver Licence, and directed me in applying for employment. I became suspicious of my status when I was applying for a new job when I was 24 (2012), when my mom urged me to check the "A noncitizen national of the United States" on the I-9". After doing so and an argument with my mother, I found out that I was out-of-status. I told my girlfriend (my now wife of 3 years), of this news to me and how devastated I was. With not understanding immigration laws and processes, I continued to obey my mother's advise on not claiming U.S Citizenship going forward the next 2 jobs I applied and worked for. I'm currently employed in New Hampshire-Main

As of 2016, I have married my girlfriend (USC - we've been together 6 years, married for 2). We decided in 2018 that its time I own my past and go forward in getting my GC. We are now at the point in where we will be interviewing this coming Wednesday.

We are not concerned about proving our marriage, we have many documents showing commingling of finances, living together, notarized letters from family and friends, etc. The concerns we have are 3 questions I answered on the I-485:

15) Have you ever worked in the United States without Authorization?
I answered YES, gave explanation that I needed to work to provide for myself

16) Have you ever violated the terms or conditions of your non-immigrant visa?
I answered YES, gave explanation that I overstayed my visa since I was 5 years old, never leaving the country

66) Have you ever falsely claimed to be a US citizen?
I answered NO

I understand that 15 and 16 can be exempted because I am married to a US Citizen. The issue is in question 66.

I answered NO because I never knowingly claimed it. Once I was made aware of my true status, I answered questions never claiming to be a citizen.
I'm uncertain but my recollection on I-9s and my Drivers Licence, previous to me finding out of my true status, I might of claimed to be a US Citizen.

I understand that this is cause of inadmissibility and removability from the United States. I fully plan on bringing up my truth in the interview, making sure I tell my story and to have question 66 changed to YES, with my explanation.

Other points:

- I've lived in the US for 26 years. Its all I know. I dont even speak my native language anymore.
- I know I should of gotten an experienced lawyer for this, but at this point I think its too late.
- I'm not trying to hide this fact, I just want to see if people have any advise on what I should do during the interview. When should I tell the IO?
- I'm coming around to the fact that this is not looking good for me, and the deportation is a real possibility.
- I did not apply for DACA

my friend, relax!!! you shouldnt be worried about that, you never actually knowingly claimed to be a citizen, if you did they would have to prove that... so can they prove it? no because you never sign any paper saying u were, there is nothing on any database etc.. so basically you would be incriminating yourself if in the interview you said you told people u were a citizen. so just dont say anything, you were a minor and you had no idea... so just relax

[bethzly]

Good luck

[newacct]

If you checked the box saying "a noncitizen national of the United States", you did not claim to be a US citizen. Are you saying that there were earlier forms where you don't remember how you checked?

[Daniel Aragon]

Hi, regarding your questions, I will share my opinion bases on my experience:
Working illegally and violating the terms of your visa are forgiven sice you are married to a citizen, just answer YES to these questions and DONT give an explanation unless you are asked, you will be okay, according to your post you didn?t claim to be a citizen, itmwill be ok

[steadygaze]

Not knowing the details, I'll give you my two cents:

The question whether you claimed or not will come up since it's one of those yes/no questions the officer guess through.

If they have found out that you claimed and have proof of it, at the time they go through the question with you, and you say no, you might be in trouble.

If they haven't found out anything, you should be ok.

Your not knowing whether you claimed or not may or may not help you depending on circumstances and the type of officer you get.

If they tell you they know you claimed and you have answered no, then explain just like you did here.

In the end, you're the one who will have to make the call whether you say yes or no (I would not like to be in your situation!).

That said, if you get a nice officer, they'll then deny your application (they have to if you claimed), and the officer will advise you to file the inadmissibility waiver. If USCIS denies again, you can be arrested and, hopefully, they'll give you the chance to appear before an immigration court and explain your situation.

Given what you have written here, I don't see why a judge will not give you permanent residence.

Or, if you get a bad officer, the officer can have you arrested right there in the interview, if you have no legal status besides the AOS application, and, hopefully, they'll give you the chance to appear before an immigration court and make your case.

I'm not a lawyer. I don't know the details of your situation. I don't know if all that I said here is valid and right in your case. Others here who are more experienced and know more than I do can help clarify your case more.

I'll be praying for you, and I think you should get a lawyer.

I'm enrolled in an University, and my University has a law school. Would-be lawyers at my University are helping me with my AOS situation.

See if where you live, there are free legal services at community center or something like that. Go there, explain the situation, and ask if they can come with you.

God bless you!

[throwawayaccount]

UPDATE at the Miami office

Spark notes version: WE GOT APPROVED!

- Our interview time was for 10:30am, we showed up at 9:50 to check-in.
- My wife and I noticed a bunch of people and couples arriving after us and getting called ahead of us... we were a little concerned
- We waited about an hour total / 30 minutes after our scheduled time on our noticed
- The Immigration Officer who called my name, asked both my wife and I into her office
- The interview was short, no more than 20 minutes
- IO had both my wife and I sworn in
- She asked us for our identification, my Wife's passport and DL, my Employment Card and Passport
- She noticed from my passport that I came to the US when I was 4 years old, made me feel at ease as this was something I wanted to convey and nervous to bring up
- IO asked us of any changes, we had an address change and an update on my wife's current job
- IO started with the I-130 and asked about how we met, relationship type questions, dates, etc.
- After we then proceeded with the I-485, pretty much went question-by-question, page-by-page
- She got to the series of yes/no questions
- When she asked about working without authorization, I said YES and explained that I had to, to provide for myself
- When she asked about overstaying/violating my visa, I said YES and explained that I was brought to the US when I was 4, never left the US and that I found out in my 20s
- When she asked about falsely claiming, I said NO because I never knowingly claimed, and that was it.
- After the Yes/No questions, she wanted to take a look at our photos and went through each photo and page of the album, we told her a lot different stories, and she laughed at all of them!
- We then told and gave her a bunch of notarized letters from our family and friends which she read through
- She then told us that she will be approving the I-130 and I-485, and my Green Card will be coming in a couple weeks!

Thank you everyone on this thread for your input and positive vibes. I'm so happy and so full of hope now.

- - - Updated - - -

my friend, relax!!! you shouldnt be worried about that, you never actually knowingly claimed to be a citizen, if you did they would have to prove that... so can they prove it? no because you never sign any paper saying u were, there is nothing on any database etc.. so basically you would be incriminating yourself if in the interview you said you told people u were a citizen. so just dont say anything, you were a minor and you had no idea... so just relax

Thank you so much for your input. My wife and I took it to heat when entering our interview and everything turned out ok. You were really a big help.

[laaaabiii]

Congratulations! When she asked you if you have worked without authorization and overstayed. Did she ask you why after you said yes? Or you just explained it yourself without she asking why?

Spark notes version: WE GOT APPROVED!

- Our interview time was for 10:30am, we showed up at 9:50 to check-in.
- My wife and I noticed a bunch of people and couples arriving after us and getting called ahead of us... we were a little concerned
- We waited about an hour total / 30 minutes after our scheduled time on our noticed
- The Immigration Officer who called my name, asked both my wife and I into her office
- The interview was short, no more than 20 minutes
- IO had both my wife and I sworn in
- She asked us for our identification, my Wife's passport and DL, my Employment Card and Passport
- She noticed from my passport that I came to the US when I was 4 years old, made me feel at ease as this was something I wanted to convey and nervous to bring up
- IO asked us of any changes, we had an address change and an update on my wife's current job
- IO started with the I-130 and asked about how we met, relationship type questions, dates, etc.
- After we then proceeded with the I-485, pretty much went question-by-question, page-by-page
- She got to the series of yes/no questions
- When she asked about working without authorization, I said YES and explained that I had to, to provide for myself
- When she asked about overstaying/violating my visa, I said YES and explained that I was brought to the US when I was 4, never left the US and that I found out in my 20s
- When she asked about falsely claiming, I said NO because I never knowingly claimed, and that was it.
- After the Yes/No questions, she wanted to take a look at our photos and went through each photo and page of the album, we told her a lot different stories, and she laughed at all of them!
- We then told and gave her a bunch of notarized letters from our family and friends which she read through
- She then told us that she will be approving the I-130 and I-485, and my Green Card will be coming in a couple weeks!

Thank you everyone on this thread for your input and positive vibes. I'm so happy and so full of hope now.

- - - Updated - - -



Thank you so much for your input. My wife and I took it to heat when entering our interview and everything turned out ok. You were really a big help.

[laaaabiii]

Thanks, it was liberating when she approved us.

When she went through those questions, I answered YES and said my explination quickly after the YES for both questions. Kept it short.

These questions were stressing me out prior to the interview and it was easier to answer during the interview because the IO mentioned/noticed my passport and called out that I came to the US when I was 4, which I took as her understanding my situation. My expliantion was based on telling her that I was brought to the US as a child and didn?t know about my situation until my late 20s hence the circumstances of working and overstaying.

thank you so much for your reply

[steadygaze]

Congratulations!

[Alexsol]

Hi, I was brought here by my parents when I was 12 yrs old. We came with a tourist visa in ‘92 and overstated and never went back.

Recently my son turned 21 and went to go see a lawyer to see if anything could be done and was told yes, until I told her that my parents had gotten me a social security card and told me to always just say and fill everything out saying that a was a US citizen, never gave it any thought as I saw that one by one every member of my family had gotten through the process to obtain a green card and one is even a US citizen.

So that’s how I lived all my 27 years here in the United States. My lawyer is recommending that I check that I have not claimed this on the application risking the fact that they could say that I’m lying and could be deported and under no circumstance be able to come back.

I’m really torn with this decision and don’t really know what to do, so if anyone out there has gone through this I would really appreciate if I could know your experience. I still haven’t decided to file anything yet.

Thank you, have a wonderful day.

[Gcvawa2019]

Hi, I was brought here by my parents when I was 12 yrs old. We came with a tourist visa in ‘92 and overstated and never went back.

Recently my son turned 21 and went to go see a lawyer to see if anything could be done and was told yes, until I told her that my parents had gotten me a social security card and told me to always just say and fill everything out saying that a was a US citizen, never gave it any thought as I saw that one by one every member of my family had gotten through the process to obtain a green card and one is even a US citizen.

So that’s how I lived all my 27 years here in the United States. My lawyer is recommending that I check that I have not claimed this on the application risking the fact that they could say that I’m lying and could be deported and under no circumstance be able to come back.

I’m really torn with this decision and don’t really know what to do, so if anyone out there has gone through this I would really appreciate if I could know your experience. I still haven’t decided to file anything yet.

Thank you, have a wonderful day.

Truth is, there is no good option of what will happen when you say you have claimed to be a usc. It’s a very bad situation that your parents put you in. They cannot approve your application if you check “yes” for ever claiming to be a us citizen. Unfortunately, it’s not like you can just explain when and why.
I’m sorry i couldn’t post any kind words or advice

[Valentinaitalia]

I’ll have my interview soon too and I’m worried about the question about working in the us illegally, also I got here from Italy with and esta and got married the last week of my esta I don’t know if that would be an issue.. we were already engaged but we didn’t planned to get married that way ????.. no Rfe tho and they schedule my interview in 3 months from the date they received the paper ..fingers crossed ????????

if someone know if that will be an issue pls reply !!!

[newacct]

I’ll have my interview soon too and I’m worried about the question about working in the us illegally, also I got here from Italy with and esta and got married the last week of my esta I don’t know if that would be an issue.. we were already engaged but we didn’t planned to get married that way ????.. no Rfe tho and they schedule my interview in 3 months from the date they received the paper ..fingers crossed ????????

if someone know if that will be an issue pls reply !!!

Working illegally doesn't affect AOS in your category.