Immigration Site

My fiance is from Korea and has been living illegally in the U.S. for several years (she has long overstayed her tourist visa). She has a couple of misdemeanors and possibly one felony - all related to prostitution. She is now a legitimate small business owner with a 4 y.o. son who was born in the U.S. and is an American citizen.

With these facts in mind, can anyone please advise on:

1. How long will it take after we marry for her to be able to leave the country and return safely?
2. Will she be able to leave and return with an Adjustment of Status or does she need to wait for the full green card?
3. What happens to this whole process if we divorce before she gets whatever is necessary for her to travel and return to the US?

Whatever advice and general information you could share would be greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks in advance!

overstay for few years is 10yr ban if she leaves the US. it will be hard to adjust status because of her possible felony. id honestly think about hiring a lawyer because if her AOS gets denied, she might be issued a deportation order.

Enochy,

From the get go, invest in a competent lawyer, once again, a competent lawyer, not some bozo who has been sitting on a bench somewhere collecting dust. The felony record for your wife is a huge huddle which she will need to overcome.

1. If and when you file for paperwork, your wife shouldnt even think about leaving the US until she is issued a green card and HOLDING IT IN HER HAND, provided USCIS finds her qualified for a green card with a felonious record. If you miss this step and have her go abroad on an advanced parole, she is toast of CBP which is known to ask people tough tough questions due to the criminal acts.

2. If you already asking about divorce, both of you wont be together for a long time. Assuming that she is approved and you decide to divorce, she will have to remove conditions on their own, creating problems for her too.

What type of felony are we discussing here?

Assuming you are a US citizen, the overstay wont be a problem for her in the green card process, because she entered legally. Although if she is caught by immigration authorities before you and she have filed the necessary green card paperwork, she can be deported even if you have married her.

But her prostitution-related crimes could get her green card denied, followed by deportation, depending on the specific details of the offenses. She needs to see an immigration lawyer before applying, in order to review the court papers and determine if she is deportable based on those convictions.

3. What happens to this whole process if we divorce before she gets whatever is necessary for her to travel and return to the US? If you are a US citizen, the entire process generally takes 3-6 months. Do you really think you might get divorced that quickly?

But anyway, if you divorce before her green card is approved, the green card process will be canceled and she can be deported for her overstay.

If you stay together long enough to get the green card approved, it will be valid for 2 years, during which she can travel outside the US and return. But when it is about to expire, shell have to file I-751 to extend it with a 10-year card. If you divorce before her I-751 is approved, she might not get the 10-year card and could be deported.