International Student, married U.S. citizen, lost student status (Out-Of-Status), how to apply for Residency?

Question

I came to the U.S. as an International Student. I married my husband, a U.S. citizen and then lost my student status (so I am Out-Of-Status), I wish to apply for a Permament Resident Visa, what paperwork must I file? what forms should I file? should I seek legal assistance for being Out-Of-Status? Is there a different procedure, form, fee, fine, for being out of status? if there is, does it matter how long have I been out-of-status? the longer i have been out of status, the greater the fine, fee, etc.? What are some "normal, regular" lawyer fees for this kind of case? Please help if you are an immigration lawyer, and actually know what you are talking about. Or if you just recently wnet through the same situation, and know exactly what to do! thank you!

Answer 1

I-130 Petition for Alien Relative $190
I-131 Application for Travel Permit $170
I-485 Application for permanent Residence $325 (+$70 for biometrics)
Supplement A to Form I-485 Adjustment of Status Under Section 245(i) $1000
I-765 Application for Employment Authorization $180

Note: the I-485 supplement should cover you for being out of status but I don't think it is neccesary; see last paragraph below:

"Section 245(i) of the Act allows certain aliens to file for adjustment of status upon payment of a penalty fee of $1,000, even thoughsome of the conditions required by section 245(a) and (c) of the Act are not met. Aliens in the United States who have animmigrant visa immediately available, but who entered the United States without inspection, remained in the United Statespast the period of admission, worked unlawfully, or are otherwise ineligible for adjustment of status under section 245(c) ofthe Act must submit this form along with Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status.

NOTE: If you are applying to adjust as the SPOUSE or unmarried minor child OF A U.S. CITIZEN or the parent of a U.S. citizen child atleast 21 years of age, and if you were inspected and lawfully admitted to the United States other than in C-1 or S non immigrantstatus, YOU DO NOT NEED TO FILE THIS FORM.

Answer 2

Hi,

I was an international student on F-1 visa before. And I'm married to an American citizen and I filed the petition for Adjustment of Status (AOS) in 2004.

When I filed the petition for AOS, I was already out of status. I thought I needed to pay the penalty fee which was $1000 dollars back then. But when I called the USCIS National Customer Service Center, the representative told me that I was out of status but that didn't mean that I stayed here illegally because I entered the US as a F-1 student, which means I entered the US leagally and I was in the middle of filing the petition for AOS so even though I was out of status, that didn't mean that I was here illegally. I actually asked the same question to an immigrataion lawyer and he told me the same thing.

But how long have you been out of status?( I was out of status for a couple of weeks) If you've been out of status more than 6 months, that might be a problem. If you are out of status that long, you should find an immigration lawyer. Just use Yellow Pages and find an immigration lawyer under Immigration Services.

And the forms and fees that you need are on the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website which is here:http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis

And you can find the information about green card or AOS at http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=0775667706f7d010VgnVCM10000048f3d6a1RCRD&vgnextchannel=4f719c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD

And if you have AOS questions, Visa Journey.Com really helps. So I'm going to link that website for you:http://visajourney.com/forums/index.php?act=home

This website shows example forms and really has helpful information so use this website :)

Answer 3

The procedures that the other people listed are correct to apply for an adjustment of status to gain permanent residency.

Unfortunately, you CANNOT ADJUST YOUR STATUS FROM A STUDENT VISA. The terms of your student visa require that you return to your home country when your visa expires. Technically, you cannot adjust status to permanent resident status after being on a student visa, even through marriage to a citizen. Sometimes, if you let a letter from your government stating your home country does not oppose it, then the US will let you adjust your status. However, if you're from a country with high immigration rates (especially illegal immigration) like Mexico, it is extremely difficult to do this. And you will be sent back to your home country. Depending on how long you have been out of status, you will be banned from coming back to the US for 1, 5 or 10 years. After this period has expired, your US spouse can petition to get you back to the US.

Answer 4

Your husband needs to file the I-130 visa petition for you. There is currently a 190.00 fee to file this form. It is realtively easy just make sure you attach all documents they ask for. Once your I-130 has been approved, USCIS will send affidavit of support and some other forms for your husband to fill out, there will be an additional fee to pay as well. Once all forms have been received and are approved you will be scheduled for an interview here in the U.S. You will also have to do a medical exam, security clearance, and fingerprint check. Once you have had your interview and all other checks come through clean and clear you will receive your green card in the mail. Process can take some time to complete but at least you will get to remain in the U.S. Good luck to you hon and if you need anything else feel free to email me.

Answer 5

You got married before you lost your status? You may need a lawyer at this point. It may be that since you were married while still a student you can normalize things by having your husband file a change of status, but it may also be that since he's filing now while you don't have legal status he can't do that. I think it's risky going without a lawyer at this point.

Answer 6

Your case is simple and there is nothing to be afraid off.
You entered legally - married and fall out of status. By current laws you can adjust status while in US and your overstay is forgiven automatically. Yo need to file I-130, I-485, I-485A, and I-765 for work authorization.

Good chance, Immigration officer wouldnt care at all about your overstay (if its not 10 years), and may be I-485A would be required. So I can recommend do not file it(Since it has a 1000 fee associated with that), but bring it to the interview together with chack for 1000$( in the case they will make a deal out of that).

Beware of: Do not leave this country, without GC in hand. You are forgiven overstay if you are still in US. Once you leave, you will impose 3to 10 years overstay ban, and it would be completely different story. Even after application For GC, and getting andvanced parole, yo are still subject to overstay ban.


Comment: dont use a lawer, do most of research yourself. There are great help immigration sites, Just spent couple hours on internet.
Lawers are bad for several reasons. They cost about 6-10 thousand dollars. For this money they resolve only straightforward case, something that you can do yourself. A lot of times they mess things up, and its difficult to use them accountable for that.

The only use of lawer recommended is complicated case, with lawer who has expertise there (its actually difficult to find one, takes longer then do your research).

Answer 7

The question has to arise - why are you getting married? From your statements here, it's pretty obvious that you overstayed and are looking for marriage to bail you out of your mess in a hurry. If this is marriage fraud - marriage for the purpose of getting a green card - then he is subject to 5 years in prison plus $250,000 fine. Do you want to risk getting a good guy jailed and his life ruined so you can get a green card? You only get deported and permanently barred from reentry. If there is any fraud, forgery, perjury in any immigration application, supporting documentation, interview, etc, that is grounds for revocation of any immigration benefit, even revocation of naturalized citizenship. You will never be free from consequences of exposure of your fraud. If, on the other hand, this were a committed "till death do us part" loving relationship, it would be more important to be together than where you were together. In other words, would you still marry this guy if you two had to go live in your country to be together? No indication here that this is the actual case. Don't marry him if it is only for a green card. You will never be "safe" - your fraud could be exposed at any time, and destroy him, plus get you deported and permanently barred. If this is the marriage fraud it appears to be, give it up & go home now. To sponsor a spouse, the citizen does need to prove he earns enough to support you. The last 3 years of income tax returns can be required as evidence, in addition to current paystubs.

Answer 8

you are now illegal, contact an immigration lawyer, they will fill the forms out for you, then wait, it should take about 2 years before they will respond with your first appointment at the consulate, when that happens you must report to your country of origin and wait in that country about 6mos - 1 year for them to have you go to the 2nd appointment. They will either approve you or not, if they do then you will be given a date to report for them to stamp your passport with a temporary Resident stamp. Then the greencard would come in the mail (to the US) in about 4 mos. Good luck.

Answer 9

dear email me with you MSN or yahoo mess you need to go to INS website first but i have been thru this with my ex wife which was from brazil and out of status doesnt matter if you are student or not

Answer 10

Get a sponcer.