Applying for Change of Status and a Work Visa After Overstaying

Hello everyone ! Firstly, I thank you ahead of time for your time and advice. Secondly, my questions are not for myself (because I am already a citizen, going on 16 years), but for my husband, to whom I have been married almost a year and a half now. My husband has been in the country (from Morocco) about 4 years now. Since about a month before we wed, his Visa has been expired. When he came here, he was working for Disney in Orlando, filed taxes, always stayed out of trouble, etc. However, after the school he requested to go to rejected his application, he did not have enough money to just start all over again. Now, he has a better job and has saved up enough for his permit. My questions are (now that I'm done rambling, lol) 1. Do my husband's circumstances, under law, permit him to file for change of status and grant him this change ? 2. If so, what documents do we need to file for change of status and for his work permit ?

No criticisms, please ! Helpful advice only !

Thank you again ! :)

There's no work permit that he's going to get at this point other than a green card. On the plus side, he entered legally. On the negative side, he's broken the law near continuously. Just because you get your taxes withhelf doesn't make you illegal working legitimate. Get him to an immigration attorney.

Thank you for your reply. I understand that nothing excuses his law-breaking. But is there any way that he could be approved for change of status ? His whole immigration situation is so confusing. He entered the US under a Q-1 visa, and after leaving the work he had the visa under, he applied for a tourist visa, renewed it right before it expired, and later went for a student visa so he could go to school, but was denied. Would it even be possible for him to get a green card after getting the change of status with all this ?

You haven't told us what type of visa he had. For example, if he entered on a J1 visa subject to the two year home residency rule, he can't adjust his status unless he gets the home residency requirement waived.

Since he has clearly and willfully committed visa fraud according to your story, he needs an immigration attorney. He will likely be denied any waivers due to marriage as he has committed multiple immigration law violations and lied to the INS.

Marriage to a US citizen after a legal entry generally permits a visa/stay violator to obtain a green card. I suggest you contact a social service agency in your area who assists immigrants with fees based on income(Catholic Charities and Lutheran Relief are two respected ones) if you cannot afford a private immigration law specialist.

Our government is very forgiving of law violations for spouses and parents of US citizens . As long as this is the case, there will be (and some immigration forums actually advocate for) marriages to US citizens in order to obtain legal residency. While this may or may not be the case for OP, it should make anyone considering marriage to someone in the US illegally extremely cautious. Since the affidavit of support commits the US citizen to supporting the immigrant for a period of 10 years or until the immigrant satisfies other conditions, all sponsors of family based immigration need to understand what is involved.

Thank you all for your advice. We talked to an attorney who is helping us through the process and he said that since he entered legally and is married to a citizen, it will be forgiven. We are now applying for his green card :)

Don't count your chickens before they hatch. He has not gotten to the interview where they ask the questions about his prior record.

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Quoting Lady_Zohh

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Thank you all for your advice. We talked to an attorney who is helping us through the process and he said that since he entered legally and is married to a citizen, it will be forgiven. We are now applying for his green card :)

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OP,

Be sure to know the limitations on foreign travel until he receives his green card. Your attorney can explain them to you.