Green Card revoked 6 years ago...now would like to come back to the states with family

[JayJayH 546]

HI All,

I have a situation with a family member.

Long story short: A while back in 2006 my sister decided to go back to our country (Yugoslavia) to continue and finish her studies. My sister was a green card holder before she left the states for her studies abroad. This was going to be a trip of no longer than one year, but she ended up meeting a guy while finishing her studies and she decided to overstay the one year period allowed for green card holder. She decided to come back after two years(2009) her green card was revoked at the airport. She stayed here for two months and than she flew back to be with her husband.

She married in 2011 in Yugoslavia and have been leaving there along with their little daughter. Back in 2013 my parents applied for a Visit Visa for her and her husband and their daughter and their visa was approved. They came and visited for few months and went back after that.

Now things are little worst in former yugoslavia and they have decided that it's best for their kids future to take the path and come back here and start a new life.

Family situation: Parents and I are US citizen and own houses and can fully support them.

Sister: Has changed her last name to her husband and has a daughter who was born in Yugoslavia in 2013.

Questions:

What is the best way for her to come back to the States soon as possible and reapply for the green card? Her visit visa doesn't expire until late next year (2016), is it ok if she travels back to the states with her daughter using the visit visa and over stay and start her green card process again? What are the consequences of her daughter overstaying the visit visa? Can she do the same with her husband?

Thank you very much for your time. Your answers are appreciate it .

-Vlorent

Your parents can petition for her under F-3 category - married son/daughter of U.S. citizen.

You can petition for her under F-4 category - brother/sister of U.S. citizen.

There is no ASAP alternative for her family immigration wise, as F-3 and F-4 category take upwards of 12 - 13 years.

What are the consequences of coming in and overstaying? Well, first of all her, her husband and her daughter will be unlawfully present in the United States. After 180 days of unlawful presence, they will incur a 3 year bar from re entry. After 365 days of unlawful presence they will incur a bar of 10 years. Her daughter will begin accumulating unlawful presence once she turns 18.

The re entry bar is triggered once they leave the U.S., meaning they cannot apply for a new visa to the U.S. until the bar is up. They will not be able to adjust status in the U.S. if they've overstayed. Only "immediate relatives" can adjust status in the U.S. following overstay. Immediate relative is defined by USCIS as either 1. Spouse, 2. Unmarried child, 3. Parent. Other types of non-“Immediate relative” family based immigration applicants or employment based applicants who are visa overstays may be able to adjust their status in the U.S. but only if they were included in some sort of family or employment based immigration filing submitted prior to April 30, 2001, or January 14, 1998 – Section 245(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act

Essentially, your sister and her family will be in the U.S. illegally with little to no means of becoming legal. That means no legal work, and their daughter will be at a severe disadvantage growing up, potentially her entire life - And subject to deportation at any time. If/when they are caught, they will be placed in removal proceedings, and upon being removed will trigger a 10 year bar from re-entry.

There are options besides family immigration that may be faster, depending on her or her husband's situation. Do either of them have a University degree? They can also enter the Diversity Visa program - commonly referred to as the "Green Card lottery." It's free to enter, and they can enter once a year. If she "wins" she can bring her husband and daughter. If he wins, he can bring her and their daughter.

Edited December 20, 2015 by JayJayH

[EmilyW 1,226]

Just to correct the above point, you don't need a university degree to enter the Diversity Lottery. The equivalent of a high school diploma is sufficient.