Colorado Immigration Legal Questions

I For complex cases, there is no generally recognized timeline, but an applicant can usually make an inquiry on the case after interview when 120 days have passed. As it has been almost a year since the time of your wife’s interview, you can perhaps make the inquiry through e-request or the USCIS Contact Center telephonically at 1-800-375-5283 and explain your problem to the USCIS representative. Hopefully upon getting through, the representative will be helpful. You can also make an inquiry through your local congressman and senators’ offices as they have liaison with USCIS. The best result of course is approval. I note that there is a possibility that you may receive a RFE (request for evidence) or NOID (notice of intent to deny) to submit an I-601 application for waiver of grounds of excludability because of perceived misrepresentation. Hopefully you will not receive a denial. Best of luck! Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee & Arthur Lee, Esqs.’ (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.... Read Answer

This is a textbook case where an I-601 waiver will be required to overcome inadmissibility based on concealed intent. It’s Immigration Law 101 when preparing clients for a marriage-based green card interview. Let this be a lesson to you, your wife, and anyone reading this: had you retained counsel from the start, you likely wouldn’t be in this situation. Now, you’ll probably need to file the I-601 waiver, and she will be required to leave the U.S. and attend her interview at the U.S. consulate.     ... Read Answer

The Trump administration has indicated a closer vetting of individuals coming to the United States. That being said, a green card holder without acts of inadmissibility or deportability and whose social media posts and background are not a concern to this administration should be able to travel to visit relatives for two weeks in China. Be mindful that your wife may experience closer scrutiny if she is a researcher or in a company or university performing advanced research. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee & Arthur Lee, Esqs.’ (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.... Read Answer

Whether you can sponsor two persons at the same time depends upon your means, but also upon timing. If you are a fairly wealthy individual or making a good living, e.g. earn $100,000 annually, you would usually have no problems sponsoring multiple individuals. On the other hand, if you make much less and barely pass the levels required under federal guideline levels (see USCIS form I-864P), you may decide to sponsor only one instead of two if they are both in the category of cases that require an immediate affidavit of support. On the other hand, if the cases will require affidavits of support far apart from each other in time, you can probably sponsor both since you will not have put up the second affidavit of support by the time that the first case is completed. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee & Arthur Lee, Esqs.’ (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.... Read Answer

I will assume that you are sponsoring your parents for the green card, and not for US citizenship. In such case, your marrying during the petition process will generally have no effect on your parents’ eligibility to immigrate. That being said, you are still liable to provide I-864 affidavits of support for each parent under which you will have to meet government financial guidelines. Your wife would count as one of your dependents. If she makes money, you could add her income to yours to bolster the support for your parents. If she is not working, the amount of earnings and assets that you have would have to be enough to cover one more person, your wife. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee & Arthur Lee, Esqs.’ (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.... Read Answer

This is generally what we call a prudential revocation that takes effect when you leave the US. Going to school or not going to school will have little effect upon the adjustment of status application filed by a US citizen for spouse although going to school may be considered a favorable factor in showing that you are still trying to maintain the nonimmigrant status under which you came to the US. Of more concern to an immigration officer may be your arrest for domestic violence. He or she may be interested in knowing more details about the incident. You may wish to discuss this with your legal representative prior to any interview with USCIS that you may have. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee & Arthur Lee, Esqs.’ (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.... Read Answer

As a DUI is neither misdemeanor nor felony, the DUI should have no effect upon the renewal of your green card. I assume that there were no aggravating factors. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee & Arthur Lee, Esqs.’ (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.... Read Answer

Their is no "friend" visa category that you can sponsor him under. He can be sponsored by a US citizen fiancé, or he can get married to a US citizen or green card holder and be sponsored under those conditions. If he has a job offer, then his employer can sponsor him. There are other ways through investment visas etc, but those are restricted based on whether the country that he is residing in his part of the treaty. ... Read Answer

OK mom can apply for a visitor visa, even if the visa application was rejected years ago. Mom must independently qualify on her own, by submitting financial documents to show that she will return upon completion of her visit. Proof of that intent would be a letter from her employer showing steady and stable proof of income, bank statements showing deposits of those earnings from her employment, paystub's showing earnings from her job, tax returns showing income from that employment source. She can additionally submit evidence that she owns property and that she owns equity in that property like a condominium or a house. These documents will convince the US consulate officer that she would most likely return after her visit. She also would be required to show a sufficient amount of income in a bank, that would provide proof that she can cover her expenses while she is visiting the United States. Your participation in the application process for mom's visa is not even really required.... Read Answer

If you had non-immigrant intent when you entered the United States and there are no other issues that would bar your admissibility, then you would be OK to move forward. You should contact immigration counsel to proceed. A Canadian visitor without visa may be petitioned by a US citizen spouse and file a green card application with the petition and not leave the US. Some of us take these cases on a flat fee, which is reasonable with no hidden costs. ... Read Answer

Assuming that the J-1 visa holder is not under a two-year home residence requirement, such a person is not constrained by time if marrying a US citizen and filing for adjustment of status to permanent residence. While it is always better to file while in status, it is not a necessity for immediate relatives of US citizens (spouse, parent, or child under 21 and unmarried). We have in the past adjusted the statuses of immediate relatives who entered legally and were out of status for over 20 years. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee & Arthur Lee, Esqs.’ (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.... Read Answer

It is best for you to retain counsel to process the case from start to finish. There are numerous forms and numerous documents that have to be filed and the processing speed takes at least a year. Some of us charge a very affordable flat fee and counsel in any state can represent you and your wife. For simple cases the flat fee is $1500 and this can be split into two payments Over the course of a year.... Read Answer

The immigration violations of another country are generally not bars to admission to the US as they do not generally involve crimes of moral turpitude. That being said, such could be taken into account in a discretionary decision of a US consular officer as to whether to issue a nonimmigrant visa. The favorable factor in your fiancé’s case is that she is applying for a nonimmigrant visa that does not require a showing of nonimmigrant intent and is largely based upon a determination of whether your relationship is bona fide. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee & Arthur Lee, Esqs.’ (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.... Read Answer

Even though a state’s law may support the cannabis industry, that does not apply to the federal government, and persons without US citizenship should be wary about taking jobs in the industry or taking liberties with the marijuana laws that state laws allow. Under federal immigration law, only possession of 30 g or less of marijuana is forgivable. Violators face the possibility of removal from the United States. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee & Arthur Lee, Esqs.’ (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.... Read Answer

Unfortunately no. USCIS will only allow work permission in petition cases where the priority date is current, an applicant is eligible for adjustment of status to permanent residence, and the employment authorization application has been submitted with or at some point after the adjustment of status application has been filed. Your priority date is in 2019 and the Department of State visa bulletin for the month of April 2021 shows visa availability only for those who filed petitions in your category before November 1, 2006, for most countries of the world except India, Mexico, and the Philippines, whose natives must wait even longer. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.... Read Answer

The fact that you checked off “yes” for the question of whether your spouse is a US citizen when you are single is something that you can straighten out at the time of your naturalization interview. The officer should go over the entire application with you and give you a chance to explain any discrepancies that he or she sees. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.... Read Answer

In looking at an article by the Colorado Legal Defense Group, a minor is allowed to drive or obtain a driver’s permit in Colorado under the following conditions: Even if a child is mature and responsible, they are required to go through the procedures to get an instruction permit or driver’s license before they can safely operate a vehicle. Minors in Colorado must be over the age of 15 before they can get a Colorado Instruction Permit. Minors under the age of 16 have to attend and complete a state-approved 30-hour Driver Education Class, pass the written test, show identifying documents and proof of physical Colorado address. A parent or guardian must also complete an Affidavit of Liability and Guardianship (DR2460).  Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.... Read Answer

It may be possible to transfer from a pending B2 application to H1B without leaving the US. The B2 application if not yet adjudicated by the time that the H1B petition is being adjudicated is looked upon as a “bridge” application. USCIS will look to see whether the bridge application is approvable. If so, it could favorably adjudicate the H1B transfer petition if that also looks approvable. In such case, it might be in your interest to withdraw the B2 application if USCIS did not act on it prior to making the favorable H1B adjudication. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.... Read Answer

  As a US citizen, your petitions for your wife and parents have the highest priority already with U.S.C.I.S. as immediate relatives of a US citizen. Both are in the same category to be processed at the highest speed for the family based categories by U.S.C.I.S. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.... Read Answer

  Although there is much comment that nonimmigrants should maintain a valid nonimmigrant status during the time that they are applying for another nonimmigrant status with U.S.C.I.S., I do not believe that that would apply to your situation in which both you and your husband filed H-1B/H-4 applications at the same time. I do not believe that you are required to do anything. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.... Read Answer

Under US immigration law, there are only specific categories for family based cases and your sister's having a US citizen child will not expedite your application for her. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.    ... Read Answer

I suggest that you find some other way to immigrate. Your mother will have to become a US citizen in order to begin petitioning for you. For US citizens petitioning for married sons and daughters, the process is taking approximately 12 years. When added on to the five years for her to become a citizen, it hardly makes sense for you to attempt to immigrate in this way. You and your brother should try to find another route. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.  ... Read Answer

If a person is still legally married regardless of wherever that person was married, he or she would be committing bigamy by marrying another without having the marriage annulled or otherwise dissolved. U.S.C.I.S. would not approve a permanent residence application if it knew that the applicant was not free to marry the petitioner. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.  ... Read Answer