Is my father eligible to apply?

[darkside4391]

He got married on Aug 1999 and recieved his permant residence card on Aug 2004. The final divorce papers were received on July of 2005. She is a natural born citizen. He currently still lives with her due to having 3 kids. Is he eligible?

 

[Jackolantern]

Assuming he hasn't traveled extensively or done anything else to disqualify himself, he became eligible to apply in 2009 and is still eligible.

 

[darkside4391]

Assuming he hasn't traveled extensively or done anything else to disqualify himself, he became eligible to apply in 2009 and is still eligible.

thanks jackolantern! idk if you remember my other thread about me being 19 and illegal but would it be faster if i get married? my gf of 2 years is thinking about it. is it worth filing another i130 again? what would be faster, my dad getting his citizenship and filing for a i485 or my gf marrying me?

 

[Jackolantern]

If your girlfriend is already a citizen, it might be a few months faster if she filed for you because you would be able to file I-130 and I-485 together right away after being married, whereas with your father you have to wait a few months for him to become a citizen before you can file the I-485.

However, marriage-based cases involve much more scrutiny and documentation, so the marriage-based route could actually take longer if they decide to investigate your case more deeply and demand extra documents or schedule a second interview. And once approved, initially you would only get a 2-year conditional card, and then about 2 years later you have to apply to extend to a 10-year unconditional card. If you get divorced before the 10-year card is approved, they may deny your 10 year card and deport you.

Whereas if you file I-485 based on your father's petition, upon approval of the I-485 you would directly get a 10-year card. And there might not even be an interview. If there is an interview it will be a simple one, nothing like the invasive marriage-based interviews where they ask all sorts of questions about your private life. But if you were born out of wedlock, it can be a bit difficult to provide documentation of the paternal relationship; you may have to provide a DNA test and/or evidence that your father was supporting you growing up (either by child support payments or you living with him), in addition to the birth certificate.

 

[BigJoe5]

Going through your father is also of concern because of your age. You could age-out of Immediate Relative classification and then as a preference category applicant could not file for adjustemnt of status.

In either even IR spouse or IR child, you would have to have originally entered on a valid visa or qualifying parole status.

 

[Jackolantern]

Going through your father is also of concern because of your age. You could age-out of Immediate Relative classification and then as a preference category applicant could not file for adjustemnt of status.

The i-130 filed by his father is already approved, and he is 19 and the CSPA will freeze his age if his father naturalizes before 21, so aging out is not likely if his father applies for naturalization soon.

Too bad his father and USC stepmom didn't have a better understanding of immigration law, since he could have gotten a GC at the same time as his father if they knew what they were doing back then.

 

[darkside4391]

If your girlfriend is already a citizen, it might be a few months faster if she filed for you because you would be able to file I-130 and I-485 together right away after being married, whereas with your father you have to wait a few months for him to become a citizen before you can file the I-485.

However, marriage-based cases involve much more scrutiny and documentation, so the marriage-based route could actually take longer if they decide to investigate your case more deeply and demand extra documents or schedule a second interview. And once approved, initially you would only get a 2-year conditional card, and then about 2 years later you have to apply to extend to a 10-year unconditional card. If you get divorced before the 10-year card is approved, they may deny your 10 year card and deport you.

Whereas if you file I-485 based on your father's petition, upon approval of the I-485 you would directly get a 10-year card. And there might not even be an interview. If there is an interview it will be a simple one, nothing like the invasive marriage-based interviews where they ask all sorts of questions about your private life. But if you were born out of wedlock, it can be a bit difficult to provide documentation of the paternal relationship; you may have to provide a DNA test and/or evidence that your father was supporting you growing up (either by child support payments or you living with him), in addition to the birth certificate.

thanks jack!

i have one more question. my father was arrested in 2005. he got bailed out. it was a misdemeanor. would he still qualify for citizenship? if so would there be a high rate that his application would be denied? it would take 3 months to sponge his case so that would add more time. should i wait for the approval to dismiss his arrest or file for citizenship? i know he should of sponged his case before but i didnt even find out he got arrested until we started to apply for his citizenship.

 

[baikal3]

thanks jack!

i have one more question. my father was arrested in 2005. he got bailed out. it was a misdemeanor. would he still qualify for citizenship? if so would there be a high rate that his application would be denied? it would take 3 months to sponge his case so that would add more time. should i wait for the approval to dismiss his arrest or file for citizenship? i know he should of sponged his case before but i didnt even find out he got arrested until we started to apply for his citizenship.

It depends on what exactly happened after he "got bailed out". Where there any charges filed in court? If yes, what was the outcome? Was your father convicted of any offense, and if yes, which one exactly? Did he accept any kind of a plea deal, and if yes, on which conditions? When exactly did the conviction or a plea deal occur? These details matter in figuring out what the consequences of that arrest are for your father's naturalization eligibility. Most likely this incident should not prevent him from being naturalized now (particularly since, as you say, the incident occurred in 2005, more than 5 years ago and thus outside of the 5 year statutory period). However, depending on the particulars, the incident may in fact affect the issue of good moral character for his N-400 applications.

 

[Jackolantern]

thanks jack!

i have one more question. my father was arrested in 2005. he got bailed out. it was a misdemeanor. would he still qualify for citizenship? if so would there be a high rate that his application would be denied? it would take 3 months to sponge his case so that would add more time. should i wait for the approval to dismiss his arrest or file for citizenship? i know he should of sponged his case before but i didnt even find out he got arrested until we started to apply for his citizenship.

It's "expunged", not "sponged". Expungement doesn't make a difference under immigration law; they see the expunged cases anyway and can deny or deport based on them. But dismissal can make a difference.

He should get the court paperwork and get a one-time consultation with an immigration lawyer who can look at the specifics of the case to determine the effect on his eligibility for citizenship. We're not likely to be able to make a correct determination from your third-hand reporting of the incident.