Marrying USC after F1 overstay and working illegally

[THX 1138 0]

Hello,

I am glad there are sites like this where everyone helps each other out with useful information that inherently make or break someones future. With that said, I am considering retaining a lawyer, but the financial aspect is what makes me consider other options:

I came into the US 9 years ago under an F-1 Visa and was inspected by immigration on coming in. I went off status a year later due to lack of funds and then went on to enroll in a community college without changing the school formally in my I-20, so I paid in-state tuition. I paid by working at a local pharmacy store under the guise that I was a citizen ( I checked Citizen on my W2). I was able to file taxes as I was issued a social which did say it was not valid for work authorization. Three years ago, I started Nursing school and finished and got an RN license for a state in the East Coast. I have worked and filed takes for over 8 years now. Also, I have not committed any crimes, and have no criminal record. I had to take numerous background checks for my RN degree

Last year, I met a USC and after months of dating, I proposed. We are now living together and about starting the process of the paperwork.

My questions are:

1) I have heard of a $1000 penalty one has to pay for overstay, does it apply? Remember, I entered LEGALLY.

2) This may be a stupid question, but how will immigration know I worked under the guise of a US citizen? How do they check to know? If they do know, how will it affect me? What are they ways around it? I spoke to a lawyer through a free consult and he advised that it could be argued that I would be an upright citizen, for the fact that I paid taxes responsibly.

3) Has anyone with a similar situation filed without a lawyer? What exact paperwork was needed? So far, I see the I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, I-864, Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the Act, I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vacination Record, and G-325A, Biographic Information. Am I missing anything?

4) My fiancee would rather not have a joint bank account at this time, so apart from pictures, the marriage license, email and phone records, what other information is useful to present in providing proof of a legitimate marriage. I am aware that during the interview questions will be asked, which we are more than ready for.

Many thanks in advance for factual answers.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Falsely claiming to be a US Citizen is a lifetime ban from the US with no chance at a waiver. It is the single worst non-violent offense a foreigner can commit. You're toast.

Edited February 13, 2013 by Harpa Timsah

[Oksana & Max 94]

Totally agree with Harpah.

There is no way for you to stay in this country. Claiming that you are a US Citizen it is not just morally wrong, but it is a huge legal offense. There is no penalty you can pay and get away with that. Either your lawyer doesn't know the full story, or he is just not familiar with immigration.

Section 212(a)(6)©(ii) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended by the 1996 Immigration Act, renders inadmissible any alien who falsely claims to be a U.S. citizen for any purpose or benefit under the Immigration and Nationality Act or any other federal or state law. The amendments apply to false claims to U.S. citizenship on or after Sept. 30, 1996.

As far as paperwork goes. I don't want to sound harsh, but your best bet right now is a ticket back to your country, before you get in any more trouble. Immigration does take it very seriously especially with so many illegal immigrants in this country.

Edited February 13, 2013 by Oksana & Max

[THX 1138 0]

Totally agree with Harpah.

There is no way for you to stay in this country. Claiming that you are a US Citizen it is not just morally wrong, but it is a huge legal offense. There is no penalty you can pay and get away with that. Either your lawyer doesn't know the full story, or he is just not familiar with immigration.

Section 212(a)(6)©(ii) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended by the 1996 Immigration Act, renders inadmissible any alien who falsely claims to be a U.S. citizen for any purpose or benefit under the Immigration and Nationality Act or any other federal or state law. The amendments apply to false claims to U.S. citizenship on or after Sept. 30, 1996.

Thanks for your response, but I know I am not the first person with this particular situation, and I won't be the last, so if anyone has any other information to provide, I would be glad to hear it

[Oksana & Max 94]

Thanks for your response, but I know I am not the first person with this particular situation, and I won't be the last, so if anyone has any other information to provide, I would be glad to hear it

So me working for Immigration is not sufficient. Well than I will rest my case.

But if you will search the forum, you will see a person being denied citizenship, because USCIS did find out that he made a false claim being a citizen, and he already had a permanent green card, and guess what he will be facing deportation.

The only thing I can tell you good luck!!!

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Thanks for your response, but I know I am not the first person with this particular situation, and I won't be the last, so if anyone has any other information to provide, I would be glad to hear it

There is no other information to provide.

USCIS will check a lot of information about you. You selected citizen. You paid taxes on that document. That documentation was sent to the IRS, a government body. They KNOW you falsely claimed to be a citizen. There is no waiver, there are no special circumstances.

Let's assume they don't find out now, you get your GC and eventually citizenship. That citizenship will be revoked if they EVER find out or notice you claimed to be a citizen before you were, and you will be deported.

Applying for immigration benefits puts you on their radar and they will look into it, you will be denied and put in removal proceedings.

If you chose to live illegally, eventually ICE would catch up with you, you would be put in removal proceedings and deported.

As Harpa said - you're toast.

p.s. The attorney that said you paid taxes so you're an "upstanding citizen" is full of #######. You're not a citizen. You're not upstanding because you claimed to be a USC when you're not. Filing taxes would be well and good if you were working illegally but NEVER claimed to be a citizen, but that claim is what screws you.

I suggest you talk to your fiancee about moving to your home country with you.

[TimeTravel 78]

Thanks for your response, but I know I am not the first person with this particular situation, and I won't be the last, so if anyone has any other information to provide, I would be glad to hear it

Right! You are not the first one, wont be the last one. But claiming as USC when you are not, it is a biggest offense for immigration journey, with no waiver, no forgiveness. Period.

Alot of people were denied their citizenship when they claimed as USC ( even 1 Day prior to their citizenship interview ), I even have seen cases where a minor claimed as USC, then later married to USC, but he is now banned, with no waiver, no forgiveness.

[Oksana & Max 94]

There is no other information to provide.

USCIS will check a lot of information about you. You selected citizen. You paid taxes on that document. That documentation was sent to the IRS, a government body. They KNOW you falsely claimed to be a citizen. There is no waiver, there are no special circumstances.

Let's assume they don't find out now, you get your GC and eventually citizenship. That citizenship will be revoked if they EVER find out or notice you claimed to be a citizen before you were, and you will be deported.

Applying for immigration benefits puts you on their radar and they will look into it, you will be denied and put in removal proceedings.

If you chose to live illegally, eventually ICE would catch up with you, you would be put in removal proceedings and deported.

As Harpa said - you're toast.

p.s. The attorney that said you paid taxes so you're an "upstanding citizen" is full of #######. You're not a citizen. You're not upstanding because you claimed to be a USC when you're not. Filing taxes would be well and good if you were working illegally but NEVER claimed to be a citizen, but that claim is what screws you.

I suggest you talk to your fiancee about moving to your home country with you.

Thanks for re-enforcing my post. Some people just don't understand the circumstances.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Alot of people were denied their citizenship when they claimed as USC ( even 1 Day prior to their citizenship interview ), I even have seen cases where a minor claimed as USC, then later married to USC, but he is now banned, with no waiver, no forgiveness.

Ah yes. I remember that poor fellow. So excited about his citizenship interview the next day (even though it's the Oath that makes you a citizen, not the interview) he applied for a "citizen only" job. He was denied citizenship of course and ... well that's all we know because they never came back. Typical process would have been revocation of LPR status and deportation.

There was another girl (who never came back that I'm aware of) who went for her interview and found out that many years before she became an LPR when she was on a student visa and got a drivers license, she checked the box that was meant for citizens only. She also was denied citizenship.

There was another person who registered to vote (though never did). Voting is a citizen only thing.

[THX 1138 0]

Thanks for all the responses. If anyone else has anything else to add, please do.

[CC90 90]

1) I have heard of a $1000 penalty one has to pay for overstay, does it apply? Remember, I entered LEGALLY.

This has to do with the LIFE act, which is distinct from what you're trying to do.

2) This may be a stupid question, but how will immigration know I worked under the guise of a US citizen? How do they check to know? If they do know, how will it affect me? What are they ways around it? I spoke to a lawyer through a free consult and he advised that it could be argued that I would be an upright citizen, for the fact that I paid taxes responsibly.

How will they know? They can request your taxes from the IRS. Some adjudicators also have a habit of requesting the I-9 documents from the employer directly to verify. In some cases, an employer's lack of document organization has gotten people out of this problem in certain circumstances. However, there really is no solid way out of it. It is written somewhere--and they can and will get access to it.

If they know, it will make you permanently inadmissible to the United States with absolutely no chance of returning, unless there is other legislation passed that negates the current laws. The answer your "lawyer" gave is absolute BS (can't think of a more accurate way to put it) and absolutely will not work.

There is no way around it, period. The only exception that is codified in law reads:

The narrow exception is in the case of a foreign national, if each natural parent is or was a U.S. citizen, the foreign national permanently resided in the United States before attaining the age of 16, and the foreign national reasonably believed at the time of making such representation that he or she was a citizen.

I doubt this applies to you--and the burden of proof is very high.

Some old I-9 documents paired US Citizen with US non-citizen national on the same box. As such, some have tried to make the defense that he/she was actually claiming to be a US non-citizen national, and not a US citizen. There's a very, very slight nuance that many people don't understand between the two. This has been tested in court a few times when the old I-9's were used, but it failed nearly every time, mainly because the intending immigrant didn't clearly know what a non-citizen national is. The new I-9's separate US citizen and US non-citizen national to fix this problem, so it is a non-issue these days.

3) Has anyone with a similar situation filed without a lawyer? What exact paperwork was needed? So far, I see the I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, I-864, Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the Act, I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vacination Record, and G-325A, Biographic Information. Am I missing anything?

Lawyer or no lawyer, the cases are treated no differently. Your list seems complete if you want to try and adjust.

4) My fiancee would rather not have a joint bank account at this time, so apart from pictures, the marriage license, email and phone records, what other information is useful to present in providing proof of a legitimate marriage. I am aware that during the interview questions will be asked, which we are more than ready for.

Assuming you didn't have the false claim to US citizenship issue, this is a very subjective area of adjudication. Explaining things in certain ways can have a powerful effect. If there is a legitimate reason why you can't have a joint account (e.g. bank won't let you), then you should be fine. But, if I were an adjudicator, I would be very confused why your HUSBAND wouldn't want a joint account with his own wife.

[THX 1138 0]

CC90, thanks for your detailed responses

[hmh33 117]

The false claim to citizenship takes this well out of the realm of Do It Yourself. Consult a really good immigration lawyer and see what they say.

[visasandheadaches 14]

Ask your spouse if she is willing to re-locate to your country...because there's NO OPTION for you...it's been one bad thing after another for you since you entered the U.S.

First of all,...you violated your F-1 visa status...then after that you went working illegally, then you claimed to be a U.S. citizen...so its just been a domino effect that has now caught up to you...

Its best you leave the U.S. as soon as possible...you got your degree from here, that should help you back in your country, but in reality, there's no option for you....

[AnotherLostSoul 167]

"The narrow exception is in the case of a foreign national, if each natural parent is or was a U.S. citizen, the foreign national permanently resided in the United States before attaining the age of 16, and the foreign national reasonably believed at the time of making such representation that he or she was a citizen."

Hmm....I've never heard this...my Mom was a US citizen and we moved here to the states when I was 6-7 years old...although maybe our case is/was different as me and my dad and my siblings were all foreign citizens, so even though we were living in the States since then we were always on visa (except Mom). So, I guess, never mind...