Filing i485 for Undocumented Spouse

[ravinmish]

Hi Everyone,
I recently got my Green Card (less than 1 year) and after that, I got married to my spouse who came here as an F1 (International Student) but did not continue her studies and she has accrued unlawful presence for more than 2 years.
What would be the best way for me to apply for her i-485. Is it even possible since she is out of status but did enter the US legally?
I heard a lot about the waivers as well but do not understand on what merit it is given. I would really appreciate if someone has any idea about this situation. Thank you so much

[newacct]

Someone who is out of status is not eligible for Adjustment of Status (I-485) unless they are in the Immediate Relative category (spouse, parent, or unmarried under-21 child of US citizen). Your spouse is the spouse of a permanent resident, and is in the F2A category. She is not eligible for Adjustment of Status. She has two options:
1. Leave the US and do Consular Processing abroad for an immigrant visa. Leaving the US would trigger a ban if she has accrued more than 180 days of unlawful presence. However, as an F1 student, she was almost certainly admitted for D/S instead of a date on her I-94, and she hasn't accrued any unlawful presence, at least under previous rules. There was a memo in 2018 to start counting unlawful presence for F1 when out of status after August 9, 2018, but that memo has been blocked by a nationwide injunction.
2. Continue to wait in the US until you naturalize, at which point she can immediately file I-485. However, if you've just got your green card less than a year ago, you still have more than 4 years before you can naturalize.

[HartfordCtFilerI-485]

Hi Everyone,
I recently got my Green Card (less than 1 year) and after that, I got married to my spouse who came here as an F1 (International Student) but did not continue her studies and she has accrued unlawful presence for more than 2 years.
What would be the best way for me to apply for her i-485. Is it even possible since she is out of status but did enter the US legally?
I heard a lot about the waivers as well but do not understand on what merit it is given. I would really appreciate if someone has any idea about this situation. Thank you so much

Marry her and file for her. Do the I-130 and the I-485 concurrent and depending on the state you guys are in she can get her GC in a yr or less. I wouldn’t recommend having her go back to her home country. Since as she’s here already might as well do it from here. Also, you don’t have to be a USC to petition for her, you can petition as a greencard holder.

[newacct]

Marry her and file for her. Do the I-130 and the I-485 concurrent and depending on the state you guys are in she can get her GC in a yr or less. I wouldn’t recommend having her go back to her home country. Since as she’s here already might as well do it from here. Also, you don’t have to be a USC to petition for her, you can petition as a greencard holder.

No, she is not eligible for AOS in her category since she is out of status.

[BayAreaCaliAOS]

Marry her and file for her. Do the I-130 and the I-485 concurrent and depending on the state you guys are in she can get her GC in a yr or less. I wouldn’t recommend having her go back to her home country. Since as she’s here already might as well do it from here. Also, you don’t have to be a USC to petition for her, you can petition as a greencard holder.

Wrong. A GC holder can’t petition his/her spouse in the country. They will need to do a consular processing for it.

[newacct]

Wrong. A GC holder can’t petition his/her spouse in the country. They will need to do a consular processing for it.

A GC holder's spouse can do AOS if they are in status. The issue here is the OP's spouse is out of status.