My wife came with a visa, but never left the country. I'm a USA veteran an have one kid with her and she has four kids that live with me and...

Question

My wife came with a visa, but never left the country. I'm a USA veteran an have one kid with her and she has four kids that live with me and I will adopt them.

Answer

You'll want to apply for her adjustment of status to permanent residence, if you have not already.

You may find more information on the adjustment of status process here:

http://www.msclaw.com/adjustment-of-status

Answer

When a United States citizen petitions for a foreign born spouse who is in the United States after a lawful admission, the foreign born spouse is immediately eligible to apply for lawful permanent residence. The I-130 petition signed by the US citizen and the I-485 application signed by the foreign born spouse, along with all required supporting documents, can be submitted together to the USCIS.

A United States citizen must submit separate petitions for each step child, as these children are not provided a benefit based on the petition for their mother. The marriage creating the step child - step parent relationship must have occurred before the child turned 18 years old. The step children will also be immediately eligible to apply for lawful permanent residence if they were lawfully admitted to the USA and are under 21 years of age.

If you are an LPR (not all veterans are citizens), the process is different and you should consult with an immigration attorney about the situation and about obtaining citizenship for yourself.

Before filing any applications with the USCIS, you should consult directly with an immigration lawyer. The immigration lawyer will discuss the situation with you in detail and get the exact immigration/criminal/residential etc history of every individual involved to insure that they are eligible for the benefit and that filing an application will not result in adverse consequences. The immigration attorney will discuss different possible processes available, the expense and timing involved with each, and help you decide which process is most suited to your individual and family needs.

Good luck!