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Doing nothing can be a major mistake. Just letting the condition on your green card expire
and over staying, hoping that immigration won't notice and ICE won't pick you up is
a big risk. You also won't be able to travel abroad or keep proof for your ability to work
for your employer who�s legally obligated to keep your I-9 documents up to date. I've
had a few lucky clients who have filed their conditional green card waivers over year after
they've expired but they took their chances that they wouldn't get deported, they lost
their jobs and couldn't live the US. This was a horrible way to live. In most cases,
it is better to file a waiver to buy you time to make a stronger case if another waiver
option may be available to you in future. It is always easier to save your green card
now than starting over from scratch and burying your head in the sand is no strategy at all.
The law is not changing to benefit those who are here legally if anything it's getting
tougher. Remember you start to add up unlawful presence the moment your green card expires
and only being approved for a conditional green card waiver or joint filing later will
forgive that unlawful presence. When you�re out of status even if you once had a green
card you are not eligible for change of status to another type of visa. You would have to
consular process if you were sponsored by an employer and you could not only run into
potential 3 or 10 year bar to re-entering the United States depending on how long you
over stayed after your green card expired, but any issuance of a temporary visa by a
consulate such as B2 visitor's visa would be highly unlikely since the consulate knows
you were a recent permanent resident and have the desire to live in the US permanently.
As you may recall, temporary employment or visitor visa holders always have the burden
of proving that they will not over stay their visa's short duration and will, of course,
return to their home country when the duration is up. They also may show strong family ties
and economic security in that country.
I am an expert in complex family-based immigration cases and have a 98 % approval rate for the
past 12 years. I'm a nationally published immigration author and frequent public speaker
on immigration topics. I regularly train other immigration lawyers on complicated marriage
and family immigration cases for the American Immigration Lawyers Association, Federal Bar
Association and National Legal Education providers. I represent clients all over the US, traveling
to immigration interviews and deportation proceedings. Visit our website: www.humanrightsattorney.com
for more in-depth information and articles on complex family immigration issues.