Legal Question in Immigration Law in Nevada

I'm a Vietnam Veteran and US citizen married for 6 years to a Philippine national that entered the country on a visitors visa in 2000. She was married previously and was a conditional permanent resident but left the man, due to abuse, 17 months after filing her original Adjustment of Status application. We married in 2003 after her annulment was final and have two sons ages 5, and 18 months. My question is what is the procedure to file her Adjustment of Status, do we need to start from the beginning as if she never filed, ignoring fee's already paid? Or is there a faster, less complicated procedure that will take into account the fee's and paperwork she has already filed. Her ex husband was responsible for her personal information to be used by a friend of his to open credit and banking accounts, in her name that went into default; creating negative credit ratings and outstanding debt that has taken us years to correct. We are finally getting back on our feet and need to fix her immigration status so she can become a US Citizen. Where do we start and how do we avoid creating any additional problems or issues?


Asked on 1/20/10, 4:30 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Luba Smal Smal Immigration Law Office

First of all, if your wife was a conditional resident, she was required to apply to remove conditions 2 years after obtaining a conditional green card. If she failed to do so, her conditional resident status had lapsed and she could have been even referred to Immigration Court for removal. This has to be checked first.

Provided that she is eligible to reapply for adjustment of status based on a new marriage, new set of filing fees, new applications and supporting documents will have to be submitted to USCIS.

If your wife's conditional resident status had lapsed back in 2002, she is currently in "illegal" status. Therefore, at this time, she can't become a US citizen. What she might be able to apply for is a permanent residency (or green card).

If you�d like to schedule a confidential telephone or email legal consultation, need advice or help, please let me know and I�d be glad to help you.

Contact email address: Attorney [@] law-visa-usa.com or LubaSmal [@] yahoo.com . I offer legal consultations and can assist in matters of the U.S. federal immigration law to clients from all 50 States and internationally.

Note: The above response is provided for legal information purposes only and should not be considered a legal advice; it doesn�t create an attorney-client relationship. If you would like to request a follow-up confidential advice on your specific situation and regarding U.S.A. immigration-related issues, we can offer a paid consultation by telephone or email to clients from all States and globally. Please visit our website http://www.law-visa-usa.com/contact_us.html for more details.

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Answered on 1/25/10, 4:45 pm
Husna Alikhan Alikhan Law Office, LLC

A fresh filing for spousal petition package is required. Please contact [email protected] to schedule a confidential consultation.

Nothing in this response to your posting on Law Guru is intended or should be considered as legal advice to your specific situation. Our posting is intended to provide general information of interest to the public. Facts relevant to your situation and not disclosed in your posting may affect your specific legal rights and remedies

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Answered on 1/27/10, 9:08 am


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