Delaware Immigration Legal Questions

Your US citizen mother can sponsor you , her adult daughter and if your priority date is current (that's a legal conclusion that can only be arrived at by a careful examination of the case) then you can adjust status to get a green card provided you are currently in status and have not fallen out of status since your admission. Forms vary depending on the unique facts of the case. ... Read More

Assuming that you are successful in setting up the paperwork on your own business in Delaware, you should be aware that there must be the requisite affiliation between your business and the overseas business in which you must have worked for at least one of the past three years as a manager, executive, or person of specialized knowledge. I note that U.S.C.I.S. generally discourages L-1 petitions from very small businesses, and so you will hopefully have a good business plan to expand your operation within a short period of time and your overseas company is of some size. 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 More

Your mother may qualify for an extended stay. She would not need to apply for a new visa but will need to request a one-year stay of admission at the time of admission. Your mother should bring documentation to establish her eligibility for an extended stay. You should speak to your employer's immigration attorney about what documentation your mother should present when seeking admission. ... Read More

The fact that you have U.S. citizen children does create a path to lawful permanent residence unless one of your children is at least 21 years of age. There are a variety of nonimmigrant and immigrant works visas. Most work visas require an employer to sponsor you. The type of visa you should pursue will depend upon your education, experience, skills, and ultimate immigration goals. Some visas are limited to annual caps so they may not be available until fiscal year 2018. You do not necessarily need to leave the United States; you may be able to change your status if you entered on a visa rather than through the visa waiver program. I encourage you to consult an attorney.... Read More

You may use your home as an asset when completing the affidavit of support. The home will have to be appraised. Only the net value of your home can be used. This is the appraised value less any mortgage owed or other lien on the property.  You could only use your child's social security income if your child is at least 18 years of age. Your child would need to sign a Form I-864A. You can read more about the affidavit of support at http://myattorneyusa.com/sponsoring-for-immigrant-visas-or-adjustment-of-status.... Read More

Your question is not a matter of immigration law but rather family law. You should speak to an experienced family law attorney about obtaining custody of your child and enforcing the order overseas.  You have no say in whether your spouse keeps her green card, but if she has stayed outside the United States for more than a year she is presumed to have abandoned her residence.... Read More

This is a complicated matter. You were previously issued a green card. CBP sought to have your residence revoked due to abandonment. You were placed in removal proceedings but it is not clear what happened. You really need to have a consultation with an attorney. This is not a question easily answered on a public forum. ... Read More

Your wife should file the I-130 petition for alien relative in the US, which petition should be approved by U.S.C.I.S., and then go through processing at the National Visa Center in the US before being transferred to the home consulate or embassy for your daughter to be interviewed and issued the immigrant visa. The process takes approximately one year.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 More

I suggest that you seek some other route for your U. S. immigration. The 10 year green card is for those who can show that they have been present in this country for 10 years, have good moral character, and demonstrate that their removal would cause exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to a U. S. citizen or permanent resident spouse, child, or parent. The relief is sought not with U.S.C.I.S. but with the immigration court. In order to bring your case before the immigration court, you must be illegal. In the event that you manage to have your case in front of the court, relief may take years and the consequence of failure is usually an order of removal.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 More

To become a citizen, a foreign national usually has to become a lawful permanent resident first. Most permanent residents have to wait five years to apply for citizenship (can apply 90 days before the eligibility date) although those who are married to US citizens and living with them constantly can do it in three. A permanent resident must be physically present on US soil for at least half of the time and be a person of good moral character.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 More

As you are now a United States citizen, the government would have the burden of proof to show that any misrepresentation that you made was material if it wished to take back your U. S. citizenship. For example, if you decided at this time that you wish to change your birth year on all your documents and to set the record straight, there is a chance that DHS may become involved and ask the reason for which you did not disclose the true year of your birth when you were applying for your permanent residence or naturalization. If the true date of birth would have had any influence upon your ability to obtain permanent residence, e.g. immigration under another category was only possible through the change of year, such would be considered a material misrepresentation. 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 More

I would suggest that you file for your citizenship in New York as that could be less troublesome than in Delaware. Although you may think that it is right and proper to file in either state because you pay taxes in both states, you may find upon interview that a naturalization examiner may disagree. In that case, you could wind up with a problem and a delayed case. So although it may take less time to naturalize in Delaware, it is quite possible that the headaches may outweigh the potential benefit. 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 More

Thank you for your inquiry.  Based on this initial info you provide, the two likely visa options may be the L-1 or E-2.  The L-1 would be considered a "new office L-1".  The option may be the E-2, but the L-1 would be the first option to review. Below please find an overview of the L-1 option: I.  L-1—Intra-company Transfer—Non-Immigrant (Temporary) An L-1 is intra-company transfer status accorded to an individual, employed for at least one continuous year out of the last three by an international firm or corporation, who seeks to enter the United States temporarily in order to continue to work for the same employer, or a subsidiary or affiliate, in a capacity that is primarily managerial, executive, or involves specialized knowledge.   There are two types of L-1's- L-1A and L-1B.   An L-1a is a manager/executive and an L-1b is an individual with specialized knowledge of the company’s operations. An L-1 intra-company transfer is an individual who, within three years preceding his application for admission as an L-1 to the United States, has been employed abroad continuously for one year by a parent, affiliate or subsidiary of a U.S. company.   The individual must be coming to the U.S.to render his services in a capacity that is managerial, executive or a position that involves specialized knowledge. In addition to qualifying the individual and qualifying the corporate relationship, the L-1 also requires that the foreign company remain active.    It is critical that both the U.S.and foreign company continue to be active in their business operations.  This requirement is important because an L-1 individual must have a foreign company to be transferred back to after her L-1 status in theU.S.is complete. Spouses and children under 21 may receive L-2's valid for the duration of the L-1.   Spouses of L-1's may now obtain work authorization as an L-2 and my use that work authorization to wok anywhere in the U.S.  The L-1A has a maximum total duration of 7 years.   The L-1B has a maximum total duration of 5 years. New Office L-1 If the individual is being transferred to start up a new office/location in theU.S., the L-1 will be approved for one year.  You may be eligible for a three-year renewal after one year by showing the new office is active and viable and that the foreign location remains active.  You can find an overview of the L-1 at: http://srwlawyers.com/l-1-visa/ You should consider consulting with an experience immigration attorney to discuss your specific L-1, E-2 or additional visa options. Regards, Andrew M. Wilson, Esq. Serotte Reich Wilson, LLP www.srwlawyers.com awilson@srwlawyers.com    ... Read More

If the foreign company is not registered to do business or is not doing business in the US, then engaging you to work for them remotely would not violate the Immigration Reform and Control Act (which requires US employers to verify the work authorization status of their employees).  If the compensation is ever transferred to a US account, that may trigger tax consequences in the US.  Your remote work for such a company should not be considered unauthorized employment in the US as defined by the IRCA.... Read More

Were you ordered removed form the U.S. by an immigration court?  What was the basis for your removal--criminal or immigration violation? Your prior immigration history, removal proceedings and specific reasons for needing to enter the U.S. need to be evaluated to assess any viability for a non-immigrant waiver. In general, the very specific facts of your case need to be analyzed to determine whether you qualify for a non-immigrant waiver.  These issues are too complex and fact specific to rely on general answers. A non-immigrant waiver is available for almost all grounds of inadmissibility. The INA provides for non-immigrant waivers of inadmissibility at section 212(d)(3). The BIA has set forth a framework/balancing test that must be followed when adjudicating non-immigrant waiver applications. The test involves the balancing of three (3) factors: (1) The seriousness of the violation that renders the individual inadmissible; (2) The potential risk of harm to U.S. society if the individual is admitted to the U.S.; and (3) The individual's reasons for seeking entry into the U.S. All non-immigrant waiver applications are adjudicated by the Admissibility Review Office ("ARO"), which is part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The application process, however, varies depending upon the location and nationality of the applicant. Other foreign nationals must apply for a non-immigrant waiver in connection with a non-immigrant visa application at a U.S. Consulate abroad. There is no specific form and no filing fee for these waiver applications. At the Consulate, the interviewing officer will first review the visa application. If the applicant appears to be eligible for the visa s/he is seeking, then the officer will move on to reviewing the waiver request. Although the Consular officer has no authority to adjudicate the non-immigrant waiver application, the officer is required to review the waiver request and then determine whether the request warrants a favorable recommendation to the ARO. If the officer provides a favorable recommendation, the waiver application materials are forwarded to the ARO electronically. A decision can take 3-6 months on average. If the Consular officer is not prepared to recommend the waiver, then the individual's visa application will be denied. The denied individual is free to reapply for a non-immigrant visa and waiver again, but should be careful to address any of the Consulate's concerns before re-applying. Each waiver case is different, and you need to have your matter reviewed by an experienced immigration attorney who handles non-immigrant waivers. Regards, Andrew M. Wilson, Esq. Serotte Reich Wilson, LLP www.srwlawyers.com awilson@srwlawyers.com  ... Read More