1) If a U.S. Citizen is married to an alien who did not come into the country legally and wants to sponsor that alien. What would be the results? 2) How long does it take to get through with Citizen? 3) If a U.S Citizen or someone who has permanent residence is sponsoring an alien is it okay to send a copy of the Citizenship Certificate/Green Card or do I have to send in the originals to INS with their applications OR would it be okay if an attorney do a LETTER OF CERTIFICATION STATING THESE ARE COPIES OF ORIGINALS. Please advise. 4)

-- shakuntala prashad (shakuntala1@aol.com), January 16, 2003

Answers

1) If a U.S. Citizen is married to an alien who did not come into the country legally and wants to sponsor that alien. What would be the results?

If the noncitzen was inspected by the INS and can prove it (passport stamp or I-94 card), s/he should be able to apply and get a green card here. If the person used another person's passport to enter, that fraud would require a special waiver application to pardon the fraud. That application is quite diffcult. If the person crossed the border to enter the U.S. s/he will have to consular process abroad and will need a pardon for unlawful presence in the U.S. This is always time-consuming and can be very difficult.

2) How long does it take to get through with Citizen?

Do you mean how long does a marraige application take when the sponsor is a citizen? It varies quite a bit depending on where you make theapplication. talk to a local immigration lawyer.

3) If a U.S Citizen or someone who has permanent residence is sponsoring an alien is it okay to send a copy of the Citizenship Certificate/Green Card or do I have to send in the originals to INS with their applications OR would it be okay if an attorney do a LETTER OF CERTIFICATION STATING THESE ARE COPIES OF ORIGINALS.

Never send orginals to the INS, unless they send a letter asking for them. Normally, attorney certification is unecessary. Just send a clean photocopy.

-- Michael Boyle (mboyle@immigrantcenter.com), January 23, 2003.