“Best” is subjective

here’s how you find a lawyer: there is a free service at www.martindale.com – click on Chicago and click on immigration attorneys

Then, let your fingers do the walking

I also recommend you look for the lawyers’ memberships in various organizations such as immigration lawyers – that tends to show more interest in this complex field of law

Good luck to you – we just went thru this with a Colombian adoption

Immigration Lawyer – Incorrect Information on Green Card

What you are asking for is somebody to be an accomplice to an illegal act. It is illegal to enter the USA without going through a manned port of entry. If caught, he will be in MUCH deeper trouble than the problems he has now.

I’m guessing he is Canadian and you are American? That would explain why he is not allowed back in USA but you are. He needs to speak with an immigration lawyer (a better one)as soon as possible to try and get things ironed out. With a little luck, he can get your fiancee an extension on the visa, or arrange for a new one to be issued, while his permanent residence situation gets ironed out.

Likewise, I would suggest that you check from your end with the US embassy if there is any way to get your fiancee some sort of letter that will allow him to enter on humanitarian grounds, or through any special exemption.

This may take some time to get cleared up, but getting the right people involved usually cust through the bureaucracy. On the other hand, performing a criminal act is a sure way to get him banned for an extended period (or incarcerated), and then you won’t have the immigration issues to deal with. It will be criminal issues and court dates.

Immigration Lawyer – Illegitimate Children & Citizen Parents

You have three options from what I can see and I will go over all three of them.

- The first option is the K1 (fiancé visa) route
- The second is L-classification (company transfer) – he may also qualify for a TN visa under the NAFTA treaty.
- The third option is the CR-1/IR-1 (erroneously).

The length of time for the whole process, from submitting the first form until he as his actual visa in hand, with the exception of the TN is roughly the same. About 7-8 months, maybe less in your case since he is from Canada but I wouldn’t expect that to impact the time-frame much.

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If you are both willing to bring you wedding forward by a year or so then I would go down either the K-1 or CR-1/IR-1 routes. The decision which one really comes down to your financial situation and weather you want to be apart from each other as you are now (fiancé) or be apart from each other as a married couple. Either way there will be a period of separation until his visa is issued.

The cheapest option is the CR/IR-1, this due to not having to file an adjustment of status (AOS) to permanent resident but also means you will be separated as a married couple. To go this route, he would simply (visa free – as one is not required for Canadians) visit the United States and you would both get married. He would then return home and you would file Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative.

There will be some back and forth correspondence (paperwork) between you and the USCIS and even more with NVC. Once this is done, the file will get sent to U.S. embassy in Canada where your husband will have his visa interview. Visa granted, he may then enter the United States and upon his entry he will get his conditional green card and work authorization from day one.

No more additional paper work is needed until 21 months later when you file to have the conditions removed his conditional green card.

The total cost of this will be close to a $1,000 not including travel, living expenses, marriage license

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The K-1 route is the most expensive but it allows you stay together as a married couple. Also it would not be possible for him to work for the first 3-6 months so you should also budget for this.

For this option, he would stay in Canada and you would file Form I-129F, Petition for Alien Fiance, the same correspondence as above would occur and then the visa interview. Once he as his K-1 visa he can then come to the United States for the purpose of marriage. The visa is a single entry visa and must be used within 6 months of being issued. Once he as entered the United States you then have 90 days to get married.

Cost for this part – $455

Once you are married have the marriage certificate in hand you then file Form, I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status (AOS), Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization (EAD) and Form, I-131, Application for Travel Document (if you intended to travel outside of the U.S.).

This part will cost $1,010

The total cost from start to finish will be $1,365, again not including travel, wedding or living expenses, but as I stated above, he would not be allowed to work until he has his EAD.

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The L-1 will be primarily handled by his employer who may or may not stump up the costs, once he as transfered. You can just get married and follow roughly the same steps as the CR-1/IR-1 except he would not need to return but would instead still file for AOS. No EAD would be needed as he will have one already. The only problem with this is that there is no guarantee of the transfer and no guarantee of obtaining an L-1 visa from the Embassy.

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If you which to seek the advice of lawyer then the link below will give you a list of AILA approved lawyers in your area. Feel free to contact them, many will offer a free, one-off consultation either in person or over the phone which could be beneficial for you. It is always recommended however that you do some research of your own before contacting them so you have at least an understanding of what they are explaining.

http://www.ailalawyer.com/SearchResults.aspx?LanguageId=english&Lang=99&City=Atlanta&State=95&StateName=Georgia&miles=100