Father Pending on Legal Status

E

Erikku

New Member
Hi,

I am a citizen and I petitioned my father for citizenship. He has been pending on his legal status and
I was wondering if it is still necessary to leave the U.S. in order to complete the process.
 
First of all, you petitioned him for permanent residency; citizenship is way down the road and not relevant now.

Not sure what you mean by "pending on his legal status". Can you explain what his situation is? Did he enter the US legally? What have you and he filed?
 
Hi, thanks for the quick response.
He entered the U.S. illegally.
It is currently pending because he needs to go to Juarez city to be pardoned.
He would like to know if it is still necessary to go there or if there is a way in the u.s. to get pardoned.
We have heard stories of people saying there is no need to leave the country.
 
He entered the US illegally, so he can't do Adjustment of Status in the US. (An exception is if he was petitioned by anyone before 2001; in that case he can do Adjustment of Status in the US. Another exception is if there is any immediate member of his family who is an active member of the US military; there is a possible way to do it in that case.) That's why they say he has to leave the country.

If he stayed more than 180 days and then leave the US, he has a 3-year ban; if he stayed more than 1 year and then leaves the US, he has a 10-year ban. If he wants to return before the ban runs out, he needs a waiver. That's probably the "pardon" you're talking about. However, an immigrant visa pardon for this ban can only be based on hardship to his spouse or his parent who is a US citizen or permanent resident. It's not clear from your description who would be the qualifying relative for his waiver.
 
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