Douglas, GA Immigration Law Firms & Lawyers

Although not completely clear from your question, I presume that you became married to a U.S. citizen. If the USCIS denied your marriage-based adjustment of status application following your submission of a Response to an RFE, then you should read the denial decision very carefully when you receive it, and you should work with an immigration attorney to determine the most appropriate option - that could be, for example, a request for a hearing before the deadline expires, or the filing of a new I-140/I-485 suite of applications. While it would have been best to have worked with an immigration attorney from the very beginning of the application process, and, of course, for preparation of a Response to the RFE after the USCIS informed you that the application and its supporting documents were deficient, at least work with an immigration attorney before removal proceedings against you may be commenced.

Generally a derivative beneficiary has no obligation to live with or to be on speaking terms with a parent or stepparent in order to maintain status or to succeed in seeking to remove the condition. Nonetheless, I am sorry to learn of the fractures in your family relationships. Perhaps it would be worthwhile to consider working with a family counselor to help repair relationships.

Generally, a U.S. citizen age 21 or older may sponsor a parent to become a Permanent Resident through "consular processing" in the Immediate Relative visa category, and this is true even if the parent may have previously overstayed a visa. There are exceptions to this general rule, however, such as in instances where a parent had overstayed a visa for more than 180 days (and become subject to a 3-year bar to re-entering). It would be wise for you and your mother to consult with an immigration attorney who, after learning all of the relevant information, could advise about immigration eligibilities, options and strategies and who then could offer legal representation in the often complex application process.