If someone entered the USA lawfully but remained beyond their time limit, can they fix their papers in the country?

Significantly more information is needed in order to respond to your question. If a foreign national who entered the U.S. lawfully and with inspection applies to adjust status in the Immediate Relative visa category (such as for a spouse of a U.S. citizen), the fact that the foreign national overstayed a visa (or even worked without authorization) will not be problematic. For other visa categories, an overstay generally will make the person ineligible to adjust status in the U.S. and instead he/she will need to go through consular processing abroad. Note that for those foreign nationals, an overstay of 180 days or more may trigger a 3-year bar to re-entry, and an overstay of a year or longer may trigger a very harsh 10-year bar to re-entry. Some immigration law firms, including mine, offer legal services on a "flat fee" basis so that a client will know the total expense from the very beginning, and a few immigration law firms, including mine, offer an initial consultation free of charge.

The answer to your question depends upon a variety of factors. For example, if the individual entered the United States with inspection and is marrying a US citizen and they can adjust their status in the US. Also, if the entered without inspection they may be able to obtain a waiver. Our immigration and nationality staff would be happy to explain the various methods that this can be done.