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Anyone else have an undocumented fiancee?

Gwendolyn1986Gwendolyn1986 member
5 Love Its Name Dropper First Comment
in Chit Chat
was wondering if anyone else was in a similar situation. I am a US citizen, born and raised, and my fiancee was born in Mexico and was brought over illegally when he was 5. Even once we are married, he is not eligible for a green card until we jump through a number of legal hoops, pay a lawyer a lot of money, and even then there is a decent chance the application will be denied and he will remain undocumented until the laws change. I was wondering if any other brides or brides to be are going through the process, if they had any advice and if they were successful in applying for a green card? 

It really sucks, I'd love to travel with him to Mexico for the honeymoon but if he goes they won't let him back into the states so that's obviously not an option. I hate seeing him in limbo and knowing that ICE could detain him/send him to Mexico whenever they want - even if its only a remote possibility. 
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Re: Anyone else have an undocumented fiancee?

  • kvrunskvruns member
    First Anniversary First Comment 5 Love Its First Answer
    Knottie1453538985 said:
    was wondering if anyone else was in a similar situation. I am a US citizen, born and raised, and my fiancee was born in Mexico and was brought over illegally when he was 5. Even once we are married, he is not eligible for a green card until we jump through a number of legal hoops, pay a lawyer a lot of money, and even then there is a decent chance the application will be denied and he will remain undocumented until the laws change. I was wondering if any other brides or brides to be are going through the process, if they had any advice and if they were successful in applying for a green card? 

    It really sucks, I'd love to travel with him to Mexico for the honeymoon but if he goes they won't let him back into the states so that's obviously not an option. I hate seeing him in limbo and knowing that ICE could detain him/send him to Mexico whenever they want - even if its only a remote possibility. 
    Def a lawyer question 
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  • holyguacamole79holyguacamole79 member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    STARMOON44 said:
    I think your honeymoon is the least of your concerns. Do you want kids? Do you want to raise those kids without their father because he has been deported? Do you want to move to Mexico if you need to do so to keep your family together? 

    I I think you need serious legal advice now before you get married. And I wouldn't assume the laws will ever change. 
    seriously. 




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  • Gwendolyn1986Gwendolyn1986 member
    5 Love Its Name Dropper First Comment
    we already have a lawyer and yes i've thought of everything else. wasn't looking to trivialize it at all, but there is some time sensitive immigration processes that could involve having the visa interview in mexico and then reentering the us. IF my honeymoon could be delayed to make these things happen at the same time it would be really, really special for me. Again, wasn't looking for legal advice here, just hoping to see if anyone else was in  a similar situation as I don't have many people who can relate.

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  • lc07lc07 member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    No but I have a good friend who married someone who was not legally allowed to be in the USA. The legal situation was a little different in that he came to the US legally but was then asked to leave within a specific time frame later by the courts but didn't leave. This was all prior to knowing my friend. But she knew about this before she married him. 10 years later he and my friend who had been married for several years (married here in America) began the legal process of making him legal. They descended on their house shortly after they started the paperwork and deported her husband. It was obviously an incredibly stressful situation.

    Personally, I would counsel with a lawyer before deciding to enter into marriage with him.
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  • MCmeowMCmeow member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Comment Name Dropper
    edited February 2016
    Yeah I have a similar situation and maybe it's something that can help you and your fiance. My fiance is from Hong Kong, at 12 his family brought him to Canada and then illegally entered the US. In 2012 he applied to the dream act (or DACA) which deferred his illegal status, that he renews every 2 years. It has given him a SSN, he was able to get a driver's license and a work permit. We need an immigration lawyer too to figure out what his next steps are but this law has removed any fear that he would be deported.

    Of course we have the honeymoon issue too, but that's ok, there's plenty of great U.S destinations. Anyway, DACA is meant for people like your fiance, who were brought here illegally at a young age. You guys should look into it if you haven't already: https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/consideration-deferred-action-childhood-arrivals-daca
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  • Gwendolyn1986Gwendolyn1986 member
    5 Love Its Name Dropper First Comment
    Thank you ^^^^ he already has the DACA status fortunately,  but it just does not provide any path to citizenship. It's not that I have to travel abroad for the honeymoon, shit, I'd be happy camping with him. BUT it looks like the best way to apply would involve a legal workaround that would allow him to apply for citizenship IN mexico and not be barred from reentry, even if his application is denied. so if it works out I would really really love to just delay the honeymoon until we can go their for his application. Just curious if anyone else had to jump through the legal hurdles, what it has been like so far, etc. etc. I don't have the lawyer appointment until next month but hopefully it will go ok
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  • kimmiinthemittenkimmiinthemitten member
    First Anniversary First Answer First Comment 5 Love Its
    STARMOON44 said:
    I think your honeymoon is the least of your concerns. Do you want kids? Do you want to raise those kids without their father because he has been deported? Do you want to move to Mexico if you need to do so to keep your family together? 

    I I think you need serious legal advice now before you get married. And I wouldn't assume the laws will ever change. 
    I disagree. I'd assume the laws are changing and not in your favor, unfortunately. There's a whole slew of Presidential candidates who oppose the Dream Act and legal paths to citizenship, even for people who were brought over as kids. 

    Can an you move up your lawyer appointment?  Has he reached out to community organizations that involve obtaining legal status to hear other people's experiences?  Where are his parents now?  Siblings?
    image
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  • ILoveBeachMusicILoveBeachMusic member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    I don't know how the laws differ base on where a person originates, but my daughter's friend married a man from Europe. They had to go through a lot of paperwork and expense but he was allowed to stay in the US. They met while in college and he was here studying for a semester. They weren't sure until about a month before the wedding that he would receive status to stay here. I don't know if he is pursuing citizenship or not. He does have a green card so that he can work - that came after the ability to marry a US citizen and stay here. Hopefully your lawyer is well versed in all of the immigration laws.
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  • MCmeowMCmeow member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Comment Name Dropper
    kimmiinthemitten said:
    STARMOON44 said:
    I think your honeymoon is the least of your concerns. Do you want kids? Do you want to raise those kids without their father because he has been deported? Do you want to move to Mexico if you need to do so to keep your family together? 

    I I think you need serious legal advice now before you get married. And I wouldn't assume the laws will ever change. 
    I disagree. I'd assume the laws are changing and not in your favor, unfortunately. There's a whole slew of Presidential candidates who oppose the Dream Act and legal paths to citizenship, even for people who were brought over as kids. 

    Can an you move up your lawyer appointment?  Has he reached out to community organizations that involve obtaining legal status to hear other people's experiences?  Where are his parents now?  Siblings?
    The Republicans have no chance, as long as people are motivated enough to go vote. And just imagining Trump as president is motivation enough. I'm sure the turn out of young people will be even greater than in 2008.
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  • kimmiinthemittenkimmiinthemitten member
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    MCmeow said:
    kimmiinthemitten said:
    STARMOON44 said:
    I think your honeymoon is the least of your concerns. Do you want kids? Do you want to raise those kids without their father because he has been deported? Do you want to move to Mexico if you need to do so to keep your family together? 

    I I think you need serious legal advice now before you get married. And I wouldn't assume the laws will ever change. 
    I disagree. I'd assume the laws are changing and not in your favor, unfortunately. There's a whole slew of Presidential candidates who oppose the Dream Act and legal paths to citizenship, even for people who were brought over as kids. 

    Can an you move up your lawyer appointment?  Has he reached out to community organizations that involve obtaining legal status to hear other people's experiences?  Where are his parents now?  Siblings?
    The Republicans have no chance, as long as people are motivated enough to go vote. And just imagining Trump as president is motivation enough. I'm sure the turn out of young people will be even greater than in 2008.

    -----------------------------SITB----------------------------

    I'm a hope for the best, plan for the worst kind of person.  There's a large enough portion of the country right now that is anti-amnesty, so I was just trying to express some sense of urgency to OP.

    If this was me and my FI today, I would be in a huge rush to get this done now, before the potential for the laws to become even more stringent.  Because, while I agree with you, technically more people running for President are against it than are for it, and I wouldn't like those odds if they directly affected me.
    image
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  • MCmeowMCmeow member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Comment Name Dropper
    kimmiinthemitten said:
    MCmeow said:
    kimmiinthemitten said:
    STARMOON44 said:
    I think your honeymoon is the least of your concerns. Do you want kids? Do you want to raise those kids without their father because he has been deported? Do you want to move to Mexico if you need to do so to keep your family together? 

    I I think you need serious legal advice now before you get married. And I wouldn't assume the laws will ever change. 
    I disagree. I'd assume the laws are changing and not in your favor, unfortunately. There's a whole slew of Presidential candidates who oppose the Dream Act and legal paths to citizenship, even for people who were brought over as kids. 

    Can an you move up your lawyer appointment?  Has he reached out to community organizations that involve obtaining legal status to hear other people's experiences?  Where are his parents now?  Siblings?
    The Republicans have no chance, as long as people are motivated enough to go vote. And just imagining Trump as president is motivation enough. I'm sure the turn out of young people will be even greater than in 2008.

    -----------------------------SITB----------------------------

    I'm a hope for the best, plan for the worst kind of person.  There's a large enough portion of the country right now that is anti-amnesty, so I was just trying to express some sense of urgency to OP.

    If this was me and my FI today, I would be in a huge rush to get this done now, before the potential for the laws to become even more stringent.  Because, while I agree with you, technically more people running for President are against it than are for it, and I wouldn't like those odds if they directly affected me.
    Yeah I agree. I'm a hope for the best plan for the best kind of person haha. Not always good to be an optimist, I know. Anyway OP let us know how it goes. Good luck to you two.
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  • STARMOON44STARMOON44 member
    First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its Name Dropper
    ILoveBeachMusic said:
    I don't know how the laws differ base on where a person originates, but my daughter's friend married a man from Europe. They had to go through a lot of paperwork and expense but he was allowed to stay in the US. They met while in college and he was here studying for a semester. They weren't sure until about a month before the wedding that he would receive status to stay here. I don't know if he is pursuing citizenship or not. He does have a green card so that he can work - that came after the ability to marry a US citizen and stay here. Hopefully your lawyer is well versed in all of the immigration laws.

    This is all completely different if you originally entered the country without documentation. 
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  • ILoveBeachMusicILoveBeachMusic member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    STARMOON44 said:
    ILoveBeachMusic said:
    I don't know how the laws differ base on where a person originates, but my daughter's friend married a man from Europe. They had to go through a lot of paperwork and expense but he was allowed to stay in the US. They met while in college and he was here studying for a semester. They weren't sure until about a month before the wedding that he would receive status to stay here. I don't know if he is pursuing citizenship or not. He does have a green card so that he can work - that came after the ability to marry a US citizen and stay here. Hopefully your lawyer is well versed in all of the immigration laws.

    This is all completely different if you originally entered the country without documentation. 
    I made a mistake, he had moved back to Europe, and they had a long distance relationship. So he couldn't return to live here until they finalized all the paperwork. I realize it is a different scenario. I just meant to convey that it takes a lot of paperwork and money; therefore, a lawyer IMO is a necessity. 
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  • debbeaudebbeau member
    5 Love Its Name Dropper First Comment First Answer
    Is this the same post hat s in wedding woes?
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