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Reported to me today: Brother, can you spare a dime (or $2000)?"
So the guy marries an American woman but still has to file $2k worth of paperwork in order to remain in the US? Can anyone confirm whether there's any truth to that?
And of course, somehow this little "fact" eluded their attention until a week before the deadline. This is a major M.O. for all con artists: everything is a rush, with a highly emotional outcome if YOU fail to act. That way you don't have time to think about things like "is this even a valid ask," or "should I really give money for someone stupid enough to wait until the last minute to raise money--especially for something they could have EASILY predicted, for MONTHS, would cost some dough?"
Wanna take bets on whether the DAYDians fall for this one?
October 4 2011, 03:10:33 UTC 7 months ago
October 4 2011, 03:33:23 UTC 7 months ago
The more expensive fees seem to be associated with entreprenures wanting to work here. Somehow I doubt that applies. BTW, that took me 5 minutes to look up. Not long at all.
October 4 2011, 14:37:15 UTC 7 months ago
Seems like the sort of thing one should have thought of before spending all their money on a cross country hike.
October 4 2011, 18:47:34 UTC 7 months ago
Knowing Amy, it wouldn't surprise me at all if these folks aren't actually married, they've been expressly forbidden to read the blog, and they have no idea that Amy's asking for this money in their name. Because obviously Brittany Quinn's name isn't bringing in enough of a haul.
*disgust*
October 4 2011, 19:20:23 UTC 7 months ago
Now... even if there is a real need, that doesn't mean those people are ever going to see a dime of the money collected.
October 4 2011, 23:11:32 UTC 7 months ago
IF someone is entering the US with the purpose of getting married, they must apply for and receive a fiance visa (the K-1, if I remember right). The process includes consular interviews, providing Affidavits of Support (financial solvency!!!!), etc. And it does get pricey.
If I were simply wearing my work hat (and knowing nothing about the parties involved), I would say that someone is trying to avoid being tagged with a visa overstay. Overstaying your visa (and yes, that includes the VWP because there is a time limit you can stay in the US under that program without additional visas) by even one day can cause HUGE problems if you leave the US and try to re-enter at a later date. To include being barred from entering the US for up to ten years and being removed back to your country of residence. And removal may not be immediate - you could be the guest of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at a lovely detention facility.
Rambling. Sorry. I'll take off the work hat. But for reporting matters like this, ICE manages a tipline at the Law Enforcement Support Center (LESC). Phone number is 866-347-2423. It's toll free. Alternately, a person could contact the local US CIS office where the application for the visa will be made.
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October 5 2011, 21:27:07 UTC 7 months ago
October 4 2011, 17:03:57 UTC 7 months ago
However, the wording of that post is...troubling. "Are Love and Legal Immigration Worth $1?" "If you believe in love, in new beginnings, in helping people...and in doing things the right way, please, dig through your pocket change, give up something off the dollar menu, and donate a dollar to their future." In other words, if you don't donate, you don't believe in any of those things, and obviously the only other thing you might want/need to do with your money is buy fast food. Yeah, nothing gets me motivated to help my fellow humans like heavy-handed emotional manipulation!
October 4 2011, 20:45:20 UTC 7 months ago
I challenge any woman reading this to get drunk and throw up on a sober man, and still net him. And I challenge any man to look at your partner covered in sick and babbling inanely and find them attractive. Because that, ladies and gents, is love, and if that shows up in the next Disney romance I want royalties.
October 5 2011, 02:15:03 UTC 7 months ago
Sheesh.
October 5 2011, 06:01:42 UTC 7 months ago
The thing that really gets me about this appeal is the phrase "doing things the right way." If they were "doing things the right way," they'd get a visa first and save up their money to do so, rather than this silliness.
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October 5 2011, 21:59:47 UTC 7 months ago
Apparently someone else thought so, too:
http://copperbadge.livejournal.com/3383October 7 2011, 19:38:30 UTC 7 months ago
Re: Apparently someone else thought so, too:
The linked entry is locked. Can you summarize?7 months ago
October 5 2011, 15:16:43 UTC 7 months ago
Isn't spontaneity adorable??
Very spur-of-the-moment wedding, possibly prompted by an older, trusted person saying, hey, just get married and then they'll let you stay! How totally romantic and optimistic-in-the-face-of-impossible-obsThe whole money grab thing, the strong-arm verbiage, is pretty obnoxious. I wish them the best, and the best thing they could do for their young relationship in my opinion is ditch their mentor pronto. Kristin, move to Wales with Ed! Let Andy fend for himself!
October 5 2011, 15:20:54 UTC 7 months ago
Re: Isn't spontaneity adorable??
PS: Some of the DAYDians have already fallen for this, at least a few of them. Not 2000, though. :)October 5 2011, 17:59:09 UTC 7 months ago
Re: Isn't spontaneity adorable??
I'm worried becauseI did leave a comment on the post urging people to be wary, though. :/
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October 5 2011, 21:25:49 UTC 7 months ago
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
""In this difficult economy, we know that $2000 is out of reach for almost anyone,"
Yeah, and it's BULLSHIT. I've had many a friend immigrate both directions and it just doesn't cost that much.
Hinky to say the least, particular when the plea for money comes from a known con-artist.
"Andy" - if you really want to help your friends - have them set up their own website, not one where the money goes through you."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We'll see if it actually gets approved. (It wont.)
I love that my Doctor Who icon works for all these posts.
October 6 2011, 02:05:39 UTC 7 months ago
Late edit
It now appears Mr. Badge has edited his entry after doing a little research. He seems to be familiar with the backstory, and has some intelligent comments. Well done.October 6 2011, 02:55:24 UTC 7 months ago
Re: Late edit
Yah, that's good! Although I wish I could still see the original post. Someone left a comment there that as a British reader, she didn't think the love story attributed to Ed was actually written by a Welshman.I wonder if these two are even aware that "Andy" has put this ask on the Web. It would not surprise me AT ALL if Amy has declared that she's in charge of the blog and does all the posting. She's done that sort of thing in the past.
Quick example: before Bit of Earth fell apart, Sue, SC Bob, Little Sam and others all moved into one apartment together in Los Angeles. Amy, as "Jordan" declared that she was the financial officer of the group and directed everyone to GIVE HER their paychecks and she would in turn manage all the bills.
That would include the rent (unpaid, which led to their eviction), the phone bill (a collection agency called ME almost a year after the big crash, since they'd used my name on the contract) and the personal loan that Cherie Deuvall took out from Wells Fargo and I was foolish enough to cosign for her (on which she ultimately defaulted, wrecking BOTH of our credit scores).
So it would not surprise me AT ALL if the couple was informed early on that "Andy" was in charge of the blog, and were either strongly encouraged not to read it (or flat out forbidden). Which would explain why Ed's writing style sounds amazingly similar to Amy's.
October 6 2011, 03:09:43 UTC 7 months ago
Re: Late edit
I found myself wondering (whilst following the hike blog) how much these two kids actually knew about their leader/organizer/overlord. They seemed to have had a lot of library time; one assumes they'd read the posts. I dunno; I tend to think it was less the kind of control you're describing, and more a couple of naive youngsters/cult worshippers who accept glib explanations even if they won't bear scrutiny.You can never overestimate how weird people are, or how willing to flip the ON/OFF switch in their brains to O-F-F. *sigh*
October 6 2011, 06:40:41 UTC 7 months ago
Re: Late edit
That person wrote in response to me doubting whether the couple were even a real couple (it should be noted that Amy has now put a video of the suppossed couple up on her website).Her lj name is
ME: If you know Ed & Kristen (who I wouldn't even lay money on them existing, honestly)
LITTLERED2: Reading Ed's post about the hike on the blog linked in the post, I was a bit sceptical - as a British reader (English, not Welsh, admittedly), it didn't sound remotely as if it were written by someone from Wales. (I will feel like a horrible suspicious person if this is completely legitimate, but it really sounded wrong.)
7 months ago
October 6 2011, 06:46:44 UTC 7 months ago
head.....desk....bashbashbash.
October 6 2011, 15:21:19 UTC 7 months ago
October 7 2011, 05:58:08 UTC 7 months ago
I had said
"I'm sorry - No to what? Trying to clarify things? Discussion of the issue at all?
I've dated trans people and asked many others about this specific persona and across the board s/he just makes them angry. THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH BEING TRANSGENDER. There IS something wrong with CLAIMING to be someone you aren't to scam money, goods and sympathy out of people. I hope that is clear and no one here is too blinded by being PC that they can't see what's going on.
And if anyone thinks that this new endevour is Andy someone being a changed person, then fine - I'll give anyone a chance. How about he admits who he is and what he's done in the past? If he did that, then I'd be more inclined to give him a chance.
All I'm objecting to is the phobic label on someone who isn't being phobic. If you think that objecting to someone being called phobic somehow magically makes me phobic too, then go ahead ban me. I only came to warn people that they were in danger of getting scammed anyway."
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October 7 2011, 20:00:09 UTC 7 months ago