I was born in mexico and came to the us on a tourist visa at the age of 13 I am now 22. My girl friend an I are getting married, she was born here (in the us) and I was wondering if there is someone out there who can tell me what it is We need to do so that I can get my immigration status in order,, as of now I am an illegal immigrant, like I said I came in on a tourist visa and I stayed, We'll it wasn't my decision, I was only 13.  Hopefully someone can help me out. My girlfriend and I are students and I want to get my status straight so that when I graduate I can actually get a job and give my soon to be wife a good life,, so whe can live the american dream, as people say.\nany help will be greatly appeciated.
135840
You should contact INS for specifics on how to do that. Or you could even ask a local court cler, for a start. It's good that you are being honest and that you are looking for the proper way to become legal. Congrats on your wedding!
601497
well im a US citizen and my husband was from europe. i went there and applied for a visa for him to come and become a permanent resident. i went in May 2005, droped off the apps. we had an appoitment on july 14th and they gave him his visa on the spot. so he was able to leave then. but we wanted to have our wedding there so we stayed and by Sept 8th he was in america with me. so it didnt  take that much. time goes by really fast.
166717
ur change of status will compromise ur petition to migrate to the US and you should have the US government informed. dont try to be dishonest by not declaring that u have married since they have ways of finding out (even thru medical check up of a womans uterus they'd know if you've given birth) since ur mother is still not a legal immigrant in the US, this will further delay the process.if you still want to go to the USA apply for a tourist visa since having children and a husband in ur home country is enough for u to prove that u have intentions to come back to ur home country. BTW, u can check the status of ur petition online.. keep ur case number and infos ready.
2633
That may not be so easy. I am not a lawyer, but I had to study this a lot not so long ago because of my status (today, legal alien, permanent resident). First, you never mentioned how she got into the country. Is she legal? Is she a permanent legal resident?
263615
The best thing you can do is learn to speak spanish! You will need a language credit if you plan on going to college anyway. Yes explain it is rude, because it is. Lots of non-americans do this and it is rude. I hope we pass a law that English is the official language of the U.S- I was shocked to hear it wasn't but Spanish as a second language for anglos is a reality we are going to have to live with and is here to stay. As far as Cali turning into Mexico that will never happen. Here is some food for thought..... Most of California was at one time land belonging to Mexico. (along with most of texas, arizona and new mexico) When Santa Ana lost, the land was taken by the U.S.(literally taken, soldiers and rebels going up to houses and farmsteads throwing the occupants  out by force saying this is ours now get out, but hey that is what happens in war) -- along with thousands and thousands of acres that formally belonged to Mexico. The U.S. is a nation of immigrants, and your forefathers immigrated here too. You have to expect that the demographics of our country will continue to change over time. I do think something needs to be done about illegal immigration. I also think Mexico needs to do more to develop it's own economy and corruption problems so that Mexicans would not be derperate to come here. If it weren't for those illegal immigrants, however, you would be paying $18 a pound for tomatoes and lots more for things like hotel rooms, all produce, restaurant meals and so on. If you are not liking the change in the population of where you live, this is America, nobody is making you stay here. You have 50 wonderful states to choose from, as well as any country around the world. This is something you will have to think about as you grow up.
411900
There seems to be a lot of dissenting views here on how long you needed to be married to become a citizen, so I looked it up.  You are correct on the 3 years.  However, if you have been a permanent resident for 5 years, even without being married, you can apply for citizenship.  You should have been issued a green card when you came here 10 years ago.  I read that it is valid for 10 years, so I am I correct in assuming that yours has expired?  Is that why you are now illegal?  You can get the green card renewed for another 10 years.  From what I read I believe you will have to get your green card renewed in order to apply for citizenship.  For the sake of your children, you need to go through all of the hassle so that you can stay with them.  They need their mother. I know this must be really tough on you.\nI have included a link below to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services website. You can also contact they by phone toll free at 1-800-375-5283.  Call the number, I'm sure they can give you much better answers that anyone here on Yahoo.  If I can be of any more help, or if you just need someone to talk to, just post me a note as additional information and I'll be happy to give you my email address.  Good luck and God bless.
419937
Did your friend go to the US Consulate there and ask on the procedures of a visiting Visa?\nHave you contacted Immigration and ask the same questions?\nIf both of you have not done this yet;\nI suggest you stop asking people whom know little or next to none on the issue and contact those two authorities.
187394
i am illegal too. but i am looking for a lady to share my life with. i do not need any permit. lady, if you realy loves him, do not think about what others are telling you. relationship is not a football match where people come to  watch . keep your love affairs to you self. i mean let it stay in doors. we are all illegals on this planet, that is why we die.
135803
the best and quickest thing to do is to get married in the states and start the process while you both stay together here. how long it'll take it really depends and varies greatly. if your wife gets pregnant after you get married that will show INS that you live like a real family and it's not a fake but it won't speed things up. yet i don't think that having a baby to use it for immigration purposes is fair and mature. i know for a fact that INS does very thorough background check including criminal records but i don't know if they would actually deny your green card just because of that. of course it depends on what record you have too
471981
With the way the Government is getting, you might consider Citizenship a priority 1st!!! A lady where I work JUST TODAY showed off pictures of herself getting her CERTIFICATE of CITIZENSHIP recently...She was so proud!!!\n\nIt might make a difference on where you are from, your child might help or maybe if you find the right person, Marry them and that might help in proper citizenship!!! I would hate to hear of you being deported! Not that I know U (I don't)...\n\nGood luck in your choices and you twos LIFE!!!
35630
When you say "illegal immigrant" means his/ her visa expired, but married a US citizen. If the US citizen applies for the spouse, s/he can stay in US, not as a citizen but resident. The individual can become a citizen 3 years after being granteed permanent residence. Now if you break it up within 3 years of getting married, you might loose the petition. Any child born here is a US citizen. This law also might change soon. If you are illegal, but your child's a citizen the child can apply for your legalized status when s/he is 18 years old.\nI hope that answers your questions.
137934
At least you are going about it "legally" and - BONUS - you speak their language!!  Bravo to you!!  Sorry, I can't answer your question, but just wanted to congratulate you on immigrating to a country "legally."  Too bad everyone can't be like you, as then we wouldn't be having these raving rants in this forum.
597940
Get married, then he can apply for residency.  When you go through the process there is several things you will need to get in order.  \n\nSince you are sponsoring him, you need to show proof of employment for three years.  They will ask you for the last three income tax returns.  This is to show you are able to support him.  I am not sure, because I don't remember since it has been a couple years, but I believe there is an income limit.  You have to make something like 15k or more a year.  \n\nAlso, once you legally get married and he receives his green card, he cannot leave the US.  If he does during that period he will not be allow to return back to the US, they don't tell you this!.  Sure make sure he doesn't travel back to Mexico during this time.  \n\nIf he must leave the country because of an emergency he will have to obtain special permission from INS.  The whole process will cost you about $2,500 and this is without using an attorney but doing it yourself.   \n\nI hope this helps. Good luck\n\nThis is for all the people who are judgmental due to this poor girls predicament,  show some humanity, as if you NEVER made a mistake, give me a break.....
76566
She needs a sponsor and list of assets in Mexico (for a tourist visa), to marry a US Citizen (or be a fiance), or to apply for a student visa and go to school. For her to get a fiance visa she would need to go back to Mexico and apply from there, if you marry and apply here she will need to go back to Mexico for about 6 mos awaiting her visa. I am not sure about the kids though. I would not suggest that you marry her if you dont love her though. It could make things worse for you later. ex: your girlfriend finds out you are married, she may not take it well.  Any way that you decide, I wish you luck!
453923
If you came here on a tourist visa (B1/B2) you need to apply for an Adjustment of Status.  If you came on a Visa Waiver Program (VWP) you need to depart the USA as soon as possible and go to the US Embassy of your country for a K visa.\n\nIf  you get caught without a valid visa you could be deported and barred from returning for 5 years regardless of the fact you are married to a US citizen!\n\nAnd many state drivers license offices notify the immigration service.  If you apply with an expired visa, they will call immigration and delay you to give immigration time to get there to apprehend you.\n\nIt depends a lot on where you live.  Does the state cooperate with immigration?  Are there Immgration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers stationed near you?
205449
well it's a bit o catch 22. To go to the US you need a visa (nonimmigrant or immigrant). Now to get a non-immigrant visa you need to demonstrate that you don't intend to immigrate there. The moment you apply for any type of immigration you become ineligible for any type of non-immigrant visa and also for the visa waiver program (if you qualify for it in the first place).\n\nNow suppose that you have a tourist visa or are a student and you go to the US and say get married after a few months, then you can file for a change of status there as your original intent was not remain there. Now beware that this could be tricky, if they discover somehow that you lied in the first and you intended to stay all along they could deny your application.\n\nIn your case, since you got married outside US, you must wait for your paperwork to get processed before going there (for reasons described above). If going to the US was so important to you, you should've applied for a K-1 fiance visa and gotten married in the US (that's the purpose of the visa), then, you could've filled for a change of status in the US. If you decided to get married and apply outside US then being there must've not been so important to you.\n\nIt's hard to say how long your application will take (it depends on the country and how busy they are) so the most you can do is keep calling them and hope for the best.\n\ngood luck
14186
Immigration does not care if you are ex-military for citizenship. Did you take the Citizenship Test yet? You are almost last on the priority list as you are already here in the states, not good news if you have a fiancee in a foreign country you want to Petition for Immigration. (Hint: Fiancee' much faster to get Visa than a Spouse, so get engaged only!) Los Angeles is the busiest Immigration Office (Laguna Niguel) in the states, so long wait. Los Angeles saves up Applications until they get a thousand or so, so they can swear you all in at the same time, so once your Application is signed off everything happens faster. Maybe 2 year wait?