Jesup, GA Immigration Law Firms & Lawyers

There is no time limit. Your spouse can file a green card application for you on the day you are married. Have your case fully analyzed by a competent immigration attorney to make sure you are not barred for some reason.

If your husband entered the US on a parole status instead of a visa, you could possibly work to adjust his status to permanent residence in the US without leaving. The major forms that you would be dealing with would be the I-130 relative petition and the I-485 adjustment of status application. If he entered the country illegally without being paroled, does not qualify under section 245(i) as having been the beneficiary of a labor certification application or immigrant visa petition by April 30, 2001 and being physically present in the US on December 21, 2000, you may think of processing under the Obama administration's I-601A program which allows an advance waiver of the penalty for being illegally in the US for a period of time. The relevant forms for that would be the I-130 relative petition, and after that is approved, the I-601A application form for a provisional waiver. If approved, your husband would ultimately complete his case at the American consulate or embassy in his home country, but if everything else is okay, he would be allowed to come back with an immigrant visa right after the interview. For further information you can check out the U.S.C.I.S. website at uscis.gov.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.  

Generally, an adult U.S. citizen may petition in the Immediate Relative visa category for a parent who entered the U.S. lawfully and with inspection. This is true regardless of whether the parent may have overstayed his initial visa and regardless of whether he may have worked without authorization. Especially if you are not thoroughly familiar with the application process, it would be wise to engage an immigration law firm to provide representation. 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.