open me please

[cj421 0]

okay so i am a candian citzen i was born in canada and i have lived in the usa for 17 years of my life i went threw pre school all the way to college here and me being canadain was never a issue, my mom is candian and so is my brother. my dad has legal status in america so we all moved here because of him back in the 90's. well i have found the right girl and plan to get maiired to her but i didnt know that i needed a fiance visa and our wedding is in a week is there any thing i can do i have no idea were to start i know i proabably have broken alot of immagration laws by living here so long but i had no choice . sorry if i posted in the wrong thread

Edited July 16, 2009 by cj421

[scandal 951]

okay so i am a candian citzen i was born in canada and i have lived in the usa for 17 years of my life i went threw pre school all the way to college here and me being canadain was never a issue, my mom is candian and so is my brother. my dad has legal status in america so we all moved here because of him back in the 90's. well i have found the right girl and plan to get maiired to her but i didnt know that i needed a fiance visa and our wedding is in a week is there any thing i can do i have no idea were to start i know i proabably have broken alot of immagration laws by living here so long but i had no choice . sorry if i posted in the wrong thread

To give proper answers, the following information would be useful:

Are you in the US now? (It appears yes).

What is your Dad's legal status in the US? Is he a US citizen? If he is, you may very likely derive citizenship from him.

If you are now in the US, and marry in the US, you could quite probably file for adjustment of status without leaving the US, and not require a visa (fiance or spousal visa are both options).

Whether you can adjust will depend on your status in the US right now - are you there legally? If not, how long have you overstayed (it would appear many years)? How did you originally enter the country - by legal admission at a port of entry, and then overstay, or by sneaking across the border (illegal entry). Without knowing the answers to those questions, it's hard to give correct advice.

[TracyTN 237]

Personally, I'd get myself a qualified immigration attorney and go from there, but scandal is correct - you've left out a lot of possibly relevant information.

Edited July 16, 2009 by TracyTN

[Krikit 1,165]

Moving to the AOS From Another Visa forum. Hopefully you'll find some answers there, CJ421. If you could find out what visa your father is here on, CJ421, you could start googling that for clarity and information.

The OP probably derives legal status from his father.... who sounds like he's here on an employment-based visa. These visas allow legal presence for the visa-holder's family.

[rin and john 71]

Agree with TracyTN, consult with an immigration lawyer.

A few questions for us here at the peanut gallery:

1) Are you currently in the USA?

2) If so, are you here legally?

3) Is your fiancee American?

If so, and you are in the USA, the path the attorney would most likely recommend would be to get married and file for AOS with your spouse as the petitioner.

[cj421 0]

i am in the united states and my father is not a citizen he is just a green card holder and i crossed at the border with my passport and i have all my documintation and my fiance is a citizen born in america

Edited July 17, 2009 by cj421

[scandal 951]

i am in the united states and my father is not a citizen he is just a green card holder and i crossed at the border with my passport and i have all my documintation and my fiance is a citizen born in america

Thanks for answering those questions. You don't indicate your current status - are you still in-status in the US, or are you overstayed? I'm guessing that you did overstay your original entry visa (or visa waiver), and probably by a significant period of time (years).

If you are in legal status and not overstayed, your case is routine - get married, and adjust status.

If you are not in legal status, you really should seek legal assistance, and not attempt this on your own. Your case is not routine due to the overstay.

From my understanding, if you marry your fiancee in the US you can then apply to adjust status based upon that marriage. This path can lead to legal status, a green card, and eventually naturalization (if you want that). However you will need to get the overstay pardoned. I believe that this is possible in cases such as yours provided that you have kept your nose clean (no criminal record or other immediately deportable condition).

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

You entered the US legally. You CAN adjust status from the US if you did not overstay after 1997, meaning the last time you entered the US was before 1997. If not, it ain't going to work.