I recently married a man from Brazil who currently has an expired visa but a valid passport. He had paid an attorney here in Vegas a lot of money to help him with keeping his papers up to date, but the attorney apparently took the cash and sent my husband on his own. What do we need to do now in order to have everything legitimate so he can work and apply for a social security number? We have a very valid marriage not done for convenience.

thanks Debbie

-- Debbie Cunningham Mansinho (debhoosiergoiu@yahoo.com), May 30, 2004

Answers

Normally a U.S. citizen can sponsor her spouse for a green card, where the spouse entered with a valid visa and overstayed. The family page of our web site, http:// immigrantcenter.com/family.htm, notes common problems in these cases and lists the kind of information that a lawyer would need to move your case forward. In addition to the problems listed on the page, it would be important to figure out what your husband and his prior lawyer did. If the lawyer did nothing, there is no problem. If he took steps to do some type of fraudulent or inappropriate application, your case will be more difficult. If you are in Connecticut, please call us at 203 239-2299. If you are somewhere else, we may be able to suggest a good immigration lawyer in your area.

-- Michael Boyle (info@immigrantcenter.com), May 31, 2004.