Overstayed Tourist Visa

[venom322 0]

Hello,

I'm seeking some expert advice for my best friend of ten years.

He entered the country in March of 2001 with a tourist visa from Mexico. He never returned. He's a very honest person and is really reluctant to marry only for papers. I know before you were able to adjust legal status because of time spent inside the US, is this still the case? I'm going to seek advice from an immigration lawyer, but wanted to know if you guys knew of any options I can walk in with when I have the meeting with him/her.

He has worked the entire time he has been here. He started using a fake name and now uses his real one since mid 2007.

Thanks in advance for your responses.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Hello,

I'm seeking some expert advice for my best friend of ten years.

He entered the country in March of 2001 with a tourist visa from Mexico. He never returned. He's a very honest person and is really reluctant to marry only for papers. I know before you were able to adjust legal status because of time spent inside the US, is this still the case? I'm going to seek advice from an immigration lawyer, but wanted to know if you guys knew of any options I can walk in with when I have the meeting with him/her.

He has worked the entire time he has been here. He started using a fake name and now uses his real one since mid 2007.

Thanks in advance for your responses.

Someone who has been continuously in the United States since 1972 can apply to become a permanent resident. This is classified as "registering" rather than "adjustment of status". This is the residual of the last big immigration amnesty program. Other than that, no - someone cannot qualify for adjustment of status based solely on the length of time they've been in the US illegally. If this was possible then everyone who entered the US with a visa could just hang out long enough without getting caught, and then apply for a green card.

Someone who has been in the US illegally more than 10 years can apply for cancellation of removal. However, this can only be used to stop removal proceedings and avoid deportation, and it also requires a hardship petition from a qualifying relative who is a US citizen or permanent resident.

There are very few ways that someone who is out of status and has worked illegally can get a green card. I don't think he's eligible for any of them.

[katgrl 14]

I agree with Jim. Also, has he ever claimed to be an USC?

[venom322 0]

Thanks for ur responses. I mentioned all this to him and he revealed he has several uncles who are residents and USC. Can something be done with them? And what is a hardship petition?

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Thanks for ur responses. I mentioned all this to him and he revealed he has several uncles who are residents and USC. Can something be done with them? And what is a hardship petition?

Three things you need to understand.

First, Cancellation of Removal is NOT the same thing as Adjustment of Status. You must already be in deportation proceedings before you can ask for Cancellation of Removal based on continuous presence of 10 year or more.

Second, a request for Cancellation of Removal needs to be accompanied by a letter of hardship by a qualifying relative. For the purpose of Cancellation of Removal, a qualifying relative is a spouse, parent, or child of the immigrant. An uncle is not a qualifying relative.

Third, the letter of hardship must demonstrate "exceptional and extremely unusual hardship" for the qualifying relative. It doesn't matter how difficult deportation would be for the alien.

Look, don't even be thinking along these lines. Cancellation of Removal is a latch ditch desperate effort to avoid deportation, and it's denied more often than approved. Your friend isn't in this situation yet, so he shouldn't even be thinking about it.

Now I'm going to get judgmental...

You are deluding yourself by calling your friend a "very honest person". He has lived and worked illegally in the United States for nearly a decade. He used a fake name for six years in order to work illegally. He is most decidedly NOT an honest person. If he did happen to be placed in removal proceedings then one of the requirements for Cancellation of Removal is the alien must demonstrate they are a person of "good moral character". Your friend has demonstrated he is not. Even if your friend had a qualifying relative submit a hardship letter on his behalf, Removal of Conditions would probably be denied in his case.

katgrl asked a relevant and important question - has your friend ever claimed to be a US citizen? For example, did he use the name of a US citizen for six years in order to get a job? If so then he would be banned for life from the United States if he were caught. There would be no possible waiver for this ban, not even by marrying a US citizen.

If your friend truly considers himself to be an honest person then he should leave the United States. He has no basis to adjust status.