Please Help Big Problem

[laurgrom]

Hi
I'm from Bulgaria (Europe) , and I went to the USA (Los Angeles) in october 2003 , as a F1 student visa.
I had the visa for 2 months .After that i tried to apply for an extension but i didn't succeded. So my visa expired , so i was out of status.I lived and worked in the USA since january 2004 until november 2007, as an ILLEGAL alien.
Can i use Fiancee visa to get to usa , even though i was illegal for 4 years?
Can i marry an us citizen in my country (Bulgaria ) and then aplly for an immigrant visa (spouse visa ), even though i was illegal for 4 years in USA ?




Thank you for your time ,

[PraetorianXI]

You were out of status for longer than 1 year, then you are flagged as an overstay and subject to a 10 year ban. It does not matter if you marry an US Citizen, you still have to pay that penalty.

ps: a student visa doesn't expire in two months, your status in the US is valid for as long as you are studying... so you story is full of holes.

[laurgrom]

Attention : Praetorian XI please answer my inquiry

Sorry to disturb u again , but u know i dont understand the us immigration system :
I told u my story , allow me to say it one more time :

I'm from Bulgaria (Europe) , and I went to the USA (Los Angeles) in october 2003 , as a F1 student visa.
I had the visa for 2 months .After that i tried to apply for an extension but i didn't succeded. So my visa expired , so i was out of status.I lived and worked in the USA since january 2004 until november 2007, as an ILLEGAL alien.
Can i use Fiancee visa to get to usa , even though i was illegal for 4 years?
Can i marry an us citizen in my country (Bulgaria ) and then aplly for an immigrant visa (spouse visa ), even though i was illegal for 4 years in USA ?
P.S. : now i live in Bulgaria .



Your response was :

You were out of status for longer than 1 year, then you are flagged as an overstay and subject to a 10 year ban. It does not matter if you marry an US Citizen, you still have to pay that penalty.

Let me tell you a real story :

A friend of mine was ILLEGAL LIKE ME for 4 years , the same situation and she found an US citizen and got married for papers (greencard ) , so a marriage of convenience in 2007 . She applied for status adjustment in USA , she used to live and work in USA illegally , she is in USA right now and after 8 months she got the greencard , and in the near future she's gonna be an US citizen.
HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE ? Can u explain it to me ?
As i said she was ILLEGAL FOR 4 YEARS and now she has a greencard.
And i , as you said i will NOT BE ABLE TO GET ANOTHER VISA if i will aplly from outside USA because i was illegal for 4 years .
But my friend got the GREENCARD , even though was in the same situation .

P.S. : now she lives in USA , she never left USA .

Can u explain why ?

Thank you for your time ,

[PraetorianXI]

First of all, your story has a "hole" in it...

F1 students visas do not expire in 2 months... and after you use the visa to enter, it does not matter if it expires... because your status is determined by the I-94 that you were given, and in an F-1 case it reads "D/S" which means you are allowed in the USA for the "Duration of Status". Your student status, that is, so for as long as you continued registering for classes and studying, you are allowed to remain legally in the USA as a student (even with an expired F1 visa).

Second, USCIS does pardom/forgives Illegal Employment and Illegal Presence (overstays) to Aliens that Marry an US Citizen. However, ONLY Aliens that are currently in the USA (still overstaying) are eligible to Adjust their Status and not serve the bans that they have earned.

When you left the USA, you triggered a 10 year ban on you coming back. Your friend never left the USA, therefore she never triggered any ban.

An overstay of 180 days but less than 1 year = 3 year ban.

An overstay of 1 year or more = 10 year ban.