Naturalization, Citizenship US citizen wants to apply for boyfriends residency

[JessicaO88]

I am a US citizen in Texas. My boyfriend and I have a 6mo old son and I would like to help him apply for residency. We want to get married and from what Ive read we have to be married anyway for me to apply for him but we also both have to have ss #, which of course he doesnt. what is the best way to go about applying for him? what form do we need to fill out? He has been living in the US for 9 years illegally, and speak and writes in english I don't know if that is relavent or not. Any advise is appreciated thanks in advance.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

Congratulations on the birth of your son.

I'm pretty sure that you can marry an illegal alien in any state, but your boyfriend needs to have valid identification. Getting married to a U.S. citizen doesn't automatically confer residency nor citizenship. There is also no guarantee that he will or will not face deportation.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Web Site will probably be beneficial.

That said, I've heard differing accounts of what needs to be done. This includes leaving the country to get married in your boyfriend's home country or filing for a fiancee Visa for entry into the US. If you go back to his country, I believe you are talking about a Non-Immigrant Visa for a Spouse - K-3 which includes an I-130 Petition and an I-129F Petition.

Filing - Two Petitions are Required

You must first file an immigrant Petition for Alien Relative, form I-130 for your spouse with the USCIS Office that serves the area where you live. The USCIS will send you a Notice of Action (Form I-797) receipt notice. This notice tells you that the USCIS has received the petition.

You next file Petition for Alien Fiancé(e), form I-129F for your spouse and children. Send the I-129F petition, supporting documents and a copy of the Form I-797 receipt notice to this Department of Homeland Security USCIS Address on their web site.

If you marry him here it is supposedly a nightmare, where you need to file an I-130 Petition for Alien Relative form and an I-601 Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility. You need to deal with the problem that he is here illegally and this supposedly is not the best way to go.