British Expats - help! is there is any way i can change my status

On Mon, 05 Aug 2002 07:20:18 -0700, LeightonJ wrote:

    > hay all my name is jerome i have been sneak in side of the country by my mother
    > when i was three years old and now i am 19.i am married to a us citizen,and i have
    > a lawyer paid in full and he said there is not nothing he cant really do for me
    > because i am illegal.he said the only way i can get a visa and less i go back
    > home.and then i hear if you go back home you can get ban from the country from
    > 3yrs-10yrs.i want to do so mach with my life.i have my high school diploma and i
    > want to go to college.i have the money to go but i dont have a f-visa to go
    > thank u for reading

Has anybody ever sumitted a petition on your behalf? If that was before April 21,
2001, then you might have a chance and be able to take advantage of 245(i).

Otherwise, there may still be several options available. First, I just read an
interesting strategy for cases exactly such as yours in the newsletter at
http://www.visalaw.com. Before trying that,
consult with your attorney and be aware that this is completely untested water,
legally, so the outcome is far from certain, and it may take years to resolve.

The idea is as follows: when somebody applies for admission to the US but does not
have a visa, he can still be paroled into the country for humanitarian reasons.
Normally, admission into the US means that you come from another country and show up
at a US airport or land port of entry. However, somebody who entered the US without
inspection - such as you - is also legally considered as somebody who is applying for
admission. Asking for Parole in this situation is very unusual, but should at least
theoretically possible. It is at the discretion of the INS officer, though.

Now once you have been paroled into the US, you can apply for adjustment of status
based on marriage to a US citizen just like somebody who has been admitted.

Again, this is an ingenious new legal theory that an immigration lawyer just came up
with, and it is entirely not clear how it will play out. It is possible that you'll
get a clear NYET from INS, or it is just as possible that this will become a major
factor in immigration in the future. Apparently, things like 401(k) plans that are
today commonplace started out by somebody finding such a loophole, and it generally
being considered acceptable and beneficial.

The second option is also something you should hire a lawyer for (or ask your lawyer
about): submit yourself for deportation. Once deportation proceedings start, submit
an application for voluntary departure. When that is approved, travel to Mexico. This
convoluted procedure will cancel the three year ban.

At the same time, your US citizen spouse should submit a petition on your behalf.
Once that is approved, you can then pick up your immigrant visa as spouse of a US
citizen at the US consulate in Ciudad Juarez and come right back.

Again, for both procedures you will need a lawyer, and possibly a very good one. Both
are the immigration equivalent of brain surgery, and just as not every doctor can
perform that, not every immigration attorney is necessarily qualified for these
procedures. Ask your lawyer if he feels comfortable with either approach, and why or
why not. He may be able to refer you to another, more experienced, lawyer.

Ingo