HELP! I'm in love with an ILLEGAL Englishman who overstayed visa...how do we marry? How do I get an immigration lawyer? I'm new here, and I'm EXTREMELY concerned. I am a legal, United States citizen. My boyfriend (we'll have been together 2 years in October) is an illegal immigrant who overstayed his visa. He's from the UK, & he's been here for about... ...FOUR YEARS illegally!

To make a long story short, we're in love, and would like to get married. He's been consistently working here (illegally, obviously) in the U.S. the entire time he's been here. So of course, he's never paid taxes.

He also had an illegal Driver's License that expired this month. Also, he managed to get a bank account and car insurance!!!! He got no renewal forms in the mail for his drivers license, so he went to the DMV fill out the forms himself. He then got a letter from the Social Security Administration basically saying that his driver's license # & his social security number didn't match up. It wasn't antagonistic, but they asked him to send the correct info. There was no deadline on the letter.

As my granny would say, he's in a mell of a hess.

Obviously, he doesn't want to do ANY MORE illegal stuff (fake id, bank account, car insurance), but how do we get married now? What do we do? Of course, we definitely need an immigration lawyer, but what will they do to him for overstaying his visa for SO LONG? Will the fake ID make his situation worse? Please help me if you can offer advice...

I'm nervous. I appreciate all and any responses.

If you are physically in the U.S. and are married to a US citizen, you still may be able to apply for adjustment of status (“adjustment of status” is the technical term for applying for permanent residency status / applying for a green card while in the U.S. as opposed to applying for that status overseas at a U.S. embassy), EVEN if you have overstayed your visa.

Normally to apply for adjustment of status, you must meet 3 underlying criteria:

(1) you must have entered the U.S. legally (i.e., you went through an immigration inspection at the airport or border crossing)
(2) you can have not worked without authorization;
(3) you must be in a legal status when you submit your adjustment application.

The spouses of US citizens, however, only have to meet the first requirement. So, if you are married to a US citizen and have worked illegally and have overstayed your visa, you still CAN apply for adjustment of status as long as you can show that you entered the US legally.

Even if you entered the country illegally, you still may be able to apply for adjustment of status if you can benefit from Section 245(i) of the immigration law. That provision states that individuals who entered the U.S. illegally but who are now eligible for adjustment can apply if they
(a) pay a penalty fee of $1,000 and
(b) can show that a visa petition (either Form I-130, I-140 or I-360) or a Labor Certification application was submitted on their behalf before April 30, 2001 and they were physically present in the U.S. as of December 21, 2000.
That earlier visa petition / Labor Certification application could have been submitted either on their behalf or on behalf of one of their parents if they were unmarried and under the age of 21 when the petition / application was submitted.

Some people may not qualify for Section 245(i). Take this example… John is from Russia and entered the U.S. with a B-2 visitor visa on April 4, 1993. As a visitor, he was allowed to stay for 6 months, until October 4, 1993. He never left the country and has been working illegally since his arrival. In February 2003 John married Francine, a U.S. citizen. No one has ever submitted a petition or application for John (or either of his parents), and Francine now wants to sponsor him for a green card. Unfortunately, he is not eligible to take advantage of 245(i).

John and Francine are faced with a very difficult choice. Because he does not qualify for adjustment under Section 245(i), he can apply for residency through the U.S. Embassy in Moscow. Leaving the country to apply for residency overseas (referred to as applying for an immigrant visa), however, creates a new problem. Because John has been in the U.S. illegally for more than 1 year and is leaving voluntarily (as compared to leaving under an order of removal / deportation), he will be prevented from returning for 10 years (even though he appears to qualify for residency based on his marriage to Francine) unless the government finds that Francine will suffer extreme hardship from being separated from him. In this type of case, deciding whether to leave the U.S. in the first place and assessing the likelihood that a “hardship waiver” will be approved becomes an EXTREMELY important decision that should only be made after consulting with an immigration attorney. Each case must be carefully assessed individually to determine the merits and disadvantages of submitting the hardship waiver application.

The other option for John and Francine is for John to remain in the U.S. and hope that Section 245(i) will be reinstated. If it is reinstated, he will then be able to apply for adjustment of status without leaving the country and facing a potential 10-year bar from returning. There was a bill to reinstate Section 245(i) that passed the U.S. Senate before the events of September 11, but that bill subsequently died. Unfortunately, there are no prospects of a law being passed at any time in the near future, particularly in the current political climate.

Needless to say, this area of law is complicated and confusing. To fully assess the particulars of your case, you should consult with an immigration attorney. I have assisted many individuals obtain residency through Section 245(i) and in having hardship waivers approved for those who decided to travel back home.
I welcome the opportunity to discuss your case with you.

marry him and pay a lawyer 3g