i need advice

D

diaz90

New Member
hello, I am new to the forum so please excuse my inexperience.
I have been with my girlfriend for 8 years, and we just got married. I met her in elementary school so we have a long history. She arrived her "illegally" when she was 7 years old. Her parents brought her over the border. I have been consulting with a couple lawyers and got mixed advice on what to do to obtain her residency. One thing that these lawyers both said was that in order for the process of residency to be completed, she would have to serve a "penalty" and leave the country for 1 year. Now is there any way around this penalty? How will it be proven that she ACTUALLY left the country? technically she doesn't exist here in the U.S. I know there has to be another way without her having to leave the country. any ideas or thoughts?
 
She cannot apply for permanent residency if she entered the country illegally.

She can apply for voluntary deportation and hope for only a one year ban, but she may be given 3 to 10 years.

There are certain provisions in the law, however, that allow some people to adjust their status even if they entered the US illegally.
The fact that she was so young and had no choice may work to her advantage and she may be able to pay a penalty fine of $1000 and then apply for permanent residency.

How old is she now?
 
There are certain provisions in the law, however, that allow some people to adjust their status even if they entered the US illegally.
The fact that she was so young and had no choice may work to her advantage and she may be able to pay a penalty fine of $1000 and then apply for permanent residency.
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not her case.
 
She is probably looking at 10 years, not 1. Is she grandfathered by any 245i based I-130? Ask your lawyer to look into that if it applies to her.

diaz90 said:
One thing that these lawyers both said was that in order for the process of residency to be completed, she would have to serve a "penalty" and leave the country for 1 year.
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kittenKat said:
Yes, I know, but lots of people get it approved. I think it's the only way from what I know (at least at the moment).
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I don't think the i-601 waiver does actually waive the 3-10 year bar/ban. It waives the "inadmissibility".

Also, these waivers are not so easy to obtain.
 
PraetorianXI said:
Also, these waivers are not so easy to obtain.
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Yeah, I agree with that for sure. But some lawyers are really good at that. I go to the different forum as well (and ironically most people there as it seems to me are from Mexico) and there are PLENTY of illegal spouses. Sounds like they do it as piece of cake. May be it's just like it sounds. :)
 
Well she jet turned 18 in January and our chances
Of getting a waiver is slim because were newly weds. I will have to look in to it a lot more. I live in vegas so it's hard to find a decent lawyer who knows what they're doing or that actually cares about the case. Thanks guys
 
diaz90 said:
Well she jet turned 18 in January and our chances
Of getting a waiver is slim because were newly weds. I will have to look in to it a lot more. I live in vegas so it's hard to find a decent lawyer who knows what they're doing or that actually cares about the case. Thanks guys
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When was her birthday? If she leaves less than 180 days after her birthday she won't be subject to the re-entry bars.
 
Well it was January 30. so she has until July 30th 2009 to leave the states. (180 days after her birthday). We have talked about this deeply and she nor I want her to leave. I guess we might have to find an alternative. She did complete high school in Las Vegas, that can help in her application. Also I have heard a lot of talk of an immigration reform this year. We will keep our options open and see what will benefit us the most. Our case is not a usual case, I was given a good tip by a lawyer, he said "You have to make the USIC feel sorry for you" For example, I can say that she is the only famly I have here, I am currently attending college classes, We live together, I am the head of household, and that I recieved a pell grant. These are just some of the things that we could use to our advantage. We have known eachother for over HALF of our lives, this makes me more confident that her application can get approved.

btw, do any of you think that ME joining the armed forces will better our chances of her acceptance?
 
diaz90 said:
Well it was January 30. so she has until July 30th 2009 to leave the states. (180 days after her birthday). We have talked about this deeply and she nor I want her to leave. I guess we might have to find an alternative. She did complete high school in Las Vegas, that can help in her application. Also I have heard a lot of talk of an immigration reform this year. We will keep our options open and see what will benefit us the most. Our case is not a usual case, I was given a good tip by a lawyer, he said "You have to make the USIC feel sorry for you" For example, I can say that she is the only famly I have here, I am currently attending college classes, We live together, I am the head of household, and that I recieved a pell grant. These are just some of the things that we could use to our advantage. We have known eachother for over HALF of our lives, this makes me more confident that her application can get approved.

btw, do any of you think that ME joining the armed forces will better our chances of her acceptance?
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None of that stuff is going to help you. Your wife needs to leave the country before the 180 days (JULY 30TH). If you start consular processing right now she will probably be back by christmas legally this time. USCIS will not feel sorry for you because there are a lot more sad cases out there than yours and they still get denied. You need to look at this objectively because it is only going to be a brief separation to get legal. If she does not leave before 180 days then she can not return for 3 years if she ever leaves and if she gets caught and deported then it might be 5/10 years before she can return if ever. The only way around EWI is i-601,WOR, asylum, private bill or COR which are very hard to get generally.

Immigration reform is a pipe dream that has been talked about since the 1990's but since the 245(i) extension nothing has ever happened, It may or may not happened this year, DO NOT count on it.

Joining the forces may help her only if you are killed in action.

But like I said earlier if she leaves before the 180 days are over and you file for her right away she will be able to come back legally in about 6 months.
 
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diaz90 said:
She did complete high school in Las Vegas, that can help in her application.
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No it can't. Here's her problem, the INA (the law) will not permit USCIS to adjust her status within the USCIS, because she was not legally inspected and cannot prove this. It doesn't matter if she finished high school here, you know each other for years, you're a good student, people like you, USCIS feels sorry for you, etc.

Immigration reform was talked about in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and now 2009. Still hasn't happened. See a pattern yet?

You have an option that involves short-term pain for a long-term gain (Consular Processing). The sign of being a mature grownup is recognizing such situations and using them for a longer term goal.

btw, do any of you think that ME joining the armed forces will better our chances of her acceptance?
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Like AzBlk said, she may have a chance if you get killed. Still want to do it? ;)
 
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