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No. Just the act of marriage does not confer any immigration status. You need to file a family petition. If you entered legally the last time you entered the United States with a visa, or if you were paroled into the United States, then you can file simultaneously.
You could file your application for a green card with the family petition and get your green card through an interview at USCIS. If you’re married to a United States citizen but are inadmissible, you can file the family petition, and you can file a waiver. Then, you either get your green card at the consulate or at the USCIS office, if that’s permitted.
Interestingly, my very first case as an immigration lawyer involved this very issue. A couple from Israel had visited the United States on an exchange program and happened to have a child together while they were here. Even though they returned to Israel, the child returned to the U.S. after 21 years to petition his parents for a green card. The wait is long as a child cannot petition for their parents until they are 21, but it can be a path to legalization.
While U.S. citizens cannot be deported, you can be deported while you are applying for legalization, even if you already have a green card. However, you will not be deported once you have officially entered the process of legalization.
Once you are in the process, you will be safe from deportation even if you have no legal status, meaning that your residency will be protected while you are in the process of legalization. However, you can still be deported for committing crimes or being convicted of aggravated felonies. Even if you have a green card, you can still be deported for these reasons.
They are not taking new applications for DACA under President Trump, and no one has been able to file a new application for DACA. DACA does not provide a direct path to legalization.
However, there are certain advantages to DACA. One of the advantages is that people have been able to get a travel document, leave the country, and come back legally. Once your last entry is legal, then you can adjust your status and get your green card here through an interview at USCIS. That’s a big advantage for a person who might have entered the country illegally.
When you work with an attorney on your legalization case, you are hiring more than somebody to fill out forms for you. You are enlisting the help of a legal representative who will analyze your case and help you avoid any pitfalls you encounter along the way.
Since the legalization process is inherently convoluted, it’s important to work with an immigration attorney who can guide you through the complicated jargon and fine print. I see many cases where clients think that they have correctly filled out their forms, only to find out that they are in trouble due to a lack of legal analysis. I have even helped people pro-bono who had been pulling their hair out over the consequences of one poorly worded question on their forms.
It is very important to partner with a legal representative for your legalization process. Your attorney will be able to conduct a full-scale legal analysis of your case and help you determine which waivers and petitions will be most beneficial to you.
A very common misconception is that marrying someone will automatically grant you legalization, whereas, in reality, there are many more steps to the process. This is also the case with the belief that a petitioner’s criminal history can impact their petition, with this only being possible in the event of certain sexual offenses.
I have actually handled two successful family petitions where the citizen petitioner was in prison; normally, a criminal history does not impact your petition. It is very rare, but individuals convicted of certain sexual crimes can lose their ability to petition for a spouse. Ultimately, it is a big misconception that a petitioner’s criminal history will automatically impact their petition.
For more information on Misconceptions In The U.S. Legalization Process, an initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (855) 620-5511 today.