I’m about to get married in July, God willing, to an illegal Mexican woman. (That sounds SO harsh when I actually think about it) I want to know all I need to know about getting married, and getting “the card.” I know that many Dopers here are, or have had to deal with the INS before, and any help is greatly appreciated.
A couple questions:
I am a citizen, born in the U.S. What are her chances of even getting a card?
How long will it take before she actually has it?
Can she leave the country, under new law, before she has the card?
I’ve been to the INS website, and any links to it would be great. But, I’m also looking for some personal experience too.
Find yourself a good immigration lawyer before you do anything. Anything else would be foolish. This from someone who knows http://www.ilw.com/immigrants/visainfo/
Well, not exactly, unless Zion had an active part in illegally getting that woman into the United States. From what I’ve read, it sounds like he fell in love with a woman that happens to be an illegal alien, and is looking for legal expertise to marry her. Sounds like a fair question to me. Obviously, he did not intend a debate about illegal immigrants.
MY uncle did it a few years ago and I don’t remember him having any serious problems. I also don’t think that being illeagle has much of a problem of becoming a citizen. It will take a few years, 3 or 5 I think, to get a green card, then another 3-5 years after that to become a citizen. I’d ask him but he lives across country and I rarely speak to him. But I know they didn’t give him much if any problems and he’s been married for 5-6 years now and has two kids. They would probably give you crap if you got divorced after only a few years though.
There is nothing illegal about marrying an illegal alien, provided you are not doing this just to defeat immigration law and secure her change of status. Actually, getting married to a citizen is one of the fastest & easiest ways to get residency, but again make sure you are doing this within the law- you will eventually need to justify your relationship to an INS examiner and if anything looks the least bit fishy you might be seperated and given individual interviews (a la the movie “Green Card”). As an example of what the INS might consider fishy looking, you may be asked to show your tan lines under your wedding bands. Unless you live in Minnesota where nobody has a tan, you had better show some evidence that you didn’t just slip those wedding bands on for decoration.
The advice about getting a lawyer is good, and in major cities I think there are low cost agencies who can help you through most of the big steps. Ayuda Latina is an organization in DC that was a huge help to one of my neighbors. The wife (from Germany & illegal for ten+ years) got her green card (which for some reson is not green) in about 8 months.
However, there was a recent change in law that caused a lot of people to run to the Justice of the Peace in a hurry. I think it had to do specifically with illegals and allowed them to remain in this country while their petition was in process. Since that deadline has passed, spouses who do not currently have some kind of legal status (like a tourist visa) may have to go back to their home country until their petition is approved.
Since laws have recently changed & the stakes for you & your future wife are high, get a lawyer.
Yes, there was recently a time period where illegals could either (1) marry or (2) bring a letter from their place of employment stating that they were gainfully employed, and get a green card and legal status. However, that expired at midnight on (I believe) April 30. Current law, I think, states that illegals must leave the States for a period of time before returning and marrying, and after April 30 I think that’s again in effect (not sure, but I believe that’s the case for illegals).
HOWEVER … there were looooooong lines, lots of backups and general confusion with the April 30 deadline. For all you INS flamers out there, however, the INS performed admirably, even staying open late when they didn’t need to – the problem lay in immigration lawyers and there not being enough of them to assist the huge crush of illegals who waited until the last minute. Because of this, though, President Bush is exploring extending the deadline until NEXT April 30. As others have said, check with a lawyer, and bring that up and ask the possibilities. If it comes to happen, you should have smooth sailing. One hint, though: Just don’t wait til 11PM next April 30 to finish up.
You should find a good immigration lawyer NOW. How “illegal” your fiancee is depends on a number of factors. For instance, if she has merely overstayed a tourist or student or work-related visa for a short period of time, returns to Mexico, you guys get married there, you might be able to get her back in the U.S. relatively easily–and legally. If she’s been here a long time in “out of status” status or ENTERED illegally, bigger problems loom.
These are merely illustrative examples; no one can give you proper legal advice, including me (EXPLICITLY: THIS MESSAGE IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE), until you spell out all the facts surrounding your situation. Which you should NOT do on an Internet bulletin board, for pete’s sake! Sit down with an attorney and your fiancee, behind closed doors, and tell him or her EVERYTHING.
By the way, none of the explanations posted above about the recently expired extension of 245(i) to April 30, 2001 were correct, so ignore them.
Good luck. Congratulations on finding true love! It’s strong enough to defeat the arrogant, bigoted bureaucracy at the INS—you just need HUGE amounts of persistence and patience.
Well, once you get everything straightened out, this information may make you feel better:
Once you apply for a “change of status” in person at your local INS (you do the interview and all), they’ll give your wife an “effective” green card right away. This means they’ll stamp her passport so that she leave and return the the USA without problems. This stamp will also include work authorization. Then, when you go to Social Security Administration, they’ll give her a SSAN and card, and the card will NOT say “not allowed to work.” This is just as good as a real “green card.” Then in about 10-12 months, the “real” green card will arrive. Then, two-years from the original “change of status” you’ll have to go through a new interview and change of status procedure. This is where you make the change from “conditional permanent residency” to “unconditional permanent residency.”
As far as her returning to Mexico and getting married there, you’re probably better off NOT getting married in Mexico (see a lawyer). Had I been married first, the family member visa would have taken UP TO TWO YEARS. But by bringing her in on a K1 (financee), we did it all nice-and-legally in about 8 months.
Just an idea – can you “smuggle” her home to Mexico? Then she can pretend she’s all innocent and that she really, really did surrender her I-94 when she left the USA, and she doesn’t know why the U.S. Government lost it (the I-94 is the arrival/departure record).
Don’t do anything immoral. I’m still fundamentally proposed to things illegal (except speeding).
Actually, you don’t get the permission to leave the USA w/o problems when you apply for the green card. You have to apply for an Advaced Parole card at the same time. Both the green card and the A.P. card are issued immediately on a conditional basis.
I’m marrying for love, not for the papers. She has even told me she doesn’t want the papers. So, there’s no reason for the INS to think that we’re doing this to change her status.
It sounds like everyone agrees on one thing, and that’s finding a lawyer.
I would advise her not to leave the U.S. A couple of years ago a family from Florida who was in process of obtaining U.S. citizenship was detained at the Canadian border for months after they had gone over for a vacation.
Zion, be careful anyway. A friend of mine married an illegal because he thought she loved him. She left a few days after the marraige and they recently divorced. I have no idea as to the woman’s current status with INS.
In that case she lost her status. When marrying an alien, the alien get only a temporary, provisional, residency permit which has to be validated a couple years later. If she left him so shortly after, she really wasn’t looking for a green card. She probably did decide she din’t like him after all.
Hmmm… you’re probably right. We applied for “change of status,” and not a green card per se, although it could be the exact same thing in common parlance. We did not receive any type of card for “advance parole” though. I thought that an “advance parole” card (in our case) was only needed between entry into the USA and application for the change of status, in the event of an emergency (i.e., once you’re here, you can’t leave again without advance parole). In any case, all we have now is the stamp in her passport, and we’ve gone back and forth into Canada several times.
However, Canada’s easy. We’re going to Mexico next month. If there’s gonna be a problem, it’d be good to hear about it now!
What passport does your wife have? Not an American one, correct?
Keep us posted about this. Anniz (a Swedish citizen) and I are getting married this summer, and she’s going to need the advanced parole to return to Sweden as she wants to after we get married (we’re awaiting the I-129F finacee visa now). If there are any difficulties involved with advance parole (and the ilk) I’d like to know ASAP.
“Adjustment of status”, and it is the same thing in common parlance: you’re adjusting her status from alien to permanent resident.
“Parole” is the INS term for permission to enter the country for aliens without an entry visa. “Advance parole” (because you apply for it in advance rather than showing up at Customs and asking for it) is the document granted to pending adjustees. It’s actually an 8x11 piece of paper with your photograph on it, not a card. You need to file an application for it at the same time you file the I-485 (adjustment application), otherwise you can’t leave the country, unless you hold a valid H or L visa.
It used to be that the INS would not issue Advance Parole except in an emergency. That isn’t the case any longer. But you may have to wait a while for it. However, if your application indicates that you plan to leave the country within 30 days, you’re likely to receive the document within 30 days… if you get my drift.
Please note that this information is valid as of 3/2000, when I got out of the business.
