step daughter went to U.S.on holiday,met and married U.S. citizen.they
live in N.Y.but she cant get green card and afraid to come back to
Scotland in case she cant return to him.He owes ex-wife alimony,cant
get passport.She wants to live there  but cant get job.He cant leave
States legally. None of us can can afford to pay.WE only want her to
be happy and secure,able to sell her paintings legally.

---

Request for Question Clarification by tutuzdad-ga on 05 Jan 2003 12:43 PST

What exactly is your question?

tutuzdad-ga

< There are several ways that someone can be granted permanent
residence status in the US. The link to permanent visas below details
the various methods. 

As a wife of a U.S citizen, it is possible to apply for U.S.
citizenship.
Your sponsor i.e. your husband must be a citizen or a lawful permanent
resident of the U.S. and must prove that he can support you at 125%
over the poverty line. Details of the poverty line are given at
http://www.usais.org/povertyguidelines.htm It is possible to make the
application online at http://www.usais.org/family_visa.htm

Once you apply for permanent residence you can also apply for a work
permit which will give you the right to work in the U.S. Details are
given at http://www.usais.org/workpermit.htm

It is also possible to immigrate via employment. Details are given at
http://www.usais.org/premployment.htm#anchor20563

An alternative option is to apply for the Diversity Visa Lottery
Program. The diversity visa lottery program allocates 55,000 immigrant
visas each year. Selection is by a random computer generated lottery.
If you are selected under this procedure you can apply for permanent
residence in the U.S. If accepted you can live and work permanently in
the U.S. After a period of permanent residence in the U.S. it is
possible to apply for naturalization (currently five years).
 
To participate in the lottery you must satisfy the following
conditions:
1. You must be over 18 
2. You must have your country’s equivalent of a U.S. high school
diploma or two years work experience in a job that requires two years
of training.
3. You must show that you can work or support yourself. 
4. You must not be a criminal. 
5. You must not be mentally disturbed. 
6. You must not be a threat to the United States’ national interests.
 
To apply you need to complete the entry form and mail it to the
address given with your fee and a photograph – a link to this form is
given below.
  
Applications may be made all year round. The lottery runs from October
7 2002 to November 7 2002.  Winners are notified between April and
July. If you don’t get accepted, you can re-apply the following year.
 
It costs $40.00 for one application and up to $150.00 to enter the
lottery for the next ten years. An optional fee of $25.00 can also be
paid which will give entitlement to a payment from the U.S government
of $2000.00 for relocation expenses. Applications must be accompanied
by a photograph of the applicant.>
 
 
<Additional links:> 

<Immigration through a family member.>
<http://www.usais.org/prfamily.htm>
 
<US immigration – permanent visas.> 
<http://www.usais.org/visas_permanent.htm> 
 
<Diversity lottery.> 
<http://www.usais.org/gcl_faq.htm> 
 
<Green card lottery application.> 
<http://www.usais.org/gcl_application.htm> 
 
 
<Search strategy:> 
 
<us immigration> 
<://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=us+immigration>
 
<Hope this helps.>

As the wife of a U.S. citizen, she should certainly be able to become
a legal alien or a citizen  (basic info is at
http://www.ins.gov/graphics/howdoi/spouselive.htm, though you may want
to dog further on the www.ins.gov site).  If the problem is that her
husband is hiding out becasue he's a deadbeat and in violation of a
court order to pay alimony, then her problems go beyond not being able
to secure residency.

Another helpful page from the INS: http://www.ins.gov/graphics/howdoi/legpermres.htm

Dear  angus48,

I'm not sure if this was within the scope of your question, but it
would certainly be worth exploring the possible negative consequences
of both (a) being caught in the country illegally, and (b) being
caught engaged in an unauthorized avocation/employment situation. At
times, such conduct can interfere with one's ability to obtain a green
card or other immigration status.

Also, you indicate that your daughter does not qualify for a green
card, but do not explain why you believe her to be ineligible. If the
problem is that she does not know how to apply, you can pass along the
instructions provided above. Otherwise, without knowing more about the
situation, it may be difficult to provide any helpful suggestions.