Anthony, FL Immigration Law Firms & Lawyers

I am a little confused on everyone's status. If your husband was born in the U.S., the children are his natural children, and he has spent the requisite time in the U.S. (This varies depending on his birth date) he can file for a Report of Foreign Birth Abroad for them to obtain U.S. passports and be recognized as U.S. citizens. If I am reading your facts correctly you are in the U.S. and the children are overseas. You are only a permanent resident though and not a citizen. If you were married less than 2 years when you obtained your permanent residency you presumably got a 2 year green card and will need to self-petition to remove the conditions. Who are you referring to when you say how long can he physically stay in the U.S.? I would be happy to assist you and the children and your ex-husband through these various procedures. You may schedule a consultation to discuss your case by contacting me as indicated below. We do charge for consultations but any consultation fees would then be a credit toward the fees for your case if we are retained for further work after the consultation.

  Although Puerto Rico is part of the United States, it is an outlying part and there are probably more chances of encounter with DHS personnel. If your felony would bar you from the United States without any chance of relief, then it could become problematic for you to travel to Puerto Rico. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.

Truth is that you can have a petition filed on your behalf by your US citizen step mother. While it may seem a little out of sorts that she could file a petition for you now that the marriage has dissolved, the immigration law does provide that opportunity to pursue the submission of a visa as long as there is evidence of a bond food parent-child relationship. What I would suggest is that you and her schedule a telephonic conference with an attorney and consult about this possibility. Keep in mind that if step mom does file this petition, there is a significant period of time during which you will have to wait for the petition to become current. Likewise, your dad could also file a petition on your behalf as long as you are not married. The waiting period for a visa to become available thru your dad is longer thank that thru your mom. But if your dad becomes a US citizen, then the petition is upgraded and the waiting period is exactly the same. If I were advising you, and as long as dad plan on filing to become a US citizen, I would probably recommend that he file for you rather that her doing it. Either way the end result and the waiting period are the same. You just have to figure out the best way to handle this for you and the potential obstacles that may get thrown at you either way. A definitely fixable problem as long as you understand the potential complications and the waiting line. Good luck.