Fremont, MI Immigration Law Firms & Lawyers

The choice is not necessarily one or the other – your wife could apply for the I-130 at this time and possibly upgrade it to immediate relative petition status after she obtains her citizenship. The benefits of filing now are that the petition will have a head start in case your wife fails to be naturalized, and there is a lesser burden of proof than if you are subsequently placed under proceedings in front of an immigration court (assuming that you filed your asylum application affirmatively with U.S.C.I.S and your case is still pending with the agency). For adjustment of status in the U. S. based on marriage, you would generally have to be the immediate relative of a U. S. citizen to qualify (spouses, parents, and children under the age of 21 and unmarried are considered immediate relatives who can adjust status even if not maintaining legal status so long as they were inspected and admitted or paroled into the country) unless you are maintaining legal status at all times in the country. There is a legal question as to whether an individual whose timely files for asylum while in legal nonimmigrant status which later expires is considered legal for purposes of an adjustment of status application based upon a category other than asylum. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.

Anything that you do will take time, likely years, but more information is needed. It is best to file for naturalization to become a Citizen, but it is unclear if you qualify. A disqualified naturalization applicant, who has criminal convictions or other disqualifications may be placed in immigration court for deportation. In addition, if you don't have a job, then this will be difficult. You will need to work in order to prove that you can financially support him. You will also need to pay the filing fees. Perhaps, you will want to hire an attorney. In general, you should be able to support your husband, when he immigrates to the U. S. on your petition. It is unclear whether you will find a joint sponsor. If you plan to live with him for a while, then you need to become a U. S. Citizen. Otherwise, you can lose your green card status. I strongly recommend an appointment with a competent and experienced immigration attorney before you make a mistake. Good luck. The above is general information, not legal advice, which does not create an attorney client relationship.

Charge is not a conviction; if the charges were dropped, USCIS cannot be use them as basis for deportation. That's the law. Nevertheless, at minimum, you will be given a hard time answering all sorts of questions about that episode. Chances are that USCIS will claim that, even though you were not convicted, your arrest record puts in question your "good moral character". Since only the events of the 10 years immediately preceding the date of the application are considered, you might want to postpone filing your naturalization application until after the 10th anniversary of the date when the charges against you were dropped.