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Lottery GC while in the US while out of status

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boboclan

Registered Users (C)
I don't know if this has been asked before because i searched and i did not find it.
Anyway, if a person wins the GC lottery when in the US with expired documents or when out of status e.g f1/student status, do they stand a chance of being given the green card while still in the US or one has to go back to home country first?
 
Not advisable. You might not be able to adjust status and might have to go before a judge to stay here.
 
boboclan said:
I don't know if this has been asked before because i searched and i did not find it.
Anyway, if a person wins the GC lottery when in the US with expired documents or when out of status e.g f1/student status, do they stand a chance of being given the green card while still in the US or one has to go back to home country first?
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check with a lawyer if you want to apply AOS in your status. It is not recommended to do it by yourself. You will get denied. CP is an option, but decide after checking with a lawyer. Also, make sure you have all the paperwork from US before doing CP ex: FBI report and stuff you can get from here. You don't want to get stuck outside US without the proper paperwork for your interview. You would need to get I-134 too before you leave or it will be a hassle later on.
 
boboclan said:
I don't know if this has been asked before because i searched and i did not find it.
Anyway, if a person wins the GC lottery when in the US with expired documents or when out of status e.g f1/student status, do they stand a chance of being given the green card while still in the US or one has to go back to home country first?
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Better said...Illegal alien!

I'm not sure what kind of defense you will come up to explain why you overstayed your visa, but if you overstayed shorter than 6 months you might have a slight chance, if you overstayed longer you can be banned to enter the US for 10 years....that is the risk you took when you over stayed.

You better hire a lawyer, since it can become complicated and you have a deadline of either Sept. 30th or the 50,000 visa deadline whatever comes first...
 
No worries

Hi Boboclan,

I was in a similar situation as you and just got my greencard a couple of weeks ago through DV2010.

I was in the US for almost 8 years on a J1/H1B and was out of status when I received my 1st NL in June. Besides my company immigration lawyer, I consulted 2 additional immigration lawyers to inform me on appropriate steps for my situation.

They told me there is a big difference between out of status and unlawful presence. If you overstayed your visa for less then 180 days, you are considered out of status. If you overstayed over 180 days you are considered unlawfully present.
Being out of status is usually not penalized depending on your case, but being unlawfully present is almost a guarantee for a 10 year ban and will prevent you any access to the US during that period and you will be disqualified for the DV lottery.

As various people said before, I would you suggest to leave the US and opt for consular processing. I can almost guarantee you that AOS will not be possible as you are currently out of status and therefor your status cannot be adjusted.

I have left the US with 4.5 months of being out of status, filled out all paperwork truthfully and had no further questions regarding any of this during my interview and as I mentioned before, successfully obtained my green card.

In short:
don't worry too much as being out of status does not necessarily have to lead to ineligibility for the green card. Just make sure you don't overstay for more than 180 days and consult a good immigration lawyer if you feel it will help your case!

Most immigration lawyers do a free first consultation and here's also a link to a forum that is frequented by immigration lawyers who give free advise and who you can hire for further assistance: http://www.avvo.com/legal-answers-search/immigration.html

good luck!
 
heyMike said:
Hi Boboclan,

I was in a similar situation as you and just got my greencard a couple of weeks ago through DV2010.

I was in the US for almost 8 years on a J1/H1B and was out of status when I received my 1st NL in June. Besides my company immigration lawyer, I consulted 2 additional immigration lawyers to inform me on appropriate steps for my situation.

They told me there is a big difference between out of status and unlawful presence. If you overstayed your visa for less then 180 days, you are considered out of status. If you overstayed over 180 days you are considered unlawfully present.
Being out of status is usually not penalized depending on your case, but being unlawfully present is almost a guarantee for a 10 year ban and will prevent you any access to the US during that period and you will be disqualified for the DV lottery.

As various people said before, I would you suggest to leave the US and opt for consular processing. I can almost guarantee you that AOS will not be possible as you are currently out of status and therefor your status cannot be adjusted.

I have left the US with 4.5 months of being out of status, filled out all paperwork truthfully and had no further questions regarding any of this during my interview and as I mentioned before, successfully obtained my green card.

In short:
don't worry too much as being out of status does not necessarily have to lead to ineligibility for the green card. Just make sure you don't overstay for more than 180 days and consult a good immigration lawyer if you feel it will help your case!

Most immigration lawyers do a free first consultation and here's also a link to a forum that is frequented by immigration lawyers who give free advise and who you can hire for further assistance: http://www.avvo.com/legal-answers-search/immigration.html

good luck!
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Thanks for a detailed explanation on this issue and congrats on your visa and the GC.
 
no problem, hope this helps. Congratulations to yourself as well assuming your interview went ok.
 
heyMike said:
no problem, hope this helps. Congratulations to yourself as well assuming your interview went ok.
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Thanks for the congrats. Interview went fine for my AOS. The IO was waiting for my file to be transferred by KCC to the field office. Hopefully it should be processed soon.
 
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