Sort of out-of-status, applying for a GC through marriage to a PR/citizen

A

amanfromstdiego

New Member
Hi all: I am currently waiting for my citizenship docs (N400) to go through and as soon as it happens, I would like to sponsor my wife for a GC. She is currently "sort of" on a H1B visa (but effectively out-of-status, as she was fired a few months ago; however, her employer did not bother to inform USCIS of that). Her I-94 is about to expire, so she will indeed be out of status when she applies through me.

Her I130 based on marriage to me as a PR was approved a long time ago, but we could not adjust her status initially due to retrogression and are afraid of applying now (though we can based on the priority dates), because we would not be able to prove her legal status (no paycheck).

I've heard that Immigration basically does not care if a person applying for a GC based on marriage to a citizen is out of status as long as she entered the country legally (which is the case). Is this correct? Are there any subtleties we should be aware of, or the plan to lay low, wait for my citizenship, and then apply for her should have no problems.

We'd appreciate any comments on our situation. If it turns out too bad or we'll have to spend years dealing with some immigration non-sense again, we're considering moving to Canada. Thanks,
Alex
 
You guys have similar situation from what I had. My I130 was approved, retrogression happened and I had to wait for my wife to get citizenship.

Once you get your citizenship which should be within next few months if you already applied, everything should be smooth for you guys. Use approved I130 you already have and send the rest of the forms needed with the copy of approved I130 and she will get her citizenship easy. You have to wait to become citizen though. I went out of status 2 months before I was eligible to apply and was freaking out but everything was fine. At my interview they never asked me about the status. My interview lasted not longer than 5mins.
 
Once you become a citizen and file for her, you're good. I had your exact same situation.

amanfromstdiego said:
Hi all: I am currently waiting for my citizenship docs (N400) to go through and as soon as it happens, I would like to sponsor my wife for a GC. She is currently "sort of" on a H1B visa (but effectively out-of-status, as she was fired a few months ago; however, her employer did not bother to inform USCIS of that). Her I-94 is about to expire, so she will indeed be out of status when she applies through me.

Her I130 based on marriage to me as a PR was approved a long time ago, but we could not adjust her status initially due to retrogression and are afraid of applying now (though we can based on the priority dates), because we would not be able to prove her legal status (no paycheck).

I've heard that Immigration basically does not care if a person applying for a GC based on marriage to a citizen is out of status as long as she entered the country legally (which is the case). Is this correct? Are there any subtleties we should be aware of, or the plan to lay low, wait for my citizenship, and then apply for her should have no problems.

We'd appreciate any comments on our situation. If it turns out too bad or we'll have to spend years dealing with some immigration non-sense again, we're considering moving to Canada. Thanks,
Alex
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