Long Mott, TX Immigration Law Firms & Lawyers

If you were brought into the US illegally, and are 19 years old now, you began accruing unlawful presence starting from your 18th birthday. As you have over one year of unlawful presence, you will trigger a 10-year bar when you leave the US for any reason. Your age at entry is no a defense to the bar. You would need to have your spouse apply for you, and then you apply for the immigrant visa at your home consulate with a waiver to forgive the immigration violations of the illegal entry, unlawful presence and unauthorized employment. Depending on how your parents entered the US and if anything was filed for them prior to April 30, 2001; you may be able to use INA section 245(i) to apply for your adjustment of status here in the US with the payment of a $1000 penalty rather than the IV consular processing and the waiver. Get all the details from your parents and consult with an experienced immigration attorney.

Significantly more information is needed in order to answer your questions. If, for example, you entered the U.S. lawfully and with inspection, but then overstayed your initial visa or otherwise violated its terms, you still may be able to adjust status in the U.S. as the spouse of a U.S. citizen. There really is no substitute for having an immigration attorney learn all of the relevant information about you, your immigration-related history, your spouse and your marriage in order to advise you about eligibilities, options and strategies. Some immigration law firms, including mine, offer legal services on a "flat fee" basis so that a client will know the total expense from the very beginning, and a few immigration law firms, including mine, offer an initial consultation free of charge.

At a minimum, you would need to submit an I-130 petition on her behalf. If she entered the country legally or qualifies for 245, she can also concurrently apply for adjustment of status along with your I-130 petition.