Legal Question in Immigration Law in Louisiana

H1B1 job lost due to Katrina

Dear Sirs:

I lost my job as a result of Hurricane

Katrina. After the devastation, I chose to

stay with my fiance (a US citizen) and

help him and his family rebuild. To be

sure, we had planned to get married

last fall, but Katrina changed all that.

However, we are moving forward with

our plans this fall. Now, my question is

this: with me not having a job at the

moment, and being, I guess, out of

status, will we have any immigartion

problems after being married? Thank

you!


Asked on 10/09/06, 2:36 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
David Nachman Nachman & Associates, P.C.

Re: H1B1 job lost due to Katrina

When you marry a USC, there is a "safe harbor" from any unauthorized work or stay in the U.S. Thus, even though you are out of status, you can still get the green card in the U.S. using section 245(a) of the INA. You do need to be concerned however with one particular issue. Following the marriage, you should not leave the U.S. until after you have the green card if you have accrued 180 days of unlawful presence.

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Answered on 10/09/06, 2:49 pm


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