Legal Question in Immigration Law in New York

Re: My sister's novel has been accepted for publication but her status is illega

1. If your sister does nothing but submit a manuscript for publication by a U.S. publisher, her immigration status in this country is pretty much irrelevant. Anyone can get published in the U.S. without being a lawful resident or citizen.

2. If your sister is out of status and wants to remain here or obtain a nonimmigrant visa (or even an immigrant visa), then what matters is for how long she has been in the U.S. without a valid visa (overstay) and whether she engaged in unlawful employment, among other things. In some circumstances, she may be barred from changing or adjusting her status or from applying for a visa for a long time. In any event, she would have to qualify for a specific visa category, and not everyone does.

3. You might have heard of employment-based visas that may entitle holders to either work in the U.S. for a limited period of time or to become lawful permanent aliens (get a "green card"). To qualify for most of these visa categories, your sister would have to have an employment offer from a U.S. employer, be engaged in a professional occupation or have proven talents and abilities in the arts, sciences, etc. The legal requirements are very specific and are not easily met for such visas.

If you need a consultation with respect to the above issues, feel free to call my office. The above answers are in nature of general information only and are not legal advice, which cannot be given without obtaining some basic facts first.