Hi,
My mother came from Canada to the US back in the 1950's.
At the time,she was 16 and gave some false info so she could marry my
father, get a driver's license, and social security card...she said
she was born in Detroit...and was 18 not 16. They gave her all her
documents...no questions asked back then, including a SSN.

My father was told back in the 50's that when he joined the service
and got married, that my mother would automatically become a US
citizen. As it turns out, no one filed any papers...it seems my mother
has been residing in this country for over 50 years but never became a
citizen and kept it a secret.

She is now 67 and although has never worked, has fulfilled all the
requirements by law to receive benefits through Dad's work history. I
did not know, until now, that this had been going on. To get the ball
rolling, they went down to the SS office and they said no
problem...they filed her Canadian Birth Certificate and removed the
false Detroit info.  They verified eligibilty and set her up to
receive checks and medicare, but nothing could go through until she
had to clean up the US citizenship problem.

After hearing of someone locally going to jail by the federal
government for falsifying records ten years ago, she is deathly afraid
she will be jailed or deported. I can't get her to go any further.

My questions are:
Can she become a US citizen through the normal channels without fear
of deportation or incarceration and is there possibly a statute of
limitations on prosecuting something like this?

Thanks in advance,
Jim

Hi Jim,

Your Mom can't make a Family-Based Application for Legal Permanent
Residence (LPR) as the wife of a U.S. citizen because she was never
officially inspected and admitted under immigration rules (she has to
have LPR status before she can apply for naturalization), but she is
eligible to apply for LPR under the "Registry Provision of the
Immigration and Nationality Act", a form of amnesty for some
undocumented aliens who have been in the U.S. since at least 1972.
There are no guarantees but as long as she can prove her residency,
she shouldn't have any problems.

"Registry Date - Aliens who have continuously resided in the United
States since January 1, 1972, are of good moral character, and are not
inadmissible, are eligible to adjust to legal permanent resident
status under the registry provision. Before the Immigration Reform and
Control Act of 1986 amended the date, aliens had to have been in the
country continuously since June 30, 1948, to qualify."
http://uscis.gov/graphics/glossary3.htm

How Do I Apply for Admission to Lawful Permanent Resident Status under
the ?Registry? Provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act?
Background
"If you have been present in the United States since January 1, 1972,
you may be eligible for the ?registry? provisions of our immigration
laws which would allow you to obtain lawful permanent residence even
if you are illegally in the United States now, or if you initially
entered the U.S. illegally."
Where Can I Find the Law?
"The part of the law concerning the registry provisions is located at
INA §249. The specific eligibility requirements and procedures for
becoming a permanent resident through registry are included in the
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 8 CFR 1259 ."
Who Is Eligible?
You are eligible to apply for permanent residence based on 8 CFR 1259 if you:
    * Entered the United States prior to January 1, 1972;
    * Have continuously resided in the United States since entry;
    * Are a person of good moral character;
    * Are neither ineligible for citizenship, except for the
requirement of five years of lawful permanent residence, nor
inadmissible for participation in terrorist activities, certain
criminal or security grounds, or for alien smuggling;
    * Never participated in Nazi persecutions or genocide;
How Do I Apply?
You must submit a completed Form I-485 with filing fee, and a
completed Form G-325A with evidence that you have continuously resided
in the United States prior to January 1, 1972, to the USCIS district
office having jurisdiction over the place in which you live. You must
establish that you are eligible and that registry should be granted in
the exercise of discretion. There is no appeal from the decision of
the District Director but your application may be renewed in front of
an Immigration Judge."
http://uscis.gov/graphics/howdoi/registry.htm

FORM I-485 Application To Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status 
Form http://uscis.gov/graphics/formsfee/forms/i-485.htm

FORM G-325A, Biographic Information
http://uscis.gov/graphics/formsfee/forms/g-325a.htm

Field Office Locations
http://uscis.gov/graphics/fieldoffices/statemap.htm

Family-Based Applications
"Please note: If a person came into the U.S. illegally, that person is
barred from adjusting their status to LPR (cannot obtain a green card)
even if he or she marries a U.S. citizen or otherwise becomes an
immediate relative. An immediate relative must meet the eligibility
requirement of being ?inspected and admitted or paroled into the
United States.?
http://uscis.gov/graphics/formsfee/forms/i-485.htm#fba

Naturalization
http://uscis.gov/graphics/services/natz/index.htm

Additional Link of Interest:

Date of Registry and Legal Amnesty Restoration Act of 2005 (Introduced in House)
109th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 245
SEC. 2. RECORD OF ADMISSION FOR PERMANENT RESIDENCE IN THE CASE OF CERTAIN ALIENS.
      (a) In General- Section 249 of the Immigration and Nationality
Act (8 U.S.C. 1259) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by striking `January 1, 1972' and
inserting `January 1, 1986'; and
            (2) by striking `january 1, 1972' in the heading and
inserting `January 1, 1986'.
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c109:H.R.245.IH:

I was very glad to find this for you and I hope the process goes
speedily and without any hiccups for your mother. If you have any
questions, please post a clarification request and wait for me to
respond before closing/rating my answer.

Thank you,
hummer

Google Search Terms Used: 
statute limitation undocumented aliens u.s.
uscis  Date of Registry Act. aliens 1972
Registry Provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act

More info than I could get from a couple of immigration lawyers I
talked to around here. Very thorough and concise...Thanks for pointing
me in the right direction, Hummer....Jim

Dear Jim,

It's nice to hear from you, thank you for your kind words, rating, and
generous tip - that's very nice of you.  One thing to keep in mind is
not to wait too long before getting the ball rolling. Immigration
issues rarely get settled quickly, even at the best of times. Even if
she's lucky and receives her LPR in one year, I think (I could be
wrong but I don't think so) she will still have to serve her 3-year
residency as an LPR before applying for naturalization. So that's a
minimum of 4 years, possibly longer, before she becomes a citizen.

Here's hoping all goes well!
hummer