Hello,
My wife has been out of status for more than 180 days. She came here legally (H4 visa), no criminal record, all she did was going to school, she doesn't work, even tho she has EAD. She applied for I-485 in 2008 and got denied. She got an NTA and will appear in first master hearing in March 2010.
I became an LPR in Jan 2005, passed US citizenship exam, will be citizen in this month (Jan 2010). I applied I-130 for her in Sept 2006, and her I-130 was APPROVED in Sept 2009. We've been married for more than 10 years. The visa for her I-130 will be available in Apr/May 2010 based on her priority date.
My questions are below:
1. Because I will be US citizen soon, I want to upgrade her I-130 to immediate relative of US citizen. Any idea how long will the process take with NVC until she has visa?
2. Is it better for her if I upgrade her I-130 or just wait until her visa comes out in Apr/May 2010? The reason is because she will see an immigration judge in the end of March 2010, and I think it's better for her if I have somekind of letter from NVC...
3. Is it ok for me to upgrade her I-130 even tho she's in removal proceeding? I think her I-130 is still under USCIS jurisdiction...
4. Anybody in similar situation? What is her chance of fighting this?
I talked to different lawyers. One lawyer suggests for her to go alone during first hearing and use delay tactic until her I-130 visa comes out. The other suggests that she should go to first hearing with a lawyer and explain that 1-130 visa is available for her because of my citizenship status and most likely have the removal proceeding against her thrown out.
I'm confused which one has the better strategy...
Any advice? Thank you
My wife has been out of status for more than 180 days. She came here legally (H4 visa), no criminal record, all she did was going to school, she doesn't work, even tho she has EAD. She applied for I-485 in 2008 and got denied. She got an NTA and will appear in first master hearing in March 2010.
I became an LPR in Jan 2005, passed US citizenship exam, will be citizen in this month (Jan 2010). I applied I-130 for her in Sept 2006, and her I-130 was APPROVED in Sept 2009. We've been married for more than 10 years. The visa for her I-130 will be available in Apr/May 2010 based on her priority date.
My questions are below:
1. Because I will be US citizen soon, I want to upgrade her I-130 to immediate relative of US citizen. Any idea how long will the process take with NVC until she has visa?
2. Is it better for her if I upgrade her I-130 or just wait until her visa comes out in Apr/May 2010? The reason is because she will see an immigration judge in the end of March 2010, and I think it's better for her if I have somekind of letter from NVC...
3. Is it ok for me to upgrade her I-130 even tho she's in removal proceeding? I think her I-130 is still under USCIS jurisdiction...
4. Anybody in similar situation? What is her chance of fighting this?
I talked to different lawyers. One lawyer suggests for her to go alone during first hearing and use delay tactic until her I-130 visa comes out. The other suggests that she should go to first hearing with a lawyer and explain that 1-130 visa is available for her because of my citizenship status and most likely have the removal proceeding against her thrown out.
I'm confused which one has the better strategy...
Any advice? Thank you