Immigration Site

Hi there,

New to the forum.


Wife entered the country without inspection in March 2001. We were married in Aug 2003, and were waiting for an immigration law to pass, which obviously never did. I am a naturalized citizen.

Spoke to many, many lawyers, and all said the same thing. Apply for I-130, and she would eventually have to go back to Mexico.

Mailed in the I-130 and G-325A on August 4 this year, and I got the receipt letter on Sept 13. She knew she would have to go back to Mexico, so she went ahead and left on Aug 30. The USCIS website is said that the case will be processed in a 6 month time frame, in Cali.

My questions are:

1. How close to the 6 months will this take?

2. If my lawyers were correct, she will have to go to Ciudad Juarez (across El Paso) for her interview. Will I be able to join her during the interview?


And of course....what else do I need to know?!


The lawyers all were going to charge me for nothing more than filling out the I-130, so I did it myself. However, if I need an attorney, I have NO problem getting one.


Thank you in the advance!

You might have a problem since your wife is already in Mexico. EWI plus unauthorized stay march 2001 to august 2007 will subject her to a 10 year reentry ban because of illegal presence for more than a year. You should think about filing a i 602 waiver if she is to have any chance of getting around the reentry ban.

OP, did your lawers mean to suggest that she hide the fact she has been illegally in the US for all this time? Otherwise Id have to agree with the previous poster, shed be potentially looking at a 10-year reentry bar. Good luck and I hope were missing something!

How good is your spanish? you may be looking at Living IN MEXICO with your wife for the next 10 years...

Your wife is subject to a 10 year bar from returning to the US since the date she left. Because she entered illegally (without an inspection) and you provided USCIS proof of her illegal presence (namely marriage certificate).

I would advise you to find a good lawyer and perhaps he/she can help you get a waiver for your wife. Do not go back to the ones that told you she should leave. (Did she leave by plane anyways? or across the desert?).

Do you have any children together? that may help the case.