overstayed but married to us citizen

[jcscott 0]

My husband came to the United States from Canada in 2007 for medical treatment. He had his first back surgery in June of 2007 which went horribly wrong and left him bedridden for 9 weeks before another surgery was performed in August.In July his visa was set to expire and his mother sent in a visa extension application but did not fill out the paperwork properly or provide the affidavits of support so he was denied and told to go home. Unfortunately he was unable to leave at the time because his surgery was not done. While bedridden after his second surgery and recovering his passport and drivers license expired around his birthday in early September. He has been here ever since afraid to try and go home with no documentation for fear he will not be allowed to re-enter because of the order to leave the country on time. We have been married for 4 and a half years, we live together, I am a US born Citizen but I cannot go to Canada because of a past child support issue that has my ability to get a passport suspended and I really don't want to leave my homeland anyway. Are there any options available to us that won't have us separated for years? Or do we continue to live the way we are and hope for the best?

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Overstay is forgiven/irrelevant for spouses of USCs who adjust in-country. The failed extension attempt may be a wrench in the works, though; I am not sure.

[jcscott 0]

Overstay is forgiven/irrelevant for spouses of USCs who adjust in-country. The failed extension attempt may be a wrench in the works, though; I am not sure.

Thank you for the response, we are both terrified to even start the paperwork without all the possibilities known. I keep having re-occurring dreams that doing so will have immigration banging on the door to deport him and I'll never see him again because we tried to file. It's tough to live without valid identification, the ability to work and drive,but if that's the way it has to continue then so be it I'll just have to take on even more work to support us on my own.

Jc

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

No, that is not the way it has to be. Your fear has kept him without proper identification/permanent residency for years, when in fact he could have been a permanent resident for years by now, probably even a US citizen. It's time to let go of the fear and get some knowledge instead of basing your life around your imagination instead of reality.

Overstay is irrelevant/forgiven for spouses of USCs who adjust in-country. That is what you want to do. The fact that you have a failed extension may mean that he was put in removal proceedings, but maybe it means nothing. Get some knowledge and do some action. You want to file a I-130/I-485 CONCURRENT application.

[jcscott 0]

No, that is not the way it has to be. Your fear has kept him without proper identification/permanent residency for years, when in fact he could have been a permanent resident for years by now, probably even a US citizen. It's time to let go of the fear and get some knowledge instead of basing your life around your imagination instead of reality.

Overstay is irrelevant/forgiven for spouses of USCs who adjust in-country. That is what you want to do. The fact that you have a failed extension may mean that he was put in removal proceedings, but maybe it means nothing. Get some knowledge and do some action. You want to file a I-130/I-485 CONCURRENT application.

Is there a way to find out if any removal proceedings were ever filed? All he ever received was a denial and told to leave the country on time and nothing else as far as we know has ever come about removal proceedings. Everything I have ever read on the US website for immigration looks like I don't make enough money to fill out support paperwork and the one time we did talk to an attorney he told us the possibility of my husband having to leave the country was very real because we were married shortly after he was told to leave. That's why his mother ( a permanent resident)was filling out the papers for the extension in July and not me. We had intended to get married and apply for the proper visa's after he had his surgery and returned home but because of the botched job on his back and inability to travel we went about it all backwards.

[Little_My 464]

I am pretty sure you would have received a notice, had he been subject to removal proceedings. To me it seems like his visa extension was just denied, and he was told to leave before his authorized stay expired - which he didn't, but that only makes him an overstay. However, I am not an expert in the details of removal proceedings, so maybe someone else here can shed a light on how to fidn out whether he was or wasn't subject to that.

If we assume he wasn't, then you can just file for AOS, and it should be a fairly straight-forward journey. As Harpa pointed out, overstay does not prevent a foreigner from becoming a permanent resident once they are married to a US citizen. You have to meet the requirement of making 125% of the poverty line (around $18K/year I think..), or if you don't, you have to find a joint sponsor to meet the income requirements. You have been married for several years now, without filing for immigration benefits yet, so the issue of marriage shortly after his visa expiring is irrelevant. The whole process of AOS takes roughly 4-6 months on average, will cost you around $2,000 with the filing fees and medical fees, and at the end of the journey he could be a legal permanent resident by Christmas. I would start reading up on the process and accumulating all the forms and documents, and file as soon as you possibly can.

[jdh 103]

That is good advise above.

Find a cosponsor if you don't make enough and get on it. Time to stop being afraid.

Seperating a family is not something that USCIS is eager to do. Have faith, file your paperwork and get him legal!

Edited May 10, 2012 by jdh

[Rymzykella 0]

I hope you have filed for your husband by now.All the best!