Families of U.S. citizens and non-immigrants can bring their spouses and children along. U.S. citizens can sponsor their parents, siblings, and fiance`(e) to marry in the U.S.
Fiancé(e)
U.S. citizens may sponsor a fiancé(e) visa if planning to get married within 90 days of the arrival of the fiancé(e). Eligibility criteria are strictly applied to screen for any fraud or misrepresentation. Fiancé(e) arrives as a nonimmigrant. Parties should have met before, but parties can receive a Waiver of meeting requirements in genuine cases. Read more...
Marriage Interview
In rare cases USCIS schedules an interview to remove condition from a marriage based green card. This is to determine if the marriage is real and ensure that there is no immigration fraud in obtaining the green card through marriage
Marriage
A foreign national spouse marrying a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident can seek Permanent residence status based upon marriage.
Spouses of citizens, permanent residents, and non-immigrant visa holders are eligible to accompany or join their U.S.-based spouse to live together.
Same-sex marriage is recognized for immigration purposes, and same-sex spouses can now lawfully immigrate.
Marriage Bonafides
Married couples are eligible for permanent residence only if they have a bonafide or genuine marital relationship.
Immigration through marriage treats every marriage with suspicion and requires evidence of real marriage to grant approval. Many marriage-based cases are approvable but are poorly filed and suffer a finding of fraud, and Marriage-based green card filing must therefore be well documented for support.
Any suspicion of fraud or misrepresentation leads to higher USCIS scrutiny. Denials are mostly based on marriage fraud or misrepresentation. Denial can be reversed in Appeal.
Permanent residence status based on marriage within two years is approved for two years. A foreign national spouse gets a conditional green card, and in the last ninety days of green card expiry, they must apply for removal of condition. Foreign national spouses can have a green card with ten-year validity upon approval of the application to remove the condition. Read more...
Divorce, separation, and, to some extent, the death of the citizen's spouse present complex issues. While the surviving spouse can seek reinstatement of pending or approved petitions filed by her deceased spouse. In case of divorce or separation, it would be great to coordinate the work between the family lawyers and immigration lawyers.
Waivers
An immigrant or nonimmigrant visa is approved individually after a family member is determined admissible. The member must show that they are eligible for a ticket and is not subject to any grounds of inadmissibility.
Inadmissibility grounds are many and must be overcome individually before approval of permanent residence status. Waiver of grounds of inadmissibility is available against some, but not all, grounds of inadmissibility, and the most common one is the unlawful presence waiver.
There is no waiver against the false claim of U.S. Citizenship. But, some exceptions may be allowed in genuine cases. It is important to carefully prepare waivers against immigration-related, health-related, and criminal grounds of inadmissibility.
Children
Children of the marriage or from a previous relationship(s) can accompany or join the immigrating parent, with some limitations, including an adopted child and stepchild.
Processing times wait or the priority date not being current can cause the child to age out. Age restrictions may cause the child to be left behind, resulting in family separation. Timely action may help seek age-out protection under the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA).
In a remarkable decision, children covered under CSPA can still be eligible for its protection when the parent naturalizes.
Child Citizenship
Children can go through their parents or grandparents. Citizenship law evolved almost for a century. Many citizens are unaware that they are not unlawful entrants or permanent residents. People in this category are deported without evidence or knowledge of their citizenship. Many continue to renew their permanent resident card, ignorant of their citizenship status. This is frequently the case among adopted children.
Adoption
Children born abroad can immigrate before age 16 through adoption, and older siblings can also be adopted up to age 18 if a younger sibling is adopted. Hague International Adoption Convention requires the adoptive parents to seek permission from the Department of State before considering foreign child adoption and is a pre-requisite to commencing immigration procedure for the adopted child.
Victims of Abuse
Abused spouses/children of U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, and abused parents of U.S. citizens are eligible to seek permanent residence based on abuse.
The abused spouse of an H / E-3 non-immigrant may seek work authorization.
Call me at (317) 660-6174 if you have questions.