Hoping someone can shed some light on the best way to handle a difficult case for an aged-out dreamer
The person was brought EWI as a child in the 90s, (possibly trafficked), but was 32 y.o on June 15, 2012, so could not qualify for DACA. They have been married to a USC for 15 years, with two USC children (14 and 20).
I understand they may need to go through i-130 and i-601a route. If the USC spouse and children are the only immediate relatives, is 601a still possible? how difficult is it?
Complicating the case, they tried to apply for residency sometime in 2004-2006 on their own, but a lawyer advised it wasn't possible and would be best to 'drop the case' by not responding to USCIS (terrible advise, i know). The person thinks an i-130 was approved, and the other case was 'closed' and nothing was denied, and no more letters came.
They tried to hire a new firm last year to begin the process again, it sounds like they started by submitting an FOIA, but completely stopped responding since January and are still not getting back
We need more information on what the lawyer in the previous case did. The FOIA will reveal whether there was an i-130 approved, what happened with the i-485 (if one was sent), and what, if anything,USCIS did with the i-485 case. If there isn’t anything grave on USCIS’ end then the new case would more than likely proceed with a new i-130 filed with i-485 and I-601A.
You may know that to get a favorable response to an I-601A you would need to prove a “hardship” to immediate relatives living in the U.S. But it’s not a thing where they need to be in a wheelchair or anything. Most I-601As alone are approved for single family (spouses). It is a significant help to the case that it involves children. In the case, only probably have to prove income support and raising the children in the case. A good lawyer with experience in i-601a will be confident that such a situation is very favorable for approval.