Is marriage our only option to prevent my boyfriend from deportation? 3 Answers as of December 05, 2011

My 23 year old boyfriend recently found out that he is at risk of getting deported. The lawyer told him that he can no longer be filed for by his father who is getting sponsored by his work. His two sisters are U.S citizens so the lawyer is just waiting until the oldest turns 21 so that she can file a petition for her mother. The problem with all of this is that my boyfriend has no way of filing for papers because they told him that it would take several years before UCIS would get back to him. My boyfriend is currently unemployed with an expired work permit so he is out of work and cannot find another job. In addition to this, he also has some legal problems that he is currently taking care of. He has a misdemeanor dating back to the beginning of this year and spent a few days in jail in July for a bench warrant for a traffic ticket. He was also receiving unemployment but once they found out that his work visa was expired, they cut him off and told him that he would have to pay back all $25,000. As you can see, there are several problems here that I am skeptical about in terms of how it will all appear to immigration. His lawyer told him that his only option would be to get married but there are a whole other set of issues that come with that. I was wondering if he would be considered to have entered the U.S illegally (he entered the country when he was a small child) and if that would pose a problem when applying for the visa. Also, would the unemployment benefits he was receiving be considered welfare to UCIS? I am currently in school and don't make enough money to sponsor him but we have a sponsor in mind so I am not too worried about that. I am aware that we would have to move in together but I am going to be renting an apartment for my mother and I was wondering if that would look suspicious to UCIS? Unfortunately this has all occurred at a very inopportune time and based on what I have read about the topic so far, I am filled with concerns about the process.