Greetings Everyone,
I am a 38 year old Canadian citizen. I was what one might term a wild child in my teens and early 20s and as a result, have a Canadian criminal record. Break & Enter and Theft on a few different occassions, no violence, no drugs or guns. I did serve some time in jail due to the B&Es. Unlike many people, I did learn a valuable lesson. My nose has been clean now for the last 15 years. Now for the meat of this queery.
Six years ago, I met a lady online from Wisconsin and we hit it off wonderfully. I decided to move there and see if we truly were compatible. We were, incredibly so in fact. She is 40, disabled, and on a pension. I take care of her when she's not feeling well. For the past 5 years I have been going back and forth between Ontario and WI with friends and family. I go back to Ontario to make money because she can't support both of us and her 16 year old son on her pension. I am a fairly decent HTML/JAVA/PERL programmer and can earn a good bit of money in a short period of time. In the last 5 years, every company ever invented wants their own website. I've never been here in WI longer than 4 - 5 months at a time and I've never been in Ontario longer than 1 month at a time when I went back to work.
When I went through the border last month coming here, I received quite the surprise. They ran my name through the computer and told me I wasn't allowed into the USA due to my criminal record. Ha Ha Ha! In my mind I ran through all the times I've done just that before. All the questions I was asked. Nationality? Where are you going? What are you doing there? How long do you plan on staying? I phoned my fiancee (we had planned on getting married for the last year) and asked her advice. She said she didn't want to live without me and I felt quite the same. I talked my brother into trying to cross at another place (Niagara Falls). No problem at all. Now I'm contending with moral issues. Now I know I'm not supposed to be here. But am I really in the wrong? They let me in at Niagara Falls of their own free will knowing who I was...
Alas, the story does not end yet. I lost my Canadian driver's license about 3 years ago for points offenses. My finacee suffers from dehabilitating migraines which leave her physically incapable of doing even the most mundane of tasks at times. About 2 years ago I was caught Operating a motor vehicle Without a valid License in WI. I was issued a citation and paid a fine. After that I didn't drive any more, getting rides with friends and my fiancee. Murphy's Law now comes into effect. My fiancee was down with a bad migraine, her son needed a ride home from an event, and no one else was available. Without really thinking, I took the keys and went to pick him up. Funny thing about turn signals is they're supposed to blink when you turn them on. Mine obviously wasn't working and didn't and I was pulled over. Quite in a panic at this point (it was explained after the first offense that a second would result in jail time), I did a really dim-witted thing. I gave them my brother's name and birth date (he has a valid license). Not the best thing in the world considering I had my wallet in my back pocket with all of my ID in it! Gosh, this deserves a spot on stupidest criminals ever. Before I knew it, three other cruisers were there. The officer said I looked extremely nervous and wanted to check the car and myself. What was I going to say... no? When he pulled out my wallet and found my ID, I confessed to who I was. Off to jail I went charged with a second OWL and Obstructing Justice.
While in jail, I was informed that the Canadian consulate and INS were being notified as I was a Canadian. They also stated the chances weren't good that I would get out and would most likely wind up being deported. They were wrong. Yesterday, I received a $2,000 signature bond. As of yet I still have not heard from INS.
I've spent the last 24 hours visiting Immigration, Naturalization, Green Card, Marriage, and many, many other websites. We're thinking of just going out and getting married ASAP. I thought that would probably stop deportation. I thought I would become a US citizen by default of being married to one. Was I wrong. Immigration is a convoluted, twisted maze with too many switchbacks and deadends. Trying to navigate it is like being struck blind and deaf with lead weights on your feet. I'm not quite sure what way is up right now. I plan on making my court appointment next month. If I am not deported before then that is.
Any help at all would be extremely appreciated. From the research I've just finished doing, it looks like I'm up the creek with no paddle and the boat has just sprung a leak. Please help!
I am a 38 year old Canadian citizen. I was what one might term a wild child in my teens and early 20s and as a result, have a Canadian criminal record. Break & Enter and Theft on a few different occassions, no violence, no drugs or guns. I did serve some time in jail due to the B&Es. Unlike many people, I did learn a valuable lesson. My nose has been clean now for the last 15 years. Now for the meat of this queery.
Six years ago, I met a lady online from Wisconsin and we hit it off wonderfully. I decided to move there and see if we truly were compatible. We were, incredibly so in fact. She is 40, disabled, and on a pension. I take care of her when she's not feeling well. For the past 5 years I have been going back and forth between Ontario and WI with friends and family. I go back to Ontario to make money because she can't support both of us and her 16 year old son on her pension. I am a fairly decent HTML/JAVA/PERL programmer and can earn a good bit of money in a short period of time. In the last 5 years, every company ever invented wants their own website. I've never been here in WI longer than 4 - 5 months at a time and I've never been in Ontario longer than 1 month at a time when I went back to work.
When I went through the border last month coming here, I received quite the surprise. They ran my name through the computer and told me I wasn't allowed into the USA due to my criminal record. Ha Ha Ha! In my mind I ran through all the times I've done just that before. All the questions I was asked. Nationality? Where are you going? What are you doing there? How long do you plan on staying? I phoned my fiancee (we had planned on getting married for the last year) and asked her advice. She said she didn't want to live without me and I felt quite the same. I talked my brother into trying to cross at another place (Niagara Falls). No problem at all. Now I'm contending with moral issues. Now I know I'm not supposed to be here. But am I really in the wrong? They let me in at Niagara Falls of their own free will knowing who I was...
Alas, the story does not end yet. I lost my Canadian driver's license about 3 years ago for points offenses. My finacee suffers from dehabilitating migraines which leave her physically incapable of doing even the most mundane of tasks at times. About 2 years ago I was caught Operating a motor vehicle Without a valid License in WI. I was issued a citation and paid a fine. After that I didn't drive any more, getting rides with friends and my fiancee. Murphy's Law now comes into effect. My fiancee was down with a bad migraine, her son needed a ride home from an event, and no one else was available. Without really thinking, I took the keys and went to pick him up. Funny thing about turn signals is they're supposed to blink when you turn them on. Mine obviously wasn't working and didn't and I was pulled over. Quite in a panic at this point (it was explained after the first offense that a second would result in jail time), I did a really dim-witted thing. I gave them my brother's name and birth date (he has a valid license). Not the best thing in the world considering I had my wallet in my back pocket with all of my ID in it! Gosh, this deserves a spot on stupidest criminals ever. Before I knew it, three other cruisers were there. The officer said I looked extremely nervous and wanted to check the car and myself. What was I going to say... no? When he pulled out my wallet and found my ID, I confessed to who I was. Off to jail I went charged with a second OWL and Obstructing Justice.
While in jail, I was informed that the Canadian consulate and INS were being notified as I was a Canadian. They also stated the chances weren't good that I would get out and would most likely wind up being deported. They were wrong. Yesterday, I received a $2,000 signature bond. As of yet I still have not heard from INS.
I've spent the last 24 hours visiting Immigration, Naturalization, Green Card, Marriage, and many, many other websites. We're thinking of just going out and getting married ASAP. I thought that would probably stop deportation. I thought I would become a US citizen by default of being married to one. Was I wrong. Immigration is a convoluted, twisted maze with too many switchbacks and deadends. Trying to navigate it is like being struck blind and deaf with lead weights on your feet. I'm not quite sure what way is up right now. I plan on making my court appointment next month. If I am not deported before then that is.
Any help at all would be extremely appreciated. From the research I've just finished doing, it looks like I'm up the creek with no paddle and the boat has just sprung a leak. Please help!
