San Ramon, CA Immigration Law Firms & Lawyers

Once you have a green card, no one except for DHS may deport you. If your card was for 2 years, you will need to file a petition to remove the condition 3 months before it expires. Please contact an immigration attorney before you make any application.

Your question requires an attorney consultation. It is not a simple question that can be answered on this type of forum. There are many factors that would need to be considered and evaluated. Depending on the exact Penal Code charge you were sentenced on, you may or may not be deportable. I strongly suggest that you contact an experienced immigration attorney for a face-to-face consultation and give him/her all of the facts surrounding your situation. (S)he would then be in a better position to analyze your case and advise you of your options. You should bring a copy of the docket sheet to the consultation for the attorney to review.

You should check on the rules of the scholarship to see if this would continue if you got off the J-1. You should know that getting married to a U.S. citizen though will not by itself get you out of the two year foreign residency requirement and you will not be allowed to apply for permanent residency or any work status without first getting a waiver. Your next move should be to look at options for obtaining a waiver if any. If you would like a consultation, contact me as indicated below. We do charge for consultations but what you pay for the consult will be accredit toward the fees for your case if we are retained for immigration services thereafter.