Legal Question in Immigration Law in California

Re: Citizen Married To Illegal Alien

This is a case where you must set an appt for a complete review as there are simply too many issues to answer easily. 245(i) is no longer available, but your husband may be "grandfathered" under a prior application that can be used. I strongly recommend you set up a consult with our office, on-line, if you so desire, via our web or via phone.

Re: Citizen Married To Illegal Alien

Since you married him in Dec. 2001, which was after the April 30, 2001 deadline for the 245i law, any petition you did for him prior to Feb. 2002 wouldn't have mattered. As another attorney have replied, there might be a "granfathering" benefit if your husband was petitioned by another relative before 4/30/01. However, if there's never been such a petition (which I suspect is the case), your husband is going to have to leave the US to do consulate processing in Mexico to get a green card, and be exposed to the dangerous 3/10-year bar not allowing him to come back in. You're right that there's a waiver for him to get around this bar, but you'll need expert legal help to get this accomplished.

Liem Doan, Esq.

Re: Citizen Married To Illegal Alien

As my previous reply may have been a little confusing, I want to clarify it. If your husband originally entered this country illegally, the bottom line is that your marriage was too late to allow him to obtain his permanent residency (green card) while remaining here. When your I-130 gets approved, and you try to file the next step (the I-485 application), it will be rejected by the INS because the 245i law expired on April 30, 2001 (or before your marriage). The only way then for him to get residency through you, as I mentioned before, is to do it with the US consulate in Mexico. But as soon as he leaves the US, it triggers the 10-year bar on him if he's been here illegally more than a year. The bar keeps people from coming back in for 10 years. If that happens, an extreme hardship waiver is required, which can be granted but requires expert legal help. Of course, your husband can choose to stay here, but he's still going to be illegal, won't get his residency through you, and could be subjected to deportation anytime by the INS.

On the other hand, your husband CAN get his residency in the US in two scenarios which are different than the above: (1) if he originally entered the US with a visa or border crossing card, or (2) another close family member filed an I-130 petition for him on or before April 30, 2001.

Liem Doan, Esq.

Note: The above response is provided for legal information only and is not legal advice. Such advice can only be rendered after an attorney-client relationship has been expressly established.

Re: Citizen Married To Illegal Alien

you are correct in your assessment that your husband would have a much higher priority based on the fact that he is married to a US citizen. however, like you also noted, the waiting period is never truly acertainable to an exact timeframe. if you would like further assistance in helping you thru this process legally, do not hesitate to email more specific details of your case.