Legal Question in Immigration Law in California

Re: Am I eligible for AOS within USA?

You can file to adjust your status if you have an "immediate relative" who petitions for your permanent residence. "Immediate relatives" are US citizen spouses, parents, and children over 21. Any other relatives do not count as "immediate relatives". They could petition for you perhaps, but you would have to leave the US to complete the permanent residence processing. Once you left, you would be subject to a 10-year bar on returning unless you qualified for a waiver.

I hope this helps.

Re: Am I eligible for AOS within USA?

It's true if your relative is your spouse or child over 21. Other relatives eligible to petition for you - U.S. citizen parents and siblings, and U.S. permanent resident parents - require you to be in legal status in order to qualify to adjust status, i.e., stay in the U.S. and file for a green card. The only other exception is if an employer or relative of any kind eligible to file for a relative's permanent residence did so prior to 4/30/01 and the person was physically in the U.S. on 12/20/2000.

I would be happy to help you out if you contact me offline. Check me out at http://www.yardum-hunter.com, fill out a consultation request there at http://www.yardum-hunter.com/Main/Consultation.asp or email me at [email protected]. Until then, please don't rely on this as legal advice.

Alice M. Yardum-Hunter, Attorney at Law, Certified Specialist, Immigration & Nationality Law, State Bar of CA, Bd. of Legal Specialization

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Re: Am I eligible for AOS within USA?

A way you can obtain an AOS/green card, without having to leave the U.S., is through marriage to a U.S. Citizen, assuming that you entered legally and never left the U.S.

In order for any other relative to file an immigrant petition for you, you must have been in legal status since you first arrived, unless you are protected by a previous green card application filed for for you before 4/30/2001 and you was physically present in the U.S. on 12/21/2000.

If any other relative files for you, you must leave the U.S. to obtain a green card. However, once you leave, this would bar you for 10 years from getting a visa, since you overstayed for more than 1 year. A waiver could allow you to get your green card, but waivers can be very difficult to get approved.

To discuss your specific case further, kindly email me at [email protected], or refer to our contact information on our website at www.loretomedinalaw.com.

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.