Immigration attorney needed

[dance4ume]

Hey guys
I met a intereseting attractive lady from Estonia in the midwest
last month. She has a strange but confusing naturalization
problem. She left Estonia with nothing, October 2001, as her druggie ex was threatening to kill her etc {her story seems true}. She had been
granted touist and business visas's in the past because of her past  secure financial, family {two teenage children}, bank account, job etc
which apparently convinced the INS to grant her these visas since 1992. She fled Estonia and arrived here in October.She can't and won't ever return to Estonia due to craxy ex-husbands threats. She has no
social security card, but did get a driver's license in Kansas cuz
they don't ask for social security card.
I believe she said she now has a P-2 visas good til 2007. She has to leave this country every 6 months for at least 10 days to be able to come back to USA. In a nutshell she has a paperwork nightmare.
Because of the Sept 11 bombing, INS restrictions are changing old ways of securing visas, social security cards etc.She wants to be able to work for companies legitimately but can't without social security card.
Does anyone in Planet-Love territory have any attorney links
or sound advice as what she can do? This is a beautiful woman of 38
with travel agent experience, interior design, and sales background.
She has had to settle for a motel desk clerk job, that pays in cash.
An attorney actually told her recently to either get married or go underground.{This is why I am trying to find better advice for this woman} Please advise. Any internet resources out there? She lives in the Kansas City area.
Thanks in advance

       Fishtiger

[DR]

... in response to Immigration attorney needed, posted by dance4ume on Aug 22, 2002

Does anyone in Planet-Love territory have any attorney links
or sound advice as what she can do? This is a beautiful woman of 38 with travel agent experience, interior design, and sales background.  She has had to settle for a motel desk clerk job, that pays in cash."

You said she had a paperwork nightmare?  Doesn't sound like it.  Just sounds like she's trying to get something she's not entitled to.  

Basically, you're saying that she's working here illegally.  That's just great.

And what does the whole, "this is a beautiful woman of 38," have to do with her situation?

[fishtiger]

... in response to Re: Immigration attorney needed, posted by DR on Aug 24, 2002

Doc, I don't want to go on a rant here but......
With you narrow view of others, how did you possibly find and marry a russian woman? Did she pass your test of deservedness? If your lady was threatened to be killed by her ex husband, I'm sure you would say "well, darling you don't deserve to leave your country, so too bad".I really don't need your infantile insights into the human condition. Tend to your need for compassion lessons and understanding your lady's needs. Your help/ advice is not
recognized as valid or should I quote you and say "not deserve".
She has stated she wants to make a life in the USA on her own merits. Can you comprehend that one doc?
Nuff said.

dollars to

[DR]

... in response to Thanks For Your Lack Of Understanding Do..., posted by fishtiger on Aug 26, 2002

Shh...listen...is that P.T. Barnum's voice in the background?  

'Nuff said.

[KenC]

... in response to Immigration attorney needed, posted by dance4ume on Aug 22, 2002

First of all, open the Yellow Pages and look under Immigration attorney.  Our's back in MI told me that being physically here is 90% of the battle.  Being here legally is 95%.  My wife came here on a student visa and we applied for a change in status.  I would think that her safety issues back home in Estonia ceretainly would play in her favor in attempting this route.
KenC

[hockeybrain]

... in response to Immigration attorney needed, posted by dance4ume on Aug 22, 2002

There is a guy out of Westchester, New York with the last name Roth who is supposed to be an ace immigration attorney who specializes in Eastern Europe, especially Ukraine.  I think he is expensive, but this case sounds like she needs a top gun.

[Jeff S]

... in response to Immigration attorney needed, posted by dance4ume on Aug 22, 2002

I looked up "P" type visas on the INS web site and it says it's for athletes and entertainers. I have people working for me who have SSN cards and only temporary work permits - not actual green cards, so I'm guessing here, but to have an "athlete & entertainer" visa, it's hard to imagine it's difficult to get permission to work. Perhaps dealing with the INS office in Kansas City is a problem, so she might want to deal with an office in a state with lots of immigration issues like Texas or California.

As for leaving the country every 6 months, she's only a day's drive to Mexico or Canada, so that shouldn't be a big issue to keep her status legal. Doing everything she can to keep playing by the rules will always be preferable  to "going underground" when it comes to coming clean and straightening everything up in the end.

I'm virtually certain that there is not an automatic 7 year amnesty. There have been two in the past, but these were separate acts of congress. Whether another one will ever occur would be just a guess on anyone's part. I have a friend who was married overseas and smuggled his wife into the country. It was stupid, so now they wait in fear while praying for another amnesty - and wait...

-- Jeff S.

[BFH]

... in response to Immigration attorney needed, posted by dance4ume on Aug 22, 2002

"Get married or go underground", sad but true, this is good advice.  If your friend gets married, she will of course, have to first get divorced. This will involve a brush with the law, but it shouldn't be a problem since she's here legally at the moment.  If she's already divorced, so much the better. That would solve her problems immediately.

If she decides to "go underground", she will have to stay in the US, (no trips out of the country to renew visa), work small jobs that pay cash, and keep her nose clean, (no encounters with the authorities) for a minimum of 7 years, at which time she can apply for AOS under the current Amnesty law.

I am not an attorney, but I live and work in an area of the country that has a high concentration of illegal aliens and I'm just passing on what is common knowledge here.

Google search "lawyer+immigration" to find real legal advice.

Regards,
BFH