Yes. When you file the adjustment of status application, you automatically file for employment authorization. Employment authorization will take approximately 75 to 90 days to be approved. You are not supposed to work prior to obtaining an employment authorization. Yet there are approximately 11 million people in the United States working without authorization. You should not work. […]
Read MoreEnacted in 1994, individuals who wanted to get a Green Card through work but were here illegally, individuals who were married to a Green Card holder and wanted to apply for a Green Card with a spouse that was not eligible for citizenship or never could get citizenship, if they were covered under 245(i), were eligible to adjust […]
Read MoreYour stepparent is not going to be eligible to apply for your Green Card unless they were married before you turn 18.
Read MoreIn order for your father to file for you for a green card, you have to be legitimated and those laws depend on where you were born or the country of birth. Some countries will legitimate you just by having your name on the birth certificate. Other countries only allow legitimation if your parents are married. If […]
Read MoreYou need proof that the petitioning sibling is a United States citizen. You need to prove the relationship. You will submit a copy of the petition, the U.S. citizen’s birth certificate, and your own birth certificate.
Read MoreIf you got your Green Card through a prior marriage within the last five years, I do not recommend you apply for a Green Card based on a new marriage. The process will be much faster once you become a United States citizen. You can avoid having to demonstrate the previous marriage was real. If you received […]
Read MoreThe most common reason that people are placed into deportation proceedings is because they are convicted of crimes. You can be placed in deportation proceedings if immigration discovers you were granted your Green Card based on fraud or you are in the United States illegally.
Read MoreIf you are in criminal custody, you may be turned you over to immigration. If you apply to renew your Green Card and have a criminal conviction, immigration will learn of the criminal conviction once they take your fingerprints. When you apply for citizenship and you have a criminal conviction, immigration will be notified. If you travel […]
Read MoreDeportation on a criminal conviction will depend on the conviction. Drug offences, theft offences, fraud offences, and violent felony generally make you removable from the United States. Minor offences under criminal law or a conditional discharge may not necessarily equate to immigration purposes. If you are dealing with a pending criminal case, it is very important that […]
Read MoreIf you have a Green Card and have been convicted of an aggravated felony after 1996, there is little you can do to stay in the United States to fight for the Green Card aside from making some type of asylum claim. Under certain circumstances, if you have an aggravated felony with your Green Card obtained in the […]
Read MoreA 212(h) waiver is used for people who have criminal convictions and are inadmissible to the United States. You have to demonstrate that their denial into the United States would be an extreme hardship to a U.S. citizen or legal resident that is a parent, child, or spouse. A 212(h) can be done with a Green Card […]
Read MoreYou will lose your Green Card if you have a conviction for an aggravated felony, unless you can apply for political asylum in some capacity. If you adjusted status in the US and you have an immediate relative that can apply for you again, you might be eligible for a 212(h) waiver. If your conviction was before […]
Read MoreIf your spouse is not released from custody, immigration judges do not have the authority to release them on bond. The likelihood of immigration setting a bond depends on the crime and person’s immigration status. If your spouse has a conviction after October 9, 1998, where they were sentenced to probation, jail, or any type of punishment where […]
Read MoreIf your loved one is eligible for relief, the length of time will depend on the judge’s docket, how well your spouse testifies, and how prepared you are for the proceedings. This time period can range from three months to eight months, rarely longer.
Read MoreIf you have a loved one who has lost their removal hearing and they are detained, unfortunately they most likely will be detained until you appeal. You have 30 days to file a notice of appeal after a judge’s decision or you have lost the case and it’s a final decision by the immigration judge. Your lawyer […]
Read MoreYou are most likely not eligible for a Green Card if you have been in the United States illegally for 10 years.
Read MoreIf you have an A misdemeanor or anything higher involving a moral turpitude: fraud offenses, theft offenses, or any type of violent crimes, you won’t be eligible for cancellation of removal.
Read MoreA waiver denies the grounds of inadmissibility. If you are applying for a Green Card or a non immigrant visa and you are inadmissible to the United States, Immigration is going to require you to apply for a waiver.
Read MoreGenerally, you will be eligible to apply for a Green Card if you have the visa that helped enter the United States, even if it wasn’t yours. You will have to apply for the Green Card in conjunction with a waiver demonstrating that deportation would be an extreme hardship to your spouse with U.S. citizenship or Green […]
Read MoreThe only people who qualify for a waiver are married to a United States citizen or green card holder, or a parent. If your only contact that is a United States citizen is your child, you are not going to eligible to apply for a green card. Although your child might be able to sponsor you by […]
Read MoreIf you were not married and your current marriage in the United States is a valid marriage, then you have committed fraud on your visa application. You are eligible for a waiver if you can demonstrate extreme hardship. If you applied for a visitor visa 10 years ago and lied on your application that you were married, immigration […]
Read MoreYou must demonstrate an extreme hardship to one or all of your qualifying members if you’re not allowed to either enter or stay in the United States. You must have documentation for all claims of hardship. You need to demonstrate an extreme hardship to you if your family stays behind and you leave the United States, as […]
Read MoreA B visa is a visa to enter the United States for a visit or for business. A B-1 visa is generally used for people who are coming into the US for business, but not to work for an extended period of time. A B-2 Visa is generally used for a visit or vacation.
Read MorePERM is the process of applying for a Green Card through work. The PERM process is demonstrating to the US Department of Labor that there are no qualified U.S. workers out there to do the job that your employer is offering to you. If there are U.S. candidates who are qualified for the position, you cannot […]
Read MoreAn Advance Parole Document allows you to travel outside the United States while you application for a green card is processing. You cannot leave the United States without an advance parole if you have a Green Card case processing because you have abandoned the application.
Read MoreThe Visa Waiver Program is an agreement between countries that does not require a visa to enter the United States but must have electronic machine-readable passports. Most commonly, visa waiver countries have a good relationship with the United States, the economy is fine overseas, and they are not worried that people from those countries are going to come […]
Read MoreA student visa allows an international student to go to school in the United States. They need to be accepted to a school that issues I-20s, which allows a student permission to enter the United States. The student will have to go to the U.S. Consulate with the I-20 and show financial evidence of how they will […]
Read MoreA student visa allows an international student to go to school in the United States. They need to be accepted to a school that issues I-20s, which allows a student permission to enter the United States. The student will have to go to the U.S. Consulate with the I-20 and show financial evidence of how they will […]
Read MoreOnce your fiancé has obtained their immigrant visa to come to the United States, their fiancé visa, you need to be married within 90 days of their entry. Once you are married, you will have to file for an I-45 along with the financial and medical documentation. Immigration will request an interview to make sure you are […]
Read MoreIf your fiancé has a child that you would like to bring to the United States as well, they both can come to the United States together, presuming that the child is under 21. They would go into their interview at the Consulate and apply for a fiancé visa. The child is going to be issued a […]
Read MoreYou may come to the United States for the purpose of getting married. Most people require a Visa to enter the United States. If you are from a country that does not require a Visa, you will need a passport to show that you are from that country to enter the United States. If you are […]
Read MoreIf you are engaged and have no formal plans to get married, then you are probably going to be considering a fiancé visa. You must be married within 90 days of their entry.
Read MoreIf you come to the United States on a fiancé Visa and don’t marry your fiancé, you have very limited options to stay in the United States, even if you marry another U.S. citizen. The K-1 visa is specifically permitting you to come into the United States to marry the K-1 petitioner. If you marry your fiancé […]
Read MoreProvisional waivers are a way to alleviate families having to be separated for a long period of time, leaving the United States without knowing whether or not they can come back. The provisional waiver allows you to go through the process inside the United States and get a decision on the waiver before you leave. If the […]
Read MoreYou need an immediate relative petition filed on your behalf and you must demonstrate extreme hardship either to a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, parent or spouse. Once the I-130 is approved, the waiver kicks in and you have to demonstrate hardship either to a parent or spouse.
Read MoreThe only qualifying relative who is eligible to demonstrate extreme hardship when applying for a waiver is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, parent or spouse. If your petition is based on a sibling petition and you have no other family in the United States, you are not going to be able to demonstrate extreme hardship. […]
Read MoreYou have to leave the United States at some point. You can do the whole process in the United States and wait here until your application is approved before you go home. You will know when you need to leave the United States.
Read MoreYou must demonstrate, with detailed documentation, how it will affect your family if you have to leave the United States and they stay behind, and how will it affect your family if they leave the United States and go with you.
Read MoreAn I-751 petition is a petition to remove the conditions on your Green Card.
Read MoreAlong with your I-751 petition, you are going to need documentation to show that you are still living together since you got your Green Card. Immigration wants to see overwhelming evidence that you have been commingling your assets and your finances for the past 2 years.
Read MoreIf you are divorced, yes, you certainly can go ahead with your 751. Indicate on your I-751 that you were married in good faith, but the marriage has been terminated due to divorce or annulment. You also have to demonstrate to immigration that although you are divorced, the married was entered into good faith. If possible, add […]
Read MoreYou can still get your permanent green card. You should file for divorce and notify that on your 751. Immigration will see an action for divorce and request an RFE, which requests evidence of a final divorce. You must show that the marriage was legitimate. You may be interviewed about the circumstances.
Read MoreYou are still a lawful permanent resident even after your Green Card is expired and while your 751 is pending. If your case got denied and you were referred to an immigration judge, you are still eligible to travel while that case is pending.
Read MoreAn I-765 is the application to apply for a work permit. You can only apply for a work permit on the form I-765 if you have some type ofGreen Card or asylum application pending with immigration.
Read MoreThe work permit, that is approved on the I-765 form, is just an interim benefit and does not guarantee your case is going to be approved. This interim benefit presumes that, within the next year, your Green Card case will be resolved and approved.
Read MoreConsular processing is when you go to the consulate for an interview, either to get an immigrant visa, like a Green Card; or a non immigrant visa, such as an H-1B, a visitor’s visa, a student visa,or any of the non immigrant visas that you want to come in temporarily to be here in the United States.
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