Illegal Mexican wife

[dodson01 0]

When someone *enters* the country illegally, i.e. without permission of a US border inspector this is called "Entered Without Inspection" or "EWI", in immigration-speak.

However, someone who is an EWI can *not* get a green card while they remain in the US, even after marriage to a USC. The choices are:

(1) Stay put and wait for the laws to change. Opinions differ (widely) on how likely that is.

(2) Have the USC spouse file for K-3 (see www.k1faq.com). The immigrant spouse would have to go to their home country for the final stages of K-3 processing at the consulate. The K-3 visa will be automatically denied by the consulate because of the EWI and the immgrant spouse will be declared officially "inadmissible". At that point, an I-601 waiver of excludability must be filed by the USC spouse. *If* the I-601 is approved, then the immigrant spouse gets a K-3 visa and can come to the US again. If the I-601 is denied then the USC spouse can file another one with more exhaustive explanations of the "hardship" that the USC spouse is enduring (the only justification for waiver of excludability). The immigrant spouse can't come back to the US unless an I-601 is approved, however -- and it is possible that an I-601 won't be granted. Personally, I'd hire a an experienced lawyer to prepare and file the I-601 because proper wording of the freeform text is vital for success.

This is exactly what I was referring to in my earlier posts when I stated that there may be a way to fix the situation. I am not saying I am in favor of illegal immigration. I also feel that if you break the law, you need to pay the price. However, I do have a heart for those that break the law and want to make amends and really want to fix the situation. I also feel that even though you may have entered illegally and broke the law here, two wrongs don't make a right and the least you could do until you fix your situation is to make sure you pay your taxes each year and do not become a burden to the U.S.