Massachusetts Immigration Legal Questions

You may marry someone regardless of your or their immigration status. You will be able to file an immigrant visa petition on behalf of your husband. As a resident, your husband would not have a visa immediately available to him. He would need to wait about 1.5 to 2 years for a visa to be available. Another issue will be whether he will be able to adjust status in the United States or proceed through consular processing. I encourage you to consult an attorney so you and your spouse understand the process fully. In the interim, you can read more about family immigration at http://myattorneyusa.com/family-immigration.... Read More

More information is needed to make a complete assessment. However, there are some things that are concerning. I am not clear why your husband's attorney has not sought a change of venue if your husband does not live in Virginia. Immigration courts will typically change venue unless testimony has been taken. The second issue is why not either seek administrative closure why the marriage case is pending or request an adjournment prior to the hearing if your marriage petition is still being adjudicated. There may be valid answers to these questions. A review of the file is necessary to make any definitive assessment. Ask the attorney for a copy of the file. You can take the copy to an attorney for a second opinion. ... Read More

Possibly. As a spouse you typically can be a derivative beneficiary of your husband's immigrant visa petition. Whether the green card application can be filed at this time will depend upon the preference category. You and your husband can likely submit the package at the same time. Each application for a green card is assessed on its own merits. Your husband will have to be approved before you. It is not clear whether you are subject to the two-year home residency rule. If so, you will require a waiver to obtain a green card without first completing the requirement. I encourage you to consult an attorney. You can read more about adjustment of status at http://myattorneyusa.com/adjustment-of-immigration-status.... Read More

Your husband will likely need a waiver if he has been convicted of possession of marijuana. You are certainly free to file the case it hour a lawyer but it would best in his best interest to work with an attorney. You can read more at http://myattorneyusa.com/controlled-substance-inadmissibility-and-deportability.... Read More

The answer will depend upon the type of immigration case you have pending. You case could be accessed by an immigration services officer employed by USCIS, an asylum officer,  immigration court staff including judges, consular official, immigration and customs enforcement officer, etc.... Read More

Your father or you could adopt the child. The child would be able to derive immigration benefits through the adoption if the adoption is finalized prior to her 16th birthday. If the adoption is not finalized prior to her 16th birthday, she could not derive immigration benefits through the adoption. There are many requirements for an adoption to be recognized by USCIS. You can read more about intercountry adoption at https://travel.state.gov/content/adoptionsabroad/en.html.... Read More

Your company is free to transfer you where they wish. You will need to make sure you are in compliance with the country's visa requirements. You do not need to be in the United Statws for a company to sponsor you for an H-1B visa. The company or another company can petition for you as many times as they wish regardless of whether you are in the United States or not. Working abroad may also make you eligible for an L-1 visa down the road. You can read more about work visas at http://myattorneyusa.com/work-visas. ... Read More

You would not convert your L-2 visa. You would simply apply for an F-1 visa. Either option you have presented has risks. Your university has already provided guidance about the negative in applying for a student visa and that is administrative processing. You could find yourself waiting for months to have a student visa issued if your case is stuck in administrative processing. This can delay your studies. There are no real benefits to obtaining a visa now other than you would have the visa in your passport for future international travel. Administrative processing occurs when a visa decision cannot be made. There are a variety of reasons a visa application ends up in administrative processing from request for additional evidence to delays in the completion of security checks. An additional issue that may come up is immigrant intent if your spouse or parent is in the process of obtaining an immigrant visa through employment. An F-1 visa unlike an L-2 visa does not allow for dual intent.... Read More

Your employer may file an H-1B extension if it so chooses. An RFE may be issued at which time all issues will need to be addressed. Whether the criminal matter will impact your immigration status will depend upon the charges against you and the outcome. Keep in mind that even if the extension is approved, you may have trouble re-entering the United Stares after travel outside the country. It is important to work with an immigration attorney sooner rather than later to minimize the consequences to the extent possible. You can read about criminal alien matters at http://myattorneyusa.com/criminal-aliens.... Read More

You could apply for a J-1 waiver based upon exceptional hardship to your children, but it is not clear whether you have sufficient hardship. Simply having young children who are unable to speak Vietnamese may not be sufficient. More information is needed about your children to assess whether you can establish exceptional hardship. You can read more about hardship factors at http://myattorneyusa.com/extreme-hardship.... Read More

You may be able to petition for your adopted son to receive an immigrant visa. There are several issues requiring more information to determine how to best proceed. First, more information is needed about the adoption to determine if your son qualifies as a child for immigration purposes. Second, your intention at the time of entry. Your son could not use a visitor visa to enter the country if his intent was to remain here and seek permanent residence. I encourage you to consult an attorney before starting the process. You can read more about family immigration at http://myattorneyusa.com/family-immigration.... Read More

You could potentially use the H-2B process to hire a nanny but quite honestly it will be difficult. You would have to demonstrate there is no worker in the United States qualified for the position, which will be difficult to do. The amount of time she would be authorized to be here is also of short duration as it H-2B is essentially for seasonal or project specific temporary employees. You can read more about H-2B at http://myattorneyusa.com/work-visas.... Read More

If your asylum case has been pending 150 days and if you have taken no affirmative steps to delay the process, you are eligible to apply for an employment authorization by filing form I-765 application for employment authorization accompanied by proof that your asylum case has been pending for that amount of time. The application would be sent to either the Dallas or Phoenix lockbox of U.S.C.I.S. depending upon your place of residence. 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

There is no direct path to citizenship. You must first become a permanent resident. Permanent residence is typically obtained through an immigrant visa petition filed by an employer or family member. You can read more about immigration at http://myattorneyusa.com/immigration-to-the-usa.... Read More

Are you still married? What is your spouse's immigration status? Having a U.S. born child does not provide you a path to residence until the child reaches the age of 21. If your spouse is a citizen, you could seek a green card through the marriage. You and your spouse will both need to participate but if all goes well you can have a green card in approximately 8 months. You can read more about the adjustment of status process at http://myattorneyusa.com/family-immigration.... Read More

Your daughter may be a United States citizen. Some children derive citizenship from their parents at birth. More information is needed but if she is a United States citizen, she could simply apply for a passport. Her children are not necessarily United States, but she could petition for them to receive lawful permanent resident. I would encourage you to speak to experienced immigration attorney in more detail. In the interim, you can read more at http://myattorneyusa.com/deriving-citizenship-through-parents-at-birth#Children%20Born%20to%20Unmarried%20Parents.... Read More

A person cannot change their status in the United States if he/she is not in a valid nonimmigrant status. It does not appear you could change your status because you are no longer in J-1 status. You may be able to pursue an H-2B visa through consular processing if you are not subject to a bar to admission. You can read more about work visa at http://myattorneyusa.com/work-visas.... Read More

Your brother must complete an affidavit of support on your behalf. United States immigration law requires the petitioner of a family-based immigrant visa petition to submit an affidavit of support. There is no way around this requirement given the facts provided. You may read more at http://myattorneyusa.com/overcoming-presumption-of-public-charge.... Read More

Your friend will likely face difficulty obtaining a visitor visa no matter where he applies. As part of the visitor visa requirements, your friend needs to show intent to return. This requires showing strong ties outside the United States. It sounds like he lacks these ties. As for moving to the United States, you typically need an employer or family member to sponsor you for an immigrant visa. You can read more about immigration at http://myattorneyusa.com/immigration-to-the-usa.... Read More

A denial of a visitor visa will have little to impact on a fiancé visa petition unless he is found to have misrepresented himself or committed fraud. Most visitor visas are denied because the applicant cannot establish nonimmigrant intent. With a fiancé visa the purpose is to come to the United States to marry and seek permanent residence. You can read more about fiancé visas at http://myattorneyusa.com/k-1-and-k-2-visas-for-fiancees-and-derivatives.... Read More