Expired Visa's and Marriage

[jjh832k1 0]

Hello all,

This is my first post and I've been looking for information on this for a while without any luck, hopefully I'm posting in the correct area.

My fiancee and her mother (not her biological mother, but her aunt. My fiancee's grandparents are actually her legal parents. Not sure if this matters, but I wanted to be specific) came to the United States around 1994 (when my fiancee was 11) because of some pretty bad circumstances involving their safety they did everything in coming here legally and there is proof of this. However, her mother did not renew their permits and stayed in the United States. Things have been difficult for my fiancee because of this and she has tried hard to learn what she can do to become a legal citizen and all she's really come to is that she cannot leave or she will not be allowed back into the US which is not really a viable option though I know she would if it meant she could become a citizen.

All that being said, we are planning to be married in December and I do not know what this will entail as far as her status in the United States goes. What sort of process can we expect as far as her potential for citizenship after marriage to a US citizen. Is it going to be different because her status has not been considered legal due to circumstances that are in no way her fault? I have so many questions, but I will hopefully get some input here that will narrow them down a bit.

I apologize if this information is somewhere on these forums and I missed it. Thanks very much!

[amykathleen2005 441]

How old is she. Has she always remained in the US and never left? Was there any misrepresentation?

[aaron2020 11,651]

Hello all,

This is my first post and I've been looking for information on this for a while without any luck, hopefully I'm posting in the correct area.

My fiancee and her mother (not her biological mother, but her aunt. My fiancee's grandparents are actually her legal parents. Not sure if this matters, but I wanted to be specific) came to the United States around 1994 (when my fiancee was 11) because of some pretty bad circumstances involving their safety they did everything in coming here legally and there is proof of this. However, her mother did not renew their permits and stayed in the United States. Things have been difficult for my fiancee because of this and she has tried hard to learn what she can do to become a legal citizen and all she's really come to is that she cannot leave or she will not be allowed back into the US which is not really a viable option though I know she would if it meant she could become a citizen.

All that being said, we are planning to be married in December and I do not know what this will entail as far as her status in the United States goes. What sort of process can we expect as far as her potential for citizenship after marriage to a US citizen. Is it going to be different because her status has not been considered legal due to circumstances that are in no way her fault? I have so many questions, but I will hopefully get some input here that will narrow them down a bit.

I apologize if this information is somewhere on these forums and I missed it. Thanks very much!

More information please.

Are you a US citizen?

What's the proof that she entered legally?

If you are a US citizen and she has evidence that she entered legally, she can adjust status to a legal conditional permanent resident after marriage. After 2 years, you would need to remove the condition. After 3 years of marriage AND 3 years living with you AND 3 years of having a green card, she can apply for US citizenship.

There is nothing she can do for her family. The only way for them to become legal is for her to first get US citizenship, second for them to leave the US and be ban from returning to the US for 10 years, and then apply for her legal parents. She cannot apply for her aunt.

[jjh832k1 0]

How old is she. Has she always remained in the US and never left? Was there any misrepresentation?

She is 28 years old, has never left, and you'll have to elaborate on what you mean by "misrepresentation" not sure I understand that.

Are you a US citizen?

What's the proof that she entered legally?

I am a US citizen (sorry, thought I mentioned that) she has a passport of some sort that she got when she was very young that was used to get into the US when she was 11 (I'll have to look at it to give more information than that) as well as the plane ticket she used to get here with her name on it. I wish there were more, but her mother got rid of everything else.

Oh and there are also school records etc. for the many years she has been here if that is relevant.

After 2 years, you would need to remove the condition.

What happens after the 2 year period and the status is removed. Since there is a 1 year period before she could apply for citizenship what needs to be done, if anything, in that time period? Am I misunderstanding that first step completely?

[Married2009 32]

Steps (roughly) in order

1 Marriage to USC

2 Adjustment of Status - check time lines, not sure how long this takes

3 2 year green card

4 2 years, remove conditional status, getting the 10 year green card

5 3 years after getting conditional (2 year) green card, she can apply for citizenship based on your marriage, and living in the US.

Read the guides pinned at the top, it will help you get an overview of the process (and some of the terminology).

[amykathleen2005 441]

Until she receives her green card she should not attempt to leave the country.

[jjh832k1 0]

This is great information, thanks everyone. I'll let you know if I have anymore questions.