I just became a US Citizen and I'm planning to get marry to my illegal gf how soon can she became legal here?

Question

I am a US marine that just became a US citizenship like a month ago , and I been planing to get marry but my girlfriend is an illegal alien and i wanted to know if i will be able to make the petition for her to stay in the Us and get her greencard?

Answer 1

It will take 5 years for her to become a citizen but you have to stay married the full five years. Yes she will have to go home first and then apply. The problem is when she leaves they will see that she has been here illegally and probably bann her for a while. You may have to marry in her country. I would call an immigration attorney, they can give you the specifics and should give you a free consult.

Answer 2

You might want to try the info on this site: http://www.legalusresident.com/home.php.  Their kit has some good stuff in it.

Answer 3

The best thing to do is to speak to an immigration attorney as well as check out the website www.uscis.gov for more information.

Your attorney will probably tell you the following: if the two of you are already here, then you may as well get married. From there, you will have to sponsor her to become a Permanent Resident. During this process, she will have to go back home. However, the comments that she needs to leave now and will be banned, yada yada, are NOT true. That is because during the interview process (and there will be two of them), they will want to make sure your marriage is not a sham. Therefore, they will interview the two of you seperately - asking personal and detailed questions. The questions will cover everything from full names and dates of birth to where the two of you met, etc. OR...

Your girlfriend MAY be required to go back to her country where she will be interviewed there while you complete an interview here. But that is pretty rare b/c the fact remains that there just isn't enough staff to give your individual case THAT much attention - which is why things are so back-logged and a simple application can wind up sitting on a desk for months when it only takes about 15 minutes to fill the bloody thing out and about 5 to read it. There are also physicals to be had, criminal background checks to be done, etc.

That is why an immigration attorney will typically tell you to go ahead and marry FIRST if you are both already together b/c the wait time for a spouse is approximately a year to a year and a half, whereas the wait time can otherwise be MUCH, much longer.

By the way, did you know that (while not immune from it) the spouse of a US citizen has more "protection" from deportation than, say, two undocumented immigrants who come into the States and have children (unaffectionately called "anchor babies"). At least, that is what I have been informed from an immigration attorney.

Answer 4

AS LONG AS YOU ARE A US CITIZEN YOU CAN PETITION FOR WHOEVER YOU WANT,YOUR GF WILL HAVE TO GO BACK (IF SHES FROM MEXICO) BUT ONLY WHEN SHE HAS BEEN ISSUED AN APPOINTMENT BY THE US EMBASSY IN JUAREZ,WHICH COULD TAKE ABOUT 6 MONTHS TO A YEAR AFTER THE PROPER PETIONS HAVE BEEN FILED. IF SHE HAS A ORDER FOR DEPORT SHE MUST LEAVE AND WAIT FOR APPOINT BUT IF SHE DOESN'T SHE CAN WAIT HERE UNTIL THE DATE OF APPOINT IF SHE HAS NO CRIMINAL RECORD SHE SHOULD BE BACK WITHIN 2 WEEKS,MUST HAVE PROOF OF HARDSHIP,

Answer 5

it takes 5 years from any country. and to vote it takes 5 years

Answer 6

yes, if you are married she will stay, but I highly recommend for you two to hire an immigration attorney.  It took me 9 years to become a citizen because I married a man within 2 weeks while I had a tourist visa.  Be careful to expose her to authorities before you get an attorney.

Answer 7

I'm so very sorry to hear that you just became a citizen.  Already you are promoting illegal immigration.  Not Marine-like behavior.  Your gf has no choice but to depart the US immediately.  There is no way an illegal alien can be "legalized" through marriage or anything else.  If she departs immediately and voluntarily, she may get a shorter bar to re-entry.

If you make any attempt to get a visa for her or legalize her, you expose her status and get her deported, and you can get into some brig-time trouble for aiding & abetting a felon, trafficking, "harboring" an illegal alien, etc.

Answer 8

No.  She will have to go home first.