If my father was brought here illegally as a child, how can I help him become a citizen?
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If my father was brought here illegally as a child, how can I help him become a citizen?
My father’s mother brought him here when he was a teenager illegally and then abandoned him. He got a temporary residency card during this amnesty program but had issues with a man who was processing his papers later on so he never finished. He has a social security number but he’s not sure where he stands with all of this since it’s incomplete and his residency card expired. It’s confusing and I’d love to help him with this.
Asked on January 24, 2017 under Immigration Law, California
Answers:
SB Member California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
Under the current immigration laws, you are not going to be able to legalize your father within the US. He would have to go abroad to consular process but by leaving he would trigger an automatic 10 year bar to reentry which can only be waived by a showing of extreme hardship to a US citizen spouse/child. this is fairly difficult to do in most cases but if you feel that he can show that, then you should consult with an immigration attorney in your area who handles these types of waivers.
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