How long would it take for my US citizen husband to fix my papers? 12 Answers as of January 08, 2012

Do you have proof of your entry? To obtain adjustment of status in the U.S. you must have proof of legal entry.

I would need to review your case in full to properly advise you. Do you have a criminal record? Did you enter the U.S. with a visa and overstay or did you enter without documentation? Did you ever claim to be a U.S. citizen? Have you returned to your home country after getting here? Has anyone ever filed papers for you or for your parents? Are your parents or grandparents U.S. citizens or permanent residents? Are you married to someone in one of the military branches? Were you ever deported (removed) from the U.S.? If yes, did you subsequently reenter? The answers to these and follow up questions will tell me whether you are eligible to file for permanent residency in the U.S. or will need to return home and process for an immigrant visa and whether a waiver will be required. If a waiver is required, the process is complex to determine the strength of your case and likelihood of success.

In general, a person can only apply for permanent residence, even through their U.S. citizen spouse, if they entered the U.S. legally. There may be other options, but that is the general rule. Without more info, I cant say what applies to you and what does not. You should take the time to speak to an experienced attorney.

If you are here in the U.S. illegally, you may or may not be able to apply for green card. We'll need to know the background of your case to advise you on the next steps.

The answer will depends on the way you entered the country. If you entered without documents (what people usually calls ilegally), then you need to do consular processing. The consular process works this way in most cases: usually after filing a spouse petition, the next step is receiving a RECEIPT notice instead of an approval. Many petitioners get confused about a receipt notice and an approval notice. After the receipt notice is received, Immigration can request additional evidence if needed or just process the application with the evidence initially filed. When the petition is approved by Immigration, Immigration sends the file to the Department of State for consular processing. When the file is received by the Department of State, the attorney or the parties are informed that the file has been received. A visa fee bill and affidavit of support bill has to be paid before the case can be processed. After this step is done, the parties has to comply with the affidavit of support, consular forms and civil documents request to continue the processing. If the Department of State believes the file seem completed, they will send an appointment notice. Before the appointment, the intended immigrant needs to comply with medical examinations at a clinic designated by the Department of State. In some countries, the parties needs to attend a biometrics appointment. If you entered undocumented, you will need waivers at the consular processing stage. It is a very delicate topic that I recommend needs the assistance of an attorney due to the complexity of the waivers. Also, the attorney needs to do screening to determine what issues need to be waived. In some cases, the undocumented party may have issues that will prevent them for re-entering the U.S. for years or permanently. If you entered legally (for example, some visa), then you may qualify to process inside the U.S. The process is different than the one mentioned above. Either way, I will truly recommend you contact an immigration attorney to appropriately screen your case and do damage control before any filing is done.

How the process works depends upon how you entered the United States? You stated you were brought into the country, but it is unclear whether you entered legally and overstayed or entered illegally. If you entered the country illegally, we would need to know if you were ever the beneficiary of an immigrant visa petition regardless of whether the petition was approved or not. The answers to these questions are crucial to assessing how the process will work and how long it will take.

You don't state whether you entered legally or illegally. If legally, you should be able to file for adjustment of status. If you entered illegally, you may qualify for cancellation of removal. You may also be 245(i) eligible. I would strongly suggest that you speak with a qualified immigration law attorney to see what your best course of action might be. Good luck.

You need to begin with an I-130 petition, but first consult with an immigration lawyer to see if you're eligible for adjustment or whether you will have to go through consular processing.

It's important to understand that obtaining immigration benefits is not just a matter of simply filing forms. Each case and set of circumstances is different. A competent immigration attorney can assist you and your husband through the process, making sure to address or avoid any complications. In general, your husband, as a US Citizen can petition for you (I-130, Petition for Immediate Relative), his foreign-born spouse. You can apply for a Green Card (I-145 Adjustment of Status) at the same time. Both you and your husband must provide various documents. He must prove he can support the new household financially. Processing time varies with each case.

It takes about 1 1/2 years for Mexico but you need to apply for a waiver to waive a 10 year bar.