Legal marriage in USA to illegal alien

[sama 0]

Hello everyone,

Alhamduillah my husband and I successfully completed our visa journey. We are now awaiting the conditions of his green card to be removed soon. I have been asked by a dear friend to assist her and her husband begin their process. Her situation, in my opinion, is risky and should require the assistance of an attorney. I thought I would try here first.

She married her husband 1 yr ago but they've been together for the past 9 years. Her husband entered the USA on a work visa but it has since expired. His passport is also now expired. I thought of starting w/scenarios and presenting her w/the paperwork and letting her choose. They are ALL risky. Which one of these will work best:

File as though both she and her spouse are living here,

File I-130, send him home to Mexico and go through the process separated,

Any other ideas?

I've also read something here about a waiver but not sure if it will work for this.

Sama

[Anh map 2,098]

If the alien entered the US legally they should apply for adjustment of status.

Leaving the US after a long overstay period may make the alien subject to a reentry ban.

[together4evr 360]

Also, how did they marry 9 months ago? I think we are missing some information. Did he come here on a work visa after he already married a USC and did he lie to immigration...

[pushbrk 12,212]

Hello everyone,

Alhamduillah my husband and I successfully completed our visa journey. We are now awaiting the conditions of his green card to be removed soon. I have been asked by a dear friend to assist her and her husband begin their process. Her situation, in my opinion, is risky and should require the assistance of an attorney. I thought I would try here first.

She married her husband 1 yr ago but they've been together for the past 9 years. Her husband entered the USA on a work visa but it has since expired. His passport is also now expired. I thought of starting w/scenarios and presenting her w/the paperwork and letting her choose. They are ALL risky. Which one of these will work best:

File as though both she and her spouse are living here,

File I-130, send him home to Mexico and go through the process separated,

Any other ideas?

I've also read something here about a waiver but not sure if it will work for this.

Sama

Adjust status. There is no "as though". The ARE both living here.

[sama 0]

Also, how did they marry 9 months ago? I think we are missing some information. Did he come here on a work visa after he already married a USC and did he lie to immigration...

[/quote

He came here on a work visa many years ago and had two trips back to Mexico to renew his status. They met while he was legally here over 9 years ago. My friend and her then boyfriend, decided to get married last year but his work visa had already expired a while back. His employer did not submit the necessary paperwork.

[Darnell 8,478]

1. get a new passport with the Embassy in the USA - he'll need it.

2. File the AOS. Do Not Leave the USA, as he had legal entry.

3. Study much over at immigrate2us.net

[Penguin_ie 5,986]

*** Moving from CR-1 visa to AOS from Work visa forum as OP's friend should be doing that rather than filing for a visa ****

[Brother Hesekiel 2,235]

She married her husband 1 yr ago but they've been together for the past 9 years. Her husband entered the USA on a work visa but it has since expired. His passport is also now expired. I thought of starting w/scenarios and presenting her w/the paperwork and letting her choose. They are ALL risky. Which one of these will work best:

File as though both she and her spouse are living here,

File I-130, send him home to Mexico and go through the process separated,

Any other ideas?

Sama

Sama,

no disrespect, but you don't know what you are talking about. You are lacking the very basics, the 1 x 1 of immigration. Your headline talks about marriage to an illegal immigrant, but your post then shows that he's not an illegal immigrant. It's really quite pointless to talk about illegal immigrants if you don't know what that is. So let's get this out of the way first:

Out of Status vs. Illegal Immigrant

Somebody who came legally to the U.S. is NOT, I repeat NOT, an illegal immigrant. Such a person is "out of status." What's the difference?

1) Out of status

Somebody who entered the U.S. "with inspection" which means with a visa or as part of the VWP. Such a person applied for a visa at the U.S. consulate in their home country. They had an interview and needed to submit a police certificate. They were issued a visa and then they were inspected again before being "admitted" to the U.S., at which time they received an I-94 (Entry/Exit) form in their passport. The U.S. government knows everything about them; their name, their parents name, their birth day and birth place, their criminal history, work history, and even where they are staying in the U.S.

2) Illegal immigrant

Entered the U.S "without inspection" (EWI) by hopping a fence, swimming through the Rio Grande, or hiding in the trunk of a car. The U.S. government knows absolutely nothing about them. Not-a-thing. They could be mass murderers or serial child rapists, drug smugglers or worse.

The difference is easily illustrated by comparison:

You are having a party. You invited a guy to that party and when the party is over he's still staying. All you need to tell him is to leave, and if he does, you have no problem. That's the guy who overstayed.

But if you don't have a party, come home, and there's a guy who climbed into your house through the back window, and you have no clue if he's just a thief or worse, that's the illegal immigrant. Here you need to call the cops and they have every right to arrest him for a crime: breaking and entering.

Now to your question.

Since the gentleman is NOT an illegal immigrant, he is eligible for Adjustment of Status (which would be impossible if he were an illegal immigrant). They submit I-130, I-485, I-864, 2 x G-325a, and I-765 (optional) concurrently to the USCIS, accompanied by a medical and a check for $1,490. That's it.

If he leaves the U.S. before he got his Green Card, he won't be coming back for 10 years+.

Edited December 28, 2011 by Brother Hesekiel

[106206 15]

The only other thing that I would add to what has been said is to get a review of your package by a qualified attorney to ensure everything is setup right the 1st time around. Many will call it optional or a waste of money but for the 300-400 bucks they´ll spend I would give it a shot.