You've heard him on Greg Siskind's
national
teleconference series. Now Ari Sauer, the "Immigration
Answer Man" of Siskind Susser, has created a blog where he takes
your questions on immigration law and answers them here.
Have a question for Ari? Ask him at
immigrationanswerman@gmail.com!
Ari Sauer is an associate attorney with
Siskind Susser, PC. For Ari’s full bio, visit
http://www.visalaw.com/ari.html. You can schedule a consultation with
Ari or with one of Siskind Susser’s other attorneys at
http://www.visalaw.com/intake.html or by calling 1-800-343-4890 or
901-682-6455.
On this blog we answer questions as a service
to our readers, but we cannot assume any liability related to reliance on
anything herein, and responses to questions are not intended to establish an
attorney client relationship. Immigration laws and regulations are
constantly changing. Readers are cautioned to schedule a consultation with
an immigration lawyer before acting on anything stated in this blog. This
blog is not intended to substitute for a consultation with a qualified
immigration law attorney.
Friday, August 28, 2009
I am an 18 year old US Citizen My parents have been in the US more than 21 years. Can I petition for them to get green cards?
Question: I am a US Citizen. I am 18 years old. My parents are out of status and have been in the US more than 21 years. Can I petition for them to legalize their status without them having to leave the US?
Answer: If you are 18, then you cannot petition for your parents. US citizens must be 21 or older to file immigrant visa petitions for their parents.
If your parents entered the US with a visa, border crossing card, as part of the Visa Waiver Program, or in some other valid manner, then when you are 21 you can petition for them and they can apply for a green card without leaving the US.
If your parents entered across the border without being inspected then it becomes more complicated. If they had a petition filed for them by the end of April of 2001, then they might fall within one of the previous "amnesties" under INA Section 245(i), and then they may be able to apply for a green card in the US based upon your petition.
If a petition has never previously been filed for them, they most likely would have to go back to their home country to apply for a visa at the US consular post. However, because they have been unlawfully present in the US for more than a year, if they leave the US, they will not be eligible to get a visa to return to the US for 10 years. A waiver of this 10 year bar would only be available if your parents have a US citizen or US Permanent Resident parent or spouse, and they can show that their parent or spouse will suffer extreme hardship if the waiver is not granted. The waiver is not available on the basis of having a US citizen or US permanent resident child.
However, since your parents have been in the US more than 10 years, and have a US citizen child, they may be eligible for the relief of Cancellation of Removal should the US government try to remove them from them US. However, the requirements of Cancellation of Removal is a complicated topic which will have to wait for a different posting.
# posted by Ari Sauer the Immigratio Answer Man @ 5:12 PM
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