AOS THROUGH LPR THEN THROUGH CITIZENSHIP COMPLICATED

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Well it would be a good idea if I explain my lawyers strategy. We are filing for the I-130 now using my permanent residence. If that then is approved (hopefully in a couple of months) We hang back a little bit till november to see if there is a chance that they approve another extension to forgiveness for ewi (according to him congress is in talks, but that doesnt guarantee anything) If no such law appears then the wifey goes back to colombia to apply for a visa there, using my hopefully accepted citizenship. It seems to be a good plan of action, a bit hopefull, but a good plan of action. According to the lawyer (which in my experience has been reputable since He was the one that adjust my status back in the day). Her stay in colombia should be only a couple of months. I am not entirely sure if this is true, so I was wondering if anyone knows of a timeline in colombia. Thanks !

According to this notice from USCIS from July 15, 2004 your I-130 won't be adjudicated until a visa number becomes available for your spouse. That's about 4 years from filing for the spouse of an LPR (unless from Mexico, China, India or the Philippines) according to the recent visa bullentin. If your lawyer leads you to believe that the I-130 will be adjudicated in a matter of months, that lawyer is misleading you.

Some folks in Congress have been talking for years about pushing another amnesty for illegals and lawyers have been talking about this to clients for about the same amount of time. There's no majority for that in the US today. And it looks like there won't be. The mid-terms are nearing and Congress is concerned about re-elections and such. Tough on illegals sits well with voters these days and that's what it'll be. Frist is pushing a hard measure in the senate. The house has adopted such already. Read up.

A few months in Colombia? Depends on the definition of "few"...

Edited March 24, 2006 by ET-US2004

[eau_xplain 2]

wiggit,

Unfortunately, even when you get your US citizenship, your wife will not be able to adjust status and stay in the US because she was not inspected when she last entered the country.

Your lawyer's strategy to file the I-130 is ok. This will not give your wife any legal status at all. You will have to indicate on your application that you will be filing for the visa at the embassy/consulate of your wife's home country. Your wife has to go back to her home country to appear for an interview where her application will be denied because of the illegal entry and the overstay. She will then submit a waiver together with a hardship letter. Adjudication of waivers can take from 3-12 months.

Suggest you check out www.immigrate2us.net for similar cases like yours. You can get an idea of what needs to be done and allow you to interact with your lawyer in a more informed manner.

Edited March 24, 2006 by eau_xplain

[wiggit07 0]

wiggit,

Unfortunately, even when you get your US citizenship, your wife will not be able to adjust status and stay in the US because she was not inspected when she last entered the country.

Your lawyer's strategy to file the I-130 is ok. This will not give your wife any legal status at all. You will have to indicate on your application that you will be filing for the visa at the embassy/consulate of your wife's home country. Your wife has to go back to her home country to appear for an interview where her application will be denied because of the illegal entry and the overstay. She will then submit a waiver together with a hardship letter. Adjudication of waivers can take from 3-12 months.

Suggest you check out www.immigrate2us.net for similar cases like yours. You can get an idea of what needs to be done and allow you to interact with your lawyer in a more informed manner.

thanks for the response, yea it seems I am already mentally preparing myself for the fact that my wife will have to go to colombia for an indefinite period of time. I think the lawyer is sending the I-130 to the consulate straight to the consulate in colombia, I should check with him on that.

[TracyTN 237]

Never mind, answered my own question.

Edited March 24, 2006 by TracyTN