You may not have necessarily intended to, and now may deeply regret, illegitimately entering the United States. But this may have been quite some time ago, and since then, you may have raised a family, prospered in a professional career, and overall built a life you love here. You may want to make matters right and become legally recognized, but you may be afraid that, in the process, you may jeopardize everything you worked so hard for. With that being said, please continue reading to learn whether you can obtain a green card after entering the U.S. illegally and how an experienced green card lawyer in Milwaukee, WI, at Sesini Law Group, S.C., can help you get a legal status in the country.
What does illegal entry mean under U.S. immigration law?
First of all, before you put yourself in a great state of worry or guilt, you must understand the true definition of entering a country illegally, per United States immigration law. This is otherwise referred to as entering without inspection, which means not going through a lawful U.S. port of entry or a valid inspection by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer. This may be executed, for example, by crossing the U.S. border without being detected or giving an officer false documents at a port of entry.
Do I have the option of a green card if I entered the U.S. illegally?
Under the United States Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), an unlawful entry into the country simply means you are considered inadmissible. With this inadmissibility, you may subsequently be ineligible to adjust your status to a green card while still inside the U.S. Of note, this applies regardless of whether you marry a U.S. citizen. To even have a chance at this green card status, you must exit the U.S. and work on your application from your home country or any other country where you have legal residence.
However, say the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) finds out about your illegal entry and presence in the country first. Well, they may take measures to force your exit from the country. From here, they may also punish you with a ban from re-entering the U.S. for anywhere from three to 10 years. This means that you may have to spend this amount of time in another country waiting to start your application. Given this history of immigration law violations, there is no telling whether you will ultimately get approved for a green card, sadly.
There are only an exclusive number of exceptions to these harsh rules surrounding an illegal entry and presence. And so, while we understand that you may not want to deal with any of this right now, it must be addressed for the sake of you and the life you have built in the U.S. So please allow a skilled family immigration lawyer in Milwaukee, WI, at Sesini Law Group, S.C., to make this legal process less burdensome for you overall. We will be happy to help and give you much-needed relief.