Petitioning for husband to become a resident/obtain green card

Deferred action is only a withholding of action by DHS that allows an individual to stay here for a period of time and in most situations hold work authorization. However, it does not change someone's status in the US to become totally lawfully present. I will assume that you are a US citizen. In that case, the question is not whether he is legal at this point, but whether he entered the country under inspection and was admitted or paroled. In either situation, you would be allowed to petition and he allowed to adjust his status to permanent residence without leaving the country. On the other hand, if he entered the country without inspection, U.S.C.I.S. would consider him in most situations nonadjustable even if you are a US citizen. I note that there is some controversy with people who were awarded Temporary Protected Status (TPS) with some courts believing that the TPS grant changed their status from being not inspected to inspected and admitted. Otherwise if your husband was not inspected, he may still be eligible to obtain permanent residence through the Administration's I-601A program under which you would file an I-130 alien relative petition for him and if approved, he would be eligible to file for a waiver of his illegal stay and if approved, he would interview for the green card in his home country in a normal visa interview. Kindly note that the I-601A is not available for those who have had an order of removal. On your other questions, you may wish to consult a knowledgeable immigration attorney with your husband's entire situation. If your husband is approved for permanent residence, he would have an opportunity to file for US citizenship – most likely three years after being awarded permanent residence. 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.