Is it easier for an illegal alien to become a citizen if he has a child in the US?

Answer 1

In order for a foreign citizen to become and American citizen, they must first obtain a visa that gives them permanent residency status (the fabled "Green Card", which is neither green nor a card, and is not the only visa conferring permanent residency). To get a permanent visa, one must first apply for a temporary visa of the proper sort - not all temporary visas allow one to automatically apply for a permanent visa.

To apply for ANY type of visa, one must apply through the US Embassy or Consulate in the person's home country (i.e. a country where the person holds citizenship). While the application process can often be handled through the mail, the actual issuanceof the visa will be done through the US Embassy/Consulate, so the person applying for the visa must make at least one visit in person to their home country's US Embassy/Consulate. That is, to pick up their new visa, they must return to their home country, and go to the US Embassy there. In addition, you may NOT convert a visa while staying in the US - what this means is that if you entered on visa type A, and were later granted type B, you MUST leave the country and re-enter, presenting the valid B visa as your entry visa now.

This is complicated, and gets worse. The vast majority of permanent visas require a sponsor, who must be a US permanent resident or citizen (permanent residents can sponsor for certain permanent visas, but not all the ones a citizen can). In order to sponsor a parent, one must be at least 21 years old. So, unless your child is already a US citizen and already 21, they cannot sponsor your for permanent residency.

This is the fallacy behind the "anchor baby" outcry: if a foreign woman comes to the US illegally, and has a child here, that child will be eligible for US citizenship. However, a young child cannot sponsor the mother, so the mother (and child) will be deported back to the home country (as the child is also a citizen of the home country, by virtual of birth to a citizen of that country). The child could possibly stay in the US if the other parent was a legal US resident or citizen, but the mother could not stay just because she gave birth to a US citizen.

One a person has permanent residency here, it usually takes 5+ (3+ if your spouse is already a citizen) years to obtain citizenship, through the naturalization process, which is independent of the visa process.

Also, as of January 2012, the US DOJ has issued new guidelines for US citizens attempting to sponsor immediate family (spouse, children, grandparents) for permanent visas: even if the visa applicant has entered the country illegally, they can get an automatic waiver of the wait time for re-entry after getting their permanent residency visa. One still has to return to their home country to pick up the US permanent residency visa, but, no longer has to wait the 3-10 years it used to be required to before re-entering the country. The new DOJ guidelines DO NOT affect the rules for sponsorship, so the sponsor must still be at least 21 years of age (in addition to any other requirements).

More Information

Marrying him will not make him legal. You will have to go through a long process. It will take at least a few years to get his greencard and you will most likely have to hire a lawyer. A few years and a few thousand dollars later, hopefully he'll be legal. The child doesn't mean squat. If having a child here meant that someone could get "legal" many Mexican women would be dropping their babies in the US.

Unless the rules have changed, the answer above is wrong. There ARE lots of Mexicans sneaking across the border to drop their babies here. I also knew an Albanian who came in secretly pregnant on a short-term visa. She refused to go back to her country with her group and only left months later - after having the baby. She then had a "family member" (the baby) who is automatically a U.S. citizen from being born here and she could apply for a special visa,or whatever,in order for the "family" to be together in the "citizen's" (baby's)country - the U.S.

Actually that is not true. My husband is Albanian and I know at least three families who have children here and got deported. Having children here does not make it any easier to obtain citizenship. My husbands uncle has three children here and lived here for almost twenty years and they told them if they loved their father they would return with him. Flat out, cut and dry. Also if you have been watching CNN lately there is a Mexican child (7 years old) pleading with the government not to send his mother back to Mexico. So very simply the answer is no, having a child does not make it easier to stay here. As for the laws before 1999 it may have been but it is not as of now.

Answer 2

It is possible to get him a greencard, but not without him first leaving the country. Once he leaves he will trigger the 10 year bar, meaning he will be barred from coming back for 10 years. In order to get a waiver for that bar, the citizen wife has to prove that it would be an extreme hardship for her to live in his country. Having a baby would definitely help the case for hardship, but the baby in and of itself doesn't mean much in terms of the whole process. Good luck. Check out immigrate2us.net You can post your question and friendly people will try their best to help you out.

I don't know why people keep on misinforming others...If a citizen marries an illegal immigrant. The illegal immigrant does not have to leave the country unless he entered the country illegally...many illegal immigrants are in that condition cause their visas expired, however they entered the country legally so There's a BIG difference...do not go giving answers without knowing all the facts of the case...

Answer 3

Pregancey is not required, just marriage is enough. fill out the papers pay the money and wait. Moving is not a good idea it takes some time.