Michael A. Pezzuto

Attorney at Law

 

(805) 604-9555

Family immigration
Text Box: PROCESSING AT THE U.S. CONSULATE IN CIUDAD JUAREZ If you are a Mexican citizen and are married to a United States citizen, have United States citizen minor children and do not have a criminal record you may qualify may be able to get your green card by processing through the United States consulate in Ciudad Juarez. You will need to apply for the green card by means of what is called “consular processing” which means you process through a U.S. consulate outside of the United States. If you process through the U.S. consulate in Ciudad Juarez you and your spouse will need to file a petition for you and seek a waiver of your unlawful presence in the United States There was a law, 245 (i) that allowed persons who entered the U.S. undocumented to pay $1,000 fine and process in the U.S. This law ended on April 30, 2001. Anyone who did not have a petition filed for them before April 30, 2001 can no longer have their green card interview in the United States. The petition also must have been approved when it was filed. For all the people who would have qualified for the 245 (i) but did not file their petitions before the date 245 (i) ended on April 30, 2001there is a way to get a green card without the 245 (i). It is called “Consular Processing”. I used to tell potential clients not to use consular processing due to the risks involved. I would tell them that it is better to wait until a new 245 (i) comes back. However, I now have come to believe that the 245 (i) will not return for years to come, if ever. Consular Processing is where one applies through the U.S. embassy or consulate in their native country. In the past year the approval rate at he Unites States consulate in Ciudad Juarez for applicants who meet certain criteria has been over 90 percent. If you need a green card to get a job, a promotion, a driver’s license, social security card or any other important reason, you may want to learn if you meet the criteria to possibly obtain a green card by means of consular processing. I am now giving consultations regarding consular processing in my office. If you want to learn more about consular processing, please fill an Intake Form or call my office at (805) 604-9555 to set up an appointment.