Can I Sponsor My Asylum Pending Spouse for a Green Card?
Your wife or husband has applied for asylum. They can’t return to their home country. Gangs in El Salvador. Death squads in Haiti. Government assassins in Venezuela. And here in the United States, you’re both trying to grow your new family. Here are three things to know before filing for their green card.
Are They in Court?
Asylum can be filed as a defense to deportation. Meaning, your spouse has a date with an Immigration Judge. If that’s your family’s case, then the petition by the US citizen or legal permanent resident spouse must be APPROVED first, before filing for the green card.
They Can Get Either Work Permit
Different foreigners get permits to work in the United States based on different categories. The number on the employment authorization document will say whether the government is letting them work because they have an asylum case pending or because they have a green card case pending. Now (change is constant in immigration), the government is giving a five-year work permit regardless of which category the noncitizen applies for.
WAIT To Withdraw The Asylum
Don’t withdraw the asylum application until your marriage-based green card is approved. Why? Because if something goes wrong with your green card case – like lost documents, mistakes, or a denial – the noncitizen will be left with nothing. While the asylum case is pending, the noncitizen is legally in the United States and can prove it with a work permit. Once the green card is in hand, then it’s okay to withdraw the asylum application.
Let our Board-certified immigration experts help your family and friends. Call 954.385.0157 or Click “For Future Clients” to schedule a chat with our asylum immigration experts.
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All team members speak Spanish.
Disclaimer – These entries are based on real life events. Family member names, when used, are real. Client names are changed for privacy.
