Legal Question in Immigration Law in California

Illegal Immigrant friend wants to marry for legal residence then citizenship

I have a friend who is practically homeless in San Diego, he is illegal and wants to move in with a woman in St. Louis he met on the internet. I guess she has fallen ''in love'' with him and wants to offer him to move with her and her two kids. He keeps talking to me about marrying her so he can get his citizenship because he is an architect in Mexico but his credentials do not apply in the U.S. I can see his desire to want to become a citizen and get a real job but I think he may be going about it the wrong way. If he marry's her and then later on something happens and they divorce and she is bitter about it, how badly can she screw him in court? Can he have to pay alimony or child support to her sons? I want to talk to him more about this, can an attorney help me explain a few negative aspects of his plan? Thank you.


Asked on 7/09/08, 4:15 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Alice Yardum-Hunter Alice M. Yardum-Hunter, a Law Corp.

Re: Illegal Immigrant friend wants to marry for legal residence then citizenship

I cannot speak to the family law issues you raise concerning child support, alimony etc., but I can tell you that unless he had a petition or labor certification filed prior to 4/30/01, then he is inadmissible, cured only by extreme hardship to the U.S. citizen anchor relatives. This is a factual argument, and must be analyzed by an experience attorney to judge whether there is a reasonable chance of approval.

Let me know if I can help.

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Answered on 7/10/08, 2:12 am


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