On my i-130 my lawyer selected EWI for my entry class but i entered the US at the age of 3 with a valid passport & visa. We got a decision that my application was approved but i am not eligible to adjust my status in the US meaning i would have to go to mexico but my two older siblings where able to adjust their status while staying in the US, we all entered the same day with visas & passports. Why was mine different? Is it because he put EWI on my application? He also didnt provide my passport # from the day we entered on the application. What can i do now to let USCIS that i did not enter the US illegally???? Any help is greatly appreciated!
I think my lawyer made a mistake on my application
- Thread starter Xoxok
- Start date
Why didn't you guys file I-130 and I-485 together? Anyway, if you believe you are eligible for Adjustment of Status, you can just file I-485 at any time. Who petitioned you? What is their status? How you entered the US and your passport number are not really important for the I-130, which is about the genuineness of the relationship; you can mention in your cover letter for I-485 that some of the information on the I-130 was incorrect.
SusieQQQ
Well-Known Member
who sponsored your siblings? what status are you on at present?
Their natural born citizen kids where the ones that petitioned for my siblings, what do you mean what status am i on? Last letter i received was the one that said my application was approved but was not eligible to adjust status in the US, and that my petition was being sent to NVC and to await a letter from them (nvc).
SusieQQQ
Well-Known Member
are you undocumented/in overstay then? Entered at age 3 and never left? If this is the case : that may explain why your siblings could adjust and you can’t. If their USC children petitioned for them, they would fall under immediate relative category and any overstay/being out of status would be forgiven. However your petitioner is a LPR not a USC, and overstay is not forgiven for the spouse of a LPR - so you cannot adjust status becasue you don’t have a legal status to ajdust from, and indeed you would have to leave the US and do consular processing. You would presumably face a ban on entry due to the overstay (depending how long it was as an adult) and a waiver would be needed for a visa if that is the case.
if I have misunderstood your status, please clarify?
if I have misunderstood your status, please clarify?
Correct i was 3 when we came here on a visa and just never left, my lawyer had said they my husband being a resident wouldnt make a difference thats why i was like huh? When i got the letter saying i wasnt elegible. He just told me i had nothing to worry about and all this jazz and when i told him about my siblings not having to leave to adjust status he was surprised and then he told me i was the first client he's had that came in legally. I want to maybe change lawyers but i've already payed him. Thats why i came here to get some advice.
SusieQQQ
Well-Known Member
See uscis policy manual https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-7-part-b-chapter-2 , scroll down to F, bars to adjustment of status, then you will see in the table that the following falls under aliens barred from adjusting status, at least two of which (maybe all if you have worked illegally) apply to you:
In Unlawful Immigration Status On The Date The Adjustment Application Is Filed
OR
Who Failed to Continuously Maintain Lawful Status Since Entry into United States
OR
Who Continues in, or accepts, Unauthorized Employment Prior to Filing for Adjustment
and you will see across from this on the table, that exceptions are VAWA applicants, immediate relatives (like your siblings were) and section 245k (which I doubt applies to you). If you want to stick with your lawyer because you paid him already, maybe you should ask him about this section. Maybe I missed something.
In Unlawful Immigration Status On The Date The Adjustment Application Is Filed
OR
Who Failed to Continuously Maintain Lawful Status Since Entry into United States
OR
Who Continues in, or accepts, Unauthorized Employment Prior to Filing for Adjustment
and you will see across from this on the table, that exceptions are VAWA applicants, immediate relatives (like your siblings were) and section 245k (which I doubt applies to you). If you want to stick with your lawyer because you paid him already, maybe you should ask him about this section. Maybe I missed something.
SusieQQQ is correct. If you are out of status, or have ever been out of status, you are ineligible for AOS unless you are in the Immediate Relative category (spouse, parent, or unmarried under-21 child of US citizen). There are some rare exceptions (like if you were the beneficiary of an immigrant petition field before 2001 you can do AOS with 245(i)).
Given that you are ineligible for AOS, you have two options: 1) Leave the US and do Consular Processing abroad, but this would trigger a ban if you have accrued 180 days of unlawful presence. You do not accrue unlawful presence when under 18 and while under DACA/TPS/certain pending applications/etc., so we need more details to determine whether you would trigger a ban if you left the US. If you would trigger a ban, it is possible to apply for a waiver if you can show your spouse would suffer "extreme hardship" if you can't be in the US. Or 2) Wait in the US until your spouse becomes a US citizen, and then file AOS. You would make sure not to leave the US, and would not need a waiver.
Given that you are ineligible for AOS, you have two options: 1) Leave the US and do Consular Processing abroad, but this would trigger a ban if you have accrued 180 days of unlawful presence. You do not accrue unlawful presence when under 18 and while under DACA/TPS/certain pending applications/etc., so we need more details to determine whether you would trigger a ban if you left the US. If you would trigger a ban, it is possible to apply for a waiver if you can show your spouse would suffer "extreme hardship" if you can't be in the US. Or 2) Wait in the US until your spouse becomes a US citizen, and then file AOS. You would make sure not to leave the US, and would not need a waiver.