HELLPPPPP!!!!!!

[CeeDee 0]

Hello VJ members! To make a long story short..My wife and i are very new to this but we heard its a very helpful website and we need all the help and advice we can get:). We married on May 3rd 2011..Filed i130&g325 in June and got NOA1 in July. I am a US citizen. She was brought here when she was 6 but never left the country. We know of all the possibilities that may happen. Ive done extensive research on it. But i cant seem to find any answers. We were told shed have to leave the country which we are ready for. But its been almost 3 months sence the NOA1 and still no word from California service center. The NOA1 didnt ask us for any information we were almost certain they would. It just stated our names and if we were to change our address to please inform them of it. My question is..does anyone have a similar case? Anyword on how much longer it might take for us to get anymore info? i check the uscis timeline on a regular basis, it says case in initial review!

[Little_My 464]

Let's clarify a few things first..

- Your wife arrived here from Mexico when she was six years old, and never left - how did she originally get here? Did she come with a valid visa, or "over the fence", so to speak?

- How old is she? How many years past 18?

- Are you doing this process alone or with the help of an attorney? If she is currently in the US, you should have filed a LOT more paperwork than just I-130 and G-325.. You should have filed I-130 with the I-485, which is the form that you use to actually apply for the GC for her.

If she is currently in the country, she SHOULD NOT LEAVE. She most likely has a ban hanging over her head of either 3 years or 10 years, which will trigger if she leaves. As long as she stays here, she is probably able to adjust her status to LPR now that she is married to a USC - assuming she originally entered legally.

[CeeDee 0]

Thank you for the quick responce. She is now 23 years old and came here...over the fence...We are doing this with the help of family friend who has done these cases before but is retired. we did go see and attorney and she adviced us the samething that the family friend did. but for aaalloot more money! so we decided to stick with our fam friend. what she said was that my wife an i would have to travel to juarez mx and she would have her interview there and she did speak of the ban but said we could try a wiaver?..if the waiver is approved (god willing) shed be able to come into the US legally.

[CeeDee 0]

Another question would Uscis have asked us for the i485 if they needed it? Or could that be whats coming next? I dont know we are just really confused and anxious to see what is going to happen and when..:/

[belinda63 3,039]

Follow the guides at the top. She will have to leave for the interview in Mexico at which time she will be denied. Have the I-601 waiver ready as I believe Mexico will allow you to submit it the day of the denial.

[CeeDee 0]

okay so i should mail in the i485 using the receipt info they gave me?..On Sept 20th itll be 3 months sence we filed. i imagine this is going to slow down our process even more..But we desperately need to get on the right track. Thank you so much for your help!

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

I 485 doesn't apply because your wife has no status to adjust from. Had she entered with inspection the I485 could come into play. Not with "over the fence" The website immigrate2us.net has very very good examples of the waivers you will need to file after she is denied at the interview.

[Done--Really 331]

Nigeria is 100% correct--AOS here is impossible. She must return to Mexico, and will be denied and given a ten year ban, and then you can file the 601 waiver--run over to www.immigrate2us.net for more details and more specific support than you will find here. It will take a bit of time, but the waiver will be granted unless there are any other immigration or criminal issues.

And then you can live the rest of your lives smiling and not looking over your shoulders. It's actually pretty easy, but you must follow the rules precisely or you can end in a heap of trouble otherwise.

[Ryan H 3,812]

NOA is notice of approval action.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

One post has been removed by the OP's request

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Moderator hat off now . . .

Before we suggest that the AOS is impossible or not, we need to know 'how' she entered, You said her parents brought her here when she was 6 years old. How did her parents enter the US? Did they enter illegally without inspection or did they enter with some sort of visa that they overstayed?

If they entered legally - that is were inspected at the border and allowed to enter the country, then your wife can apply to adjust status from whatever status she and her parents were given when they entered the country. Upon approval any overstay time would be forgiven for your wife.

If they entered illegally - that is were not inspected at the border but entered surreptitiously, then your wife would not be allowed to adjust status because, as has been mentioned, she has no status from which to adjust. She is in the country illegally.

If the second is true, then she is only able to get permission to live in the US by obtaining a CR-1 visa that is processed outside of the US. She would need to leave the US for the immigration processing part. Once she leaves the US, however, if she is over 18 1/2 years old, she would incur either a 3 year ban or a 10 year ban depending on how much older she is than 18. USCIS does not count time spent in the country illegally prior to 18 years of age other than making note of it. Once someone turns 18 and is no longer a minor, they start to accrue illegal status days. 180 days of illegal status means that they would have a 3 year ban on re-entering the US when they left; if more than 1 year of out of status days, then they would have a 10 year ban on re-entry. This ban can be waivered if the US citizen can prove undue hardship caused by the separation but it will take extra time and hard work and should be done with the services of a competent and knowledgeable immigration lawyer.

So, those are basically your two options - and the one that applies depends on how she entered the country with her parents and how old she is now.

Edited September 13, 2011 by Kathryn41

[CeeDee 0]

She entered illegally at the age of 6 in 1995. She is now 23. Has no criminal background of any kind. Will and can a lawyer just come into the picture only for the waiver? or will there be an issue because the i130 paperwork was done by someone else?

[megabell28 9]

She entered illegally at the age of 6 in 1995. She is now 23. Has no criminal background of any kind. Will and can a lawyer just come into the picture only for the waiver? or will there be an issue because the i130 paperwork was done by someone else?

No that's not a problem, Im in same situation as your wife, and Im hiring an attorney only to do the waiver part just to be on the safe side, but that's optional. I sent my I-130 and G325 in Feb 22, 2011 then receive the NOA1 in Feb 25, 2011 and NOA2 in June 14 (almost 3 month later) so I think yours should be pretty close.

IR-1 Visa

Service Center : California Service Center

Consulate : Juarez, Mexico

Marriage: 2009-03-27

I-130 Sent : 2011-02-22

I-130 NOA1 : 2011-02-25

I-130 Approved : 2011-06-14

Received DS-3032 / I-864 Bill : 2011-07-20

Pay I-864 Bill 2011-08-22

Return Completed I-864 : 2011-09-16

Return Completed DS-3032 : 2011-08-22

Receive IV Bill : 2011-07-20

Pay IV Bill : 2011-08-22