Legal Question in Immigration Law in California

No. Your wife arrived illegally and so she cannot adjust her status here. The aunt?s petition was filed after April 30, 2001 so was too late to make her eligible for adjustment of status (not change of status). She'd have to go back to El Salvador to receive papers through a petition from you and that will trigger the 10-year bar. It's apparent that you know about this bar through prior research. The US Congress passed this law in 1996 and in hindsight it may be excessive but that's still the current law, unfortunately.

By the way, the aunt's petition was for her parents but really is worthless for her since your wife is now married and I presume over 21. Only children under 21 can go with the parents. Even if that petition has been approved, her parents priority date is May 7, 2002, so they have at least a 4 years wait in the brother-sister category (currently processing Dec. 22, 1998 priority date or before). But if they entered illegally originally, too, they won?t be able to adjust their status even if they currently have TPS.

You can file the petition for her and risk having her approval in the US consulate in San Salvador. It can be done if she proves extreme hardship to you or to any US-born children if she were denied the approval of permanent residence to return here. If interested, please contact my office.

Larry L. Doan

www.GuruImmigration.com

http://guruimmigration.wordpress.com (blog)

Note: The above response is provided for legal information only and should not be construed as legal advice, nor to create an attorney-client relationship, which can only be established through payment of consideration. We do not offer free advice except for the information provided herein on LawGuru which has been screened. If follow-up advice on your specific situation is desired, we offer a paid consultation in person if you are in the Los Angeles area, or by phone or email. Please visit our website www.GuruImmigration.com for more details.

Unfortunately, if your wife did not have an application filed for her before April 30, 2001, and cannot show she was in the U.S. on December 21, 2000, then if she leaves, she will be subject to a 10-year bar. So even if your wife's aunt's application has been "accepted", she cannot obtain her green card in the U.S.; she will have to go back to El Salvador. And once she leaves, she will have to remain outside the U.S. for 10 years.

One possibility would be to wait for an amnesty, but this is not guaranteed to occur. And even if it did happen, there's no guarantee of how long it would take to implement or whether your wife's situation would be covered under it.

However, there may be other options if we look at your case documents and information further.

Should you want to discuss potential options further, kindly call me at 714 288 0574. We offer a FREE initial consultation and payment plans.

Note: The above response is provided for information purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice, nor to create an attorney-client relationship, which can only be established through payment of consideration.