Florida Immigration Legal Questions

Yes, you can, but a question at interview may be whether you actually have an intention to stay in the job “permanently” on a full-time basis. Although US immigration law does not bind an individual to a sponsored green card job permanently (US law does not allow servitude), immigration and consular officers are authorized to determine whether applicants have an intent to take the offered job on a long-term basis. Possessing a PhD education may raise the question. 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

You need to physically meet her within 2 years of filing a fiance visa case. There are very few exceptions. The meeting place can be in the US, Columbia or another country. Once you physically meet her, then you can file for her fiance visa or a spousal visa if you get married at the time you both meet. ... Read Answer

If you have entered the US legally, which you have, and marry a US citizen, then you can adjust status to get your green card. The costs are about $1,760 filing fees paid to the government and lawyer fees range from a low of $1,500 to process the case from start to finish to a high of double or more than that. Some of us charge a very reasonable flat fee to handle the case from start to finish with no hidden costs. ... Read Answer

As long as you sent them a complete application with fee the second time, lack of the green sheet should not cause your application to be rejected. On the other hand, if USCIS kept part of your paperwork, you might be rejected again unless you sent everything in your second application including the part that the agency kept. 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

A J-1 who is subject to the two-year foreign residence requirement can obtain an F-2 visa from an American consulate or embassy. On the other hand, USCIS restricts such individuals from obtaining a change of status on form I-539 in the US. 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

Hello, if your grandfather has been outside the United States for that long, a five year time period, then he will have to begin the process all over again. In order to do that he has to have a qualifying sponsor, which in his case would be a son or daughter who is a United States citizen. There is no grandson category for him to qualify under.... Read Answer

Unfortunatley, to petition for him, he would have to be considered your stepfather under the immigration laws, meaning his marriage to your mother had to occur before you turned 18 years old.   What is your mother's status?  If she is a U.S. citizen, she may be able to petition for him and, since he entered legally, he may be eligible to adjust his status (apply for a green card).  If she is not a U.S. citizen or green card holder yet, you could explore whether she is eligible through your petition for her.  Also, do you have any U.S. citizen siblings who were under 18 when your mom married your "stepfather" and are now 21 years or older?... Read Answer

As a U.S. citizen, you can petition for your son (assuming you and your son meet all eligbility requirements). However, there are significant wait times for visa availability for adult sons/daughters (length of the wait depends on what country he is from). If he had an approved petition and a visa number available (again, this would take time), he could possibly consular process with a waiver (based on hardship to his US citizen parent).  I say possibly because he would have to make sure he is not subject to any other bars that would prevent visa issuance and he would have to be able to prove hardship to you. Your son is most likely barred from adjusting his status because he has been accruing unlawful presence since he turned 18 (unless something has been tolling his unlawful presence). I'd also look into the possibility of 245i grandfathering. Your son's situation is complicated and it would be worth consulting with an experienced immigration attorney to see what, if any, options may be available to him.... Read Answer

A person entering the US legally, which you have, can adjust status to get a green card provided he is sponsored by a US citizen spouse. This is in spite of the fact that you may be out of status. If you have a 2 year home residency requirement attached to your J visa, then that would not allow you to adjust status. More facts are needed. ... Read Answer

Assuming that your father is not barred for any reason other than being in the US for one year or more illegally, he should be able to immigrate provided there is no problem with financial support. He may be asked about his marriage to the American citizen as an attempted fraudulent marriage would be a permanent bar. 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 is difficult to say what will happen if you leave the US at this point. I assume that you filed for a six-month extension or 180 days. USCIS believes that if the intended period of stay exceeds the time that you are requesting, you should file an application to extend even if the first application is still pending. Perhaps the better route at this time would be to file for a late extension before leaving the country. Generally a person leaving the US during the time of a pending extension would have no problems, but I am not sure that the answer holds for someone leaving the country where he or she has already exceeded the time requested on the pending extension. 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

Assuming that you still have the application pending which made you eligible for employment authorization, you should be able to renew it while in removal proceedings. Immigration attorneys are available throughout the country – most with a  practice in immigration law belong to the American Immigration Lawyers Association. 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 in the US for change of status, probably not. If you are thinking of obtaining an F-2 visa at an American consulate or embassy under the circumstances that you describe, you may or may not have difficulty in obtaining the visa. Unless your husband is eligible for or on STEM OPT, a consular officer may be reluctant to issue the visa as your husband will supposedly be back to the home country soon, and the officer may not wish to encourage his staying in the country. 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

Maintenance of status only has to do with an individual’s status when he or she is in the United States. USCIS has no interest in what a person does outside the States. For you to apply for an I-485 application, you need to be physically in the country. If in the country, you are required to maintain a legal status prior to filing for the I-485. After filing the I-485, you can choose to maintain a nonimmigrant status or rely upon the I-485 filing to stay legally in the States. I assume that you are not subject to a two-year foreign residence requirement because of your J-1 visa. 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

So, if you have met your fiancé within the last two years, you can file the fiancée visa petition so she can process at the US consulate overseas. The whole process takes about eight months and possibly longer due to the Covid virus. Consider retaining counsel to represent you from start to finish to handle your case. Some of his charge a very affordable flat fee, and represent you from beginning to end.... Read Answer