Legal Question in Immigration Law in California

Re: Obtaining a green card

I'm with Liem on this one. I'm assuming your frined has been here all this time illegally. I'm also assuming he doesn't have a USC spouse or child he is supporting. This being the case, there is only one way for him to get a greencard and that is marriage to a USC. Cancellation of removal will not work because he would not be able to show extreme hardship to a USC who is a parent, spouse, or child. I don't think labor certification followed by an employer's sponsoring petition would work either. Having no legal status in the USA, he could not adjust status to lawful permenent residence in the USA. He would have to go back to Canada to file a visa application. If he went back he would be caught by the three year/ten year rule and would not be permitted back into the USA for ten years unless he could convince INS to waive his inadmissibility. That's unlikely because he has virtually nothing going for him here in the states. No wife, no children, etc. So, love is the answer. BUT, beware of a false or fraudulent marriage. Doing that is a felony and leads in almost every case to blackmail.

Re: Obtaining a green card

VISIT http://workvisalawyers.com

What is his current status?

Is he a permanent resident?

To obtain a green card, many forms must be filed with the INS along with

affidavits from US citizens . A background check is also performed.

I most cases, the cost of such representation will be $2500 to $5000 in

addition to the cost of filing fees (approx. $500).

For a free consultation, please call (952) 831-5000

Maury D. Beaulier

The Beaulier Law Offices

Http://www.workvisalawyers.com

Re: Obtaining a green card

Your friend partially qualifies for a Cancellation of Removal under Immigration and Naturalization Law. However other requirements ensue which are not apparent from your description.

Re: Obtaining a green card

Not surprising that your friend is being quoted $4,000 or more by people (assuming they're attorneys). It's not easy to get a green card in his situation, and the wait can be long.

For your friend at this point, the fastest way to get a green card (be a permanent resident of US) is to have a family relationship with a US citizen. So he could do the marriage thing if it's a genuine marriage. If not, maybe he has a parent or child over 21 who's a US citizen who can petition for him.

The other way is if he's petitioned by an employer for a green card. This is known as going through the labor certification process. However, unless he has extraordinary skills and abilities in certain fields (and I do mean extraordinary), most jobs will take years to complete the process. The employer has to be willing to cooperate in this process. In the meantime, his status will still be illegal, unfortunately. However, there's talk of new Congressional legislation and new changes with the Department of Labor that may streamline the process later this year or next year to make labor certification much faster.

The fact that your friend has been here for more than 15 years is not particularly advantageous. If he has US citizen kids and a lot of assets and community ties here, he can ask for cancellation of removal with an immigration judge, and even then, it's still not easy to get the judge to grant it. In any event, your friend will only get the chance in front of a judge if the INS starts removal (deportation) proceedings against him -- that is, if he's "caught" by the INS. Most aliens don't want to take this chance and be put into proceedings.

The more than 15 years might help in the following way. There's talk of Congress changing the law on something called "registry" that would give people who've been living in the US from before the early to mid-80s (they're debating different dates right now), green cards. So, depending on when your friend first started living here, this could help, but it is still up in the air in Congress right now.

Liem Doan, Esq.