Legal Question in Immigration Law in California

desperate sister

I�m a US citizen and I�ve petitioned my married sister in 1996. She and her husband have been living in the US since 1991. They were able to get their ID and SSN and were able to work. They�ve been filing tax since they started working. Of course, when their employer was asking for their green card, they just have no choice but to resign. They just recently welcomed their only child and, unfortunately, their child has been diagnosed with a rare genetic condition. My question is � is there a way that the INS could speed up the process for them to have their green card ready due to this special circumstance? Or, are there any options for them to legalize their status? Perhaps, a general pardon or amnesty? What can we do to speed up the process? Any help would be greatly appreciated.


Asked on 10/20/05, 2:07 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
H.M. Torrey The Law Offices of H.M. Torrey

Re: desperate sister

your questions are good, but the facts presented so far would not necessarily be enough to give you or your sister's family solid, legal direction without more details on the overall situation. if you would like to contact us today to provide more details on their current status, etc...we would be more than happy to help all of you out of this tight legal spot.

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Answered on 10/20/05, 2:25 pm
Larry L. Doan Law Office of Larry L. Doan

Re: desperate sister

No, there's nothing the CIS (formerly INS) can do to speed this up except through normal immigration petitioning that you did and are waiting for. Currently, there are visa numbers available in the brother-sister category only for those petitions filed before March 1994. So wait a couple of years if everything goes right. If your sister came here illegally in 1991, however, she'll have to go back to her country to get permanent residence. The wait is even longer if your sister is a native of a country such as Mexico (1991) or Philippines (1983)! A child who has a genetic disorder can be a good factor in removal (deportation) proceedings for cancellation of removal but, surely, your sister doesn't want to be placed into deportation proceedings at this time yet unless she's caught. Amnesty? There's no such thing anymore. Another alternative is to wait for Pres. Bush to get his guest-worker program passed. Even then, there's much political opposition so it's still doubtful if he could ever get that passed in Congress.

Note: The above "free" 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 with appropriate payment of valuable consideration. If follow-up advice is desired on a particular situation, a consultation can be arranged.

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Answered on 10/20/05, 2:54 pm


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