QUESTION

Marry to the green card holder

Asked on Jul 23rd, 2015 on Immigration - Florida
More details to this question:
I want to get married to the girl that already in US, she doesn't have any documents. I have a 10 years GC. Will it be faster for her to get a green card I will marry her now, and after I get a citizenship, we will send all the documents for her green card. Or should we just wait till I get a citizenship
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1 ANSWER

Immigration and Nationality Law Attorney serving New York, NY
3 Awards
When you say that the girl does not have any documents, I assume that you mean that she did not enter the country legally. If so, she will have to leave the U. S. in order to get the green card unless she is a beneficiary of section 245(i) under which an individual can adjust status to permanent residence in the U. S. if he or she had a labor certification application or visa petition filed by April 30, 2001, and was physically present in the U. S. on December 21, 2000. It would likely be faster for her immigration if you became a U. S. citizen. I note that if your girlfriend has been here without status for 180 days or one year after entry without documents, she would be barred from entering for 3 or 10 years respectively if she left the U. S. You and she may explore the possibilities of her applying for an I-601A waiver based on extreme hardship to you when you are married. Unlike the regular I-601 waiver which is only available after denial at a consular interview, the I-601A allows a qualified individual to submit a waiver application of the 3 and 10 year bars while in the States and wait for the result before deciding to go overseas for consular processing of an immigrant visa. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.
Answered on Aug 22nd, 2015 at 10:35 AM

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