Immigration News & Updates
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eNewsletter POSTING DATE: JANUARY 23, 2017
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Immigration News & Updates eNewsletter © 2011 - 2017
For questions about U.S. Residency, Green Cards and Immigration Visas, Visit our Website at: www.ImmigrateToday.com or call our office at: (954) 382-5378
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Immigration
Questions & Answers
Question: My husband came to the U.S. a few years ago as a tourist and applied for an extension to stay longer but got denied and he just stayed here. We met last year when I only had my Green Card and got married. I just got my US citizenship last month in December. I want to file to sponsor for my husband as soon as possible, but we are worried that since his I-94 card expired, he will have to leave the country to get his residency through the embassy and we don’t want to be separated and are afraid he won’t be able to get back in the US. If he leaves.
Is there any way that we can hire you to notify the immigration that I am now a citizen so they can give him his green card here? Thank you, looking forward to hear from you.
This Week's Immigration News
Senate Bill Re-Introduced To Protect Dreamers Against Trump!
As promised, on January 12th, 2017, a group of Senators re-introduced a Bi-Partisan Bill in an effort to prevent Trump from cancelling the DACA program for DREAMERS. The measure is called the Bar Removal of Individuals who Dream and Grow our Economy, or BRIDGE Act, to support undocumented youth who were until recently protected under President Obama’s DACA program by an Executive Order he issued in 2012.
The BRIDGE Act is meant to continue to provide protection and work authorization for eligible DACA Immigrants who would be affected by Trump’s cancellation of the DACA program.
Read the announcement about the Bridge Act:
Answer: Congratulations on your new U.S. Citizenship! Since your husband entered the U.S. legally, he is eligible to adjust his status to a Green Card inside the U.S. and is not required to leave. The process is very quick, once I file the case, it takes about 3 months to receive his Work Authorization and social security card, another 3-4 months or so for his Residency Interview to be scheduled, then he will receive his Green Card. There is no need for him to leave the U.S. during the process. Once he receives his Green Card, he can freely travel abroad and re-enter the U.S. with no problem.
Advisory: Don’t Delay - Green Card Holders Should Apply For Naturalization
Now that the election is over, many U.S. Residents (Green Card holders) have lost interest in obtaining their U.S. Citizenship (called Naturalization). However, most Residents simply do not realize how important the protections provided by U.S. Citizenship are, until it is too late! Aside from the right to vote and many other benefits, Citizenship offers vital protections to individuals who could otherwise face grave consequences from criminal misconduct.
Most of us don’t plan on being involved in criminal circumstances and likely can’t ever imagine ourselves in any such predicament. However, while none of us plans it, sometimes things happen and depending upon the crime, the consequences for a U.S. Resident can result in loss of a Green Card and removal from the U.S.. And now, with the Trump Administration promising to crackdown on “criminal aliens”, even seemingly minor criminal convictions could result in serious Immigration consequences.
Immigration How To:
How Do I Know When I Can Immigrate To The U.S.?
Many U.S. Citizens and U.S. Residents sponsor their foreign family members to immigrate to the U.S.. However, often, neither the sponsor, nor the family member fully understands how long it will actually take to immigrate.
Understanding the approximate length of time it will likely take to be able to immigrate to the U.S. helps foreign family members plan for the future.
Helpful Immigration Tips You Can Use...
Tips on Changing Your Address with the USCIS
When You Move
Immigration regulations require that all immigrants change their address with the USCIS within 10 days of moving. This is done by changing your address on the USCIS website electronically. For those with cases pending with the USCIS, including family petitions, adjustment of status, work authorization, etc, not only must you change your address online, but as a safeguard through the USCIS 800 number as well.
The reason is that even though your address is changed in the general USCIS database through the electronic online filing, this does not necessarily change your address in the database for any of your pending cases. So, as an additional measure, here are the instructions on changing your address with the USCIS:
Someone who never drinks but has a serious accident while driving home from an office party is convicted of a DUI with aggravating circumstance, may not only become ineligible of obtaining Citizenship in the future, but may also become deportable for a crime of moral turpitude (called CMT). A couple fighting, one party shoves the other and/or shouts threats, which leads to the Resident being arrested and convicted of Domestic Violence. Depending upon the severity of the incident, the difference between being a U.S. Resident convicted of a crime, compared with that of a U.S. Citizen can be quite striking. Imagine not only having to face the consequences of being arrested and convicted of a crime, but add to that the possibility of losing your Immigration status and being forced to leave the U.S.! That is a real possibility that many immigrants with criminal convictions face right now and one that most can avoid by taking the step to Naturalize as soon as eligible.
Most Residents can apply for Naturalization once they have been a U.S. Resident for four years and nine months, as long as they meet all the other qualifications. Those who have been married to a U.S. Citizen for three years can apply for Early Naturalization in two years and nine months.
For more information about qualifying for Naturalization visit our website at: www.Immigratetoday.com or call our office for a free consultation at (954) 382-5378.
Question: I was in America 8 yrs ago on a student visa and had my daughter who is a US citizen. We live in Jamaica and I am thinking to immigrate back to Florida where my daughter can go to school. I want to upgrade my immigration status to a Green Card through her since she is American. I was told that I qualify because I have a US visitor visa. What is the process to get immigration status through my daughter?
Answer: Unfortunately, parents of U.S. Citizen children must wait until the child reaches age 21 to be sponsored by their child for U.S. Residency. You should be able to visit the U.S. using your B1/B2 Tourist visa, but there is not a special exception for parents of U.S. Citizen Children which allows the parents to live in the U.S. while their U.S. children live here and attend school. The law is meant to discourage foreign nationals from coming to the U.S. and having a U.S. born baby just to obtain Immigration status.
** For those with pending cases, have your I-797 Notice of Action Receipt available for each case type.
1) Change Address on the USCIS Website: Go online to the USCIS Address Change page and complete and file the form for each pending case. Print out a copy of the filed form for your records and write the filing date on it.
2) Call the USCIS 800#: Call the USCIS to notify them of the address change at 800-375-5283 and give them all your case numbers so they can confirm the change has been made in all the databases.
3) Infopass Appointment: For cases pending at local USCIS Field Offices, this is an additional step to be sure that the local office USCIS database has been properly updated. Give the information officer a copy of your address change (from online filing) and ask her/him to check the computer to confirm that the address has been updated. Good luck!
Family Sponsorship – Check Out the Visa Bulletin
Before Making Plans To Immigrate
This is particularly important when family members being sponsored have minor children. Immigration regulations only allow children who are immigrating along with parents to obtain U.S. Residency if they are under age 21 at the time the family is called to the U.S. Consulate for the final Immigrant Visa appointment. As frequently happens, children who were minors at the time their parents were originally sponsored, may have “aged out” and be in their mid to late 20’s and thus ineligible to immigrate to the U.S. along with their parents. This is a tragic situation, but very common.
The only saving grace is that under the Child Status Protection Act “CSPA”, the time the I-130 family petition was processing can be subtracted from the age of the child. For instance, if the I-130 petition was filed in 1998 and was not approved until 2003, it was processing for 5 years. Therefore, at the time the Immigrant Visa becomes available, 5 years can be subtracted from the age of a child to determine if the child is still “technically” below age 21 for immigration purposes.
So, the best advice is to visit the Visa Bulletin website to view the various family relationship waiting lines so you understand how long the wait will be and understand that some older children may not be eligible to immigrate along with the parents when the time comes.
Check out the current Visa Bulletin:
