Brosnan

hi everyone.

in 1996 i came here from singapore on an f1 visa and went to college
for a few years. i met my wife in 1997 and we dated for 2 years and
moved in together in 1999 and got married in 2000. prior to this, i
had just dropped out of college. i was suffering intense depression
and had a breakdown (i have since been diagnosed with bipolar disease).
i decided to then pursue a career as a writer. needless to say, my f1
and i20 ran out and i've never tried reinstating them since.

we've stayed married, of course, and it's legit and genuine. i'm sure
by now no one would question the faith of our relationship. my
question is, i really want to finally get my green card, and would like
to know if i'm going to run into roadblocks because of this significant
overstay situation?

in the interest of honesty, i believe i went into overstay before we
got married. but we really love each other and wanted to build a life
together and so we did it in a small church.

will i be denied a work permit and a green card? should i hire an
attorney? i have never been given an indication that adjusting my
status will be a problem, but i'm anxious and paranoid and want to make
sure. i also don't know if things have changed in our post 9-11
climate.

many thanks,
b

Musashi

"brosnan" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:2004091423361614984%420@lithiumjournalsdontsp ammecom...
    > hi everyone.
    > in 1996 i came here from singapore on an f1 visa and went to college
    > for a few years. i met my wife in 1997 and we dated for 2 years and
    > moved in together in 1999 and got married in 2000. prior to this, i
    > had just dropped out of college. i was suffering intense depression
    > and had a breakdown (i have since been diagnosed with bipolar disease).
    > i decided to then pursue a career as a writer. needless to say, my f1
    > and i20 ran out and i've never tried reinstating them since.
    > we've stayed married, of course, and it's legit and genuine. i'm sure
    > by now no one would question the faith of our relationship. my
    > question is, i really want to finally get my green card, and would like
    > to know if i'm going to run into roadblocks because of this significant
    > overstay situation?
    > in the interest of honesty, i believe i went into overstay before we
    > got married. but we really love each other and wanted to build a life
    > together and so we did it in a small church.
    > will i be denied a work permit and a green card? should i hire an
    > attorney? i have never been given an indication that adjusting my
    > status will be a problem, but i'm anxious and paranoid and want to make
    > sure. i also don't know if things have changed in our post 9-11
    > climate.
    > many thanks,
    > b

The US may overlook your earlier overstay if your i-485 is marriage based.
however, if you can afford an immigration attorney you should do so.

eggysbrain

thats a pretty long time to overstay without doing anything to try and make yourself legal. If I were you, I'd feel better if I hired a lawyer!

good luck

Brosnan

it is, and there were the money problems that all went to medical
bills. but it's time to pick up now and i'm almost healthy again, so
i'd like to get started.

thank you for the advice.

b

On 2004-09-15 15:23:59 -0700, eggysbrain <member24424@british_expats.com> said:

    >
    >> hi everyone.
    >>
    >> in 1996 i came here from singapore on an f1 visa and went to college
    >> for a few years. i met my wife in 1997 and we dated for 2 years and
    >> moved in together in 1999 and got married in 2000. prior to this, i
    >> had just dropped out of college. i was suffering intense depression
    >> and had a breakdown (i have since been diagnosed with bipolar
    >> disease).
    >> i decided to then pursue a career as a writer. needless to say, my f1
    >> and i20 ran out and i've never tried reinstating them since.
    >>
    >> we've stayed married, of course, and it's legit and genuine. i'm sure
    >> by now no one would question the faith of our relationship. my
    >> question is, i really want to finally get my green card, and would
    >> like
    >> to know if i'm going to run into roadblocks because of this
    >> significant
    >> overstay situation?
    >>
    >> in the interest of honesty, i believe i went into overstay before we
    >> got married. but we really love each other and wanted to build a life
    >> together and so we did it in a small church.
    >>
    >> will i be denied a work permit and a green card? should i hire an
    >> attorney? i have never been given an indication that adjusting my
    >> status will be a problem, but i'm anxious and paranoid and want to
    >> make
    >> sure. i also don't know if things have changed in our post 9-11
    >> climate.
    >>
    >> many thanks,
    >> b
    >
    > thats a pretty long time to overstay without doing anything to try and
    > make yourself legal. If I were you, I'd feel better if I hired a lawyer!
    >
    > good luck

eggysbrain

youre welcome