He was sentenced in 2000 for 365 days in jail on the charge of assault with a deadly weapon other than the firearm. He served 10 month in local jail and was released. When coming back from Mexico in 2006 he was detained by immigration and deported 3 months later due to his prior record.

I'm a green card holder and just filed for naturalization. I talked to his immigration lawyer and she informed me that the only way for him to get back would be to hire a criminal attorney who would be able to reopen his case from 2000 and try to modify the sentence in order to reduce it by at least one day. In that case, if the sentence is less than a year, it might be easier to ask for I-212 waiver and for me petition on his behalf. Does it make sense or the only way for him to reenter would be to prove to USCIS my extreme hardship as his wife? Is the fact that we would get married after deportation matter in this case

Thank you so much for your help.