Legal Question in Immigration Law in Pennsylvania

I am a US born citizen and I have been dating my boyfriend for over a year. He is from Mexico and entered into the US illegally about 3 years ago. We are planning on getting married. He has never been convicted of any crimes either here or in Mexico. After reading much about the current immigration law I know he will have to go back to Mexico and apply for a visa to get back into the US. I am wondering would would be the best course of action to take to make sure everything is done right and we don't have any unneccessary problems. Would it be better to marry first and then file the papers, file first and then get married or should he try and get back into Mexico and then file the legal way to get back and when he is in the country we could start all of the necessary work. I am a Pennsylvania resident if that makes a difference on any procedings I would need to go through.


Asked on 1/12/10, 2:13 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Luba Smal Smal Immigration Law Office

There are two options:

1) to marry and petition for him as your husband, then he has to go back to Mexico, he will be denied a visa because of unlawful presence of over 1 year, and will be required to file a hardship waiver. If a waiver is approved, then he will be issued an immigrant visa and will receive a green card when he reenters the USA. This can take 1-2 years, and you should keep in mind that if a waiver is denied, a visa can't be issued as well.

2) not to marry in USA, but send him back to Mexico and file a Fiance visa petition. A visa will be denied bacsuse of unlawful presence of over 1 year, and he will need a hardship waiver. See #1 above.

It doesn't matter where in USA you reside, as immigration laws are federal in nature.

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 1/17/10, 3:01 pm


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