Adjustment of Status Archives | Sesini Law Group, S.C.

I am a US citizen living abroad, can I sponsor my wife for her Green Card?

You essentially have to go through the same process that you would in the United States.
Some embassies will allow you to go through the process there if you have resided in that country for a certain period of time.
Some countries have immigration offices to assist with the process, for example it is not uncommon in London, Rome, and India to do so.

Stepchildren are considered immediate relatives of United States citizens if the following occurred: the marriage had to take place prior to the child’s 18th birthday.

This law allows a person who entered the United States without papers, no visa, and who wants to file for their Green Card through their spouse, or through their parents, or a sibling to stay in the United States.
They don’t have to go back to their home country if one of the following occurred: either an immediate relative petition or labor certification was filed on her behalf on or before April 30, 2001.
If it were that, that petition follows you to any other application you want to file, it waives you from returning to your home country, but you do have to pay a $1,000 fine on top of the regular fees.
If these applications were filed after January 15, 1998, you do have to show that you were in the United States as of December 20, 2000. If not, you’re not eligible for that.
One more important thing: if a relative petition or labor certification was filed for your parents and you were under the age of 21 when those petitions were filed, you are still eligible under 245-I law.

Yes. When you file the adjustment of status application, you automatically file for employment authorization.
Employment authorization is going to take approximately 75 to 90 days for it to be approved. Technically, you’re not supposed to be working prior to obtaining an employment authorization. However, there are probably 11 million people in the United States that are working without authorization.
I will say this: You should not work. However, if you are filing to obtain your permanent resident status through a spouse, working without authorization is not going to affect you obtaining adjustment of status.

Yes, assuming that the marriage was valid, and you can show that the marriage was valid.
You most likely would have to file a separate form, and it may take a little bit longer for you to obtain your Green Card status, but there is a lot of hope.