Georgia Immigration Legal Questions

Generally a petition for a name change may be pursued in a local court (in Georgia, that would be the Superior Court of the county where a person resides) to legally change a name before completion of a marriage-based application for adjustment of status. Another option, which avoids the costs and time involved with a court-order name change, may be to seek a legal name change within the adjustment of status application process itself. It would be wise for you and your wife to consult with an immigration attorney who, after learning all of the relevant details, could advise you about eligibilities, options and strategies and could offer legal representation in the often complex application process.... Read Answer

Ordinarily when a foreign national who entered the U.S. lawfully and with inspection becomes married to a U.S. citizen, the couple jointly files both Forms I-130 and I-485. I presume that you and your husband had an important reason for not doing that last July. A full understanding of that reason, as well as further details about you and your husband (including, for example, your and his immigration-related application history) would be needed in order to advise about filing the I-485 application package at this time.... Read Answer

Generally when a foreign national child of a Permanent Resident has a Priority Date become "current" according to the most recent Visa Bulletin issued by the U.S. Department of State, if the child remains in valid nonimmigrant status he may go forward with an application for adjustment of status. There really is no substitute for consulting with an immigration attorney who, after learning all of the relevant information about your family, could advise about immigration eligibilities, options and strategies and offer legal representation in the often complex application process.... Read Answer

Generally, a foreign national who has become married to a U.S. citizen will be unable to re-enter the U.S. with a B1/B2 visitor's visa or with a C1/D visa, because immigration authorities will suspect he has "immigrant intent," i.e. an intention to remain permanently in the U.S., and immigrant intent is incompatible with those types of nonimmigrant (temporary) visas. This is true regardless of whether the U.S. citizen spouse has filed a Form I-130 application. It may be possible for you and your husband to go forward now with a marriage-based adjustment of status application process, which could include obtaining an Employment Authorization Document and Advance Parole (a "travel document") for use while the adjustment of status application remains pending. It would be wise for you and your husband to consult with an immigration attorney who, after learning all of the relevant details, including your husband's immigration-related history and immigration-related goals, would be able to advise about eligibilities, options and strategies to attain those goals.... Read Answer

Generally a U.S. citizen age 21 or older may sponsor a parent located abroad through "consular processing" in the immediate relative visa petition. There are many details that are important for determining eligibility, however. It would be wise for your family to consult with an immigration attorney who, after learning all of the relevant information, could advise about eligibilities, options and strategies.... Read Answer

Generally, if a person becomes a Lawful Permanent Resident (gets a "Green Card") and then moves overseas for 10 years, she will be deemed to have abandoned her residence in the U.S. and to have abandoned her Permanent Resident status. At that point she would need to start all over with immigration-related applications. A U.S. citizen over the age of 21 may sponsor a parent for "consular processing" in the immediate relative visa category, and it would be wise for you and your mother to consult with an immigration attorney who, after learning all of the relevant information, could advise about eligibilities, options and strategies, and who then could offer legal representation in the often quite complex application process.... Read Answer

Generally the USCIS can be expected to consider the payment of a fine associated with a "ticket" to be the equivalent of acknowledging the elements of the offense and pleading "guilty" to it. An assessment of the immigration-related ramifications, as well as a conclusion about whether and how the offense should be communicated/documented in an immigration application process, requires significantly more information. There really is no substitute to consulting with an immigration attorney who, after learning all of the relevant information, could advise you.... Read Answer

A U.S. citizen must reach age 21 before becoming eligible to sponsor a parent for Adjustment of Status to become a Permanent Resident (to get a "Green Card"); there are no exceptions to that age requirement. Of course, there are many other details that determine eligibility, and it would be wise for you and your mother to consult with an immigration attorney who, after learning all of the relevant details, could advise about eligibilities, options and strategies and could offer legal representation in the application process.... Read Answer

Generally, the child of an American citizen becomes a U.S. citizen himself/herself at birth. It can be helpful to apply for a Certificate of Citizenship as evidence of that citizenship status. Generally a U.S. citizen may petition for a spouse to become a Lawful Permanent Resident, either through an adjustment of status application in the U.S. or through consular processing abroad. A review of the spouse's immigration-related history can be critically important in determining eligibility for immigration benefits, especially since unlawful presence in the U.S. for 180 days can create a 3-year bar to re-entering the U.S. and unlawful presence for a year or longer can create a very harsh 10-year bar. There really is no substitute to consulting with an immigration attorney who, after learning all of the relevant information, could advise about immigration eligibilities, options and strategies.... Read Answer

Upon marriage abroad, the approved K1 fiance visa will become moot, but you should be able to commence consular processing to achieve your goal of enabling him to come to the U.S. and become a Lawful Permanent Resident. It would be wise for you and your fiance? to consult with an immigration attorney who, upon learning all of the relevant information about you and your fiance?, will be able to advise about eligibilities, options and strategies and would be able to offer legal representation in the often complex application process.... Read Answer

More information is needed in order to be able to advise about immigration possibilities for a father-in-law or for a step-father. That includes details such as your mother's own immigration status - is she a U.S. citizen?; where he and your mother live; his immigration-related history; your current age; etc. There really is no substitute for your family members consulting with an immigration attorney who, after learning all of the relevant information, could advise about immigration eligibilities, options and strategies and could then offer legal representation in the often quite complex application process.... Read Answer

Generally, eligibility to apply to become a naturalized U.S. citizen requires a foreign national first to be a Lawful Permanent Resident for five years, but the period is three years for most Permanent Residents who have been living together - actually residing together in marital union to a U.S. citizen spouse during the three years immediately before filing the naturalization application. Note, however, that an application may be filed as early as 90 days before the end of the 5-year or 3-year period. The USCIS considers a legal separation to signify dissolution of the marital union, and it generally considers an informal separation the same way. It would be wise to consult with an immigration attorney about all details relating to naturalization eligibility. Some immigration law firms, including mine, offer legal services on a "flat fee" basis so that a client will know the total expense from the very beginning, and a few immigration law firms, including mine, offer an initial consultation free of charge.... Read Answer

As you appear to recognize, a vast age difference indeed can be a factor immigration authorities will consider in determining whether it is persuasive you and your fiance have a bona fide engagement relationship (if filing for a K-1 fiance visa) or a bona fide marriage relationship (if filing for a wife to become a Permanent Resident). It is possible, although sometimes challenging, to succeed despite the large age difference, and to do so a particularly strong set of supporting documentary evidence will be required. I recommend that you and your fiance consult with an immigration attorney who, after learning all of the relevant details about you and your fiance not only could advise about the type of supporting documents needed, but also could advise about immigration eligibilities, options and strategies and could offer legal representation in the application process.... Read Answer

Generally, a U.S. citizen may succeed in sponsoring a spouse in the immigration application for adjustment of status process, regardless of the U.S. citizen spouse being only 19 years old, but there are many other details that would need to be addressed in order to determine immigration eligibility. This includes, for example, information about a foreign national spouse's entry into the U.S., information about that spouse's immigration application history, etc. There really is no substitute for you and your husband consulting with an immigration attorney who, after learning all of the relevant information, could advise about immigration eligibilities, options and strategies, and could offer legal representation in the often quite complex application process.... Read Answer

Your child may be a U.S. citizen by virtue of birth to a U.S. citizen parent, and if so, could apply for a Certificate of Citizenship to prove that status. Regarding your spouse, you may be able to succeed in "consular processing" for your spouse to be able to enter the U.S. and to become a Lawful Permanent Resident (get a "Green Card"), and after approximately three years your spouse then may be able to apply to become a naturalized U.S. citizen. There are many details not mentioned in your question that could have an impact upon this analysis and upon immigration-related options. There really is no substitute for you and your spouse to consult with an immigration attorney who, after learning all of the relevant facts, could advise about immigration eligibilities, options and strategies and who could then offer legal representation in the often quite complex application process.... Read Answer

Generally, a foreign national married to a U.S. citizen may succeed in consular processing to be able to enter the U.S. and to become a Lawful Permanent Resident (to get a "Green Card"), and this is true even if the U.S. citizen spouse previously sponsored a former spouse in a marriage-based case. The USCIS can be expected to apply a heightened level of scrutiny where the U.S. citizen previously applied for a different spouse (including further evaluation of whether the first marriage was bona fide). It would be wise for you and your partner to consult with an immigration attorney who, after learning all of the relevant history about you, your partner, your former marriage and the previous immigration case, could advise about immigration eligibilities, options and strategies, and could offer legal representation in the often quite complex application process.... Read Answer

Significantly more information is needed in order to fully analyze immigration-related eligibilities, options and strategies for you. If your wife becomes a naturalized citizen, she should be able to petition for you to adjust status within the U.S. to become a lawful permanent resident (to get a "Green Card"), notwithstanding that you have overstayed your visa. Be aware, however, that generally unlawful presence for 180 days or longer creates a 3-year bar to re-entering the U.S. (and unlawful presence of a year or more can create a harsh 10-year bar), and so travel to Canada for the wedding may undermine your ability to return to the U.S. to live with your wife. There really is no substitute for consulting with an immigration attorney who, after learning all of the relevant information about your situation, could provide advice to you about the steps you should take next. Additionally, if your wife were to be represented by an immigration attorney in her naturalization case, that could reduce the likelihood of delays or other problems in her becoming a naturalized citizen.... Read Answer