ok someone pls explain....

my wife is here and she is illegal until we file our I-485 however do we need to file something before this to make her conditional status and then the I-485 to adjust for permanent residence.

If I understand correctly.. all I need to do is file the I-485 to get my wife as a permanent resident.. is this correct??

I truly hope this helps

If I was in your shoes I would get an Immigration Lawyer ASAP. US Immigration are difficult too deal with in this type of situation.
If you cannot afford a Lawyer approach the Catholic Church in your State, they sometimes help Families with US Immigration Problems.
The following Immigration Forms may be useful too you.
The I-690 Application for Waiver on grounds of excludabilty under section 245A or 210 of the immigration & nationality act.
Purpose of form:
Individuals who are inadmissable to the United States but have applied for legal residency under section 245A of the immigration & nationality act, May request a waiver of the grounds of excludability for humaniterian family unity or national interest reasons.
Where to file: The INS office with jurisdiction over your place of residency.
Filling fee $35.00

http://www.ins.usdoj.gov/grahics/forms/i-690.htm

Yes you need form i-485 too make your wife a permanent resident.
The previous info was if your wife had commited a felony sorry.

If only life was that simple......you need to file I-130, plus avidavit of support, G325A, you would be better doing some research instead of guessing or see a lawyer. If you get this wrong it will be a long process to correct.

If you have been married for less than two years when you go for your interview, she will then be given a conditional greencard for two years, for which you will have to apply to take the conditions off 3 months prior to the expiration of the conditional greencard. If you have been married for more than two years at the time of your interview, she will be given a 10 year GC, if all is well.

One important thing I didn't mention....when you say your wife is illegal.....is she an overstay or did she enter the country without inspection?.....this is important....if she entered the country without inspection forget what I said above and get a lawyer.

she entered the country legally with a tourist card. she has her Mexican passport and visa. However the INS officer gave her a 2 week limit to stay and put NO Extension or No Change of status on her tourist card. We got married in the 2 weeks that she was legal her in the US and then she overstayed her tourist card.

what is the I-130?? is it the Petition for Alien Relative??? why do I need this?

purpose of form- A citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States may file this form to establish the relationship to certain alien relatives who wish to immigrate to the United States. A separate form must be filed for each eligible relative.

My wife is already in the US and she does not have to migrate from another country? so do I still need to file this?

I could spend ages on this but you will find all the forms you need to lodge on this site somewhere and you can download them.

You need to file I-485, which in essence is your wife apply to adjust status.

I-130 which is you sponsoring your wife's application.

Avadavit of support (cant remember form number). Which is you or another saying that they will support your wife and prevent her from becoming a burden on the state. (You need to earning something like $35000 PA)

G-325A Biographic information ....I think it is one for you and one for your wife.

I would highly suggest that if you have any doubts you see a lawyer. I did weeks and weeks of research b4 I put my AOS in and actually took all the forms to a lawyer and asked him to check them and stamp them....he charged me $750 for the luxury of it, but then again I also had a conviction, so I needed the legal back up in case.

Got my temp greencard in July this year :)

Got to the www.ins.gov site and get the info for all the forms needed to adjust status, such as i-130, g-325a, i-485, medical(?), i-765, i-864 and filing fees. If she came here legally there should not be a problem. Just anticipate a bit of leeriness from the INS officer when you go for your interview. They may question your wifes intentions of coming here in to the US since you got married within two weeks of her arrival.

However, once these forms are in and you get reciept of filing, she should be okay and get her employment authorization in the next 90 days.

Goodluck to you and please anyone, tell me if I left something out.

the filling process is fine and define correctly but the to get EAD within 90 days is wrong.
she will not get EAD unless until He will file for K status. he should send application form whit $120 fees to chicago office. But within time period that INS will take to answer, she will be out of status and then the big Tiger (3-10 ) comes in picture.
you can't get EAD just to file the paper and have receipt. that is not enough , Understand . please don't give wrong advice. let him found out the right way. Little mistake will change everything in these CONFUSING INS LAW BOOKs

His wife can adjust status if she is in the States. There is no need to file the K visa. Also, she can file her EAD at the same time, if the EAD is not forthcoming after 90 days, then the law says that she can take her receipt to the INS office and she must be issued a work permit immediately.

I do not know what law books you are talking about, but as far as I know, the K visa is if your wife/fiancee is abroad.

Paudy

The INS deems you to be in lawful status, whilst your application is pending. Also, even if you overstay your visa, marriage to a USC will cause the INS to ignore this fact.

This info is available on the INS website!

Paudy

Yes, Paudy is right. Here is the INS link you can check:

http://www.ins.gov/graphics/services/residency/family.htm

You NEED to file I-130 before you can file I-485 (they have to approve your I-130 first), whether your wife is here or abroad. I don't know how long before you can file for I-485, but I believe it won't be long since a USC's spouse is considered immidiate relative and does not need to wait for a visa number. When you file I-485, you can apply for EAD and Advance Parole at the same time.

Also, Richard, your wife came here legally right? Then don't worry about her over-staying. It'll be overlooked when you marry a US citizen (as long as you entered the U.S. legally). If she leaves the country before her status is adjusted, she might have trouble coming back in, unless you file K-visa for her. So my advice is to file the paper work ASAP, and just wait. Check out some previous posts; a lot of people are in the same situation of sponsoring spouses who overstayed their visa.