Hi, I am a legal resident green card holder and have been so for 28 years. I met someone and fell in love and got married. The problem is she is here on a student visa. I would like to know if it is possible for her to obtain legal obtain status. There are a few circumstances that I feel that may affect this. First, I have not applied for my citizenship yet. I lost my green card and therefore did not know my alien number and I learned that is needed for citizenship. I have gone as far as finding my alien number, applied for a new one, and I have gone to the office in Charlotte N.C to get my photo and fingerprints taken after they received my application. As of right now I am still waiting for the new green card. Then I will start my citizenship application. I also may have a problem with that. I was convicted of a felony back in 1993. I was only 16 at the time and I am now 31. After two years of court and many thousands of dollars, I was abel to keep my status and not get deported. I may need to hire a lawyer in applying for citizenship. My wife is here legally on student visa. Her visa expires in August. She really doesn't want to pay for anymore schooling. It's costing her over 12k for two semesters. She wants to use the money to hire a lawyer instead of paying for more schooling. She can't go to school forever. So my question is, can my wife obtain legal status? Should we hire a lawyer? What steps should I take?

As a green card holder, if you file petition for adjustment of status now, it will take about 5-6 years for her visa number to become current, which means she has to maintain her legal status during these years.

What you should do is obtain citizenship first, then you file petition for her. It will take about 12-14 months to obtain green card.

Because of your past records, you would need an attorney to help with obtaining citizenship... and if your wife maintains her student visa until you become US citizen, by that time, she would not need an attorney to file a petition for her. BUT if her legal status is terminated before you become US citizen, then she will need an attorney because her application will be denied and she will be barred for 3-10 years depending on how long she overstayed.

If your not a citizen yourself, then there's no way you can make someone else a citizen.