DeLand, FL Immigration Law Firms & Lawyers

Hi.  I am sorry to hear your story. If you get divorced, your case will be canceled and denied. If you do not plan to stay together, you cannot file on your own or keep the case active. 

Asking about employer sponsorship is premature, since the first issue to be addressed is the consequence of your years of unlawful presence in the U.S. When a person is in the U.S. without valid immigration status, in order to apply to adjust status (to apply to become a Lawful Permanent Resident or get a "Green Card"), or even to apply to change status (to apply to get a different non-immigrant status), that person must go outside of the country to "consular process." Under current immigration laws, someone who has been unlawfully present in the U.S. for more than a year, however, will be subject to a very harsh 10-year bar to re-entering the U.S. In relatively rare circumstances, one may apply for a waiver of the 10-year bar. To succeed, generally one must establish exceptional hardship to a U.S. citizen spouse or parent.

Dependent upon the type of work visa that you have, you may still be able to renew it. If it is a work visa in a nonimmigrant category and the maximum time period has not been exhausted, your employer may file an extension petition and you would likely have to leave the U. S. to interview for the visa at the American consulate or Embassy in your home country. If the work visa is an employment authorization card (EAD), you may be able to renew it if the principal application (usually I-485) is still valid. I note that you would not be allowed to work during the time that the EAD extension application is pending. Deportation is usually not a concern unless you already under proceedings. 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.