Roswell, GA Immigration Law Firms & Lawyers

Hello. Unfortunately, by leaving the US for longer than a year, he did give up his US Residency/Green Card. To get citizenship, he must have been a Resident and in your custody. However, he was with his father and thus did not (likely) qualify. If he is still under 21, you can re-file his green card to get him back in the US as a Resident. This process may take up to a year to process via the Embassy. Please let me know if I can be of any help.

Although not completely clear from your question, it appears that you are present in the U.S. with an expired J1 visa. That would not authorize you to be employed, notwithstanding your Social Security card. If you were to become married to a U.S. citizen, you may be able to apply to adjust status to become a Lawful Permanent Resident, and with that application you could apply for an Employment Authorization Document (an EAD) for use while your adjustment of status application remains pending. In order to adjust status, however, you either must have no two-year home residency requirement associated with your old J1 visa, or you must succeed in having the two-year requirement waived. It would be wise for you and your fiance to consult with an immigration attorney who, after learning all of the relevant information about your immigration history, your plans for marriage, etc, would be able to advise you about eligibilities, options and strategies and would be able to offer legal representation in the often quite complex application process.

The simplest solution is to marry the mother of your child so that she could file an immediate relative petition for you. Whether you have other means of obtaining a long-term status in the U.S. depends on your education, professional credentials, and availability of a U.S. employer who would sponsor you; without this information, there cannot be a meaningful discussion of your options. However, one point is certain: any other solution that might exist will be costlier, time-consuming, and less likely to succeed.