Florida Immigration Legal Questions

You will have a difficult time obtaining any visa. Your criminal conviction wil be considered a conviction for a crime involving moral turpitude. Your conviction may also be considered an aggravated feeling under United Stares immigration law depending upon the amount of money involved. You would need a waiver to obtain any visa. I would encourage you to consult an attorney before applying for any visa. ... Read More

I believe that you are confusing the payment of taxes with maintenance of your green card. DHS knows how long you have been out of the country through its record-keeping of your record of travels and through your passport. Stays outside the US for extended periods of time may subject you to loss of the green card regardless of whether you file US taxes or not. As a US permanent resident, you are obligated to file taxes on your worldwide income. In my opinion, the most damaging aspect of filing taxes immigration wise would be to claim a foreign income exemption as you would be stating on the tax return that you consider yourself a nonresident of this 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 More

Assuming that you are qualifying for citizenship under the five-year rule, you must have been physically present at least 2 1/2 years and not have left the US for one year or more during any one trip. Absences of six months or more can be construed as abandoning residence for naturalization purposes, although that can be rebutted by good reasons and showing ties and bonds in the US during that time. Not filing a tax report if you have been earning enough money to pay US taxes could be construed as a failure of good moral character, which could further bar an individual from citizenship. You could resolve that issue by filing amended returns. If you have been excessively outside the US, and you are subject to the five-year rule, you could begin a new period of physical residence in the US and file four years and one day after the time that you actually began residing again in the US as your country of permanent domicile. 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 assume that you will be returning to the country under the visa waiver program. If you already have permission and do not have to apply again for ESTA, you would likely not have issues with your reentry. If you require permission again, however, you might not be allowed back into the US under the visa waiver program. Under such situation, you might have to apply for a visitors visa to the US at a US consulate or embassy and explain the situation of your arrest. The consular officer would then make a decision as to whether to grant the visa. Customs and Border Protection personnel would generally respect a consular decision. 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

It could impact your application for naturalization. You are required to establish good moral character during the five-year period. Any criminal-related issues can be an issue. If the matter occurred five years or more ago, it should not be a bar to naturalization. If the incident is less than five years old, the impact will depend upon the exact charges involved, allegations against you, how long ago it occurred, and sentence imposed. You will need to disclose the matter and provide documents related to the offense. I would encourage you to take the paperwork related to the matter to an experienced immigration attorney for a thorough assessment. ... Read More

The U. S. and Canada both have the same policy that citizenship in one country does not cause termination of citizenship in the other. In other words, both countries respect the concept of dual citizenship with each other. 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

The choice of whether to apply for yourself or to wait for your wife to come back in order to make the application for adjustment of status is up to you. You are probably aware by this time that the Department of State has changed the October filing date for EB-2 India from 7/1/11 to 7/1/09, making your date unavailable if you are filing under that category. Assuming that your priority date clears before your wife is set to return, you can wait or apply for the green card for yourself and apply for your wife later when she is back in the States. If you take the latter course, you will know ahead of time when U.S.C.I.S. can approve your case at the earliest through looking at the “final action” visa chart for each month that your case is pending adjustment of status. 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

You have extremely limited options available to you. Whether you would qualify for relief from removal will depend upon more information about your ties to this country, country of citizenship, reasons for not wishing to return to your country of citizenship, criminal and immigration history, etc. if not eligible for any immigration benefits, you may be able to request prosecutorial discretion and have your removal proceedings closed. You would be best served by scheduling a consultation with an experienced immigration attorney.... Read More

Based upon the limited information provided you do not appear to be eleigible for lawful permanent residence. There is no path to lawful permanent residence based upon your length of residence and family ties unless you are in removal proceedings (i.e. cancellation of removval, which is extremely difficult to obtain). Your child could only petition for you to receive an immigrant visa upon turning 21 years of age.... Read More

USCIS will likely investigate your eligibility for an immigrant visa. USCIS will look into your common law marriage to make sure it does not constitute a marriage that must have been terminated prior your current marriage. USCIS can contact the U.S. Embassy in your native country to investigate the marriage. USCIS will likely investigate your current marriage to make sure you entered into in good faith. You will likely receive a request for evidence or notice of intent to deny. You may also be scheduled for a second marriage interview. ... Read More

Hello, If your children are U.S. citizens over 21 years of age, they can petition for a green card for you as you have been outside of the U.S. for 10 years. However, there is missing information which is necessary to fully answer your question. I would suggest that you provide details of your criminal case and immigration history to an experienced immigration attorney (either in your local city or by telephone with an attorney anywhere in the U.S.) so that they can let you know of the chances of success with your new green card application, and any waiver that you may need. Good luck.   Disclaimer:  The answers to frequently asked questions are based on limited information available to us.    The answer provided is of a general nature and does not establish an attorney - client relationship.  It is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. You should consult an attorney for specific advice regarding your individual situation.... Read More

I do not understand how an H-1B1 visa is a tourist visa – the two are completely different types of visas. Perhaps you are confusing your friend's H-1B1 with a B1/B2 visa which most individuals use for touring purposes.  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

Immigration law is a branch of Federal Law. Any attorney licensed in at least one state or territory in the USA is allowed to practice Immigration law anywhere in the country. Hence, if you cannot find a local immigration attorney who would be gay friendly, you can find one anywhere in the USA. You can use this directory or any other reputable directory to search for one. Read the attorney’s biography. You will be able to figure that out whether the attorney is gay friendly. It is not that difficult to do.   After the fairly recent decision by the US Supreme Court, marriage is now gender neutral. It is certainly so for immigration law purposes. That means you could derive an immigration benefit just like in a marriage between couple of opposite sexes. There is no difference any longer.   Whether you could adjust your status based on a bona fide marriage to a USC spouse is a question, which cannot be opined about on the scintilla of information you provided. I suggest you look for an immigration attorney as soon as possible. See below for more information: http://myattorneyusa.com/immigration-blog/wendy-barlow/same-sex-marriage-and-immigration-benefits... Read More

When you say that the girl does not have any documents, I assume that you mean that she did not enter the country legally. If so, she will have to leave the U. S. in order to get the green card unless she is a beneficiary of section 245(i) under which an individual can adjust status to permanent residence in the U. S. if he or she had a labor certification application or visa petition filed by April 30, 2001, and was physically present in the U. S. on December 21, 2000. It would likely be faster for her immigration if you became a U. S. citizen. I note that if your girlfriend has been here without status for 180 days or one year after entry without documents, she would be barred from entering for 3 or 10 years respectively if she left the U. S. You and she may explore the possibilities of her applying for an I-601A waiver based on extreme hardship to you when you are married. Unlike the regular I-601 waiver which is only available after denial at a consular interview, the I-601A allows a qualified individual to submit a waiver application of the 3 and 10 year bars while in the States and wait for the result before deciding to go overseas for consular processing of an immigrant 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 More

I assume by your facts that your wife either entered the country with the CR-1 visa or she was adjusted to permanent residence through an I-485 process to CR-1. She has the right to travel in and out of the country if she has the approval. If you believe yourself wronged, you can lodge a complaint with the Department of Homeland Security which can begin investigating the situation to see whether revocation or removal proceedings should begin. 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

It  all depends basically on where your boyfriend is.  If he is in the US you can marry him here, and then the real question is where to process his green card application.  If he entered legally and you are a US citizen, then in most cases (depending on how he entered the US), he can adjust his status here and it is unnecessary for him to depart the US.  In most cases this is true even if he entered legally but is now illegally here because he overstayed.   If he entered illegally, depending on the circumstances of the case, he may need to process his case abroad (in his home country), and that can have other consequences.  It is difficult to give you a specific way to proceed without having more information, but if you tell me how he entered the US, I might be able to tell you more specifically.   When you ask whether you need to have your own place, that is a little vague.  If you share a home with roommates (or even your parents) and your husband will be joining you, that is acceptable, but you do need to show that the relationship is real.   In terms of your income, there is a requirement that you file an affidavit of support showing that you can support him if he should become a public charge, the amount you need to show will depend ont he number of dependents you have.  If he is adjusting status in the US, he should be able to get permission to work here within 90 days of filing the application.  I hope this helps you. Jan Joseph Bejar.... Read More