Newark, CA Immigration Law Firms & Lawyers

If you have been absent from the US in excess of 6 months, immigration may determine that you have abandoned your residency. You can request for advanced permission to return to the US on form I-191.

If you had no hand in the illegal immigrant coming to the country, or having him or her reside there in furtherance of his or her illegal work of which you are related, you would likely not be charged with harboring even where the illegal alien is living in your house. I note that a standard landlord/tenant situation without more should certainly have no liability. Otherwise in light of the fact that there are approximately 11,000,000 undocumented immigrants in the country, there would be an awful lot of prosecutions under the statute. Insofar as penalties are concerned, I note that harboring can result in a term of imprisonment of 5 years unless the offense is committed for commercial advantage or private financial gain in which case the maximum term is 10 years. 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.  

From your description, it does not sound like you have an option at the time. Your sister can sponsor you when she is 21 but you may need to leave the US to obtain the green card and trigger a ten year reentry bar in doing so. You will want to see if you are eligible under 245(i)-which would mean finding out of any relative or employer ever sponsored your parents for any benefit before -4/31/2001 or the U visa program. Also there may be other options. I recommend that you have a consult with a competent immigration attorney. You may want to try the local chapter of your state bar for the free legal panel or else contact a non-profit that focuses on rights for Mexican citizens because they should have strong referrals for good immigration attorneys!