Can I marry my undocumented first-cousin in California, US?

[Sergi9 110]

Why'd he stay there on a tourist visa, did his parents originally come here with them?

The post says his parents brought him here when he was 15. He stayed because his family was here ?

they've stayed here forever since then and just expect to be granted citizenship since they've lived here most of their lives, especially if they had the visa from a young age. If that was the case with so many of undocumented citizens I would've just had my meghan stay over here with me after her visa expired and just got a lawyer to work some magic. I hate being away from her for so long.

Different scenario for a child to be brought here by parents while still a minor vs an adult bringing someone here with the intent to immigrate and evading immigration law. I am sure he is not thrilled his parents put him in an untenable situation.

People's identities get stolen a lot by undocumented aliens and that's how they're able to live and work over here without a hassle. Usually the identity that gets stolen is from a dead child who never got to live a life past the age of 3. -Travis

Travis, try not to read so much of Sherrif Joes hype. Identities are most often stolen by a family member because someone has bad credit.

[nikolacolada 21]

Travis and Meghan, on 31 March 2011 - 05:51 AM, said:

" Why'd he stay there on a tourist visa, did his parents originally come here with them?

The post says his parents brought him here when he was 15. He stayed because his family was here ?

they've stayed here forever since then and just expect to be granted citizenship since they've lived here most of their lives, especially if they had the visa from a young age. If that was the case with so many of undocumented citizens I would've just had my meghan stay over here with me after her visa expired and just got a lawyer to work some magic. I hate being away from her for so long.

Different scenario for a child to be brought here by parents while still a minor vs an adult bringing someone here with the intent to immigrate and evading immigration law. I am sure he is not thrilled his parents put him in an untenable situation.

People's identities get stolen a lot by undocumented aliens and that's how they're able to live and work over here without a hassle. Usually the identity that gets stolen is from a dead child who never got to live a life past the age of 3. -Travis

Travis, try not to read so much of Sherrif Joes hype. Identities are most often stolen by a family member because someone has bad credit. "

Edited March 31, 2011 by nikolacolada

[HeatDeath 430]

On the one hand, are USCIS even going to know they're first cousins? USCIS asks for names and dates of births of parents, but not of grand parents. If you don't mention the blood relationship when you discuss how you met, it might not come up.

On the other hand, you will virtually certainly have an interview, and a detailed accounting of the entire timeline of your relationship could very easily come up, and if it comes up at interview after you've tried to obfuscate around it, that could be very bad.

A very sticky wicket, indeed. Either way, you're going to need a LOT of very lovey-dovey relationship proof, going back quite a long time, and even then, a USCIS interviewer who is a little bit freaked by the first-cousin thing could still deny you, and there's very little way to guard against or prevent that.

[Boiler 43,429]

Assuming that this is not for an Immigration Benefit, I do not see a proble,.

Marry and adjust.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,235]

It scares the living daylight out of me when people who have no clue about the process and the laws and mechanics of the immigration process give advice that is so wrong it hurts inside. I understand that you want to contribute and interact with other members, but if you are clueless, please do not post and thus confuse the original poster.

CatGirl pretty much covered it all.

There is no problem to get married as long as the young man has a valid state or government-issued ID.

There's also no problem to adjust status, as he entered with inspection over a decade ago.

The only issue that might come up is if first cousins get married. That's legal in the Golden State but illegal in other states of the union, i.e., the Lone Star State, but aside from the legality it may -- or may not -- be seen as one family member assisting another to immigrate. Nobody knows, and if the issue arises it can be overcome with documentation showing that the marriage is "real."

None of this process will require the assistance of an immigration attorney. Retaining one might provide peace of mind but will cost in most instances $2K and up, in addition to the AOS costs of $420 + $1,070 + whatever the Civil Surgeon charges for the required medical.

[Rob and Jill 82]

It scares the living daylight out of me when people who have no clue about the process and the laws and mechanics of the immigration process give advice that is so wrong it hurts inside. I understand that you want to contribute and interact with other members, but if you are clueless, please do not post and thus confuse the original poster.

I believe people are regularly and consistently confusing adjusting from a VWP with adjusting from an overstay on other visas.

Edited March 31, 2011 by Rob and Jill

[Sergi9 110]

It scares the living daylight out of me when people who have no clue about the process and the laws and mechanics of the immigration process give advice that is so wrong it hurts inside. I understand that you want to contribute and interact with other members, but if you are clueless, please do not post and thus confuse the original poster.

[Sergi9 110]

I believe people are regularly and consistently confusing adjusting from a VWP with adjusting from an overstay on other visas.

Oh if only that were true, it would mean they had a vague understanding of the VWP rules, but

if you read the posts on these type of situations, its usually Parroting something they read

in another thread about something quite different they didn't udnerstand either.

[cookieandcream 10]

I think you should edit travis post, as it could give someone the wrong idea about the process, if you don't know about the process ( which is the case of a lot of people including me ) you can always send good thoughts

[Darnell 8,478]

you may want to delve deep into the forums at http://www.immigrate2us.net - they handle harder, uncommon 'things' there.

[Myopia 93]

I believe people are regularly and consistently confusing adjusting from a VWP with adjusting from an overstay on other visas.

You can adjust from a Visa Waiver Program overstay. At this time, San Diego is denying but it seems other places are doing business as usual.

The main difference is you can not appeal a VWP denial.

I believe people are confusing VWP with EWI.

[Darnell 8,478]

whichever they are confusing - the lad DID enter the USA on a valid visa, and he's overstayed that valid visa.

[Little_My 463]

whichever they are confusing - the lad DID enter the USA on a valid visa, and he's overstayed that valid visa.

Yes, but that is missing the point. The overstay, no matter how long, becomes irrelevant the minute he marries a United States citizen. When he petitions for AOS because of that marriage, his overstay, whether it is 1 year, 5 years of 15 years, will be forgiven.

The possible problems with the OPs situation is the fact that this might very well be seen as a marriage for immigration purposes, and proving otherwise might be very difficult. The cousin thing might or might not make it harder, we can only speculate on that.

It is by no means impossible. The overstay is not a problem here as long as he does not occur a deportation order.

[Sergi9 110]

Yes, but that is missing the point. The overstay, no matter how long, becomes irrelevant the minute he marries a United States citizen. When he petitions for AOS because of that marriage, his overstay, whether it is 1 year, 5 years of 15 years, will be forgiven.

The possible problems with the OPs situation is the fact that this might very well be seen as a marriage for immigration purposes, and proving otherwise might be very difficult. The cousin thing might or might not make it harder, we can only speculate on that.

It is by no means impossible. The overstay is not a problem here as long as he does not occur a deportation order.

Good point, they need to speak with an attorney because of the mention that his parents were denied a green card. If his parents application included him, he may have already been entered into proceedings. This could be a huge snag and should be investigated.

Edited April 1, 2011 by Sergi9

[Myopia 93]

Good point, they need to speak with an attorney because of the mention that his parents were denied a green card. If his parents application included him, he may have already been entered into proceedings. This could be a huge snag and should be investigated.

Even if he has been entered into proceedings, marriage to a USC will give him the ability to adjust status.