Will She Get In Trouble??

[chetan47]

Hi folks, i have a dilemma and i would like to share with you guys. The thing is i am in love with a girl who has NO STATUS in USA and has came here without inspection. I am an US citizen and would like to make her legal in USA.
I was thinking about sending her back to her country and then i go and marry her there and do the paperwork THE RIGHT WAY!! However, i am little scared with few questions. My first question is will she leave USA without any kind of restrictions like 3 to 10 year ban. And what kind of documents she will need to go back to her country. also Can she come back after marrying me in her country?

[losguerra]

chetan, First, it would help to know about your girlfriend's situation. What year did she enter the US? How old is she now? It is very likely that she will have a ban unless she's under the age of 18 still.

Second, if you were thinking of having her go back to her country and marry her there to make it look like she was never in the US, that would not be cool. Immigration figures it out and you can be in much bigger trouble for lying than for simply admitting she's unlawfully present in the US.

There is a way to fix her status where you can begin from the US. You would ultimately need to file an I-601 waiver. She'll have to leave eventually for her visa interview, but later she'd be able to come back as a legal immigrant and become a permanent resident (and later citizen).

Read this thread (http://immigrate2us.net/forum/showthread.php?t=2395)for information on how the whole process works.

As far as leaving the US, when it comes time to do so, your girlfriend will certainly need a passport, which she can obtain from a consulate of her country in the US. The tricky thing is that lately, there have been a lot of crackdowns at airports and by the US border. But we'll hope that wouldn't happen to her when she leaves the country...

Anyway, check out the information I linked to, it's very helpful. Then ask any questions you still have! We'll do our best to help!

[chetan47]

Thanks a bunch for a response!!

She is over 18 years old and have been living in USA more than a year. She does not fall into 245i clause. I also have another question? I want to know if she leave USA to her original country, will USA immigration agency fingerprint her before she board the plane?

I have been asking a lot of resources on this dilemma, and most of them do advice me that the process will be a lot easier if she leave and i go back for marriage.

[JennyM]

Well, if she leaves the country then you are just going to be seperated longer. What country are you going through? Mexico? Read losguerra's link and you want to research I129 and I130. Which one you file is up to you. Because she is here illegally, you'll still have to file an I601. Good luck!

[Marie]

If she leaves, she'll get a bar, either way. If she tries to leave "undetected", you guys are going to have to lie about how you met, etc etc. If you get caught, it could be a lifetime bar.

Best option is to do it the right way like you said. That post that losguerra provided has the entire process detailed.

[chetan47]

How will the immigration people find out if she leave USA. Do they take personal information of the illegal immigrants who want to leave to their original country? Do they take fingerprint?

[Cynthi]

Hello!! Im happy to know that you plan on helping her out. But since she has been in the US for more than a year illegaly she has to file a waiver at CDJ. Now dont worry because its getting faster to get an appoinmnet at CDJ and you guys wont be separated too long. So i would suggest that you guys get married in the US and stay there until your appoinment at CDJ then she has to stay in mexico unitl you guys get your waiver approved which i dont think will be longer than a month if you prepare a good letter for your waiver. IF she leaves the US before that she wont get her fingerprints done or have any pics taken because anyone can leave the country without being inspected. Everytime my uncles leave to go to mexico they just cross the border like any one else and no one inspects them. Only if you want to come across to the US. Not to go to Mexico or South america.

[Glühbirne]

What country is she from? Are you a naturalized citizen or a US-born citizen? How long have you been together?

Please share more info about yourself. Thanks.

[chetan47]

I am naturalized citizen and i know her since a year now. Our original country is INDIA. I am just scared to do it from here because there is so much paper work that needs to be done. If i just marry her when she gets back to INDIA, i can just marry her and get her back here in six month with K1 visa.

[JennyM]

ummm India is different too...if you sent her back, she's still going to get a ban. Its better to do it here. How did she get here in the first place?

[chetan47]

She came here through mexico without inspection.

[Luckysprite]

I was thinking about sending her back to her country and then i go and marry her there and do the paperwork THE RIGHT WAY!!

How will the immigration people find out if she leave USA. Do they take personal information of the illegal immigrants who want to leave to their original country? Do they take fingerprint?

I am naturalized citizen and i know her since a year now. Our original country is INDIA. I am just scared to do it from here because there is so much paper work that needs to be done. If i just marry her when she gets back to INDIA, i can just marry her and get her back here in six month with K1 visa.

Chetan - doing things the right way - as you indicated you wished to do - to me, does not mean have her return to India and pretend she has never been here. To answer your second question - no, they do not fingerprint you as you try to leave the US - however they would certainly have ways of finding out she was here - and if you do get caught in more lies, as others indicated it could mean a lifetime ban without any chance of a waiver or your girlfriend returning to the country legally. Also - all of the forms you fill out for immigration purposes clearly indicate that by signing - you are admiting truthful answers and they themselves have penatlies and fines for perjury.

Also - if you marry her back in India - you no longer qualify for the K1 visa - as that is for fiance's wishing to marry. You could file for that as fiances- and marry her once she returns to the US.

If you marry first - you would either need to file for the K3 or the IR/CR visa.

To sum things up - doing things legally involves paperwork, time and patience. It seems that no matter which way you go - legally - your case would involve a waiver and she would need to return to India at the time of her interview and stay there until the visa is granted (after the waiver is filed) - but she could remain in the US until then. Having her return sooner just means that you will be apart from her for longer periods of time.

[discoviking]

Even though she EWI's through Mexico and you may think she is here under the radar, it is virtually impossible to not leave a trace somewhere in todays society.

Nobody on this site will advise you to try and cut corners or lie to an immigration official. There are ways for you to legalize her without breaking any laws, it will just take a bit longer. Unfortunately that is the price you pay when your loved one has broken immigration law to get here. But if you do this by the book, at the end of the process you will not have to keep looking over your shoulder to see if immigration is coming to get you.

On the other hand, if you - against our advice - try to lie, omit information or mislead USCIS in any way, realize that any immigration official you encounter have seen it all before. They have ways of finding out the truth, and if they catch you in a lie, you will be much worse off than you are now. For you and your future wife's sake, do it by the book please.

[Adriane]

Chetan, we've had several successful I-601's through India. I highly recommend you get married in the US, file the necessary paperwork and then she will need to go back to India for her interview and to file the I-601. After she files, she needs to stay outside the US until her I-601 is approved and her visa is issued- but she doesn't need to stay in India- she can go to Canada, Mexico or anywhere else while she is waiting.

Incidentally, my husband and I used to live in India while we were waiting for his I-601 from Mexico. It's a small world.

[chetan47]

Thank you a lot guys for all your advices. I really am thankful to all of you guys.

[carloslovesbetty]

if you can move north our south near the borders you guys can live pretty much close since you can cross the board until the file is approved if not... don' t you feel bad once time goes by fast... and you'll be approved soon!

[chetan47]

So, you're saying that when i file I-601 for her, she does not necessary have to go to her original country (INDIA). she can stay in canada or mexico? or anyplace?

[discoviking]

Once she leaves US soil, she can't legally enter the US again without a visa. But the US has no jurisdiction over other soverign nations, so if a country other than India admits her in the meantime, she could stay there. Of course she has to abide by immigration law in whatever country she decides to temporarely reside in. Think outside the box on this one, and look into your legal options. Is India still part of the commonwealth? Maybe you have an advantage if she wants to stay temporarely in Canada, I don't know. But it can't hurt to look into it.

I would think that she will need to go back to India for her visa and waiver interviews, but I am not sure how it would work if she was legally residing in a different country. Others with more experience in the waiver process will chime in on this, I'm sure.