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Consular ProcessingU.S. Consulates process immigrant visas and non-immigrant visas. All foreign nationals seeking a temporary visa, unless from a visa-waiver country, are required to apply for their visa prior to seeking admission into the United States. The term "consular processing" refers to the process of seeking residency (or a "green card") from outside of the U.S. Thus, one enters the United States as a fully adjusted permanent resident. For spouses of U.S. citizens, this is probably the quickest way to obtain residency. For spouses of U.S. Citizens or legal permanent residents who marry a foreign national who entered the U.S. without inspection ("E.W.I."), this is the only way to obtain residency (if the spouse is not in removal proceedings), since a waiver of inadmissibility would have to be adjudicated at a consulate. I emphasize this because we deal with this issue quite often. Many U.S. citizens marry someone who has entered illegally and now want to "get the papers" for their spouse. Unfortunately, many people mistakenly believe that marriage to a U.S. citizen confers either automatic citizenship or a right to a "green card". The issue becomes even more complicated if the spouse has been previously deported. In the case of a single entry without inspection, the spouse will be unable to obtain a "green card" without what is known as a "waiver". The consulate will be balancing the hardship to the U.S. citizen and family against the undesireability of allowing the (law-breaking) foreign spouse. Only an attorney with knowledge in this area ought to handle a waiver case. However, there is a high success rate at certain consulates for those seeking these waivers. In the case of someone previously deported, there are certain bars of admissibility which may not be waived for 10 years. It may not be advisable to leave the country for this reason. Additionally, there might be a chance to adjust status to permanent resident from within the U.S., depending upon which federal circuit the family resides in. Again, an immigration lawyer is needed to sort all of this out. In addition to the "permanent bar", there is a federal criminal re-entry statute which could cause a spouse of a USC to end up in a federal prison before his/her deportation from the United States. |
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