Non US Spouse living in US since 1979- B-2

[Kindra 0]

Hello, My husband arrived in the US when he was 13 in 1979. He entered legally on a B-2 visa that expired 2 months after entry. At that time they handed out SS#. He has a valid DL, employed, pays/files taxes, gets called to jury duty. He even at one point applied for a US Passport but was denied, at 13 he let his parents handle everything and nothing was done. He recently applied for his NZ passport it expired years ago and was approved. We had a daughter end of 2011 and married 3-2012. It would be nice to legally get his status straightened out and have the option to travel. I am a US citizen, currently a stay at home mom. His income qualifies for income requirements.

I guess it's safe to say he is working illegal at a legit job under his legal name with a valid DL and SS#issued by gov to him.

Where do we start and what forms should i fill? I wouldn't think this is unusual, but I couldn't find a similar case in search.

Thank You for your time and any help.

Edited April 9, 2013 by Kindra

[Kindra 0]

Another thing that's crucial. Since he attempted to apply for a US passport in 95, most likely checked off box that says he's USC. He also has a valid DL, and he said he may have checked USC box as well. So this is what's going to haunt us. Has someone claiming to be a USC ever been granted a green card. He does not want to apply for citizenship. Just want to be able to leave and re-enter.

[canadian_wife 1,829]

WOW, so when he was doing jury duty, did he ever say that he was a US citizen? Not that it matters, he probably did with trying to apply for a US passport.

Sorry, I believe you need a lawyer. Laurel Scott does free consultations on Wednesdays via scottimmigration.net.

good luck

[Kastrs 723]

WOW, so when he was doing jury duty, did he ever say that he was a US citizen? Not that it matters, he probably did with trying to apply for a US passport.

Sorry, I believe you need a lawyer. Laurel Scott does free consultations on Wednesdays via scottimmigration.net.

good luck

He probably did, I know on the juror questionnaire one of the questions is are you a US citizen- which they ask because they get names from driers licenses and you do not have to be a citizen to have a license. So if he has served on jury duty then I would think he would have had to claim that he was a citizen.

[kzielu 1,153]

Hello, My husband arrived in the US when he was 13 in 1979. He entered legally on a B-2 visa that expired 2 months after entry. At that time they handed out SS#. He has a valid DL, employed, pays/files taxes, gets called to jury duty. He even at one point applied for a US Passport but was denied, at 13 he let his parents handle everything and nothing was done. He recently applied for his NZ passport it expired years ago and was approved. We had a daughter end of 2011 and married 3-2012. It would be nice to legally get his status straightened out and have the option to travel. I am a US citizen, currently a stay at home mom. His income qualifies for income requirements.

I guess it's safe to say he is working illegal at a legit job under his legal name with a valid DL and SS#issued by gov to him.

Where do we start and what forms should i fill? I wouldn't think this is unusual, but I couldn't find a similar case in search.

Thank You for your time and any help.

Your husband - if claimed US citizenship (and it looks like he did) - will not be able to ever gain legal status in US and any attempt to do so will likely cause his deportation and lifetime ban. False US citizenship claim is absolutely worst thing he could have done. As others said - talk to lawyer and make sure it's a good one.

[Penguin_ie 5,997]

**** Moving from Tourist visa to AOS from tourist visa forum ***

The claiming US citizenship thing- which he likely did several times (jury duty, drivers license, passport application) is a huge deal, you'll be needing a lawyer. He should not leave the country until this is sorted out.

Are his parents still here? Did they ever get US citizenship? If yes, how old was he when they did?

[canadian_wife 1,829]

WOW, this is certainly lawyer time. This is a huge mess.

No, claims of US citizenship are major. I have never heard of someone gaining a green card after a false claim to US citizenship. What state are you in? Some states are passing strict immigration laws. Here in GA they are asking people for 'papers' if stopped for a moving violation and one speaks with an accent. If this happens to him, it could be another huge issue.

The status of his parents are also essential. What happened when his passport was denied? Was he ever ordered out of the country?

Where is he from originally?

Good luck

Edited April 9, 2013 by canadian_wife

[Kindra 0]

WOW, so when he was doing jury duty, did he ever say that he was a US citizen? Not that it matters, he probably did with trying to apply for a US passport.

Sorry, I believe you need a lawyer. Laurel Scott does free consultations on Wednesdays via scottimmigration.net.

good luck

[Kindra 0]

Surprisingly no he didn't. He was called to Jury Duty and said he was not a citizen and they let him go. I will for sure speak to a lawyer, but there is no way I even want to chance having him deported. So we might not take this any further. Thank You!

[hmh33 117]

It's widely believed that if it ever happens, comprehensive immigration reform will include some provision for people who have been illegally in the US for a long time and who have claimed US citizenship. I think that is probably his only hope at this point.

[Kindra 0]

He is from New Zealand, his parents born in Samoa with NZ citizenship. We live in San Francisco.

His Mom came here with her children worked as a nurse and now is retired in NZ. We have a letter from his Aunt/usc sponsoring him in the 80's who is now deceased so I can't find out what happened. Basically have no idea how far that got within the system.

I just found this out, he applied for a passport with an American Samoa birth certificate which he was born in NZ and his us citizen niece applied as well. They called and said they were ready to be picked up. They escorted him into back room and said he had forged documents, and that was it and can't issue passport. This was in 1995. Lol, I have been picking his brain for last 2 years of all details...still finding new info.

[Blue Bianchi 77]

He is from New Zealand, his parents born in Samoa with NZ citizenship. We live in San Francisco.

His Mom came here with her children worked as a nurse and now is retired in NZ. We have a letter from his Aunt/usc sponsoring him in the 80's who is now deceased so I can't find out what happened. Basically have no idea how far that got within the system.

I just found this out, he applied for a passport with an American Samoa birth certificate which he was born in NZ and his us citizen niece applied as well. They called and said they were ready to be picked up. They escorted him into back room and said he had forged documents, and that was it and can't issue passport. This was in 1995. Lol, I have been picking his brain for last 2 years of all details...still finding new info.

I just have to say this: it's these sorts of issues that make it harder for people who live and work in the country legally. For every document that a lot of us here had to apply for, and every convoluted Instruction Sheet we had to study, is a person out there who is forging a document or buying a fake Social Security Card. I do hope your husband finally tells you all the "new info" that you need. It's tough that his mother put him into this situation. I just can't say that I am sympathetic with the way he chose to deal with it. A lawyer might be though. Sounds like hours and hours of consult time.

[Kindra 0]

True. Besides this he is a law abiding non-citizen, . I want to add he does not have a fake SS card, he doesn't have one because the one issued was lost... number memorized.

[Hypnos 6,578]

Talk to a good lawyer, ideally more than one.

He will need proof of legal entry to adjust based on marriage to you, which from 1979 may be difficult to obtain. I don't even know if they issued I-94s back then.

The false claim of US citizenship could well be an issue too, since as pointed out it carries a lifetime bar from the US for which there is currently no waiver. Likely he has misrepresented himself as a US citizen on his I-9s too, so that he wouldn't be asked to produce any documents to show he was able to work in the US.

[newacct 688]

I am looking at the current version of the passport application form, DS-11, and nowhere on there do you check off that you're a U.S. citizen. The statement you sign at the end says "I am a citizen or non-citizen national of the United States ...", so he could argue he did not claim to be a citizen, only "a citizen or non-citizen national". (Along the same lines as the old I-9 form trick.) However, I don't know about jury duty and the other stuff he may have done.

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That applying for a passport could cause you to be banned seems somewhat odd to me though. I know this is not the OP's situation, but there are many cases when it is not very clear whether someone is a citizen because of the complexities of past derivative citizenship laws, or someone may be a citizen but they do not have enough evidence to prove it (e.g. someone born to U.S. citizen parent abroad, but don't have enough documentation to prove their citizen parent satisfied the residency requirements). In these cases, often someone would still try and apply for a passport to see if their evidence is sufficient. (Another way is to file an N-600.) On the application, it says if you don't have enough evidence, you will be denied. Nowhere does it say that may cause you to be banned from all immigration benefits. If it is indeed such a risky act, then it should be more apparent.