Approved I-130 but Denied I-485

What is the name of your state? Illinois




My citizen husband petitioned for both his parents. My mother-in-law was denied her I-485 on her interview on January 12 due to the fact that she had entered the US illegally 15 years ago. She had received a letter stating that her I-130 had been approved.
What is she supposed to do next and how does she go about getting her visa while illegally in the US????

ksnava said:

What is the name of your state? Illinois




My citizen husband petitioned for both his parents. My mother-in-law was denied her I-485 on her interview on January 12 due to the fact that she had entered the US illegally 15 years ago. She had received a letter stating that her I-130 had been approved.
What is she supposed to do next and how does she go about getting her visa while illegally in the US????

Click to expand...

ANYONE who enters the US illegally cannot adjust to legal status while still in the US. That person will have to go back to his/her home country, qualify and apply for an immigrant visa, then a waiver, wait for several months(processing time) and keep all fingers crossed.

ILLINOIS



She feels that she can't leave the US because she has a US natural born 8 year old son who will obviously be affected.
Her visa has already been approved, so there must be a way to get that since she does get an immediate visa.

Not if she entered the US illegally. In that case, even if the I-130 is approved, she is INELIGIBLE to file for adjustment of status within the US. That is the law at the current time and there is nothing she can do to get out of her situation without departing the US. OF course, departing the US will cause her to trigger the 10 year bar to reentry which, unless waived, will mean she cannot return to the US for a period of 10 years. As for her US born son, she can obviously take him out of the US with her if her goal is to eventually become legal in the US.

Please let me know if you have any additional questions or if I may be of further assistance to you in this matter.

ksnava said:

ILLINOIS



She feels that she can't leave the US because she has a US natural born 8 year old son who will obviously be affected.
Her visa has already been approved, so there must be a way to get that since she does get an immediate visa.

Click to expand...

The I-130 is not a visa.

Illinois




Ok, so even if she was approved the visa while in the US, she is still supposed to finish the visa process in her country. Im confused because the letter that stated that her I-130 was approved did not specify what she was expected to do next. The letter had 8 choices for reasons for the notice, the one that was marked just says she was approved and that it would remain on file. They didnt even mark the one that says that her stuff was sent to a consular office in her country, or the one that says that they are waiting for her to file for adjustment of status in her country. It just lacks information.

At her interview, the immigration officer suggested that she can appeal the decision. What do you think her chances are to win an appeal?

Her chances on appeal are ZERO since she is not eligible for adjustment of status under the current immigration laws if she entered the country illegally.

Please let me know if you have any additional questions or if I may be of further assistance to you in this matter.