Long story short. I have a friend (provider) who is in the U.S. on a visa. She desperately wants to legalize her status here and to that end I brought her to an Immigration attorney for advice. He basically dismissed any hope other than marriage(Which she does not to do (other than to me) and the last time I checked it wasn't legal for me to have two wives)I seem to remember reading somewhere that people can enter the country if they have sufficient funds to open a business and contribute to this country. Can anyone point me in the right direction as to that or any options options she might have to become legal. I have the abilty to help her quite a bit but my status in the community (hence the use of an alias)requires much discretion.(ah! The tangled webs we weave when........)Does it make any difference which country she is from,educational background or current state of residence.Any help that can be offered would be greatly appreciated.Once again I am not trying to get free legal advice, I just want to maintain my anominity until there are any viable options that we can explore. Thank you.

In general, the answer is no quick and easy way to legalize her status.  Marriage won't necessarily do it either as it has hoops to jump through, including separate interviews.

Her country of origin could make a difference.  Were she Chinese, she could claim asylum e.g., and say she was a lesbian, a Christian or whatever.  That would give her the opportunity to plead her case through the CIS (old INS) which, including appeals, can take years in which time she might then exercise the marriage option.

So, I guess there are some missing facts.  One thing: never let her business become known as that's enough to deny any application she might make.

but it doesn't matter, since I'm dead anyway, and sort of everywhere.

"in the US on a visa" doesn't tell us what sort of visa, when it expires, etc.   Nor does it tell us a whole lot about her, except what we assume based on the provider demographic.  So it's very hard to say whether you might have talked to a fella from Jacoby & Meyers, or some guy with 20 years experience in AILA.   So we can't say much abouot her choices.

But what you are talking about is the E visa, which depends on her nationality (check 9 FAM sec.  41.51 for the list of countries which includes most of western Europe, Japan, the PI, etc; but notably not Russia, Brazil, India, PRC, etc.); and it depends on her having enough money to purchase and operate a "substantial" business, generally meaning, oh about, $100K+ and a dozen employees.

Note the immigration difficulties involved in being a provider per se have been discussed earlier, so we will forego those here & now.

It's really not worthwhile holding a course in Title 8 USC, because 99.9999% of it simply will not apply to her.  To pick out the minute fraction that does, we need her personal history, passport, etc.

the White House-----our king, I mean, President can make exception for her and for her $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$/contributions to this country. Maybe if she reallly has financial means then get a lawyer.
Be Real. We are at war. Patriot???? Everyone is a foe according to Dumbya.

...setting up some sort of sham "business" for your chum with funds that will be traced back to you.  The INS (which is now an arm of HOmeland Security, remember) takes a dim view of that sort of thing.  

Not a legal opinion here; just common-sense advice.

This is good advice, w/r/t consulting a qualified lawyer, and avoiding sham transactions, and avoiding 6 figure loans to, hmm, providers or ANYONE who is known only for short times between the sheets.

However, as I am the ghost of a qualified lawyer, and in tune with even more qualified lawyers, I can confidently note that a gift or inheritance is a legitimate basis for an E-2 investment.  OTOH, my qualified friends prefer an unsecured loan, because it's more businesslike.

But note that SECURED loans are not regarded as investment.  See generally, State Dept, 9 Foreign Affairs Manual sec. 41.51

I know a bit about immigration - I will not say how, to protect myself; however I do know that immigration gives some breaks to Canadians (or they did 3yrs ago), I also know that she should not be escorting or let immigration know what she is doing or she will be deported.  If her visa runs out she needs to get back to her country and start the immigration process there.  By being in the country illegally you set bars that will prevent you from ever entering the USA again.  

Yes you can get in if you start a business - but again she needs to be within the time limits of her visa.  She needs to get this going ASAP.  

Even marriage is tricky; you need to prove it is not a sham - a child within the marriage eliminates this.  Your friend is on a long road but it can be done.  Even if she gets married she can be deported - see your suppose to start immigration proceedings from the country she came from (ideally) to prevent overstaying your time and being in an illegal alien position.

Go to the immigration site of USA - I do not know the url but do a search and it will come up easily on yahoo.

I hope this helps and I do wish your friend the best of luck.

Agree, but further advice is to not get involved. There are many ways to stay in the USA, some legal and some not.  Have her go hang out at the local University and talk to students from her country.  They know all the tricks that are not legal and some that are.

She has means to pay for advice from really smart students, herself.

don't pay to consult a lawyer, pay for some college kid's advice instead.   Lawyers can never solve a problem, but college boys never get in trouble.

Of course, if she wanted really good advice about cutting corners, maybe she should advertise on craigslist for a pimp, huh?  Or she could just stand outside MCC and ask everybody they let out if he'll pimp her.  

any provider is inadmissible under 8 USC 1182(a)(2)(D).

There are major exceptions to your comments.   The one most obviously incorrect is that a child automatically guarantees a good faith finding.   While it is practically true, it's misleading in that not a matter of law, but an issue of fact, and it is possible that a couple could have a child AND a fraud marriage.  As a practical matter, most marriages are proved on much less evidence, BUT it is not an issue of law.  

The correct statement of the legal standard is that the couple must prove intention of an indefinite committment on the date of marriage; but since this is almost impossible to prove, the US CIS tends to look for documentation of cohabitation from the date of marriage to the date of interview, which is usually on the order of 3-6 months after filing.  THERE ARE MANY TYPICAL RED FLAGS in a fraud marriage.

Additionally, any marriage that is less than 2 years old at the time of approval (ie, interview or completion of security clearance) is subject to the 2 year condition set out in 8 USC 1186a.

For the general reading public and posters other than Leah:  Yes, people get away with things sometimes.  But that is unpredictable, and by and large it is a sucker's bet to assume that a person who has never dealt with the issue before is going to pull the wool over the eyes of the CIS.  These people may not be the sharpest knives in the drawer, but they do this for a living; and anybody who thinks they are going to get over on them 1st time around, is even dumber than they are.

-- Modified on 1/2/2006 12:25:21 AM

they'd never think to ask for proof that she was a lezzie, christian, falun gong, whatever, let alone proof that she was persecuted in PRC.  They just believe whatever anybody tells them, issue them a work permit and big welcome mat, right away.  They'd never nail a phony under 8 CFR 208.20.

Anybody that's ever watched the movies knows that all couples are interviewed separately, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099699/
and Andie MacDowell is a sucker for French pigs.  Well, all women are.

http://www.usagreencard.com/

it's the usual scam - ie., doesn't say enough, or hurt enough people badly enough that the US Attorney is going to go after them before they can pay for the site.

If you can't judge their greencard claims, then check out their Million Dollar Plan for dollars in your mailbox, and ask yourself what sort of lawyers they "have", that would associate themselves with that.

Like everything else in life, you get what you pay for.

Maybe she can apply for a college and become a student, so that she can stay with a student visa?  This is not a long term solution, but it'll buy her sometime if her visa'll expire soon.  Also, it's possible that she'll have to go back to her home country for the visa.  There are other restrictions as well (for example, she has to be a full time student in regular seminster).

Just my 2 cents.
-1man