Canton, MI Immigration Law Firms & Lawyers

The rule states that you need to meet face to face within 2 years of applying. If you are a US citizen, you can apply for his fiancé visa. Even though he is your ex husband he is now your fiancé. Discuss with counsel anywhere in the USA for representation. 

Generally, a U.S. citizen son or daughter (who is 21 years or more of age) can petition for his/her parents. So in your case, you will be able to file the petition for your mother. You can also file a petition for your step father, if your step father and your mother were married before you turned 18 year old. However, because your parents entered the U.S. illegally, they would not be eligible to file adjustment of status applications (Greencard applications), in the U.S. (unless there was another petition filed for them prior to April 30, 2001, by a relative or an employer). If they don't have a prior petition (prior to April 30, 2001), they would have to do consular processing for immigrant visa, which means that they would have to leave the U.S. to process their immigrant visa in their home country. This however, would cause serious problems, because when they leave the U.S. (even for a day) for the immigrant visa interview, they would trigger the 10-year bar to reentry into the U.S. That is, the consulate would tell them that because their illegal presence in the U.S. of more than one year, they cannot return to the U.S. for 10 years (even if they have a approved relative petition filed by their son). Usually, a person can apply for a waiver of this 10-year illegal presence bar to reentry into the U.S. However, to file the waiver the person must show that if the waiver is not granted, it would cause "extreme and unusual" hardship to their qualifying U.S. citizen relative. The qualifying U.S. citizens for the purpose of the waiver are Spouses and Parents of the applicant, but NOT the children. That is, in the case of your parents, they would not be able to file a waiver application because you their child is not a qualifying relative for the waiver. So unless they have their parents (your grandparents) here in the U.S. as U.S. citizens or Permanent Residents, your parents would not be eligible to file the waiver application. Which would mean they wouldn't be able to return to the U.S. for 10 years. Unfortunately, even though you would be a U.S. citizen, at this point they won't be able to adjust status or do consular processing of immigrant visa (because of their ineligibility to even apply for a waiver). So in my view the best thing for you to do at this point is to wait for the immigration reform and see if something comes out of that.

Although your girlfriend overstayed her visitor visa, you can still help her. After you get married, you will need to submit an I-130 petition on her behalf and she can concurrently apply for adjustment of status on form I-485. Since she is already out of status, she is subject to being arrested and removed from the US at any time before you submit the required forms. Thus, the sooner that you start on the process, the better it is for your girlfriend.