Immigration Questions: (954) 382-5378
  Immigration News & Updates              eNewsletter

  POSTING DATE: MAY 2,  2016
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Immigration News & Updates eNewsletter ©  2011  - 2016 
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
Immigration
Questions & Answers
Question: I am in the process of applying for my US citizenship after 18 years as a permanent resident. My plans are to apply for my son (28 years old) that lives in Venezuela. My question is if I should file for him now as a permanent resident and as soon as I get my citizenship advise immigration of my new status so the waiting time will be shorter. Pls advise. Thanks!
Answer: As long as your adult son is single, you can sponsor him now while you are still a U.S. Resident. The waiting line for an adult, single child of a U.S. Resident and U.S. Citizen is similar, 7-8 years. The main difference is that if the adult child marries before the U.S. Resident parent Naturalizes, the immigrant visa is automatically cancelled. On the other hand, adult children of U.S. Citizens who marry, still remain eligible, they just move from the F1 Immigration category to the F3, which currently has a waiting line of about 12 years. 
This Week's Immigration News 
By Immigration Attorney Caroly Pedersen
Overview of Conditional Residency For Spouses of U.S. Citizens
ICE Website Provides List of Terminated F-1 Schools 
Students can now access the Customs and Border Patrol Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) page which provides School Alerts for F-1 certified schools it has terminated due to noncompliance with SEVP regulations. Students attending such schools must transfer to another SEVP-certified institution, change their status, or leave the U.S. to avoid losing immigration status.

Visit the School Alerts page:
ICE School Alerts
Immigration regulations allow U.S. citizens to sponsor their parents for “Green Cards”, while Permanent Residents cannot. Even parents of U.S. citizens who are inside the U.S. with expired immigration status are eligible, as long as the parent entered the U.S. legally. 

Parents are in the special immigration category called “Immediate Relatives” (which includes Spouses and Minor children of U.S. Citizens as well), which gives them preference over other family immigration relationships. 
Tips On Obtaining Green Cards (U.S. Residency) For Your Parents
The foreign spouse of a U.S. Citizen who has been married for less than two years at the time of obtaining residency, only receives a two-year Conditional Resident status.

Unlike regular U.S. Residents who obtain a Green Card through family members, employment or other means, husbands and wives of U.S. Citizens who got married less than two years prior to U.S. Residency approval, only receive a two-year Green Card, rather than the full 10 year Permanent Residency. In order to qualify for removal, the foreign and U.S. Citizen spouses must file a request for removal of the conditional status (Form I-751) within the 90 day period prior to the conditional Green Card expiration.
The only drawback of this category is that it is only for the individual parent and does not include any dependents, such as spouses or minor children. Therefore, if the parent has a spouse who is not considered to be your parent (for immigration purposes), he or she would not be able to immigrate along with the parent. Step-parents are considered to qualify as “parents” for immigration purposes, as long as the step-parent relationship was established before the child reached the age of 18.

The same is true of any minor children a parent (your brother or sister). This is a harsh rule which often causes difficult choices for parents of U.S. citizens. One option for parents abroad who have minor children (or a spouse) is for them to obtain F-1 student visas for their minor children (or spouse) before immigrating to the U.S. In that way, both the parent and his or her child (and/or spouse) can be in the U.S. together. Once the parent obtains a Green Card, the parent can then sponsor his or her children and if applicable, a spouse. 

Find out more about sponsoring your Parents:
Obtaining Residency For Parents
In order to qualify for removal of the conditional status, a couple must continue to not only be married, but to live together as a husband and wife. The removal of condition request must be submitted with extensive supporting documentary evidence that the couple has and continues to live together in a real marriage. One of the biggest misconceptions that conditional residents have is the belief that as long as they remain “married” to the U.S. Citizen spouse, but not actually living together, they will still qualify result in tragic consequences which often leads to loss of Residency and in some instances, deportation.

Conditional Residents can file a removal request without the U.S. Citizen spouse in cases where the couple has divorced, where there is documented domestic violence and when a spouse is widowed. However, the burden of proof is on the conditional resident spouse to provide the USCIS with extensive evidence that prior to the divorce, domestic violence or death of the U.S. Citizen, the couple were living together in a real marriage.

For more information about removing conditional status to obtain a permanent Green Card 
call our office at: (954) 382-5378
Question: Hi my marriage residency interview appointment is coming up in a few weeks in mid May and we can’t find my U.S. Citizen wife’s birth certificate like it says on the interview notice. We gave a copy of her American Passport when we filed our application but the notice is specifically asking for her birth certificate. Do you know if it will cause a problem at my interview if she doesn’t find it by that time? Thank you
Answer: According to USCIS policy for marriage residency interviews, your wife needs to bring proof of U.S. Citizenship. Her U.S. Passport should suffice if you can’t find her Birth Certificate.. I hope this is helpful to you.
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.  
Tips on Changing Your Address with the USCIS When You Move 
Helpful Immigration Hints You Can Use
So, as an additional measure, here are the instructions on changing your address with the USCIS:

** 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!
If you have an Immigration case pending with the USCIS, you can now sign up on the USCIS website  for Email Updates

Email updates allows you to get automatic updates whenever any action is taken on your case. CLICK HERE to sign up for USCIS Email updates.
Immigration How To:
How Do I Sign Up For USCIS Email Case Status Updates?