living in the US 10 years illegally

i came here illegally using different name. I am being petitioned by my mom and our status is current. my mom sent all the information that is needed to the immigration since february and upto now i haven't gotten any work permit. i would like to get a decent job and be able to drive. i am getting old. how long is the wait suppose to be? My fiance and i wants to get married soon, if we do do that will it complicate my situation even more? or will it make it faster for me to get my green card. Please i really need advice or help on what is the smartest thing to do.

i came here illegally using different name. I am being petitioned by my mom and our status is current. my mom sent all the information that is needed to the immigration since february and upto now i haven't gotten any work permit. i would like to get a decent job and be able to drive. i am getting old. how long is the wait suppose to be? My fiance and i wants to get married soon, if we do do that will it complicate my situation even more? or will it make it faster for me to get my green card. Please i really need advice or help on what is the smartest thing to do.

Maria, I am going to assume that your mother is a legal permanent resident, not a US citizen. I am also going to assume that she originally filed an I-130 for you many years ago, and that when you say your "status is current" you mean that there is a now a visa available for you, not that you already have legal permanent resident status. I will further assume that what you filed in February was an I-485 application for adjustment of status, along with an application for an employment document. Is all of this accurate?

you are correct

OK, here is the problem. Even though you filed your I-130 years ago, if you did not file an I-485 before the end of April, 2001, my understanding is that you cannot take advantage of Section 245(i) of the INA, which is what you would need to do to adjust your status here in the U.S. since you first came here illegally. So, that means that the I-485 you filed in February is probably not going to be approved, unless there is a change in the law (i.e., section 245(i) gets re-enacted, which might happen).

Now, it is theoretically possible that you could go back to your home country and obtain an immigrant visa based on your approved I-130. However, if you are more than six months older than 18, you would not want to do this, because if you left the U.S., you would be subject to the travel bar (in other words, once you left, you would not be allowed back in for a period of either 3 or 10 years, depending on how many months after your 18th birthday you were here). Assuming that you are older than 18 and 6 months, you will probably need for 245(i) to be re-enacted before you can become an LPR.

Also, in answer to your question about marrying, I do think that would be a problem for you; I don't think that LPRs can sponsor their married children. So, unfortunately, you may have to wait to get hitched.

Any comments on any of this from Umesh, Mohan, Mmorales, or anyone else?

If the I-130 was filed before April 30, 2001, maria would be eligible for Sec. 245(i). BCIS looks to the immigrant petition priority date(i.e., the I-140 or I-130) in determining whether an applicant is eligible for 254(i). The I-485 filing date is irrelevant.

i already paid $1000 dollar for the penalty for being here. And last february we already got our notice and my mom already submitted all the things that we need to submit. I want to check my status but i don't have the cash register receipt the lawyer that's helping my mom has it and right now the lawyer who's helping us couldn't be reached. is there a way for me to get a copy of my receipt. The money order that we used to pay for everything upto now hasn't been cleared. How long do we have to wait. the wait is driving me crazy. does anyone have the same situation as i am?

Dang, I think Guest was right . . . should have double-checked 245(i) before I posted . . . Sorry!

For what it is worth, they are supposed to issue the EAD within 90 days. Assuming they got the application back in February, at this point you should be able to go to you BCIS district office and ask them to at least issue you an interim EAD (they usually end up issuing the full-blown thing if you do this). But, you will need to have a copy of your application and payment reciept. You really do need to check in with your attorney first, to get these things and make sure of the status of your case.

assuming that i get my working permit. do i have to wait until my interview before i can get married? my fiance and i really wants to get married soon.

Maria, yes, I think so, but you need to check with your lawyer, they should be able to tell you for sure.

Is your fiancee a USC?

yes my fiance is a USC.

Hi Maria,

You mentioned earlier that you "came here illegally using different name." ? How are you going to explain that to BCIS ? Even tho your I-130 was filed just in time to be covered by 245(i), you will still be heavily scrutinized by the BCIS before they approve your AOS.

Moreover, you need to prove to BCIS that you were PHYSICALLY present in the US on Dec 21, 2001. Since you said you came in with different names, how will you prove that you, the "you" whose name is on I-130 and I-485, were PHYSICALLY present in the US on that date ?

What about your birthdate ? Did you use "another" birthday to come in ?

as soon as i came here i never used the name on my passport. i used my real name. it's not hard for me to prove it because i have been going to school since then. The reason i came here is to be with my family. I tried getting visa but kept getting denied. So my parents thought about this.