Just starting out- have some questions- very complicated

[tk10 0]

I am from the United Kingdom but came to live here with my parents when I was 12. I had a green card through them. Later I got married, had a couple of kids, and then left to go back to the United Kingdom to escape an abusive situation. My green card expired when this happened. Years later, I returned to the states with my children (2 of which were born in the US, 2 were born in the UK). I got a student visa, and then met the love of my life- we'll call him Beano. We were married and I took care of him and the kids while finishing up school. My student visa expired, but we were told I was here legally, so long as I didn't leave the country, and didn't work. We couldn't afford to AOS at the time. Now the oldest of my 2 children born in the UK is 18 and cannot move on with his life until we can get a green card for him. His biological father is a US citizen, but his location is unknown. My youngest child also born in the UK, isn't from a US citizen. I'm not sure what the best way for us to all (3) get greencards. Do I need to go the K-1 route and then get the kids in under that, or is it a simple matter of adjusting my student visa? Also my current husband is a US citizen, my father has become a naturalized citizen. The student visa just expired in August of last year, and I have been married (and living with) my current husband for 7 years.

[naksah 1]

I am from the United Kingdom but came to live here with my parents when I was 12. I had a green card through them. Later I got married, had a couple of kids, and then left to go back to the United Kingdom to escape an abusive situation. My green card expired when this happened. Years later, I returned to the states with my children (2 of which were born in the US, 2 were born in the UK). I got a student visa, and then met the love of my life- we'll call him Beano. We were married and I took care of him and the kids while finishing up school. My student visa expired, but we were told I was here legally, so long as I didn't leave the country, and didn't work. We couldn't afford to AOS at the time. Now the oldest of my 2 children born in the UK is 18 and cannot move on with his life until we can get a green card for him. His biological father is a US citizen, but his location is unknown. My youngest child also born in the UK, isn't from a US citizen. I'm not sure what the best way for us to all (3) get greencards. Do I need to go the K-1 route and then get the kids in under that, or is it a simple matter of adjusting my student visa? Also my current husband is a US citizen, my father has become a naturalized citizen. The student visa just expired in August of last year, and I have been married (and living with) my current husband for 7 years.

I would think that since you have been married to a USC for that long, you should have adjusted your status - including your children- through him.

Since your situation is not that clear,u can also contact an immigration lawyer for some more advice.

[baron555 934]

My student visa expired, but we were told I was here legally, so long as I didn't leave the country, and didn't work.

That is wrong. Since you didn't AOS when you got married, and now that your only visa, the student visa has expired, you have an overstay situation. If more than 180 days, you might be subject to a bar from returning to the US (obviously if you left) for 3 years. Overstay more than a year and there's a 10 year bar.

Sounds like you need to get your own situation taken care of first. Then once you become a citizen, then you can petition your kids in the UK to come here (I think I have that right).

It's probably immigration attorney time.