The Truth About Marrying A Citizen To Stay In The Country
Like most areas of law, immigration law can be confusing. While it is true that a foreigner who marries a citizen of the United States can apply for permanent residency based on the marriage, it does not mean he or she is automatically allowed to stay in the country. In fact, the foreign national may be required to leave the U.S. for an extended amount of time before being allowed to come back. Anytime you are applying for a green card for a family member, it is important you talk with an immigration lawyer to find out whether you should go home and wait while your family member applies for a visa and green card from here, or if you should stay here and wait. Here is some information you may want to consider when getting ready to file the paperwork.
Current Immigration Status
In order to remain in the country while trying to adjust your status to that of a permanent resident, you must have a valid visa. If your visa has expired, you broke the terms of it (by quitting your job or school when on a work or school visa), or you never had one, you are going to be required to leave the country while the petition is being decided.
Bars from Reentry
If you do not have a valid visa, it is also possible that you will be banned from coming back to the U.S. Remaining in the country for more than 180 days, but less than one year after without a valid visa will result in a three-year ban. If you do not leave the country on your own and end up being deported, you may be barred from ever coming back. When your visa has been expired for more than one year, or you never had one, but you leave before any formal deportation has begun, you will have to remain outside of the U.S. for ten years.
It is important to understand that just because you are married to a U.S. citizen does not mean that you have the legal right to remain in the country. In some instances, you may find the only way to keep the family together is to move to your home country until all the paperwork is complete. Of course, as with many laws, there are a few exceptions to these bans. The only way you will know for sure what is going to happen while applying to become a permanent resident is to talk with an attorney experienced in immigration law (such as one from Kriezelman Burton & Associates).