Should I file a I-130 while my spouse is in the States

[Miguel Sue 2007 0]

My husband and I were married in August 2006 in the United States. He is an illegal alien. I am confused if I should file an I-130 for him or will that ban him from the US for a number of years? I am willing to move to Mexico with him but I am unsure how to begin this process.

Help! Confused

[Miguel Sue 2007 0]

My husband and I were married in August 2006 in the United States. He is an illegal alien. I am confused if I should file an I-130 for him or will that ban him from the US for a number of years? My husband came across the border illegally so I can not adjust his status. I am willing to move to Mexico with him but I am unsure how to begin this process.

Help! Confused

[MissStacey 1]

I think most people here will tell you to consult with a good Immigration Attorney. The fact he was in the US illegally will probably make things more complicated. An Attorney is your best bet in this situation. I hope it works out well for you two!

[Miguel Sue 2007 0]

I think most people here will tell you to consult with a good Immigration Attorney. The fact he was in the US illegally will probably make things more complicated. An Attorney is your best bet in this situation. I hope it works out well for you two!

Thank you, I will start calling around tomorrow for an attorney.

[lucyrich 20]

How long has he been in the US, and how did he enter initially?

If he initially entered legally but his status expired, he can probably adjust status without leaving the US. You should probably consult with an immigration attorney to find out if some other things in your case might prevent a succesful adjustment of status. If he falls into this category, he should NOT leave the US before he has his green card.

If he initially entered without inspection, there is no way he can adjust status under current law. His only way to become legal is to go abroad and get a visa (or wait for the law to change -- which could be a very long wait).

But when he leaves the US, if he's accumulated more than 180 days of illegal presence in the US, he'll automatically trigger a 3 year bar on admissibility. If he's accumulated more than a year of illegal presence, he'll trigger a ten year bar. A waiver of the bar is available, but approval is not automatic, and depends on demonstrating "extreme hardship" to you, the US Citizen spouse (hardship to him doesn't matter). The phrase "extreme hardship" isn't very precisely defined, but if you're willing and able to live abroad with him, then that might be taken as evidence that your hardship is less than "extreme". If you're wanting to pursue this route, it's worth some research to find out what kinds of waiver applications get accepted, and what kind get rejected. If you consult with an immigration attorney, ask how much experience they have dealing with hardship waivers for the 3/10 year admissibility bars.

Do consult with an attorney; the above is just a little background info so you can be prepared and know what kind of questions to ask.

[alohaspirit 0]

My husband and I were married in August 2006 in the United States. He is an illegal alien. I am confused if I should file an I-130 for him or will that ban him from the US for a number of years? I am willing to move to Mexico with him but I am unsure how to begin this process.

Help! Confused

Did you husband came to the US legally before or did he came crossing the border illegally?