Hello,

I am a greencard holder and got married to my husband in Feb 2009.

My husband's OPT has expired, but he was staying here in the US while his H1B application was pending. But we found out that his H1B got denied.

We are planning on applying for his greencard. What I wanted to find out is, can he legally stay here in the US while the I-130 is pending since he is already present in the US?

Please advice.

Thanks
Pratima

Immigration is a very tricky area. Have you browsed through the information in LawInfo's Free Legal Resource Center to learn more about your issue yet? See: http://www.lawinfo.com/consumer.html. You can certainly try to speak to a lawyer to determine what legal options may be available. In the meantime, you may be able to learn more on your own. Search the "Free Legal Resources" tab, or browse the Consumer Resources. Good luck.

Hi, Pratima:

This is a tricky question that leads to more questions. When did you get your greencard -- before or after you were married? Where are you from? Where is he from? What is his highest level of education?

Generally, not a good idea to go out of status. I-130 pending, when you only have a greencard, does not confer status.

My advice is to speak to a competent immigration attorney. If you'd like to contact me, please do so at john@hoganvandenberglaw.com or contact the office at 610 664 6271 to set up a consultation. Alternatively, if you're not in the Philadelphia/Wilmington/Delaware Valley area, you can go to www.aila.org and use their lawyer referral service to find someone near you.

Kind regards,

John