Albany, NY Immigration Law Firms & Lawyers

The stamp "D/S" ("duration of status") in your passport means that you were permitted to remain in the U.S. so long as you remained a full-time student of the school that issued your SEVIS Form I-20. The expiration date of your visa is the date until which you could *enter* the U.S., and does not give you the right to remain in the U.S. until August 2018. Once you stopped attending your school full-time, you F-1 status automatically ended. If you are, as you state, out of status since December 2013, you are "unlawfully present in the U.S." for over 1 year. It makes you subject to deportation. It also makes you inadmissible for 10 years (meaning that, once you leave the U.S. you will not be permitted to return for 10 years). Once again, you are *not* eligible for re-entry. It also makes you ineligible to change status in the U.S. or to adjust status (receive a green card). Exceptions from these rules are very limited: a) you may receive a green card if your U.S. citizen spouse files a petition asking the government to let you become an immigrant in the U.S.; b) you might be granted a green card if your deportation would cause exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to your spouse, parent, or child who is a citizen or permanent resident of the U.S.; or c) you might be granted a special status if you cannot return to your country because you would be persecuted there because of you race, ethnicity, religion, political position, or particular social group.

There are many nuances to the question that you have asked. You will want to seek the advice of a qualified immigration law practitioner to assess your family and employment based options for the green card. Our immigration law office handles these matters on a regular basis for clients in the U.S. and abroad.

One of the questions on the green card through marriage application is whether you were arrested or charged with any crime in the United States. If you were arrested or charged with possession of marijuana, then you should answer yes. If you were not certain whether you were arrested or charged with possession of drugs, then it's best that you retain counsel for advice.