Cedar Park, TX Immigration Law Firms & Lawyers

It's not a crime, but you will be deported if you fall out of status. In addition, there is no such thing as an "employment visa". However, there are employment based immigration categories which you may or may not qualify for.

A person who enters with a visa and marries a USA citizen and is otherwise eligible, can file for adjustment of status and visa petition. It is a very complicated process with dozens of instruction pages, and I always suggest that individuals hire a qualified lawyer.

On the facts as you described them, your removal of conditions application should be approved. Your green card eligibility does not depend on your mother's admissibility. So long as your mother's marriage to your stepfather remains viable, and you still have stepfather/stepchild relationship with him, you should be given the 10-year green card. Meanwhile, you have the right to work in the U.S. Since your old green card expired, and you don't have a new one yet, you might need an employment authorization card. Don't travel outside the U.S. until you get a permanent green card (a stamp in your passport saying you can travel will not help you much if an immigration inspector denies you entry back into the U.S., especially if you don't have an attorney). Your mother's feelings are perfectly understandable. However, if she leaves the U.S. now, it will be very, very difficult to get her back. I hazard a guess that, with a 6-year long marriage and a blind husband, her I-601 applications were denied because they were not done right. There is a newly revised procedure for 601 waivers, when applicants do not have to leave the U.S. until their waivers get approved. With some competent help, your mother should be able to get the waiver. Call American Immigration Lawyers Association chapter nearest to the place where you live and ask for a referral to an immigration attorney who might take your case for free (or at least, for a greatly reduced fee). If you don't find anyone in Florida, you can, of course, look in other places; and we do, occasionally, take cases in far-away jurisdictions, but representing a Florida client from New York gets complicated, at times. So it would be better for you to have a local attorney. Just don't give up. Your and your mother's cases can be won.