California Immigration Legal Questions

I do not see a petty theft from 2001 for which you did community service and served no jail time as affecting your application for citizenship in 2024. Naturalization only requires good moral character within the statutory time limit, which I assume is five years in your case (three years for someone eligible for naturalization under the three year rule). 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

There may be a hitch with your travel plans. A person applying to change status to another visa category in the US is not allowed to leave the country during the time that it is pending. Assuming that you wait until the F-1 status is approved, you would have to reenter under a F-1 visa instead of H-1B. 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 were not in the US at the time of your father’s death and have not been residing here in the US. If not, you and your family would have to go through a long and uncertain process of humanitarian reinstatement under which USCIS will decide whether there are sufficient favorable factors of a humanitarian nature to allow the case to continue. Factors that USCIS will take into account are such as: Impact on family living in the United States (especially U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, or others lawfully present); Advanced age or health concerns of the beneficiary or any following-to-join family members of the beneficiary; Lawful residence in the United States for a lengthy period; Ties (or lack thereof) to your home country; Other factors, such as unusually lengthy government processing delays; Any and all other factors you believe weigh in favor of reinstatement, with supporting documentation. 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

An ESTA application asks, “Have you ever stayed in the United States longer than the admission period granted to you by the U.S. government?” There is a good chance that you will not be approved for ESTA admission. If not, your alternative is to apply for a visiting visa at the American consulate or embassy, explain the situation with documents, and also why you still have nonimmigrant intent for visiting since you are married to a US citizen. 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

There is a good chance that the cases will not meet – at the age of 18, you can marry and sponsor your undocumented boyfriend, but you cannot begin the sponsorship process for your mother until you are aged 21. By that time, there is a good possibility that your boyfriend’s case will be resolved. In the event that it is not, you would have to have enough in terms of income and assets to provide affidavits of support for your boyfriend and your mother unless either one has sufficient assets to ease the burden of support, or you have a joint sponsor who is a US citizen or permanent resident to take up the support obligation. 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

While you can start an LLC while on an F-1 student status, you are not authorized to work in it unless you have some type of work authorization. Unauthorized employment would jeopardize your ability to maintain lawful nonimmigrant status or adjust status in the US to permanent residence through form I-485. 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

If you change status to H-1B, your wife should be able to obtain a work permit since you already have an approved I-140 petition. If your H-1B work is along the same lines with the same I-140 petitioner, there should be no impact on your permanent residence. If the H-1B work is with another organization, USCIS may be curious to know whether you actually intend to work for the sponsoring employer upon obtaining your permanent residence. 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

OK, a US citizen over 21 can petition his mother and father for their green cards, and they can adjust status here if they entered the United States with permission. If the mother and father are in a foreign country, the child can still petition for them but they will process their cases at the US Consulate overseas. A United States citizen can sponsor his sibling brother, but normally that takes about 12 to 15 years. There is no visa available for a sibling petition until at least 12-15 years passes. As far as your question regarding attorneys fees, some of us charge a very affordable flat rate fee to process the case from start to finish. We cannot solicit your case, pursuant to strict website rules, but you can research our backgrounds and reach out to one of us.... Read Answer

I am not sure that I understand what you have done. The N-400 asks for all names that you have used including nicknames on page 2, part 2, item 3. If you did not disclose a nickname or other name, you can do so at the time of interview as the officer will go over the form with you. I do not know what you mean by “added details under previous name”, but honesty is generally the best policy in immigration interviews. 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

That you received the I-797A with the additional 10 days means that USCIS is correcting the first I-797A to give you the 10 day grace period. Kindly note that you are allowed to stay but not work during a grace period. 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

We have always advised that in a situation of I-485 adjustment with an expired I-94, individuals are taking a risk in traveling overseas or near the borders of the United States. While the risk is minimized during the Biden administration as opposed to that of Trump, the risk is still there. 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

The US citizen spouse would have to prove that she would suffer "extreme hardship" If USCIS denies her foreign national husband a green card. "Being in love" is not a valid reason to obtain a waiver. The US Citizen spouse should seek the opinion of a medical doctor to establish whether any mental or physical condition would render her reliant on her husband to the point that she would suffer the "extreme hardship" if the waiver was not granted. The waiver application should include opinions from several physicians to establish "extreme hardship", as well as affidavits from friends, family members and/or coworkers, to support the opinion of the physicians in layman terms.... Read Answer

Immigration is a Federal practice, but answering these questions can prove frustrating to some.  If you are married to a U.S. citizen and intend to immigrate, then it will be difficult to overcome the presumption of immigrant intent that is imposed when anyone applies for a non-immigrant F-1 student visa.  As a result, a consular official has a responsibility to deny the visa. If you misrepresent your intentions, and get caught, the bar on lawful immigration can be indefinite. If the consular official has subjective reason to believe that a person is inadmissible, then a non-immigrant F1 visa may be denied as a matter of discretion. As a result, I strongly recommend an appointment with a competent and experienced immigration attorney before there are any more complications. Good luck. The above is general information, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney client relationship... Read Answer

For a child to be registered as a citizen at a US consulate or embassy, the US citizen parent must be able to prove that he or she was physically in the US for five years, of which at least two had to be after attaining the age of 14 prior to the birth of the child. If you did not meet that requirement, you cannot make up for it at this time. You can alternatively file a petition for your child to enter the US as a permanent resident and if your child is then under 18 and a permanent resident and living in your legal and physical custody, he or she will automatically qualify to become a US citizen. At that point, you or the child can apply for his or her US passport or send an application to USCIS (Form N-600) to obtain a certificate of citizenship. 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

An EPO-001 emergency order of protection in California apparently can be issued by a law enforcement officer if he or she believes that protection is immediately warranted. The length of time allowed is seven days given that it is not issued by a judge. Such would not appear to be capable of affecting your immigration status. However, any further altercations with your ex-girlfriend could lead to immigration consequences. 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

Generally speaking conditional green card is given to you for 2-years if married less than two years and prior to it expiring you and your spouse will need to apply to remove the condition. As you already have an approved conditional green card not sure why you will want to worry about TPS. Seek representation from an immigration attorney to strategically go over this with you.... Read Answer

In the month of October 2023, the final action date chart of the visa bulletin shows that the availability date under which individuals can obtain their permanent residence is backlogged to February 8, 2019. Please note that dates in this category can change radically, but assuming that the situation remains stable, a person with a priority date in April 2021 can expect to wait approximately two years for final immigration. I note that the US is currently beginning a program to allow nationals of certain countries – El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Colombia, Cuba and Haiti – who have approved I-130 petitions but are caught in the backlog to apply for parole, which is given, will allow the individual to remain in the US for a period of up to three years with work eligibility. 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

For entries and exits since 2013, you can generally go to the CBP I-94 website to obtain the information even if the entry or exit is not stamped by the US or foreign country. An officer should not deny a naturalization application for lack of a passport stamp if he or she believes the applicant or the date is largely irrelevant to the application. Usually, a date is only relevant where there is question as to the qualifying time for physical residence or continuous residence in the country. 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

Petty theft for immigration purposes is generally regarded as a crime involving moral turpitude. I assume that when you say that you have two petty thefts against you, you either pleaded guilty or were convicted. In such case, the difficulty as I can see it is that you have two, and as such, are subject to removal proceedings. The exception to removability is where both petty thefts arose from a single scheme of criminal misconduct, at which point you would not be removable. If they were separate episodes not arising from a single scheme, you may wish to consult an attorney familiar with criminal law about the possibility of reopening one of the petty thefts and obtaining a more favorable disposition that would be acceptable for immigration purposes. I note that in the event that you are ever placed in removal proceedings, having a good record other than those incidents along with being the mother of two US citizen children would help your case for a favorable outcome. 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

Kindly first understand that USCIS does not make fast determinations, and so any change of status application will likely not be adjudicated until the time that you have left the country. Perhaps if you take this step, you should notify USCIS upon your leaving and request to withdraw the application as of the date of you leaving. As to the impact of your dropping out of school on a future F-1 application, an adjudicator may wonder whether it is a good idea to give another visa to an applicant who has not shown that he or she has been a good student in the US under the previous visa. 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

From the time that a US citizen sponsors a spouse, it takes roughly 18 months before the marriage interview to get the green card. When you file the case, you can request advance parole, but that takes 10 months to obtain permission to travel out of the country, pending the adjustment of status case.... Read Answer

That depends on his situation. At the age of 18, you have passed the age of consent and are free to marry without parental consent in any state of the union. You can petition for him assuming that you are a US citizen or permanent resident. Whether his immigration case will be successful depends upon his total circumstances, e.g. mode of entry, past problems with police or Immigration, etc. I suggest that you have a consultation with a lawyer with experience in immigration law. 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

Under a guidance change some time ago, those who timely file for F-1 change of status are not required to file for an extension of the B-2 status. As to your question of the likelihood of being approved, I cannot say, but in our experience, USCIS approves more requests for change to F-1 status than it denies. 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 representationguidance 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