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Hi,
My boyfriend and I were thinking of getting engaged and eventually getting married in the next year, but I am afraid my immigration situation is very complicated. I came to the US when I was 9 with my family on a tourist visa, but my dad soon got a job here and applied for work visa and greencard through his work. Unfortunately, this application didn't go great and was denied, but he kept petitioning it through a lawyer. Since his application was denied after the majority of the paperwork went through, I (along with my family) already had received our work permit and SSN. Through his petitions, our case kept being extended and our family was allowed to stay here. However, we were in the removal proceedings. He also applied for asylum which is currently being processed and my aunt has sponsored our family about 11 years ago for family greencard which we recently received a letter is being processed. Unfortunately, as I am 22 years old, I won't be able to a greencard through this.
As I child and a teenager, I knew that we were having immigration issues but never knew what exactly was happening until the past couple of years. I was able to go to school and graduate from high school and even got accepted to a state university with my pending permanency status. I recently graduated from college, which is where I met my boyfriend. We have been really close friends since freshman year, turning into best friends eventually. Then about a year ago, our relationship turned romantic and we have been dating since. Unfortunately, my work permit has expired so I don't think I will be able to apply for a job. I was going to apply to graduate school but I am not sure if I can do that either. My boyfriend knows about all of the immigration problem. Even without the issues, we would have been thinking about getting married eventually, but we think it is perhaps best to do it now.
So, I have many questions. First, would I even be able to get a greencard through marriage because of all of the immigration issues? Second, what would my boyfriend and I need to do to get married? Third, how much time should we be engaged for and how long should we be married before we apply? Fourth, is there anything else I can do to get a greencard on my own now that I cannot get one even if my parents' applications were approved?
I apologize for this really long message and many questions that I have asked, but I hope you understand how confused I am. Thank you in advance for any help that is provided!
My boyfriend and I were thinking of getting engaged and eventually getting married in the next year, but I am afraid my immigration situation is very complicated. I came to the US when I was 9 with my family on a tourist visa, but my dad soon got a job here and applied for work visa and greencard through his work. Unfortunately, this application didn't go great and was denied, but he kept petitioning it through a lawyer. Since his application was denied after the majority of the paperwork went through, I (along with my family) already had received our work permit and SSN. Through his petitions, our case kept being extended and our family was allowed to stay here. However, we were in the removal proceedings. He also applied for asylum which is currently being processed and my aunt has sponsored our family about 11 years ago for family greencard which we recently received a letter is being processed. Unfortunately, as I am 22 years old, I won't be able to a greencard through this.
As I child and a teenager, I knew that we were having immigration issues but never knew what exactly was happening until the past couple of years. I was able to go to school and graduate from high school and even got accepted to a state university with my pending permanency status. I recently graduated from college, which is where I met my boyfriend. We have been really close friends since freshman year, turning into best friends eventually. Then about a year ago, our relationship turned romantic and we have been dating since. Unfortunately, my work permit has expired so I don't think I will be able to apply for a job. I was going to apply to graduate school but I am not sure if I can do that either. My boyfriend knows about all of the immigration problem. Even without the issues, we would have been thinking about getting married eventually, but we think it is perhaps best to do it now.
So, I have many questions. First, would I even be able to get a greencard through marriage because of all of the immigration issues? Second, what would my boyfriend and I need to do to get married? Third, how much time should we be engaged for and how long should we be married before we apply? Fourth, is there anything else I can do to get a greencard on my own now that I cannot get one even if my parents' applications were approved?
I apologize for this really long message and many questions that I have asked, but I hope you understand how confused I am. Thank you in advance for any help that is provided!
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