Can I get my immigration papers from my mother who is a resident? 8 Answers as of December 01, 2011

Yes, providing that you leave the country and wait for your visa to become available outside the US before coming back. Otherwise, your mother will have to become a USC in order for you to get your LPR in the US.

If you are unmarried, your lawful permanent resident mother can petition for you.

If your mother is a permanent resident, she can petition for you but it is a very long process (5-7 years) and you would have to show that you are maintaining lawful status at all times, if you are over the age of 21. If she becomes a US citizen and you are still under the age of 21, then you can adjust status even if you have fallen out of status. If you are over the age of 21 and have overstayed, the only way you will be able to legalize your status within the US under the current immigration laws is through a valid marriage to a US citizen.

I would need additional information regarding your age and how long ago your visa expired. Assuming you are 21 years of age or older, you cannot get immigration status through your mother while remaining in the United States. Your mother's petition for you would be a preference petition, which means an immigrant visa is not immediately available. To seek adjustment of status in the United States based upon a preference petition, you must be in lawful immigration status at the time you filed your application. You are not currently in any immigration status. As such, you could only receive immigration benefits by returning to your country and having the case processed by the U.S. Embassy. This is problematic as you have likely accrued unlawful presence and are subject to a bar. This bar can only be waived upon extreme hardship to your mother. However, you should discuss your case in more detail with an attorney before making any decisions as immigration law is very complex and there are a lot of details that could make you eligible to adjust your status here.

Your mother who is a resident can sign papers for you. It is possible that you may be entitled to a benefit under her papers. It depends on how she obtained her residence.

Yes, but only if you remain unmarried, and the filing is done under the second preference 2-A or 2-B category (if you are over 21) but it may take a while.

There are a number of factors I would need to know more about before giving a definitive answer to this. Generally, however, you will not be able to adjust your status to residency while you are in the United States until your mother is a citizen due to the overstay of your student visa. Only "immediate relatives" of US citizens (and not residents) may adjust to residency after an overstay, and in the case of children they must be unmarried and under 21. If there is any possibility that your mother can naturalize and file for you before your 21st birthday, you may still be able to do this, but I would strongly advise that you consult with an attorney before committing to the nearly $1500 in filing fees which will be required for your residency.

If you legally came into the US and you are under 21 years of age your mother can sponsor you as an immediate relative. It will not matter that you overstayed your visa and you can adjust your status and obtain a green card within the United States as you are considered an immediate relative. An immediate relative is a child under 21 or a spouse). However, if you are over 21 years old then you cannot adjust your status in the US. through your mother if you overstayed your visa. You would have to go back to your home country to get your immigrant visa. The problem with that is the moment you leave the U.S. you will trigger the 3- or 10-year bar if you have been more than 180 days out-of-status in this country. As a result, you may not be able to come back for 3 or 10 years. There may be exceptions if you filed some immigrant petition before 2001. You should consult with experienced immigration counsel to determine your options.