Legal Question in Immigration Law in Kentucky

Re: american women married to a non resudent from mexico

If your husband entered the United States without inspection, he cannot adjust his status to lawful permanent resident without returning to mexico and processing through the U.S. Embassy. The only exception is this -- if anyone filed a petition on his behalf prior to April 30, 2001, and that petition even if not approved could have been approved at the time, then he is eligible to remain in the United States to adjust his status. That means that we move quickly on filing petitions etc. to get him his interview. That only applies, however, if he is protected under the law in effect prior to April 30, 2001. The only other option is that he gets served with a notice to appear before the court and, if he has no criminal convictions that would preclude his application, he could apply for cancellation of removal, but would have to show extreme and unusual hardship to you and his stepson. Otherwise, you are looking at consular processing which, if done properly, and the person has no criminal convictions, can be pretty quick in the scheme of things. Good luck.

Re: american women married to a non resudent from mexico

It depends on how he entered the U.S.

Assuming he entered illegally without inspection at the border, you'll likely need to apply for his permanent residence in conjunction with a waiver.

He'll also need to eventually go back to Mexico and process his applications at the US consulate in Ciudad Juarez.

It's best if you contact me to discuss this in greater detail.

Re: american women married to a non resudent from mexico

Marc is correct but the important thing to remember about consular processing is that your husband will trigger a 10 year bar of inadmissibility once he leaves the US to apply for the visa at the consulate. He will need a waiver and will have to prove that you will suffer extreme hardship if he isn't allowed to return to the US for 10 years. Our office handles a lot of these cases. If your husband has ever left the US before (like to visit a sick relative or just to spend the holidays with his parents in Mexico) and he illegally re-entered the US, he might be subject to the permanent bar. In that case he would have to remain outside the US for 10 years before even being eligible to apply for the waiver. You can call our office if you would like a more detailed in-person consultation.