I'm a Green Card holder, she's a...

[Elliott]

... deferred action childhood arrivals (DACA) illegal immigrant. We're going to get married. From reading these forums, I'm under the impression that in order for her to get a green card too, she'll have to go back and interview at a US Consulate in her "home" country.

She entered without inspection (she was two months old, no choice in the matter really; she's as American as they come!) and so from reading the forums, it seems like she'll have to leave the country and probably be penalized by a bar of reentry of three or ten years. That would be horrible.

I guess my question is, does this sound right? Are there any options for me to petition for a DACA without her leaving the country? Also, would me being a US Citizen change things?

Thanks in advance for any advice or links!

[immihelp]

Read https://www.immihelp.com/family-base...ons-in-us.html

[Elliott]

Read https://www.immihelp.com/family-base...ons-in-us.html

Thanks for your reply. That's exactly what I read, that drew me to my conclusion. Unfortunately there was nothing in that piece regarding deferred action childhood arrivals. Do you know if the situation would be any different for a DACA? If you have any links that would be great. Thanks again.

[Elliott]

Any more information anyone could give me would be much appreciated! Thanks!

[newacct]

When did she get DACA? If she got DACA before she was 18.5, she hasn't accrued enough unlawful presence yet to trigger a ban upon leaving the US.

Another possibility is the DACA-AP route. If she can get Advance Parole, based on some humanitarian reason, like visiting an elderly relative who she hasn't seen in a long time, then she can leave the US and re-enter legally. Then she can wait until you become a citizen, when she can just adjust status. However, it takes maybe 90 days or more to get AP, so it may already be too late as DACA might be cancelled by Trump at some point and she needs to return before that. But it's worth a shot to apply now.