Livin in US 14 years, no green card. Stepdad citizen ....

eltoro said:
The OP knows nothing of his country of origin, he has been brought up as an American and now, at 17 he discovers he's in the country illegally. Sure, he's an alien, he's deportable, he is breaking the law but cut him some slack.

He's 17, at 17 you think about parties and (maybe) school. He exhibited more maturity than his mother who married a citizen a couple of years ago and never adjusted their status. He is just discovering how complicated (and expensive!) the immigration law is. He does not understand yet how big of a chance he was given, to adjust his status and obtain a permanent resident card and ultimately a citizenship.

To 1Dt88: yes, you are breaking the law but you have been given a chance to stop doing it while you're still here in the country. Sure, USCIS makes you pay through the nose but would you like to pay a full college tuition or, worse, get deported to your country of origin? Treat these $3,000 as an investment in your future. Borrow it if necessary but do not waste this chance.
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Yeah I was a little surprised about the fees at first but after a while, I started thinking about it as an investment. I would get back the money eventually anyway, through food stamps and other government aid.

I don't think I'm still in this country illegally due to the marriage between my mom and stepdad. We spoke to several immigration lawyers and we have no reason to be deported anymore.

Anyway, this is getting off topic. I just have one question. Under the "Who May Not File This Form I-130?" it says
"1. An adoptive parent or adopted child, if the adoption took place after the child's 16th birthday, or if the child has not been in the legal custody and living with the parent(s) for at least two years."
This means my stepfather can't file an I-130 form for me because he has not yet legally adopted me yet or did he adopt me when he married my mother? I'm not sure how the whole adoption thing works, does it count as adoption when he marries my mother or does he have to file formal paper work or ... ?
 
1Dt88 said:
I don't think I'm still in this country illegally due to the marriage between my mom and stepdad. We spoke to several immigration lawyers and we have no reason to be deported anymore.
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The marriage alone does not make you here legally. Once the I-485 is filed, you will then be legal. Not until then.
 
1Dt88 said:
Yeah I was a little surprised about the fees at first but after a while, I started thinking about it as an investment. I would get back the money eventually anyway, through food stamps and other government aid.
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No. When sponsored for a green card, the sponsor (your stepfather) is responsible for ensuring that you don't get that sort of government aid. That's why they require proof of his income before approving your green card, and the government can demand reimbursement if you do take such aid (financial aid for college doesn't count though). You should think of getting back the money eventually by working, not from government aid.
I don't think I'm still in this country illegally due to the marriage between my mom and stepdad. We spoke to several immigration lawyers and we have no reason to be deported anymore.
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Until you file the necessary immigration papers, you are still here illegally and can be deported. The marriage by itself doesn't give you or your mother any legal immigration status.
"1. An adoptive parent or adopted child, if the adoption took place after the child's 16th birthday, or if the child has not been in the legal custody and living with the parent(s) for at least two years."
This means my stepfather can't file an I-130 form for me because he has not yet legally adopted me yet or did he adopt me when he married my mother?
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Don't worry about that, your stepfather can file for you even without a formal adoption. The adoption scenario they are referring to is one where the child is neither the biological child nor stepchild.
 
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He doesn't work, he's 63 or something and is considered disabled from "mass depression" He gets social security money and food stamps and things like that. The government even paid off our rent and electric/gas bill. All of it summed up to around $14k.

I just really wanna know about the adoption issue. Can my step dad file an I-130 form for me or no because there was no legal adoption aside from the marriage.
 
1Dt88 said:
He doesn't work, he's 63 or something and is considered disabled from "mass depression" He gets social security money and food stamps and things like that. The government even paid off our rent and electric/gas bill. All of it summed up to around $14k.
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That's a problem. There are income requirements for sponsoring a relative for a green card, and $14K is not enough. Does he or your mother have significant assets? Assets can be used to reduce the income requirement.
I just really wanna know about the adoption issue. Can my step dad file an I-130 form for me or no because there was no legal adoption aside from the marriage.
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Adoption is not necessary. Once he became your stepfather by marrying your mother before you turned 18, you would qualify as his "child" for the purpose of obtaining a green card, even if there was no official adoption.
 
Jackolantern said:
That's a problem. There are income requirements for sponsoring a relative for a green card, and $14K is not enough. Does he or your mother have significant assets? Assets can be used to reduce the income requirement.

Adoption is not necessary. Once he became your stepfather by marrying your mother before you turned 18, you would qualify as his "child" for the purpose of obtaining a green card, even if there was no official adoption.
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Eh... well he makes around $2000 a month but my mom has a lawsuit pending with a bank that should settle in 3 months or so, for half a million. I don't know if that would count
 
1Dt88 said:
Eh... well he makes around $2000 a month but my mom has a lawsuit pending with a bank that should settle in 3 months or so, for half a million. I don't know if that would count
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If that is settled for more than $138K after taxes, that should be enough for the (lack of) income to be ignored when sponsoring you and your mother and brother.
 
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I don't think I'm going to wait +3-5 months for the lawsuit to go through before I fill out the I-130 forms. Does he have to sponsor me and my mother for us to get green cards?

By the way, my brother was born here and already has everything he needs.
 
If your brother was born here, he is a citizen. I think waiting for your settlement is probably not wise. Now the income requirements are legitimate-I don't have any idea on how much, but at least find out where you stand.

I am assuming you are from New York. If you can't afford an attorney, here is a list of attorneys who do pro bono work in New York.
http://www.usdoj.gov/eoir/probono/freelglchtNY.htm

The above list is from the justice dept. Different states have their own list. They do primarily deal with removal-but some may offer other services.As a start contact them -they can give you an idea of where you stand.

PS: Unless your mother files for a greencard-she doen't have one just because she is married to a citizen.
 
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From Wikipedia:

"In Internet slang, a troll is someone who posts controversial, inflammatory, irrelevant, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum or chat room, with the primary intent of provoking other users into an emotional response[1] or to generally disrupt normal on-topic discussion.[2]"

Basically, all your talk about getting your money back through food stamps, the complains about the hight cost, the allegedly half million lawsuit are just baits to get people to post emotional responses and waste their time. That's of course my personal opinion. I think you already got your answer long time back, get your step father to apply for I-130 and I-485. Talk to a good lawyer or go to that Immigration center you mentioned earlier that I don't quite know what it is. Spend some time looking at www.uscis.gov to research on I-130 and I-485 and post some of your questions in the family immigration forum which is more appropriate for your questions.
 
1Dt88 said:
I don't think I'm going to wait +3-5 months for the lawsuit to go through before I fill out the I-130 forms.
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Then your mother and stepfather have to find enough other income or assets to meet the requirements, including finding a co-sponsor.
 
The OP's situation is quite complicated and it seems clear that he needs to consult an immigration lawyer before proceeding.

For one thing, it is really unclear to me what if any the OP's current visa status in the U.S. is. It is quite possible that the OP currently has no legal status which might affect his eligibility for I-485 and adjustment of status to that of an LPR.
The OP is mistaken in thinking that the mere fact that his mother is married to a USC has given him legal status in the U.S.

Having said that, it appears that:

The OP's step-dad can file an I-130 for the OP right away, without going through adoption. For I-130 purposes the OP is already considered his step-dad's child since the marriage of his mother and the step-dad took place before the OP's 18'th birthday.

However, the step-dad would have to attach I-864, affidavit of support, to such an application, and prove that he satisfies certain income requirements. It appears that there may be a problem with this in the OP's case.
One way to solve such a problem is through a financial co-sponsor for I-864 (maybe OP's mother?).

Another way to solve this problem is to waive I-864 through adoption prior to I-130 filing. The USCIS instructions specify that filing of I-864 is waived if the beneficiary (the OP) will automatically acquire U.S. citizenship upon approval of his green card application. That seems to be the case here if the OP is adopted by his step-dad prior to filing I-130 and if the OP's green card application is approved before his 18th birthday.


I am not entirely sure about all of this, plus presumably the OP's current legal status or lack thereof need to be taken into account.
 
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Huracan said:
From Wikipedia:

"In Internet slang, a troll is someone who posts controversial, inflammatory, irrelevant, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum or chat room, with the primary intent of provoking other users into an emotional response[1] or to generally disrupt normal on-topic discussion.[2]"

Basically, all your talk about getting your money back through food stamps, the complains about the hight cost, the allegedly half million lawsuit are just baits to get people to post emotional responses and waste their time. That's of course my personal opinion. I think you already got your answer long time back, get your step father to apply for I-130 and I-485. Talk to a good lawyer or go to that Immigration center you mentioned earlier that I don't quite know what it is. Spend some time looking at www.uscis.gov to research on I-130 and I-485 and post some of your questions in the family immigration forum which is more appropriate for your questions.
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I agree.
 
1Dt88 said:
I don't think I'm going to wait +3-5 months for the lawsuit to go through before I fill out the I-130 forms. Does he have to sponsor me and my mother for us to get green cards?
By the way, my brother was born here and already has everything he needs.
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Does he have to sponsor me and my mother for us to get green cards? ???:D
 
baikal3 said:
The USCIS instructions specify that filing of I-864 is waived if the beneficiary (the OP) will automatically acquire U.S. citizenship upon approval of his green card application. That seems to be the case here if the OP is adopted by his step-dad prior to filing I-130 and if the OP's green card application is approved before his 18th birthday.
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No, because for automatic citizenship to take effect, the adoption would have to be completed before the 16th birthday, and the OP is already 17.
 
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