Married for over 2 years to LPR, need help with AOS/130

K

keechan

Registered Users (C)
Hi guys!

My husband and I have been married for more than 2 years (July, 2008).

We didnt start any petition then because I thought we would be living in my home country (Philippines), and visit the US occassionaly as I had a valid tourist visa and he has a greencard.

All his immediate family lives in the US, his mom just became a citizen and the rest of his family are LPRs.

Last November, we both went to the US and just spent white Christmas together.

Now, we're considering moving here permanently- this is where the problems comes up as I'm not a permanent resident of the US.

I still have about 4 months left which i can spend inside the US legally. I don't want to break any rules as it might make things harder for the two of us in the future. We both want to stay here and not have to be separated for a few months.

Am I eligible to adjust my status? he is a greencard holder, has been one for 5 years but has an arrest record back when he was younger- though has maintained a clean record for 2 years now. Is it possible for him to apply and gain citizenship THEN petition for me as his wife all within 4 months? (VIA 130 and 485) Or is it more advisable for him to petition for me as his wife while he is still an immigrant?
 
I would seriously consider consulting an attorney. let me know, I can give you few names. are you currently in US?
 
keechan,

Right now as an LPR, if he filed an I-130 for you as the spouse of an LPR (FB-2A) that would merely set the priority date. It won't be current any time soon.

January Visa Bulletin:

Family......All Chargeability Areas Except......CHINA-mainland born.......DOMINICAN REPUBLIC.......INDIA............MEXICO........PHILIPPINES

2A...............01JAN08..................................01JAN08........................01JAN08...................01JAN08..........01APR05...........01JAN08

If you provide more details about his, LPR date, criminal problems (cite specific state charges, dates of conviction and penalties imposed--fines, probation, jail time, classes or rehab) and travel history, perhaps his naturalizatiuon eligibility can be addressed. IF he can naturalize, he can always upgrade any pending I-130 petiton so do not delay the I-130 filing. IF he can naturalize, as a USC, his Immediate Relatives (spouse, unmarried child under 21, or parent) can file for adjustment of status in the U.S. as long as they made a lawful entry even if the I-94 staus had expired by the time they file an I-485 and I-765 (no I-131 because IF they had unlawful presence they cannot travel abroad until getting a greencard) and they were otherwise admissible as an immigrant and his income qualifies for hiim to file an I-864, Affidavit of Support.

Happy New Year!
 
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hi guys, thank for replying :)

@rama, im not so sure about an attorney as we might not have enough cash for that. would you know a close estimate of how much the overall expenses would be, including the USCIS fees?

@Bigjoe5, thanks for the information. :)

He was arrested before for drunken behavior- and he resisted arrest. he was only 17 at the time, he got no jail time but was put on probation. He's been a greencard holder since 2005 (April, I think). Since we just decided we could move our lives here, he doesnt have a job that would fit the affidavit of support right now, but our immediate family can cover the i-864. he travels back and forth between US and the Philippines, but im not sure about his flight dates because he renewed his passport and only two recent trips are reflected. All that says there is that he went to the Philippines September 26 and went back to the US November 6, both 2010. That might affect his continuous stay.. for naturalization, are they very strict about the stay in the US?

Can I really stay even when my i-94 status expires? I'm sorry, you just answered that, i guess my question is how long after it expires could we file an i-485 and i-765? Are we talking in terms of weeks or months? Because we might save money (airline fares) if I could stay and just use it for all the filing fees. I got here last November 6 on a valid tourist visa which I have had years before my husband and I got married. The tourist visa had been issued to me back in 2000.

We got married July2008. No kids. and No big wedding as well because my family were in the Philippines- but his family was there. We didnt host a reception, we went out to eat. No white fluffy gowns and suits. We got married in his state, Illinois, stayed for a couple of months then went back to the Philippines. But we've been together for over 2 years. We rented an apartment back in the Philippines.

He is planning to get a GED and a job. He wanted to enlist but I'm not so crazy about the idea. He's wanted to enlist since we met but I was the one who was scared of it. I've heard too many horror stories so I'm not sure if that's a job option I'm comfortable with. But we have family who'd qualify cover the i-864 for us.

Right now, we're staying with my uncle in Jersey. We just finished with his radiation treatments (from November til now, yay it's done!!) and my husband and I have started to talk about living here and starting over here.

All advice and opinions are welcomed. thanks everyone and have a glorious NEW YEAR!
 
keechan said:
@rama, im not so sure about an attorney as we might not have enough cash for that. would you know a close estimate of how much the overall expenses would be, including the USCIS fees?
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The USCIS fee for naturalization is $680.

How much the immigration attorney costs depends on what you hire them for. If you hire one to handle everything for his naturalization end-to-end, that's in the range of $2000-$3000. But what I would suggest is just a one-hour consultation with the attorney to (1) review his court paperwork to see if his offenses disqualify him from naturalization or make him deportable and (2) if the answer is NO to both, consider having the attorney accompany him to the citizenship interview. Part (1) is around $200-$300 and the part (2) is around $400-$600.

He was arrested before for drunken behavior- and he resisted arrest. he was only 17 at the time, he got no jail time but was put on probation.
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Normally one needs a clean record* for the last 5 years to be eligible for naturalization. If that incident was within the last 5 years, he probably won't be able to successfully apply for citizenship until 5 years have passed (but have an attorney review the details to figure out for sure whether the offense actually disqualifies him from naturalization). And if he is still on probation he definitely won't be able to get citizenship before completing probation.

Can I really stay even when my i-94 status expires?
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No you can't, unless he becomes a citizen. Without him being a citizen, you have an estimated wait of 3 years to become eligible to file the I-485, and if you overstay and remain illegally in the US in the interim, you would lose eligibility for the green card.

His citizenship hopes in the near future are dismal. If he doesn't qualify for citizenship, he can still file the I-130 now to establish a place in the 3-year queue. At the end of that wait you would interview for a green card at a US consulate in the Philippines (or some other country, if you've moved to another country at that time). In the meanwhile, he should get a reentry permit if he wants to stay for an extended time in the Philippines with you.

*other than minor traffic violations and certain types of very minor misdemeanors
 
gosh, could an attorney help fix this? his mom is a citizen, would that help? his dad and two sisters are about to apply for citizenship as well. he wants to apply for citizenship, then petition for me so i dont have to leave the country and we get to save on the airfare (and a 3 year separation is not on our plans)
 
keechan said:
gosh, could an attorney help fix this? his mom is a citizen, would that help? his dad and two sisters are about to apply for citizenship as well. he wants to apply for citizenship, then petition for me so i dont have to leave the country and we get to save on the airfare (and a 3 year separation is not on our plans)
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You have not provided enough details about his naturalization eligibility issues. The arrest happened when he was 17 (a minor) that may be an important factor. How old is he now? How long ago was that problem? If it happened before he got his greencard then it obviously did not become an immigration eligibility factor.

You've been living abroad and he has been abroad a bit, however, there is not enough detail to tell if it is an issue or not. From the day he files his N-400, he must look back 5 years and see if he has been inside the U.S. at least HALF of that period. Also, he must look back and see if there has been any particularly long trip (6 months or more at one time).
 
he is 19 now and turning 20 this year. apparently he has also been arrested and charged of something back when he was 15. the incidents happened when he was 15 and 17, all while he was a minor. he got his greencard back in 2005. the charges when he was 15 was because he was caught with something that looked like drugs, but the cops found out they werent drugs, so they charged him with "possession of a look alike". i just found out about this so i apologize if i was not able to disclose this before. he tested negative for drugs as well. after that, they caught him with marijuana :( and charged him with possession. he tested negative in the drug test for that as well. he was new to the united states at the time and didnt have many friends. he was troubled. his famioly was new here too so they plead guilty to all charges and didnt fight any. his schoolmates passed him the drugs then told the cops that he was carrying drugs in school, he got kicked out after. when he was 17, he took a sip of alcohol from the bottle while inside the grocery store. then tried to pay for it at checkout. he was denied and the cops were called. they were escorting him back to his parents but he didnt want to face them (and had something to drink) so he threw a fit- for which an additional charge of assault was added to theft. i dont know the exact details of the case but this happened 2 years ago. he has a skechy past, but he's been good and is still trying. everyone has a past (especially during their teenage years) i hope that doesnt bar him from starting over a new leaf. :(

he definitely has trips longer than 6 months because he enrolled in the philippines before BUT did not have the necessary permits for studying abroad so it would not affect his residency. his family werent aware of those at the time.
 
With those multiple offenses in the past 5 years it is practically impossible for him to become a US citizen this year.
 
sigh... that's too bad for us.. i guess it's best to file the i-130 and wait. but does that mean we wont see each other for around 3 years? has anyone else experienced this or been filed by an LPR husband
 
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