Unique situation..illegal alien for 20 years

[cutie bear 2]

Looks like your friend is better off making back with her husband and get the green card or find another USC that would be willing to marry her and file for the petition. I am sure in every marriage things can go bad, but considering her situation may be she should make her current marriage work for few more years and get the card. I like the way Brother Hesikel explained it very clearly.

She tried fixing but it's really difficult. They still live together but they sleep in separate bedroom. Very hard to explain.

[cutie bear 2]

The good news is that she is NOT an illegal alien. So let's this get out of the way first. Let me tell you what the difference between an illegal immigrant and somebody who is out of status is.

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."

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 explained 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.

The bad news is that she can only adjust status if she gets married to a U.S. citizen, again. In all other cases, she would have to leave the U.S. at which time she would trigger the 10-year bar for unlawful presence over 1 year.

Thanks for this very detailed explanation I really appreciate this. She's read all your comments and will think about everything. She did try to talk to some lawyers but they just took her money and never really helped her.

So for the other person who said she didn't bother to check, there are other ways of checking than reading the forum. Let' s try to be sensitive and considerate.

[jdh 103]

I too don't see much resolution for her situation.

One part of me feels bad for her but the other side is filled with so many questions...

Like how did she stay here twenty years without filing some kind of paperwork? How did her mother get a green card and she didn't even try then? How is she paying taxes and a mortgage when she isn't even a legal resident of the country? How does that happen..

It is that side of me that kind of understands the stance USCIS would take with her - which appears to be a ban from the country. I am sorry for your friend but there is a reason there are immigration laws...

[Leatherneck 693]

Thanks for this very detailed explanation I really appreciate this. She's read all your comments and will think about everything. She did try to talk to some lawyers but they just took her money and never really helped her.

So for the other person who said she didn't bother to check, there are other ways of checking than reading the forum. Let' s try to be sensitive and considerate.

Tell your friend to save her money with regards to lawyers -- there is nothing they can do to help her that she needs to compensate them for. The way to solve a visa-overstay/out-of-status issue is pretty straight forward.

[newlyweds2010 208]

Those that EWI are aliens, yet the pc term is illegal immigrant.

Actually the INA defines all non-US Citizens as "aliens". Even green card holders are aliens. The pc term, although not in the law, would be "foreign nationals". Then there are undocumented foreign nationals. Those would be illegal immigrants.

[Leatherneck 693]

Actually the INA defines all non-US Citizens as "aliens". Even green card holders are aliens. The pc term, although not in the law, would be "foreign nationals". Then there are undocumented foreign nationals. Those would be illegal immigrants.

Or illegal aliens.

Foreign nationals would be a very "pc" term for the already "pc" term illegal immigrants.

[Robert&Karen 264]

Yes she's been paying her mortgage, car, and taxes diligently.

And Al Capone loved his mother. She is breaking the law and does not care about it nor have any respect for American laws. It is really rotten how she broke rules for decades, yet now she wants to find rules to help her. Quite the double standard. This forum is not about helping criminals get away with law breaking.

[Mike B. 231]

And Al Capone loved his mother. She is breaking the law and does not care about it nor have any respect for American laws. It is really rotten how she broke rules for decades, yet now she wants to find rules to help her. Quite the double standard. This forum is not about helping criminals get away with law breaking.

Being out of status is not a crime.

[GVMack 9]

Awe poor Ate,

I guess she doesn't have much of a choice.

Relationships can be so trying, and you never really, really know someone.

You can't try to make it work if the other person isn't ready and willing.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Yes she's been paying her mortgage, car, and taxes diligently.

Mortgage and car are irrelevant. How is she paying taxes? How did she get a Social Security number? People who enter with a B2 visitors visa aren't eligible for a Social Security number. Didn't her employer ask for proof that she was authorized to work in the US?

These are relevant questions. If she's illegally using someone elses Social Security number then she can be charged with identity theft. After she gets out of jail she'll be deported. If she lied and said she was a US citizen, either to get a job or to get a Social Security number, then she will never EVER be able to get a green card. It's one of the few immigration related violations that carries a lifetime ban with no possibility of a waiver.

Anyway, the others are correct. The only people who can adjust status in spite of being out of status and having worked without authorization are immediate relatives of a US citizen - spouse, unmarried minor children, and parents. Everyone else is in a family preference category, and family preference categories must have current lawful non-immigrant status and not have worked without authorization in order to be eligible to adjust status.

Re. Illegal Immigrant: The actual definition of "immigrant" in INA 101 is long and convoluted, but it basically boils down to any alien present in the United States who is not present in accordance with the terms of some non-immigrant class. This would include permanent residents, EWI's, and overstays. Adding "illegal" would preclude permanent residents, leaving EWI's and overstays.

So, "illegal immigrant" applies equally to both EWI's and overstays, and it's not really a PC term. It's technically accurate. A PC variant would be "undocumented immigrant", which is intellectually dishonest because it implies that the only thing out of order is that the immigrant is lacking some piece of paper, and intentionally attempts to hide the fact that they are an immigrant in willful violation of the law.

[newlyweds2010 208]

Or illegal aliens.

Foreign nationals would be a very "pc" term for the already "pc" term illegal immigrants.

The terms "foreign nationals" simply identifies people who are not US citizens, regardless of their immigration status. I'm a foreign national, or an immigrant, or an alien. Personally I don't feel offended by any of these terms.

[cutie bear 2]

Mortgage and car are irrelevant. How is she paying taxes? How did she get a Social Security number? People who enter with a B2 visitors visa aren't eligible for a Social Security number. Didn't her employer ask for proof that she was authorized to work in the US?

These are relevant questions. If she's illegally using someone elses Social Security number then she can be charged with identity theft. After she gets out of jail she'll be deported. If she lied and said she was a US citizen, either to get a job or to get a Social Security number, then she will never EVER be able to get a green card. It's one of the few immigration related violations that carries a lifetime ban with no possibility of a waiver.

Anyway, the others are correct. The only people who can adjust status in spite of being out of status and having worked without authorization are immediate relatives of a US citizen - spouse, unmarried minor children, and parents. Everyone else is in a family preference category, and family preference categories must have current lawful non-immigrant status and not have worked without authorization in order to be eligible to adjust status.

Re. Illegal Immigrant: The actual definition of "immigrant" in INA 101 is long and convoluted, but it basically boils down to any alien present in the United States who is not present in accordance with the terms of some non-immigrant class. This would include permanent residents, EWI's, and overstays. Adding "illegal" would preclude permanent residents, leaving EWI's and overstays.

So, "illegal immigrant" applies equally to both EWI's and overstays, and it's not really a PC term. It's technically accurate. A PC variant would be "undocumented immigrant", which is intellectually dishonest because it implies that the only thing out of order is that the immigrant is lacking some piece of paper, and intentionally attempts to hide the fact that they are an immigrant in willful violation of the law.

I think she came in B visa and then she got a work permit before and thats how she ended up having a social security and i remember that it was expired already because the company closed down or transferred off shore so she has no work permit anymore, thats how she became illegal. i think she's now considering going back home after reading all the posts in the forum. if she was "verbally abused" in a relationship is there a ground or basis to revoke the citizenship of her husband? that's her last question. she's got proof as she recorded some of their heavy arguements.

[LIFE'SJOURNEY 970]

I think she came in B visa and then she got a work permit before and thats how she ended up having a social security and i remember that it was expired already because the company closed down or transferred off shore so she has no work permit anymore, thats how she became illegal. i think she's now considering going back home after reading all the posts in the forum.

if she was "verbally abused" in a relationship is there a ground or basis to revoke the citizenship of her husband? that's her last question. she's got proof as she recorded some of their heavy arguements.

You are clutching at straws now,in an heated arguement everyone says things they may regret.

[jdh 103]

Yeah that is quite stretching is and actually just looks like lashing out - "If I can't stay, why should he?". Verbal abuse is very hard to prove and frankly I can't see how it would impact the UsCiS anyway. He is a citizen...period. He has all the rights of every other citizen.

She on the other hand has been breaking the law for a looooong time.

Somebody said, "it isn't breaking the law to be out of status"...that may be so, but it is breaking the law to be working - taking a good paying job from an American - when you are out of status.

I am glad to see she is considering making the right decision.

[Mike B. 231]

Yeah that is quite stretching is and actually just looks like lashing out - "If I can't stay, why should he?". Verbal abuse is very hard to prove and frankly I can't see how it would impact the UsCiS anyway. He is a citizen...period. He has all the rights of every other citizen.

She on the other hand has been breaking the law for a looooong time.

Somebody said, "it isn't breaking the law to be out of status"...that may be so, but it is breaking the law to be working - taking a good paying job from an American - when you are out of status.

I am glad to see she is considering making the right decision.

I said it's not a crime to be out of status, which is true. Of course there are laws against being out of status, but they aren't criminal laws. You cannot, for example, be sentenced to prison merely for being here illegally. Of course there are criminal laws against identity theft, fraud, etc., but that's different than being out of status. Oddly, in some countries, such as Mexico, being out of status is a crime, so rather than deport people who are out of status they sentence them to long prison terms, which seems like a pretty backwards way of doing things to me (We don't want you in this country to work! So now you have to spend decades in this country being housed and fed by us as punishment!)

Also, I am not a Marxist, so I do not believe that there is a fixed amount of wealth and jobs in the world and we each have to clamor of a piece of the pie. I believe that there is a dynamic amount of wealth in the world and the pie gets bigger with each productive person we add to the country. I also believe that the Marxist view has been thoroughly discredited, and both political parties in this country would do well to abandon it. But that's an argument for a different thread.