QUESTION
How do I go about marrying an illegal alien?
Asked on Feb 01st, 2014 on Immigration - Texas
More details to this question:
My girlfriend and I are very seriously involved and we wish to be married. Not anytime soon, but within the next year and half or two years. She is an illegal alien from Mexico, but came over the border without inspection or passport etc. She came here in 2007 when she was 11 years old. She is 18 now. She says that she has "permission to be here" from Texas, I am not sure what she is referring to. She has a social Security Number and a valid Texas ID. She is also legal to work in the U.S as well and she has been. What is the process that we should follow in order for her to get citizenship after we marry? Is it easier to do before we get married? Thank You.
3 ANSWERS
Adebola O. Asekun
Before you marry at all, you need to sit down with your girlfriend and demand to know more about her immigration history... a lot more. If she entered US illegally, and if as she claims she has a work permit and social security and TX ID, then, it is important that she explains how and when she got all these documents. If any one or more of these documents were fraudulently obtained, she may run into vert serious problems. I seriously urge you to insist that she goes with you to an experienced immigration attorney so as to make determination regarding her true immigration status, and identity. You need to know more about your girl friend before you can proceed any further. Please put the marriage on hold until you know more.
Answered on Feb 06th, 2014 at 7:25 AM
I'm not sure what she means by being permitted to be here if she entered without inspection. Most likely, she is not permitted to be here although she may have DACA employment authorization through the law passed a couple of years ago by Obama. However, just because she has that does not mean that she is eligible for a green card within the US on the basis of marriage. If she entered the US unlawfully and is now over the age of 18, she is not eligible to legalize her status within the US but would have to go back to Mexico to consular process, except that as soon as she departs the US, she triggers an automatic 10 year bar to reentry, which can only be waived by a showing of extreme hardship to a US citizen spouse, which is fairly difficult to do in most cases.
Answered on Feb 05th, 2014 at 2:58 PM
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Getting a Texas ID card does not give your fiancee "permission to be here" nor does it authorizes her to work either. In most cities, you only need one valid form of ID in order to get married. It should not matter that your fiancee does not have any immigration status yet. After you have been married, you can start the immigration process by submitting an I-130 relative petition on her behalf to the USCIS. If she entered the US illegally and you are a US citizen, she will eventually need to apply for and get approved a provisional waiver on form I-601A before returning to her home country for the visa interview at the US consulate. In order to get an I-601A waiver approved, she will need to establish that you would suffer extreme hardship in the event that she is not allowed to return to the US within 10 years.
Answered on Feb 05th, 2014 at 2:55 PM