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Arriving to the United States without legal entry can cause complications on your future immigration case, but that does not mean you cannot obtain lawful permanent resident status. Here are four ways you can get your green card, even if you arrived to the United States without inspection.
(All cases are different so please contact our office, or speak to a Board Certified immigration attorney, to see if you qualify.)
- Immigrant Visa case with a provisional waiver for unlawful presence.
This is the most common way someone who arrived to the United States without inspection can obtain their lawful permanent resident status. An immigrant visa case can be started and processed while the applicant is still inside of the United States. The first step in the case requires a family member or an employer to file an immigrant petition to get the process started. Once the petition is approved, the case is then sent to the Department of State’s National Visa Center.
Once the case arrives at the National Visa Center, the applicant must file his Immigrant Visa application and submit various documentation to the agency before there is an Immigrant Visa interview scheduled at a U.S. Consulate abroad. However, some applicants will require a waiver of inadmissibility because of their unlawful presence within the United States.
Some applicants that require a waiver for unlawful presence in the United States might be eligible for a provisional stateside waiver. This means the waiver is filed here inside the United States without the applicant having to depart the country. The provisional stateside waiver, if approved, cuts down the time the applicant will be outside of the United States when he departs for his Immigrant Visa interview. Most approved cases with a stateside waiver require the applicant to depart the United States for at least one week to attend to their interview and obtain their visa to return.
- Adjustment of Status with unlawful entry under section 245(i).
Section 245(i) of the United States immigration law allows certain applicants to obtain their permanent resident status inside the United States despite entering without inspection. This is a very specific law that few applicants qualify for.
Section 245(i) requires the applicant to have an old visa petition, or labor certification, that was filed on their behalf on or before April 30, 2001. This includes old petitions that may have been filed for the applicant’s parent(s), if the applicant was also included in that same petition. In some cases, the Applicant will also have to prove that they, or their parent, were physically present inside the United States in December of 2000. If the person meets the requirements, they can pay a $1000 penalty fee in order to obtain their green card here inside the United States.
- Special Permits given by immigration authorities after a person has entered without inspection.
There are circumstances where an applicant who has entered the United States without inspection can apply for a permit that will enable the person to apply for their green card inside the United States.
Military Parole-in-Place is one of these special programs. This program is only available to certain family members of the U.S. Armed Forces. This program allows the immigration service to grant a Parole-in-Place to the applicant who entered the United States illegally. Once the Parole-in-Place is granted, the applicant will be considered “inspected” and “paroled” into the United States, all without having to actually depart. Once the applicant is inspected and paroled, they will be eligible for a green card inside of the United States.
The DACA program is another special program. It sometimes allows for DACA recipients to apply for a travel permit called an Advanced Parole. If approved, the DACA recipient is then allowed to travel abroad and return with inspection and parole. This inspection and parole will then allow the person to apply for their green card inside of the United States.
- VAWA
The immigration law in the United States has special provisions for certain abused spouses, and both men and women can qualify. An applicant who entered the United States without inspection might be able to file for their green card inside the United States if they have been abused, or treated with extreme cruelty, by their spouse.