Q: Waiver for my wife: is there a way she doesn't have to travel to a drug cartel danger zone in Mexico for her interview?
My wife is a DACA recipient. I am a US citizen and want to petition for her. Because her mother was escaping an abusive boyfriend, she brought my wife and her sisters to the U.S. illegally. My wife was 8 years old. I understand my wife needs a waiver but I also understand she needs to travel to Mexico for an interview. The area she needs to travel is the "murder capital" Ciudad Juarez which is a drug cartel zone. Is there a way she can have her interview in the United States?
A:
Not unless she qualifies to adjust her status in the US under section 245i, INA.
Section 245i of the Immigration and Nationality Act may allow you to apply for adjustment of status to lawful permanent residence without leaving the US even if you entered the U.S. unlawfully or overstayed your immigration status. Instead of returning to your country to apply for a green card, you submit form I-485, pay the regular filing fee plus a $1,000 fine and get your green card in the US without having to worry about submitting an unlawful presence waiver.
In order to qualify under section 245i, you (or your parents while you were a minor) must have had a relative or an employer file a visa petition (forms I-130 and I-140) or a labor certification on the your behalf on or before April 30, 2001. If the visa petition or labor certification was filed between January 15, 1998 and April 30, 2001, there is an additional requirement that you be present in the U.S. on December 21, 2000, the day the final extension of section 245(i) was signed into law.
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