Camden, NJ Immigration Law Firms & Lawyers

Significantly more information is needed in order to respond to your question. If a foreign national who entered the U.S. lawfully and with inspection applies to adjust status in the Immediate Relative visa category (such as for a spouse of a U.S. citizen), the fact that the foreign national overstayed a visa (or even worked without authorization) will not be problematic. For other visa categories, an overstay generally will make the person ineligible to adjust status in the U.S. and instead he/she will need to go through consular processing abroad. Note that for those foreign nationals, an overstay of 180 days or more may trigger a 3-year bar to re-entry, and an overstay of a year or longer may trigger a very harsh 10-year bar to re-entry. Some immigration law firms, including mine, offer legal services on a "flat fee" basis so that a client will know the total expense from the very beginning, and a few immigration law firms, including mine, offer an initial consultation free of charge.

Before the commission of the first crime, if you were a person who was lawfully admitted for permanent residence for not less than five years, and had resided in the United States continuously for seven years after having been admitted in any status, you would likely be eligible for cancellation of removal for permanent residents. On the other hand, if you were not in those circumstances, you would have a much more difficult path to keep your permanent residence if placed under removal proceedings. You would likely have to have the Xanax pill conviction overturned. With the arrest for possession of marijuana and paraphernalia, you would not be deportable on the charge if it related to 30 g of marijuana or less. If not, you would have to have avoid conviction on the charge if the case is still going on. If already convicted, you would have to have the conviction overturned.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.