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A comment on How an Undocumented Immigrant from Mexico Became a Star at Goldman Sachs. Parent comment

Re:How an Undocumented Immigrant from Mexico Became a Star a... by refurb on Wednesday February 25, 2015 @11:05AM (#9107366)
My understanding is that under certain circumstances, such as marrying a US citizen, the USCIS can ignore any past violations of immigration law.[1]

"If you are a foreign citizen who is in the United States without permission, having overstayed your visa, you can indeed cure the problem if you enter into a bona fide (real) marriage with a U.S. citizen and then apply for adjustment of status (a green card)."

You are correct that for most visas and green cards, any violation of immigration law means that your application will be denied.

[1]http://www.alllaw.com/articles/nolo/us-immigration/visa-over...

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:How an Undocumented Immigrant from Mexico Became a Star a... by Incredulous42 on Wednesday February 25, 2015 @12:00PM (#9107822)
Interesting. There was an episode on This American Life a few years ago about a Mexican-American couple. He had been in the US illegally and he had to leave and wait for ten years before he could come back legally even though they had married in the US. So they moved to Ciudad Juarez. He's working at a local factory, she's commuting to El Paso every day. IIRC they weren't entirely happy with their situation but they didn't complain either.
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Re:How an Undocumented Immigrant from Mexico Became a Star a... by toomuchtodo on Wednesday February 25, 2015 @12:11PM (#9107900)
Would you have a link to this story? I'd love to listen to it!
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Re:How an Undocumented Immigrant from Mexico Became a Star a... by Incredulous42 on Wednesday February 25, 2015 @12:16PM (#9107942)
I believe it's Act Two of episode:

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/501/t...

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Re:How an Undocumented Immigrant from Mexico Became a Star a... by reverend_gonzo on Wednesday February 25, 2015 @11:47AM (#9107728)
Keep in mind, she was also brought over as a child, without any input of her own.

The authorities have often given leniency in these cases as well.

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Re:How an Undocumented Immigrant from Mexico Became a Star a... by 001sky on Wednesday February 25, 2015 @11:45AM (#9107701)
It's worth nothing that there is a large fraudulent market for marriages in the US, precisely for this reason.
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