PETITION DENIED...FOR THIRD TIME (AWA)

[Reddragon75]

Hello all.

 

Some of you may remember me. My name is William and my wife's name is Lily. I joined the site here about 9 years or so ago. It had been a long time since I had logged in, so I couldn't remember my password or the email I used to create the account, so I created a new one. My old username was Reddragon75.

 

I have a conviction related to the Adam Walsh Act and have been fighting with USCIS since January 2008 to get a petition approval, but because of my AWA history from an offense back in 2003, each of the 3 petitions were denied, the most recent denial being last week for a DCF we filed here in China where I have been living with my wife since 2011. For those of you who don't know, due to the Adam Walsh Act, any US Citizen convicted of an AWA offense who files any family based petition is automatically denied unless they can prove "beyond a reasonable doubt" that they pose no threat to the beneficiary. The burden of proof is almost impossible. Despite providing evidence showing rehabilitation, polygraph report, and even psych eval, our petitions continue to be denied. You may ask "What training or qualifications does a USCIS adjudicator have to be able to determine if someone poses a risk to their spouse or is likely to reoffend?" The answer to that is...NONE. They have the absolute power to decide whether or not to approve the petition and just say they are not convinced.

 

I know everyone will say "you need an attorney". I appreciate the advice, but I know we need one. But, due to my lengthy fight with USCIS and having to relocate to China so I could be with my wife, my finances are in no shape to be be able to afford an attorney, whose average cost is $4000.

 

I would't necessarily mind so much living in China, except I can't get a good paying job here via work visa because of my criminal history, which is why I ended up having to move to China just so I could be with my wife.

 

On a happy note...my wife and I had a baby girl born on September 30, 2015 and she is now almost 18 months old. Her name is Kayla. She was conceived via IVF and the procedure was successful on the first try. We had always wanted a family of our own and had planned to do so after she got to the US. But, since we have been fighting with USCIS for more than 9 years now, and neither one of us were getting any younger, we decided to try to have a baby here. Despite us having a child together (who is a US Citizen) USCIS still denied the recent petition. So, now it is not only effecting me and my wife, it is effecting our daughter as well. We want us to be able to live in the US together as a family and for her to be able to grow up where she will have better opportunities and a better life.

 

If there are any members here who are in the same situation, please feel free to contact me. Also, please do not judge me based on the fact that I have an AWA related offense. I have always taken full responsibility for my actions. I wish it would have never happened, but all I can do is look to the future, be a good husband, father, and better myself, which I have done, and continue to do.

 

Anyway...I just wrote this to say hello again and to give an update about our situation to long-time members and introduce ourselves and our case to new members. If anyone does know of any good attorneys who have experience with AWA cases (not Ellis) please let me know. If we can find a good attorney who has at least some success with these cases, then we would try to figure out some way to raise the money for their service.

 

NOTE TO GUESTS TO THE SITE: IF YOU ARE AN AWA OFFENDER AND ARE CONSIDERING FILING A PETITION FOR YOUR GF/WIFE, BASED ON MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE...I WOULD ADVISE YOU TO LOOK INTO OTHER WAYS TO GET HER TO THE U.S. FIRST AND THEN WORK ON GETTING A GREEN CARD TO ALLOW HER TO STAY IN THE U.S. IF YOU NEED SOME ADVICE, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME

Edited February 24, 2017 by RadioDJ42 (see edit history)

[RobertH]

How do you stay in China with a conviction I'm surprised they approved the Visa. Not Judging but a little more back ground would be needed before many here would warm up to helping. Sorry but it's a large item to drop on people.

[RadioDJ42]

I disclosed my offense to the Chinese Consulate each of the four times I applied for a visitor visa and they never even had me come in for an interview or asked me questions about it. The only time they had any issue with my application said my profession was in Broadcasting/Journalism. Then they wanted me to come in to talk to someone, sign a sworn statement, etc.

Edited February 27, 2017 by RadioDJ42 (see edit history)

[chilton747]

I disclosed my offense to the Chinese Consulate each of the four times I applied for a visitor visa and they never even had me come in for an interview or asked me questions about it. The only time they had any issue with my application said my profession was in Broadcasting/Journalism. Then they wanted me to come in to talk to someone, sign a sworn statement, etc.

Your present job is most important to them. If you don't mind me asking, were you tier 1,2 or 3?

[RadioDJ42]

 

I disclosed my offense to the Chinese Consulate each of the four times I applied for a visitor visa and they never even had me come in for an interview or asked me questions about it. The only time they had any issue with my application said my profession was in Broadcasting/Journalism. Then they wanted me to come in to talk to someone, sign a sworn statement, etc.

Your present job is most important to them. If you don't mind me asking, were you tier 1,2 or 3?

 

I don't know what you mean by tier 1, 2, or 3.

[dnoblett]

 

 

I disclosed my offense to the Chinese Consulate each of the four times I applied for a visitor visa and they never even had me come in for an interview or asked me questions about it. The only time they had any issue with my application said my profession was in Broadcasting/Journalism. Then they wanted me to come in to talk to someone, sign a sworn statement, etc.

Your present job is most important to them. If you don't mind me asking, were you tier 1,2 or 3?

 

I don't know what you mean by tier 1, 2, or 3.

 

Perhaps this is what they mean?

 

http://www.eijnews.org/2015/09/20/five-tiers-of-news-coverage/

 

Tier 1 stories are easy pickings. They're stories about blizzards, robberies and football. They're relevant, but that doesn't necessarily make them interesting. To boost interest, Smelser and Lewis advised us to focus on stylized writing. If what we're delivering is not foreboding news of a hurricane, how we deliver can hit the audience just as hard as a tidal wave.

 

Tier 2 stories are the news conferences, reports and city council meetings that may not always be substantial or meaningful.

 

Tier 3 stories are those about our neighbors, the people we sit next to on the bus, or those we see while walking our dogs. They're feature stories about creative and intellectual types and focus on significant characters. It's about what's happening to people within the context of their community. But sometimes, cultural resonance stories can be construed as fluff. To avoid that, Lewis advises that we ask ourselves, "What is it about this story that makes me care?"

 

Tier 4 stories tie us to a larger contextual narrative. They're often stories hinged on the crux of buzzwords such as "gentrification" and pieces dedicated to political trends. They make us feel more connected to the bigger picture and broaden our sense of place. Some publications dedicate themselves exclusively to the local impact of national stories, like the University of Washington's Seattle Globalist. The further we reach, the greater our impact. These are stories of exceptional relevance.

 

Tier 5 stories are about localized trends, happenings, and characters. Regional storytelling show's like NPR's Sound Effect based out of Seattle exclusively airs content based on community meaning. They're stories about local celebrities, legalization of some sort of substance, politicians, tap dancing grocery store clerks, parades, and community pot lucks. These pieces are critical to defining sense of self and the places we live.

[chilton747]

As applies to the AWAhttps://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Walsh_Child_Protection_and_Safety_Act