Ok serious answer only no deport crap please!! If someone I know came to this country from mexico illgealy and is here now what are the steps to make them legal and gain citizenship. do they apply for green card than go after citizenship or become residents than apply. can they just go to a citizenship class provided by the state and obtain it? if they go to the class do they need to hide the illgeal status? any answer can help!!
2006-10-16 06:11:07 · 10 answers · asked by jasmine m 3 in Politics & Government ➔ Immigration
The laws differ from state-to-state. In my experience, services that are offered to/ aimed toward immigrants such as citizenship classes usually do not care about your status as an immigrant but they will not help you through the legal issues of becoming legal. Citizenship classes are to provide immigrants that have already become residents the information they need to pass the citizenship exam.
I am married to a Mexican, we applied for his visa and he returned to Mexico because INS mandated that he do so and wait for his petition to be approved or denied. He's been there 5 years and INS says they have no record of him. Mind you this is after we paid his $3,000 fine for being here illegally and fulfilled all requirements of restitution for breaking the law of coming here illegally. Now my children see there dad only during summer vacation and we have all resolved ourselves to the idea that this is the way life will be.
It's VERY hard for a Mexican to come here legally and even harder for them to become legal after there here.
My advice.....get a darn good immigration lawyer.
2006-10-16 06:30:37 · answer #1 · answered by Advocate 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
They cannot hide their illegal status when applying for residency. The "green card" is the same thing as residency and once theyve obtained permanent status they must remain so for three years before they can apply for citizenship. I would go to the INS office and obtain the application or they can hire a lawyer and pay them to do the necessary paperwork. Good luck!
2006-10-16 13:14:36 · answer #2 · answered by SittinPretty! 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If they are here illegally it'll be impossible to gain legal status. They need a family sponsor, an immediate family member. It's a myth to think that if you marry someone from the US automatically makes you a citizen, its also a myth to think that if they join the military would also give them automatic citizenship. There are no classes that I am aware of for this. They need to go back to Mexico and perhaps file and get in line. Sorry, but without proper sponsorship from a family member, they can't even get in line. If they are lucky enough to get sponsorship they go through extensive background checks and if they find he has been here illegally for ANY length of time they could be barred for up to 10 years, or even forever!
2006-10-16 13:38:19 · answer #3 · answered by proud mom ♥ 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
If your friend is in this country illegally, he/she cannot gain residency or citizenship.
The proper step is to gain a visa to get in the country, file for residency (could take over a year) to obtain residency (green card), then citizenship (after 5 years of continuous stay in US?).
There are two other ways he/she will be able to obtain the green card: amnesty or marrying someone who is a resident/citizen.
Although marriage is usually a solution, there could be other hurdles due to the fact that he/she is in this country illegally in the first place.
The best advice I can provide is to get an immigration lawyer to his/her case.
2006-10-16 13:16:57 · answer #4 · answered by errant_hero 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
If someone is here illegally- they need to marry a citizen in order to get a greencard.
There is some process where someone who is enrolled full time as a student can begin the process to get a greencard, but I dont know much about it. Your friend needs to get a reputable immigration attorney- and ask these sorts of questions.
You can't apply for citizenship unless you have a greencard. Going to citizenship classes would be pointless.
There are a lot of scams and irreputable people who try to make money off of people in your friend's situation. Please advise your friend to be careful- and to save money (about $500) to pay for a consultation with a good lawyer.
2006-10-16 13:15:31 · answer #5 · answered by Jemima 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
you need to get a green card first and the only way that is possible is through a company that you work for, marriage, or political aslyum. The class won't get him what he wants. Or relative that are here legally can sponsor him.
2006-10-16 13:16:03 · answer #6 · answered by Ankit 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
They can only legally apply for these things at the US Embassy or US consulate in their home country. In order to become a citizen they need to go back home and do things right.
2006-10-16 13:14:43 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
deport them back to where they came from and apply for citizenship legally
2006-10-16 13:14:52 · answer #8 · answered by ? 6 · 0⤊ 2⤋
The one true option without any red-tape is to join the armed forces...usually army/marines and they become and instant citizen.
2006-10-16 13:13:35 · answer #9 · answered by Gettin_by 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Well, here's some 'deport' crap, for you...thanks for the points!
2006-10-16 13:16:45 · answer #10 · answered by gokart121 6 · 0⤊ 2⤋