What happens if an immigrant marries an illegal

If the Home Office refuses to approve your notice, you legally cannot marry in the UK. When the Home Office receives notice that a couple intends to marry and one of the partners is from a non-EEA country, they will ascertain whether the following points apply to the case:. Under these circumstances, the Home Office may undertake an investigation into the nature of the relationship based on the premise that the application for marrying is being undertaken solely for immigration purposes.

Marrying solely for the purposes of achieving a regular or legal immigration status is a criminal offence and carries strict penalties for anyone engaging in or facilitating the marriage.

We can help you if you need advice or assistance about how to marry your partner if you have undocumented status Call us now. If you have entered the UK illegally or if you have overstayed your visa and are no longer allowed to remain in the UK, there may be some options that you can consider. If you are seeking assistance with your immigration status and want to know how you can remain in the UK, contact the Immigration Advice Service today for a discussion on how we can help you and your case.

We are available to speak over the phone at or via the online contact form. If you are an undocumented immigrant, there are some routes available to you if you wish to get married and remain in the UK. For some couples, it may be a more viable option to legally marry outside of the UK and then apply to come to the UK under a form of Partner Visa permissions.

The aim would then be to obtain indefinite leave to remain. However, it is important to note that if a couple intend to apply for a Spouse Visa to settle in the UK, there is a significant threshold to prove that the applicants are in a genuine marriage and that they meet the Spouse Visa requirements as outlined by the Home Office.

There is also a requirement that stipulates that applicants must have a good immigration record and that they fulfil the suitability requirements of the Spouse Visa. For some applicants, it is possible to come to the UK on a short-term basis for the purposes of marrying your partner under a permission known as the Marriage Visitor Visa. This does not give the holder the right to stay in the UK and it is not the same as indefinite leave to remain , but may make the process of joining your partner permanently in the UK easier.

There is an immigration route known as the Unmarried Partner Visa route. This enables couples who are in a de facto marriage-like relationship but who are not legally married to live with their partner in the UK. If you are granted a Spouse Visa, you will be able to stay in the UK for 33 months if you applied outside the UK or 30 months if you applied from the UK.

You may file the I waiver with the I waiver. Depending upon which immigration court that in absentia removal order is out of, we can help with this service of reopening the old order. The last problem that may affect your spouse, and is a problem for some illegal immigrants here in the United States has two possible components. Your spouse may have a criminal conviction that makes your spouse inadmissible to the United States.

Alternatively, your spouse may have either committed immigration fraud or made a material misrepresentation to the immigration authorities.

Both these problems cause your spouse to be inadmissible, ineligible for a green card. To address either of these grounds of inadmissibility, your spouse must request a waiver.

While your spouse makes the application, the standard is whether he or she has a qualifying relative, a US citizen spouse or US citizen children and whether these qualified relatives would suffer extreme hardship. Just like the IA, extreme hardship is difficult to show and will differ for different people. If you read over this guide to marrying an illegal immigrant, you can see that our immigration attorney is very familiar with the types of immigration problems affecting them and possibly preventing he or her from receiving lawful permanent resident status in the United States.

Usually, the best way to proceed if you are marrying an illegal immigrant is to get a consultation with us, an immigration attorney, for you and your spouse to understand your particular circumstances. We will analyze your situation and advise on the best way to go. Montana State Bar. Marrying an Illegal Immigrant: An Overview These are people, usually from Mexico, who enter the United States without an immigration officer inspecting him or her.

Only One Way to a Green Card If you have looked at articles on green cards based on marriage, you are aware that there are two ways to get a green card for your spouse. Immigration Resource Guide When you marry an illegal immigrant, otherwise known as undocumented immigrants, you never have option one. Consular Processing: The Only Option Without adjustment of status, the only option for your spouse is that he or she leaves the country.

Immediate relatives are exempted from certain rules that would otherwise prevent many applicants from obtaining permanent resident status green card. Because of this, an undocumented spouse of a U. As long as the foreign national did not depart the United States, the overstay can be a few days or several years. No special waivers are necessary for the overstay, provided that the green card applicant has proof of the lawful entry.

Citizen After a Visa Overstay. The application process for the spouse of a U. The typical adjustment of status package typically includes the following forms:. Before receiving a green card, your spouse may obtain employment authorization in the form of a work permit. As an adjustment of status applicant, he or she is eligible to request work authorization. Upon approval, he or she will receive an employment authorization document EAD to use as a government-issued photo identification with employers.

When filed as a part of the adjustment of status package or while still pending , there is no additional USCIS filing fee. Generally, adjustment of status applicants may also reenter the United States after travel abroad if they have an approved advance parole document. However, applicants with any accumulated unlawful presence in the U. We recommend speaking to an immigration attorney to address the specific situation of the applicant. When filed as part of the adjustment of status package or while still pending there is no additional USCIS filing fee.

If your foreign national spouse has spent more than six months days in the U. As discussed earlier, this is where the 3- or year bar could become a legal obstacle for the application.

If you are marrying an undocumented immigrant who entered without inspection, an unlawful presence waiver may be available. Likewise, spouses of permanent residents who have accrued time in an unlawful presence will face hurdles if trying to adjust status.

These applicants may also need to use consular processing at the risk of triggering a bar. Again, an unlawful presence waiver may be available to resolve this problem. Getting a marriage green card protects your spouse from deportation and, as immediate relatives, gives them a path to naturalization.

But applying for a marriage green card can be a difficult process. And in most cases, it is even more challenging when your spouse is undocumented. This article will help you weigh the benefits and risks of applying for a marriage green card for your undocumented spouse.

If your undocumented spouse overstayed their U. Many undocumented immigrants came to the United States legally. For example, some undocumented immigrants arrive on a valid nonimmigrant visa like a tourist visa or other temporary valid visa and then fail to leave. In that case, your marriage green card application should be treated the same as if your spouse had legal status. There is little downside in applying for a green card. But your undocumented spouse should be careful about leaving the U.

If your spouse leaves the country before then, the U. The length of the bar depends on the amount of time they spent in the U.

S without authorization. If your undocumented spouse arrived legally in the U. If your undocumented spouse entered the U. If you are eligible , the application process involves numerous supporting documents. The application process also differs depending on whether you are a citizen of the United States or a permanent resident.

If your undocumented spouse entered the United States illegally, they must leave the country to get a Green Card. The process depends on how long they have been in the U.