Q & A June, 2004Q & A 1. Dear Mr. Alan Lee, I entered the U.S. with a Taiwan passport holding F-1 visa, and studied at Indiana University of Pennsylvania with an F-1 visa in 1986, but didn’t graduate from it. I just renewed my passport in 3/2003 (the old one was a business passport issued on 9/6/1986.). I have never got in touch with the USCIS for extending, renewing
or changing my status. Questions: How can I apply for a Green Card? Tse Dear reader: From your letter, it appears that you entered the United States
under F-1 student status and have not maintained your legal status.
You also state that you have been paying regular taxes for at least
10 years and you never graduated from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
Although there is not enough information to give a comprehensive
evaluation of your situation, there is enough for me to give some
thoughts as to how you could resolve your immigration situation.
As you entered the United States legally, you would not be barred
from adjustment of status to permanent residence if you married
with a U.S. citizen. Such cases are welcomed at the U.S.C.I.S. as
long as they are bonafide, and the couple are living together as
man and wife. A marriage of convenience done just for the creation
of your permanent residence could result in fines of $250,000. and
5 years imprisonment for each party to the conspiracy. If you have
acquired skills within the 10 years of employment which are needed
by a U.S. employer, you could perhaps be applied for under a labor
certification application by an employer who is able to prove that
there are no able, willing, qualified, and available U.S. workers
to take your place. Because you are presently illegal, you would
have to leave the United States in order to interview before the
American Institute in Taiwan unless you are eligible for the benefits
of section 245(i). That provision allows most illegal aliens to
adjust status upon payment of a fine amount of $1,000 if they had
a labor certification based application or visa petition filed by
April 30, 2001 and were present in the U.S. on 12/21/00. If you
leave the country for interview, you are not barred from reentry
under the 3 and 10 year bars for individuals who are illegal in
the United States for 180 days or one year respectively after April
1, 1997 since the F-1 visa status was your last one in the U.S.
unless the INS or an immigration judge ruled that your F-1 status
was no longer valid. You can also wait and see what happens with
the Kolbe-Flake amnesty bill which is presently pending in Congress.
Please see any of the legalization proposals which are hot topics
in this election year, including the Bush proposal. For additional
discussion of our article "The Next Amnesty? Can You Prepare
for It?" which was published in the World Journal, and can
also be accessed on our website, www.AlanLeeLaw.com.
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Copyright © 2003 Alan Lee, Esq. |
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