I am seeking help for my boyfriend and not sure where to turn. If anyone can help this would be greatly appreciated

My boyfriend is a citizen of Jamaica - he came to the United States through the CASS program (college sponsorship) - he then got his work permit. Once his schooling was finished his school visa expired but he is still living in the U.S. - He works, payes taxes, and owns a house. His father is now a U.S. Citizen through Naturalization (I believe).
My boyfriend wants to adjust his status but we are not sure if he needs his father to complete paperwork or what paperwork we need.

I'm afraid he will be deported. I will not marry him until I know he can stay forever.

HELP

Consult an immigration attorney. Your boyfriend overstayed his visa and is out of status and is subject to a reentry bar, length dependent on lenght of over-stay.

You can marry him and apply for adjustment of status (AOS) from the US. Overstay and illegal work (not sure if he still has the EAD from your post) are forgiven upon marriage to a United States citizen (USC).

As long as his entry was legal, you can marry and he can adjust status even though he has an overstay and has worked illegally. Seek counsel from a good immigration attorney regarding continued working after you have filed the I-130 and I-485.

I think continued work is forgiven as well because work is work - as soon as EAD is received and supplied to employer, work becomes legal even if it was illegal before - not 100% sure of course but that's always the case

What doesn't make sense to me is that he can continue to work, pay taxes, pay a mortgage, pay property tax - just like ANY U.S. Citizen and no one is concerned with him!?!?!

Do you think we should just leave it be and not try and complicate things? I'm afraid if we try to figure out his status or what he should file that will open up his file and he'll be deported??

Because they aren't looking for him? Look, deportation usually happens because they find out about your status after you do something else, in most cases. Let's say he shot someone. Well, then they find out he's illegal, etc. then USCIS is generally alerted and they start deportation proceedings. Deportation isn't where they bang on your door, take you away and put you on the next plane back to your country. It's a lengthy process, just like everything else.

He can pay his taxes because he probably has an ITIN (my tourist visa husband pays his with one), and can hold a job because his employer either never checked for the proper documentation through the I-9 process or if they did, your boyfriend has fake docs. When I give my employer my SSN card, they don't call the social security administration and make sure it's valid and it's really me. (It is me, by the way.)

If he entered legally, you can adjust status just like both john & marlene and I both said. My husband and I have filed for AOS, as well as many other people on these boards, who adjusted from visas such as student or tourist - people with overstays, with unauthorized work - and it is forgiven through marriage to a USC. There's a lot of paperwork involved, but if he entered with inspection, your chances are pretty good of not having many issues - of course, a consultation with a qualified immigration attorney is always recommended, but you don't have to hire anyone if the case is simple enough. (Though with all the paperwork, even the simple seems complicated which is why a lot of people will recommend at least talking to a lawyer.)

If you don't adjust his status, he is very limited. The goverment may never find out about him, but forget any island vacations unless you only really want to see Hawaii - forget visiting his family in Jamaica, forget any really golden job opportunities - if he has a decent job now, it's likely he got it with the work permit and HR never came after him, but forget moving onto greener pastures.

The longer you wait to fix his paperwork, the harder and more difficult it will be.

Thank you so much for that explanation! I am not ready to marry him but I want to feel comfortable knowing that it could be done!

He came over he legally and has never caused trouble so I don't think they would knock on his door!

What I do wonder - your post from around Christmas ( http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...&pid=631745 ) makes it seem pretty obvious that he was not in the States at that time (along with the one from last April) - if he'd overstayed his visa, how did he get back in (since it hasn't been six months between December and now, so even if he'd come on a tourist visa, his permission would not be up unless they gave him a shorter amount of time than is generally allotted)? Or did he never leave? If he was a student here and has a house and a job, why would he need to adjust to life in the states, like you suggested in that thread? Sorry - I just ask because I'm confused now.

But if he's here now and did enter legally (which you said he did) and you two choose to marry, it can be done, and is done quite frequently. Contrary to popular belief, the government isn't about splitting up families, but making sure that the families that say they want to be together are legitimate families and not constructed simply for immigration benefits.

Wow - meowmix you really read up on me!

My life has been a story to write a book on! I am no longer with the guy I previously posted on. I have dated 2 men that have lived in Jamaica - the first one I "thought" I was going to marry but I ended up allowing temptation to get the best of me, the second one - I have no words to explain what that was all about, must have been that good ol' island vibe! And the current guy I am with.....he works 3 doors down from me, we were set up by our UPS man. I had no intentions of meeting him nor did I want to deal with another Jamaican - I had my heartbroken before......BUT when I finally met him I thought I could at least give him a chance, not because he is Jamaican but because he is human!
To my suprise he is an awesome guy, treats me better than I have been treated in the past and I couldn't ask for more! The unfortunate part is his visa has expired.
Some people Pre-Judge me about only being with Jamaican men, it's personal preference! So PLEASE dont look down on me.
I am simply looking to help him fix his status. We are going to visit his father in April and want to know if we need any paperwork to have his Dad fill.
Do I want to marry this guy??? only time will tell!

Somebody else?

What tangled lives we lead.

Nah, I don't care. Just looked at your profile to see if I could get more info to help you - then I got confused as that could complicate the situation.

I don't think there's anything his dad can do for him - overstay is only forgiven for unmarried children under the age of 21, and I don't know about unauthorized work being forgiven for children under 21 - since I'm assuming he's over 21 since you're 27, and he's graduated college, the only way he could really have successful AOS as I'm reading it, is through marriage to a USC.

GOOD LUCK ON YOUR JOURNEY!