Sean Ercanbrack

Hi,

I don't post much here, because I don't feel I have any real useful
knowledge to offer. However, I was hoping some of you more knowledgable
people might be able to offer me some info that can help me relax.

I just got married in August. Yeah!!! :-) We have a wonderful marriage!

However, we are now getting started on the Adjustment of Status stuff and
some concerns have come up. Here are my concerns:

My wife first came to the US in March of 2001. Her grandfather died in
October of 2001. She went back to Peru for a month and came back in
November of 2001. She was again issued a B2 visa but for only 15 days with
no EOS. She entered legally and had all the right documents-- as far as we
can tell from her I-94 form. She had plans to visit her cousin and other
friends here in the US. After getting here, she realized that she had
missed life here and decided to overstay her departure time.

She and I didn't know each other at the time. She went to the IRS and got a
tax id number. She got a job. She slipped on the ice during the winter and
was laid up in bed for 3 months and had to quit her job. During this time,
her wonderful roommate loaned her a laptop and let my wife use the internet
to meet friends while she was getting better. That's how we met.

August came and we got married. Now, we are trying to file for adjustment
of status, and as I've tried to learn the requirements for AOS, some
concerns come up.

1. As far as I can tell, she truly didn't have permission to work in the
country, even though she got a tax ID and paid her taxes. She never filed
for permission to work.

2. She is currently nearly a year out of status (expired visa).

3. Also, I haven't seen it listed, but is there a required time limit for
which, after marriage, the AOS paperwork should be in? We've been married
since August. Are we missing any deadlines in addition to the other
problems I've noticed?

Can anyone forsee any major problems regarding our situation? I get
paranoid about things like this and I don't want to be separated from my
wife.

Please, feel free to elaborate or give any information and advice you feel
will be helpful. Please help me to stop burning holes in my stomach at
night from worrying about these things.

Thanks so much!!! (in advance)

Sean

P.S. If you will, so I don't miss any of your valuable and appreciated
responses, please CC: my email address at [email protected]
Thanks!!!

Andy Platt

"Sean Ercanbrack" wrote ...

    > August came and we got married. Now, we are trying to file for adjustment
    > of status, and as I've tried to learn the requirements for AOS, some
    > concerns come up.

Everything I say here assumes that you are a US citizen.

    > 1. As far as I can tell, she truly didn't have permission to work in the
    > country, even though she got a tax ID and paid her taxes. She never filed
    > for permission to work.

That's pretty much guaranteed. Whether that's a problem depends on whether
she ever misrepresented her status and/or used fake IDs. If she just found
somewhere who didn't care about immigration law and allowed her to work
without proper authorization, fine. If she said she was a US citizen and/or
used fake documents for that she's in trouble.

    > 2. She is currently nearly a year out of status (expired visa).

In itself that doesn't matter although she cannot leave the US without
triggering a 10 year ban on returning so she is stuck here until she becomes
a permanent resident.

    > 3. Also, I haven't seen it listed, but is there a required time limit for
    > which, after marriage, the AOS paperwork should be in? We've been married
    > since August. Are we missing any deadlines in addition to the other
    > problems I've noticed?

No, there's no deadline.

    > Can anyone forsee any major problems regarding our situation? I get
    > paranoid about things like this and I don't want to be separated from my
    > wife.

One thing that could be an issue is her entry to the US. You said they
marked the I-94 no EOS. Did they also mark no AOS and/or no COS. The issue
is that they could think she had preconceived plans to stay here and
misrepresented herself upon entry. These cases are pretty complex and
somewhat dependent on when she took certain actions. I would strongly advise
a consultation with an immigration attorney prior to filing.

Andy.

--
I'm not really here - it's just your warped imagination.

Rete

Here are a layperson's attempt to answer your questions as posted:

1. No your wife did not and does not have permission from the IRS to work. In fact the company that hired her should not have accepted the IRS' taxpayer id number as a form of social security number. From reading the group, it appears that INS will forgive authorized work by illegal immigrants which your wife was at the time of working and living here prior to your marriage.

2. Being out of status for more than 180 days means that she should not leave the US under any circumstances until she is issued a green card. If she leaves she is subject to ban of re-entry for 3 to 5 years.

3. There is no timeline for adjustment of status. The sooner you do, however, the sooner she is again in status.

Rete