GoneSouth
05-31 09:37 AM
You guys have my $100.00. 502(d)(2) must die ! ;-)
Good luck !
- GS
Good luck !
- GS
wallpaper Eddie Judge and Tamra Barney
jthomas
04-28 02:29 PM
Thanks for the info.
Are you presently working?
J Thomas
Travelled back from India today by continental flight from mumbai till newark non stop. My H1b is expiring on 19th june. Had a ISSUELESS entry. The guy asked your petition is valid only till 19th June. I replied I am going to file an extension. he said you will be needing to reenter the country after it. I said "yes, I know". He said he is going to give in I-94 valid till 29th june just in case if I have any issues. That is 10 more days after my petition is expring.
Guy was very nice and supporting. We shared some jokes . he notices that by passport has writing that If I take citizenship of any other country than I have to surrender the passport. he asked "india dont allow dual citizenship". I said "No". he replied "It sucks" and we laughed together.
My advice dont let current recession effect your trip. If you need any more information PM me. I will be happy to assist.
Also, just I wanted to share the information becuase many people seemed worried about this.
Good luck :) :) :) :)
Are you presently working?
J Thomas
Travelled back from India today by continental flight from mumbai till newark non stop. My H1b is expiring on 19th june. Had a ISSUELESS entry. The guy asked your petition is valid only till 19th June. I replied I am going to file an extension. he said you will be needing to reenter the country after it. I said "yes, I know". He said he is going to give in I-94 valid till 29th june just in case if I have any issues. That is 10 more days after my petition is expring.
Guy was very nice and supporting. We shared some jokes . he notices that by passport has writing that If I take citizenship of any other country than I have to surrender the passport. he asked "india dont allow dual citizenship". I said "No". he replied "It sucks" and we laughed together.
My advice dont let current recession effect your trip. If you need any more information PM me. I will be happy to assist.
Also, just I wanted to share the information becuase many people seemed worried about this.
Good luck :) :) :) :)
yabadaba
06-29 02:30 AM
i just saw the immigration portal threads...interesting...dont think its too bad tho.
2011 Eddie Judge Pictures With
uma77
10-17 09:12 PM
thank you duttasurajit for the link.
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whiteStallion
06-16 06:48 PM
I am not sure about six months ... That is only when you file 485 and want to use AC21 to continue your GC process.
Once your I-140 is approved, then you lock the PD from that moment itself.
I140 + 6 months = Change your employer, file new PERM & then new I140 but you get to keep your old PD from old PERM. Is it not the case ?
Once your I-140 is approved, then you lock the PD from that moment itself.
I140 + 6 months = Change your employer, file new PERM & then new I140 but you get to keep your old PD from old PERM. Is it not the case ?
Ann Ruben
02-24 02:59 PM
Raama,
There is both good news and bad news about the situation you describe. The good news is that shoplifting merchandise with a full retail value of less than $200 in NJ is classified as a "disorderly persons offense" for which the maximum sentence of imprisonment is 6 months. Under US immigration law, your friend's wife is not inadmissible because she qualifies for the "petty offense exception". The "petty offense exception" applies as long as there is ONLY ONE conviction for which the maximum sentence is less than one year, and the actual sentence was for a term of imprisonment of less than 6 months. Accordingly, the shoplifting conviction you describe does not provide a basis to deny the H-4 visa application.
Now for the bad news. Though your wife's friend may not have been taken into custody by the police, she was arrested, charged, and convicted of a crime as those terms are defined by US immigration law. In completing the required visa application forms, she must answer "yes" to the question which asks whether she has ever been arrested, cited, charged, etc. She should be prepared to provide a court certified final disposition to the consul as well as a legal opinion letter citing and attaching the relevant statutes. The consular officer will most likely request an additional FBI clearance, and will not issue the visa until the FBI has confirmed no additional criminal history. This process can take anywhere from a few days to many months.
Hope this helps,
Ann
There is both good news and bad news about the situation you describe. The good news is that shoplifting merchandise with a full retail value of less than $200 in NJ is classified as a "disorderly persons offense" for which the maximum sentence of imprisonment is 6 months. Under US immigration law, your friend's wife is not inadmissible because she qualifies for the "petty offense exception". The "petty offense exception" applies as long as there is ONLY ONE conviction for which the maximum sentence is less than one year, and the actual sentence was for a term of imprisonment of less than 6 months. Accordingly, the shoplifting conviction you describe does not provide a basis to deny the H-4 visa application.
Now for the bad news. Though your wife's friend may not have been taken into custody by the police, she was arrested, charged, and convicted of a crime as those terms are defined by US immigration law. In completing the required visa application forms, she must answer "yes" to the question which asks whether she has ever been arrested, cited, charged, etc. She should be prepared to provide a court certified final disposition to the consul as well as a legal opinion letter citing and attaching the relevant statutes. The consular officer will most likely request an additional FBI clearance, and will not issue the visa until the FBI has confirmed no additional criminal history. This process can take anywhere from a few days to many months.
Hope this helps,
Ann
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UKannan
05-23 09:24 AM
Is there anyway to get the I140 Approval or at least the Receipt # other than that off thru employer?
2010 Eddie Judge and Tamra Barney
satishbsk
07-08 05:38 PM
They took 20 k tilll last month and no match.
____________________
contributed $260 so far
____________________
contributed $260 so far
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greenerpastures
07-21 12:45 PM
MScapbust,
Lots of people have done H1-F1-H1 in the past and they are not counted against the quota. You can search for various attorney's (including Rajiv of immigration.com and Murthy of murthy.com) answers for ur specific question either in their websites or thru google. I did some research on this specific thing in the past and also had confirmed with immigraion HR in my company. So I am pretty much sure that you are not counted against the cap. You would need to apply before the visa (F1/opt period) expires so that you dont get to stay in US without any valid visa. so no hurry and dont worry about adv degree cap.
Lots of people have done H1-F1-H1 in the past and they are not counted against the quota. You can search for various attorney's (including Rajiv of immigration.com and Murthy of murthy.com) answers for ur specific question either in their websites or thru google. I did some research on this specific thing in the past and also had confirmed with immigraion HR in my company. So I am pretty much sure that you are not counted against the cap. You would need to apply before the visa (F1/opt period) expires so that you dont get to stay in US without any valid visa. so no hurry and dont worry about adv degree cap.
hair Tamra Barney and Eddie Judge
immi_enthu
08-28 10:40 AM
That is correct. You do not get to sign the 140 as it is has to be applied by the employer. You however, have to sign your approved Labor which will be attached to the 140 application.
kaisersose, is it mandatory for the beneficiary to sign the approved labor before attaching it to the I140 application ?
kaisersose, is it mandatory for the beneficiary to sign the approved labor before attaching it to the I140 application ?
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seahawks
09-11 01:01 AM
We have more members join WA State chapter, welcome aboard. We need more. Calling all of WA/OR to join our local WA state chapter. Do you want to make a difference? This is your chance!
Please follow link below.
Please follow link below.
hot tamra and eddie judge
jack_suv
07-20 10:33 AM
Hi all,
As one reply pointed out,
AC21 portability means you retain the same green card application i.e. labor, i-140 and i-485 after 6 months of filing i-485 and i-140 is approved.
EAD is a way to get a job. Obviously using EAD is easier than filing H1.
So you can use AC21 by using H1 and still retain spouse's H4.
You can also use AC21 by using EAD but at that point your spouse's H4 is gone out of status.
As one reply pointed out,
AC21 portability means you retain the same green card application i.e. labor, i-140 and i-485 after 6 months of filing i-485 and i-140 is approved.
EAD is a way to get a job. Obviously using EAD is easier than filing H1.
So you can use AC21 by using H1 and still retain spouse's H4.
You can also use AC21 by using EAD but at that point your spouse's H4 is gone out of status.
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house eddie judge and tamra barney.
andy garcia
08-15 09:07 AM
If at all USCIS plan it efficiently - one quarter in an year can be used to allocate numbers to retrogressed countries - I am not 100% sure about this, but this is what happened in the July visa fiasco - DOS wanted to maximize utilization and USCIS screwed it up
You are correct. This Fiscal Year they followed the law accordingly.
INA -ACT 202 specify clearly:
(A) EB IMMIGRANTS NOT SUBJECT TO PER COUNTRY LIMITATION IF ADDITIONAL VISAS AVAILABLE- If the total number of visas available under paragraph (1), (2), (3), (4), or (5) of section 203(b) for a calendar quarter exceeds the number of qualified immigrants who may otherwise be issued such visas, the visas made available under that paragraph shall be issued without regard to the numerical limitation under paragraph (2) of this subsection during the remainder of the calendar quarter.
You are correct. This Fiscal Year they followed the law accordingly.
INA -ACT 202 specify clearly:
(A) EB IMMIGRANTS NOT SUBJECT TO PER COUNTRY LIMITATION IF ADDITIONAL VISAS AVAILABLE- If the total number of visas available under paragraph (1), (2), (3), (4), or (5) of section 203(b) for a calendar quarter exceeds the number of qualified immigrants who may otherwise be issued such visas, the visas made available under that paragraph shall be issued without regard to the numerical limitation under paragraph (2) of this subsection during the remainder of the calendar quarter.
tattoo star Tamra Barney and her
GCard_Dream
01-13 01:13 AM
This is precisely the reason I hate to see any 485 related thread. Every single time someone starts a 485 thread, fight breaks out and original intent of the thread is always lost and what's left is just bitter feelings and animosity among members yet members continue to start new threads.
This is a very sensitive issue which brings out a lot emotion and has been discussed to death so please guys.. let's move on to something productive. I think it will be good for everyone if we just let core team decide what's best as far as 485 provision goes.
You know bro, I know my share of swear words, and definitely know how to pick a fight. But this is NOT the time.
I'd be the happiest person if we can achieve the goal of blanket I-485 filing. I just hope we can pull it through. The options I mentioned are backup options, in case it wasn't palatable to some. With my PD, a blanket I-485 is my only chance. I should have put this disclosure (for the benefit of those who are generous in using the "selfish" word).
I was just testing the waters, but looks like the mood is "nothing short of a I-485 filing". I wish us luck and will keep my fingers crossed. This will be my last post on this.
Let's come back after 2/15 and check how you feel then. "Cheerful? Joyful? or Zealous? or Joyless, depressed?"
This is a very sensitive issue which brings out a lot emotion and has been discussed to death so please guys.. let's move on to something productive. I think it will be good for everyone if we just let core team decide what's best as far as 485 provision goes.
You know bro, I know my share of swear words, and definitely know how to pick a fight. But this is NOT the time.
I'd be the happiest person if we can achieve the goal of blanket I-485 filing. I just hope we can pull it through. The options I mentioned are backup options, in case it wasn't palatable to some. With my PD, a blanket I-485 is my only chance. I should have put this disclosure (for the benefit of those who are generous in using the "selfish" word).
I was just testing the waters, but looks like the mood is "nothing short of a I-485 filing". I wish us luck and will keep my fingers crossed. This will be my last post on this.
Let's come back after 2/15 and check how you feel then. "Cheerful? Joyful? or Zealous? or Joyless, depressed?"
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pictures Tamra Barney and Eddie Judge
cin45220
01-26 04:45 PM
u are a rasam drinking gulty, right?
:eek:
check your facts again. racism is considered sexy these days ;)
If you think that racism is sexy, then it's just because you are a racist bigot. Start loving in 21st century...
With a comment like the above one, it shows that all your parent's investment (and yours) for your education has been a total waste. Hope that you are not teaching you kids that 'racism is sexy'..
-CinBoy
:eek:
check your facts again. racism is considered sexy these days ;)
If you think that racism is sexy, then it's just because you are a racist bigot. Start loving in 21st century...
With a comment like the above one, it shows that all your parent's investment (and yours) for your education has been a total waste. Hope that you are not teaching you kids that 'racism is sexy'..
-CinBoy
dresses Just days after Tamra admitted
trueguy
08-08 06:08 PM
I tried that info from but that info is not complete. I know there are more people on IV site than any where else so thought of doing this poll.
Thanks
Thanks
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makeup Eddie Judge Recently divorced
crazydesi
09-03 07:57 PM
It helps for the older PD's who were stuck in name check for many years.
They are collecting this for New visa # which are going to come in Oct.
So it does help them in identifying the cases with old pd's and solve the puzzle of why they are not being approved. Based on this number of cases they might move the visa dates accordingly.
Guru's any insights.
They are collecting this for New visa # which are going to come in Oct.
So it does help them in identifying the cases with old pd's and solve the puzzle of why they are not being approved. Based on this number of cases they might move the visa dates accordingly.
Guru's any insights.
girlfriend Eddie Judge Recently divorced
hsj
07-10 12:06 AM
Hi,
I had applied for my EAD renewal from Nebraska on 6/10 and got the card production ordered mail on 7/8. So your renewal should hopefully come through before your current EAD expires
I had applied for my EAD renewal from Nebraska on 6/10 and got the card production ordered mail on 7/8. So your renewal should hopefully come through before your current EAD expires
hairstyles Eddie Judge ^ Tamra Barney
ssbaruah@yahoo.com
06-10 12:35 AM
Pl. help with your precious advice. I got laid off five months back. I kept hunting new job but could not get one. Now I plan to move out of the country. In the circumstances, is my employer who was holding my H1b during termination, liable to give return tickets to my base country ? Can I claim the same after five monthsof my termination since I failed to get any job? What about my family members?
Can anyone send any link emphasising this Rule so that I can quote that to my employer?
Any advice in this respect is highly appreciated. Thanks.
Can anyone send any link emphasising this Rule so that I can quote that to my employer?
Any advice in this respect is highly appreciated. Thanks.
GodHelpUs
03-21 10:48 AM
I am really shocked on looking at this article.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/21/nyregion/21immigrant.html?hp
An Agent, a Green Card, and a Demand for Sex
Article Tools Sponsored By
By NINA BERNSTEIN
Published: March 21, 2008
No problems so far, the immigration agent told the American citizen and his 22-year-old Colombian wife at her green card interview in December. After he stapled one of their wedding photos to her application for legal permanent residency, he had just one more question: What was her cellphone number?
Skip to next paragraph
Enlarge This Image
Uli Seit for The New York Times
Isaac R. Baichu, 46, an adjudicator for the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, was arrested after he met with a green card applicant at the Flagship Restaurant, a diner in Queens. He is charged with coercing oral sex from her.
Audio A Secret Recording
Enlarge This Image
Uli Seit for The New York Times
The Flagship Restaurant, where Mr. Baichu met with a green card applicant.
The calls from the agent started three days later. He hinted, she said, at his power to derail her life and deport her relatives, alluding to a brush she had with the law before her marriage. He summoned her to a private meeting. And at noon on Dec. 21, in a parked car on Queens Boulevard, he named his price � not realizing that she was recording everything on the cellphone in her purse.
�I want sex,� he said on the recording. �One or two times. That�s all. You get your green card. You won�t have to see me anymore.�
She reluctantly agreed to a future meeting. But when she tried to leave his car, he demanded oral sex �now,� to �know that you�re serious.� And despite her protests, she said, he got his way.
The 16-minute recording, which the woman first took to The New York Times and then to the Queens district attorney, suggests the vast power of low-level immigration law enforcers, and a growing desperation on the part of immigrants seeking legal status. The aftermath, which included the arrest of an immigration agent last week, underscores the difficulty and danger of making a complaint, even in the rare case when abuse of power may have been caught on tape.
No one knows how widespread sexual blackmail is, but the case echoes other instances of sexual coercion that have surfaced in recent years, including agents criminally charged in Atlanta, Miami and Santa Ana, Calif. And it raises broader questions about the system�s vulnerability to corruption at a time when millions of noncitizens live in a kind of legal no-man�s land, increasingly fearful of seeking the law�s protection.
The agent arrested last week, Isaac R. Baichu, 46, himself an immigrant from Guyana, handled some 8,000 green card applications during his three years as an adjudicator in the Garden City, N.Y., office of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, part of the federal Department of Homeland Security. He pleaded not guilty to felony and misdemeanor charges of coercing the young woman to perform oral sex, and of promising to help her secure immigration papers in exchange for further sexual favors. If convicted, he will face up to seven years in prison.
His agency has suspended him with pay, and the inspector general of Homeland Security is reviewing his other cases, a spokesman said Wednesday. Prosecutors, who say they recorded a meeting between Mr. Baichu and the woman on March 11 at which he made similar demands for sex, urge any other victims to come forward.
Money, not sex, is the more common currency of corruption in immigration, but according to Congressional testimony in 2006 by Michael Maxwell, former director of the agency�s internal investigations, more than 3,000 backlogged complaints of employee misconduct had gone uninvestigated for lack of staff, including 528 involving criminal allegations.
The agency says it has tripled its investigative staff since then, and counts only 165 serious complaints pending. But it stopped posting an e-mail address and phone number for such complaints last year, said Jan Lane, chief of security and integrity, because it lacks the staff to cull the thousands of mostly irrelevant messages that resulted. Immigrants, she advised, should report wrongdoing to any law enforcement agency they trust.
The young woman in Queens, whose name is being withheld because the authorities consider her the victim of a sex crime, did not even tell her husband what had happened. Two weeks after the meeting in the car, finding no way to make a confidential complaint to the immigration agency and afraid to go to the police, she and two older female relatives took the recording to The Times.
Reasons to Worry
A slim, shy woman who looks like a teenager, she said she had spent recent months baby-sitting for relatives in Queens, crying over the deaths of her two brothers back in Cali, Colombia, and longing for the right stamp in her passport � one that would let her return to the United States if she visited her family.
She came to the United States on a tourist visa in 2004 and overstayed. When she married an American citizen a year ago, the law allowed her to apply to �adjust� her illegal status. But unless her green card application was approved, she could not visit her parents or her brothers� graves and then legally re-enter the United States. And if her application was denied, she would face deportation.
She had another reason to be fearful, and not only for herself. About 15 months ago, she said, an acquaintance hired her and two female relatives in New York to carry $12,000 in cash to the bank. The three women, all living in the country illegally, were arrested on the street by customs officers apparently acting on a tip in a money-laundering investigation. After determining that the women had no useful information, the officers released them.
But the closed investigation file had showed up in the computer when she applied for a green card, Mr. Baichu told her in December; until he obtained the file and dealt with it, her application would not be approved. If she defied him, she feared, he could summon immigration enforcement agents to take her relatives to detention.
So instead of calling the police, she turned on the video recorder in her cellphone, put the phone in her purse and walked to meet the agent. Two family members said they watched anxiously from their parked car as she disappeared behind the tinted windows of his red Lexus.
�We were worried that the guy would take off, take her away and do something to her,� the woman�s widowed sister-in-law said in Spanish.
As the recorder captured the agent�s words and a lilting Guyanese accent, he laid out his terms in an easy, almost paternal style. He would not ask too much, he said: sex �once or twice,� visits to his home in the Bronx, perhaps a link to other Colombians who needed his help with their immigration problems.
In shaky English, the woman expressed reluctance, and questioned how she could be sure he would keep his word.
�If I do it, it�s like very hard for me, because I have my husband, and I really fall in love with him,� she said.
The agent insisted that she had to trust him. �I wouldn�t ask you to do something for me if I can�t do something for you, right?� he said, and reasoned, �Nobody going to help you for nothing,� noting that she had no money.
He described himself as the single father of a 10-year-old daughter, telling her, �I need love, too,� and predicting, �You will get to like me because I�m a nice guy.�
Repeatedly, she responded �O.K.,� without conviction. At one point he thanked her for showing up, saying, �I know you feel very scared.�
Finally, she tried to leave. �Let me go because I tell my husband I come home,� she said.
His reply, the recording shows, was a blunt demand for oral sex.
�Right now? No!� she protested. �No, no, right now I can�t.�
He insisted, cajoled, even empathized. �I came from a different country, too,� he said. �I got my green card just like you.�
Then, she said, he grabbed her. During the speechless minute that follows on the recording, she said she yielded to his demand out of fear that he would use his authority against her.
How Much Corruption?
The charges against Mr. Baichu, who became a United States citizen in 1991 and earns roughly $50,000 a year, appear to be part of a larger pattern, according to government records and interviews.
Mr. Maxwell, the immigration agency�s former chief investigator, told Congress in 2006 that internal corruption was �rampant,� and that employees faced constant temptations to commit crime.
�It is only a small step from granting a discretionary waiver of an eligibility rule to asking for a favor or taking a bribe in exchange for granting that waiver,� he contended. �Once an employee learns he can get away with low-level corruption and still advance up the ranks, he or she becomes more brazen.�
�Despite our best efforts there are always people ready to use their position for personal gain or personal pleasure,� said Chris Bentley, a spokesman for Citizenship and Immigration Services. �Our responsibility is to ferret them out.�
When the Queens woman came to The Times with her recording on Jan. 3, she was afraid of retaliation from the agent, and uncertain about making a criminal complaint, though she had an appointment the next day at the Queens district attorney�s office.
Mr. Baichu was arrested as he emerged from the diner and headed to his car, wearing much gold and diamond jewelry, prosecutors said. Later released on $15,000 bail, Mr. Baichu referred calls for comment to his lawyer, Sally Attia, who said he did not have authority to grant or deny green card petitions without his supervisor�s approval.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/21/nyregion/21immigrant.html?hp
An Agent, a Green Card, and a Demand for Sex
Article Tools Sponsored By
By NINA BERNSTEIN
Published: March 21, 2008
No problems so far, the immigration agent told the American citizen and his 22-year-old Colombian wife at her green card interview in December. After he stapled one of their wedding photos to her application for legal permanent residency, he had just one more question: What was her cellphone number?
Skip to next paragraph
Enlarge This Image
Uli Seit for The New York Times
Isaac R. Baichu, 46, an adjudicator for the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, was arrested after he met with a green card applicant at the Flagship Restaurant, a diner in Queens. He is charged with coercing oral sex from her.
Audio A Secret Recording
Enlarge This Image
Uli Seit for The New York Times
The Flagship Restaurant, where Mr. Baichu met with a green card applicant.
The calls from the agent started three days later. He hinted, she said, at his power to derail her life and deport her relatives, alluding to a brush she had with the law before her marriage. He summoned her to a private meeting. And at noon on Dec. 21, in a parked car on Queens Boulevard, he named his price � not realizing that she was recording everything on the cellphone in her purse.
�I want sex,� he said on the recording. �One or two times. That�s all. You get your green card. You won�t have to see me anymore.�
She reluctantly agreed to a future meeting. But when she tried to leave his car, he demanded oral sex �now,� to �know that you�re serious.� And despite her protests, she said, he got his way.
The 16-minute recording, which the woman first took to The New York Times and then to the Queens district attorney, suggests the vast power of low-level immigration law enforcers, and a growing desperation on the part of immigrants seeking legal status. The aftermath, which included the arrest of an immigration agent last week, underscores the difficulty and danger of making a complaint, even in the rare case when abuse of power may have been caught on tape.
No one knows how widespread sexual blackmail is, but the case echoes other instances of sexual coercion that have surfaced in recent years, including agents criminally charged in Atlanta, Miami and Santa Ana, Calif. And it raises broader questions about the system�s vulnerability to corruption at a time when millions of noncitizens live in a kind of legal no-man�s land, increasingly fearful of seeking the law�s protection.
The agent arrested last week, Isaac R. Baichu, 46, himself an immigrant from Guyana, handled some 8,000 green card applications during his three years as an adjudicator in the Garden City, N.Y., office of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, part of the federal Department of Homeland Security. He pleaded not guilty to felony and misdemeanor charges of coercing the young woman to perform oral sex, and of promising to help her secure immigration papers in exchange for further sexual favors. If convicted, he will face up to seven years in prison.
His agency has suspended him with pay, and the inspector general of Homeland Security is reviewing his other cases, a spokesman said Wednesday. Prosecutors, who say they recorded a meeting between Mr. Baichu and the woman on March 11 at which he made similar demands for sex, urge any other victims to come forward.
Money, not sex, is the more common currency of corruption in immigration, but according to Congressional testimony in 2006 by Michael Maxwell, former director of the agency�s internal investigations, more than 3,000 backlogged complaints of employee misconduct had gone uninvestigated for lack of staff, including 528 involving criminal allegations.
The agency says it has tripled its investigative staff since then, and counts only 165 serious complaints pending. But it stopped posting an e-mail address and phone number for such complaints last year, said Jan Lane, chief of security and integrity, because it lacks the staff to cull the thousands of mostly irrelevant messages that resulted. Immigrants, she advised, should report wrongdoing to any law enforcement agency they trust.
The young woman in Queens, whose name is being withheld because the authorities consider her the victim of a sex crime, did not even tell her husband what had happened. Two weeks after the meeting in the car, finding no way to make a confidential complaint to the immigration agency and afraid to go to the police, she and two older female relatives took the recording to The Times.
Reasons to Worry
A slim, shy woman who looks like a teenager, she said she had spent recent months baby-sitting for relatives in Queens, crying over the deaths of her two brothers back in Cali, Colombia, and longing for the right stamp in her passport � one that would let her return to the United States if she visited her family.
She came to the United States on a tourist visa in 2004 and overstayed. When she married an American citizen a year ago, the law allowed her to apply to �adjust� her illegal status. But unless her green card application was approved, she could not visit her parents or her brothers� graves and then legally re-enter the United States. And if her application was denied, she would face deportation.
She had another reason to be fearful, and not only for herself. About 15 months ago, she said, an acquaintance hired her and two female relatives in New York to carry $12,000 in cash to the bank. The three women, all living in the country illegally, were arrested on the street by customs officers apparently acting on a tip in a money-laundering investigation. After determining that the women had no useful information, the officers released them.
But the closed investigation file had showed up in the computer when she applied for a green card, Mr. Baichu told her in December; until he obtained the file and dealt with it, her application would not be approved. If she defied him, she feared, he could summon immigration enforcement agents to take her relatives to detention.
So instead of calling the police, she turned on the video recorder in her cellphone, put the phone in her purse and walked to meet the agent. Two family members said they watched anxiously from their parked car as she disappeared behind the tinted windows of his red Lexus.
�We were worried that the guy would take off, take her away and do something to her,� the woman�s widowed sister-in-law said in Spanish.
As the recorder captured the agent�s words and a lilting Guyanese accent, he laid out his terms in an easy, almost paternal style. He would not ask too much, he said: sex �once or twice,� visits to his home in the Bronx, perhaps a link to other Colombians who needed his help with their immigration problems.
In shaky English, the woman expressed reluctance, and questioned how she could be sure he would keep his word.
�If I do it, it�s like very hard for me, because I have my husband, and I really fall in love with him,� she said.
The agent insisted that she had to trust him. �I wouldn�t ask you to do something for me if I can�t do something for you, right?� he said, and reasoned, �Nobody going to help you for nothing,� noting that she had no money.
He described himself as the single father of a 10-year-old daughter, telling her, �I need love, too,� and predicting, �You will get to like me because I�m a nice guy.�
Repeatedly, she responded �O.K.,� without conviction. At one point he thanked her for showing up, saying, �I know you feel very scared.�
Finally, she tried to leave. �Let me go because I tell my husband I come home,� she said.
His reply, the recording shows, was a blunt demand for oral sex.
�Right now? No!� she protested. �No, no, right now I can�t.�
He insisted, cajoled, even empathized. �I came from a different country, too,� he said. �I got my green card just like you.�
Then, she said, he grabbed her. During the speechless minute that follows on the recording, she said she yielded to his demand out of fear that he would use his authority against her.
How Much Corruption?
The charges against Mr. Baichu, who became a United States citizen in 1991 and earns roughly $50,000 a year, appear to be part of a larger pattern, according to government records and interviews.
Mr. Maxwell, the immigration agency�s former chief investigator, told Congress in 2006 that internal corruption was �rampant,� and that employees faced constant temptations to commit crime.
�It is only a small step from granting a discretionary waiver of an eligibility rule to asking for a favor or taking a bribe in exchange for granting that waiver,� he contended. �Once an employee learns he can get away with low-level corruption and still advance up the ranks, he or she becomes more brazen.�
�Despite our best efforts there are always people ready to use their position for personal gain or personal pleasure,� said Chris Bentley, a spokesman for Citizenship and Immigration Services. �Our responsibility is to ferret them out.�
When the Queens woman came to The Times with her recording on Jan. 3, she was afraid of retaliation from the agent, and uncertain about making a criminal complaint, though she had an appointment the next day at the Queens district attorney�s office.
Mr. Baichu was arrested as he emerged from the diner and headed to his car, wearing much gold and diamond jewelry, prosecutors said. Later released on $15,000 bail, Mr. Baichu referred calls for comment to his lawyer, Sally Attia, who said he did not have authority to grant or deny green card petitions without his supervisor�s approval.
sanjay
03-28 10:44 AM
Thanks for this great feature. It definitely looks promising. But, some how I find my information missing. Is there a place where I can add my information. my IV profile already got all my info.
