Married an illegal alien from Mexico

[Tsup2 0]

My friend recently married an illegal alien from Mexico. I am wondering what process he needs to complete to get her in a legal status. Has anyone experienced this before or know anything about what to do?

[elguevon 16]

My friend recently married an illegal alien from Mexico. I am wondering what process he needs to complete to get her in a legal status. Has anyone experienced this before or know anything about what to do?

Do a simple search of this site and you will find many topics discussing this.

i.e. http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=94593

[NigerLA 1]

Depends on his method of entry into the US. If he was inspected by an immigration officer upon point of entry, then he can adjust his status in the US. However if he came into the US without being inspected, then he or she will have a difficult time adjusting their status. Your friend might want to contact an attorney.

Hope this helps.

[Alt name 1]

I have a friend who did that. He filed a petition / AOS for her. She also had to pay some kind of fine (around $1500? I think). It took them around 18 months but she finally got her 10-yr GC a few months ago.

She never left the country.

She entered legally, but went to work and didn't return when her visa expired. She also entered pre-2001.

[athena_ny 1]

Did he enter with a visa or no?

With a visa: no penalty fee, overstay and unauthorized work forgiven, need to file I-130/I-485/I-765 concurrently, and you'll pretty much follow a normal timeline (some wait over 2 or 3 years, some can get their green card approved in less than 2 months)

Without a visa: Check out the waiver forum. AOS will be denied, he'll have to return to his country and file a waiver - gets more complicated with that.