marry us citizen

A

anotherway

Registered Users (C)
I am an asylum .. Waiting to adjust my status (will take 10 years) .. I will marry a US cetizen .. My Q is how will take to be called for the interview? where they will put the approval stamp since I don't have national passport ? can I use my national passport again or still asylee in the eye of the INS ?how long will take to get my green card ? :confused:
 
anotherway said:
I am an asylum .. Waiting to adjust my status (will take 10 years) .. I will marry a US cetizen .. My Q is how will take to be called for the interview? where they will put the approval stamp since I don't have national passport ? can I use my national passport again or still asylee in the eye of the INS ?how long will take to get my green card ? :confused:
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Congratulation...and get a lawyer or better yet have your significant other to get one beleive me it will save you a lot of headaches
 
anotherway -

Did you come into this country illegally? Where you illegal at any time prior to applying for asylum?

These are the only obstacles I can think of that might prevent you from adjusting as a spouse of a US Citizen.

I agree with samoel - get a lawyer.
 
anotherway said:
I am an asylum .. Waiting to adjust my status (will take 10 years) .. I will marry a US cetizen .. My Q is how will take to be called for the interview? where they will put the approval stamp since I don't have national passport ? can I use my national passport again or still asylee in the eye of the INS ?how long will take to get my green card ? :confused:
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Anotherway,

How fast you’ll get GC based on marriage to US citizen depends on where you live. You can check your local DO schedule here: https://egov.immigration.gov/cris/jsps/ptimes.jsp;jsessionid=d_tVB_RyZezg
Some lucky people get conditional GC within months and some less lucky have to wait up to 2 years, sometimes more. But – the sooner you apply - the closer to GC you’ll get.
And yes - INS will call you for the interview and they will ask you about your previous application. I don’t know what to do about the passport.
 
A question for LolaLi

LolaLi said:
anotherway -

Did you come into this country illegally? Where you illegal at any time prior to applying for asylum?

These are the only obstacles I can think of that might prevent you from adjusting as a spouse of a US Citizen.

I agree with samoel - get a lawyer.
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LolaLi,

Why do you think Anotherway needs a lawyer?
Do all asylees, who wants to switch category have to have a lawyer?
I know that people who came here illegally cannot adjust in the family category.
But not all asylees come here illegally. What if Anotherway came here with a perfectly good visa, for example, applied for an asylum, got granted one, married US citizen and just wants to speed up the process and get his GC in two years instead of 12?
Why the lawyer necessary? What obstacles do you know that could prevent him for applying and going trough the process by himself?

Also, let suppose that a certain asyllee came here legally, but at some point became illegal before the asylum grant.
Isn’t a grant of asylum status pardons the previous overstay? What if it happened long time ago and now that person (an asylee) lives and works, pays his mortgage and taxes, raises his/her American born children along with his/her American spouse?
Will the INS really dig deep into that little in-between status incident (let’s say – three years…) that happened back in the last century? Can it really cause a problem, after that person was already granted the asylum status?

LolaLi, forgive me for such long posting. I hope you can make a sense out of my writing and answer my questions. I read your other posts and I respect your opinion. Thank you.

jane
 
Jane Green said:
LolaLi,

Why do you think Anotherway needs a lawyer?
Do all asylees, who wants to switch category have to have a lawyer?
I know that people who came here illegally cannot adjust in the family category.
But not all asylees come here illegally. What if Anotherway came here with a perfectly good visa, for example, applied for an asylum, got granted one, married US citizen and just wants to speed up the process and get his GC in two years instead of 12?
Why the lawyer necessary? What obstacles do you know that could prevent him for applying and going trough the process by himself?

Also, let suppose that a certain asyllee came here legally, but at some point became illegal before the asylum grant.
Isn’t a grant of asylum status pardons the previous overstay? What if it happened long time ago and now that person (an asylee) lives and works, pays his mortgage and taxes, raises his/her American born children along with his/her American spouse?
Will the INS really dig deep into that little in-between status incident (let’s say – three years…) that happened back in the last century? Can it really cause a problem, after that person was already granted the asylum status?

LolaLi, forgive me for such long posting. I hope you can make a sense out of my writing and answer my questions. I read your other posts and I respect your opinion. Thank you.

jane
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Hi Jane -

Don't worry...i like long posts! :-) I am not sure if Anotherway will require a lawyer - in fact, this is why I asked him if s/he was illegal before getting asylum, etc. If s/he was in a perfectly legal status (as you mentioned) like coming in with a visitor visa and then something happened in his/her home country and then got asylum that way -- then they can do all the paper work themselves without any worries of getting hassles from CIS. In the scenario you described, I don't see any possible problems from CIS as long as s/he proves it is not a marriage of convenience. This is something all US citizen spouse applicants must prove though - it is not unique to asylees. They need to have certain types of proof like marriage license, pictures of the wedding, invitations, affidavits of people who knew them before and after marriage, etc. I just advise a lawyer, because in my experience, most asylees come in with fraudulent documents or illegally because it is the only way for them to come here.

As for your other question - because I am so negative about CIS - I will have to say 'Yes' they will dig into your background to determine if you were inadmissible at any time. I believe there is a maximum number of days you are allowed to stay illegal or without a status before it starts affecting you in a negative way. I am think it is around 180 days... Not sure though. Any way, CIS doesn't care if you are a model citizen who contributed to society and paid their taxes and integrated into the US life. In fact, this is why the LIFE ACT of 2001 was such a big deal. It allowed many people who were married to greencard holders and citizens to apply for adjustment without being penalized and barred for having been illegal and out of a status. I think they paid a fine of around $1000 as a form of a waiver from inadmissibility. I may be wrong, but I believe the grant of asylum pardons a person's illegal status in the past only if they adjust thru asylum. That is why we get the I-602 Waiver of Inadmissibilty. They basically grant us a waiver although were were illegal or out of status. An I think this is only available to refugees and asylees. Unfortunately, having American born children has no effect on CIS decisions. As far as CIS is concerned, you should wait until your US born children turn 18 and can sponsor you. Its harsh - but that is how cold they are.

In any case Jane, this is why I always recommend lawyers. I think getting a free consultation about how the law operates is always beneficial. There are at times loop holes one can exploit. :-) I always try to get a lawyer's opinion on tough issues even if I intend to file my own paperwork [which is often the case]. I hope my post explained some things. Feel free to correct me on anything I may have said incorrectly.

Regards.
 
Thank you, LolaLi. The only correction I have that the children have to be 21 before they can sponsor a parent. Also, on another forum people are saying that that LIFE act and $1,000 was canceled. I don’t know if that true.
I really thought that asylum, once granted, gives a waiver to previous illegal status right then and not 10-15 years later during an adjustment. Not sure now. :confused:
 
Jane Green said:
Thank you, LolaLi. The only correction I have that the children have to be 21 before they can sponsor a parent. Also, on another forum people are saying that that LIFE act and $1,000 was canceled. I don’t know if that true.
I really thought that asylum, once granted, gives a waiver to previous illegal status right then and not 10-15 years later during an adjustment. Not sure now. :confused:
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You know, nobody sure of anything related to INS. We are all confused.
 
thanks guys for your contribution ... I came here with a true visa ... and then apply after my visa expired .. I think was 3-4 months. is that really matter ?
sound like no one is sure, I will consult a lawyer before start doing any thing.
 
Jane Green said:
Thank you, LolaLi. The only correction I have that the children have to be 21 before they can sponsor a parent. Also, on another forum people are saying that that LIFE act and $1,000 was canceled. I don’t know if that true.
I really thought that asylum, once granted, gives a waiver to previous illegal status right then and not 10-15 years later during an adjustment. Not sure now. :confused:
Click to expand...

Hi Jane,

The LIFE Act has not been canceled - it has sunset. This means that Congress gave it an expiration date when they enacted the law. The time period to take advantage of the act expired a long time ago.

When granted asylum, you are given the right to live and work in the US just like a permanent resident. You aren't really given a waiver until adjustment because you only become a US legal alien once you are adjusted. The reason why we are waiting 10-15 years has nothing to do with that - we wait because of the 10K cap on asylee adjustments.
 
anotherway said:
I agree with LolaLi ... adjust through marriage is nothing to do with the asylum we wait coz of the 10k cap
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Are you saying that an asylee can just forget abut pending asylum application, file the new I-485 based on marriage and get adjusted fast and easy without ever being questioned by INS about his/her previous file?
Do you think that getting married to US citizen will automatically release an asylee from all the immigration headaches since “... adjust through marriage is nothing to do with the asylum we wait coz of the 10k cap” ??
I am not picking on you, Anotherway, I really want to know, for my personal reasons.
Thank you.
JG
 
Well think it this way! If an Asylee is marring a US citizen, s/he is not breaking any law. Because Asylee is still a non-immigrant status per say, all avenues to immigration (GC) are still open. Now being married to US citizen opens one such avenue for non-immigrant (Asylee for example) and thus an additional application can be filed.

Just remember you can do things in this country as long as these are not illegal. Trying to become a Resident by following multiple paths is NOT illegal.

However if you yourself were illegal at one time.. :) then you will have problems with Marriage based adjustment in future (or even with Employment based adjustment). Asylee path does not pose such a problem. Therefore watch the path till end before starting on it.
 
Jane Green said:
Are you saying that an asylee can just forget abut pending asylum application, file the new I-485 based on marriage and get adjusted fast and easy without ever being questioned by INS about his/her previous file?
Do you think that getting married to US citizen will automatically release an asylee from all the immigration headaches since “... adjust through marriage is nothing to do with the asylum we wait coz of the 10k cap” ??
I am not picking on you, Anotherway, I really want to know, for my personal reasons.
Thank you.
JG
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Yup - Lazerthegreat is correct. Anyone can have multiple I-485s pending - there is nothing illegal about that! So to answer your question Jane - yes you can file for a new I-485 under marriage to US Citizen category while having your asylum based I-485 active in the system. One has nothing to do with the other.

The only caveat is whether or not you were illegal or out of status prior at anytime prior to adjusting as a spouse of a US Citizen. Unlike asylees, there aren't currently any waivers of inadmisibility for those adjusting as a spouse of a US Citizen.
 
I applied to be an Asylee after 3 months of my visa expiration ... is that mean I will not consider to Marriage based adjustment ??
 
You will not have any problem to get GC through marriage

Jane:

Once you granted Asylee status, you can leaglly stay in US. That is mean, you are granted to stay and you can get GC no matter your previous status.

If you apply I485 through marriage, it is doable, the CIS cannot question your Asylum case on your I485 based on Marriage. If marriage is true, you will get GC. Only one thing you need to know that one person cannot have two I485 applications at same time. if you have I485 filed based on your Asylum, you may need to withdaw the I485 case, and apply the marriage one.

Note: You cannot Apply I485 through empolyment, because you cannot apply H1. You can only apply I485 as deriviative through your spouse empolyment, if your spouse has a H1.

Good luck
 
TryToHelp said:
Jane:

Once you granted Asylee status, you can leaglly stay in US. That is mean, you are granted to stay and you can get GC no matter your previous status.

If you apply I485 through marriage, it is doable, the CIS cannot question your Asylum case on your I485 based on Marriage. If marriage is true, you will get GC. Only one thing you need to know that one person cannot have two I485 applications at same time. if you have I485 filed based on your Asylum, you may need to withdaw the I485 case, and apply the marriage one.

Note: You cannot Apply I485 through empolyment, because you cannot apply H1. You can only apply I485 as deriviative through your spouse empolyment, if your spouse has a H1.

Good luck
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Hello, TryToHelp!

Thank you for reassurance. You helped indeed! :)
I already filed marriage based I-485 awhile ago.
My asylum based application is still pending. I plan to withdraw it after I get RFE some time next year (seems like everybody getting those), but in a meantime I prefer to keep it pending for a sake of getting my RTD renewed (I never renewed my NP and not going to do so for personal reasons, even though I probably can now, but I don’t want to, so I depend on INS Travel Document to travel).
Thanks again!

Jane
 
wow

wow i did not know that they had asylum forum.... i am so happy to join people and chat on INS ISSUES..


anotherway,,


wait after 2 years of marriage and then do another AOS WITH THE SAME A# and they will issue a GC, they might not even call you for interview , this happen to my friend in new york..


your visa doesnt matter any more since you have A5 STATUS..
 
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