New Jersey Immigration Legal Questions

I am confused by the advice that you have received and that perhaps all of the facts were not revealed in your question. However, a US citizen is allowed to petition for the spouse's child as that child becomes your stepchild by virtue of the marriage so long as the marriage was celebrated prior to the child's 18th birthday. As long as the child entered the country legally, you should be able to apply for him on form I-130 and he should be able to adjust his status on form I-485.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

The difficulty here is that filing a motion to reopen does not stop the accrual of illegal presence. Under US immigration laws, staying in the US for 180 days or more illegally would bar your wife from coming back to the States for three years. Illegal presence would have begun when your wife's H-4 extension was denied. If she files a motion to reopen, she may be faced with a choice of whether to stay for the result or leave the country if it is close to 180 days and no adjudication as yet been made on the motion. Of course, winning the motion would mean that all time is considered legal.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

You should be able to travel in and out of the U. S. on your green card as the offense of shoplifting would not appear to be one in which you could have been sentenced over one year or in which you served jail time for over 6 months. You can check the statute under which you were charged to determine the top amount of time that you could have received for the shoplifting offense. 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 you are holding a working visa to the U. S., you would be able to financially sponsor your parents’ medical visit to the country. However, if you are not legal or you are on a nonworking visa, you would not be able to guarantee support. 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

Unfortunately it takes about 10+ years for an individual to complete the process under the F-4 category. Currently those who applied before December 8, 2001, are going through the final immigration phase. There is no truth to the rumor that a person will be able to immigrate under this category in 5 – 6 years.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

In addition to filing a petition for you, your wife will also have to file an I-864 affidavit of support. As she is applying for public assistance, she would not appear to have the wherewithal to guarantee your support in the country and would have to have a cosponsor do such. A consular officer may be curious as to why a cosponsor would be willing to sponsor you financially if he or she is not financially supporting your wife. The question of the child support goes also to the issue of the financial support that can be shown for you. As you are sending 50% of your earnings to support the child, there would be no negative implications on your good character even if the amount does not entirely cover the cost of your child's support. 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 you have taken no actions like leaving the US for long periods of time, you would still be considered a green card holder at this time. Even if the validity date on the green card expires, you are still a permanent resident. I suggest that you schedule an infopass with your local field office of U.S.C.I.S. to see whether an officer would be willing to look for your green card number. If it cannot be done that way, you could attempt to file a freedom of information act request with U.S.C.I.S. If that fails to yield the information that you require, you could attempt to approach Social Security and ask its representative to look into your file to see whether he or she could disclose your green card number to you. Once you obtain your green card number, you can file an I-90 application to U.S.C.I.S. to replace your lost green card. 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

In most cases where an I-601A provisional waiver is denied, U.S.C.I.S. will take no further actions against the individuals and they will be in the same position as they were before making the application. If an I-601A is approved, the applicants will generally stay in their home countries 1 to 2 months (in our experience). 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

The difficulty that I see in your case is if your husband stayed illegally in the US for a year before he went to Costa Rica. If so, he would be barred from returning to the US for 10 years from the date that he left in 2009 unless he obtained a waiver of the bar based upon extreme hardship to you. Other than that, you may be able to do all the paperwork from Costa Rica, but you will have to prove that you still have a domicile in the US such as through the presentation of documentation of whatever ties and bonds that you have with the US, e.g. registering to vote, proof of a job in the US, residence. In addition, if you are not making sufficient monies, you may also have to have a financial cosponsor for your husband. 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

Hello, If the letter you were sent has "Notice to Appear" on the top of the right hand corner then you are being put into Removal Proceedings so that you can be removed or deported from the U.S. because of your previous convictions.  It is important that you consult with an experienced immigration attorney in your city to discuss your case and see how you may be able to defend yourself successfully. Also, please attend all your court hearings so that you would not be ordered removed or deported in your absence. Good Luck.   Disclaimer: This information is of a general nature and is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. You should consult an attorney for advice regarding your individual situation.... Read Answer

Your question requires an attorney consultation. It is not a simple question that can be answered on this type of forum. There are many factors that would need to be considered and evaluated. I strongly suggest that you contact an experienced immigration attorney for a face-to-face consultation and give him/her all of the facts surrounding your situation. (S)he would then be in a better position to analyze your case and advise you of your options. Make sure to bring any documents you have pertaining to your criminal case for the attorney to review.... Read Answer

You have possibilities of having the I-601A application for provisional waiver approved on the basis of extreme hardship to you if the waiver is not granted. Although only U.S.C.I.S. can make a decision, the little that you have mentioned sounds fairly compelling. I suggest that you find an attorney competent in I-601A filings. 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

An application for political asylum is determined by U.S.C.I.S. or an immigration court dependent upon whether an individual has been persecuted or has a well-founded fear of persecution on account of political opinion, religion, nationality, membership in a social group, or race. Many people in the Ukraine these days are very fearful and feel that they are in danger, but the question is what makes her fear different from most of the people in the country. If your friend comes to the country and asks for asylum at the port of entry, she will not be turned away, but may be detained by the Department of Homeland Security at a detention facility until it arranges a credible fear interview, at which point it may decide to keep her in detention while awaiting hearings or to release her during that time. 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

Normally a person with a Masters degree in computers would be looking for an organization to sponsor him or her for an H1B visa. Most H-1B visas fall within a numerical limit and the time to begin applying for those types of visas is on April 1. They are expected to run out almost immediately. If you have a potential employer interested in sponsoring you for an H-1B visa, it should begin immediately. Other H-1B visas not associated with a cap are generally those for employment with or at institutions of higher education. H1B visas for those can be applied at any time. There is also the possibility that an employer may decide to sponsor you for permanent residence without first going through a temporary visa like the H-1B. The process would usually involve a labor certification certifying that there are no able, willing, available, or qualified US workers to take the job. If you are from a country other than China or India, the process would probably take one-two years if everything goes well. Other visa options may be available, but the above ones are the most common. 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

As you filed for H-4 status while you were still legally in L-1 status, you are allowed to remain in the US pending the adjudication of the H-4 request. Inasmuch as you are currently under L-1 status, I assume that you filed for an H-4 change of status and not simply for an H-4 extension. An extension is for those who already hold the status at the present time.  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

The question of whether the I-864 financial support sponsor is taking means tested benefits is no longer on the I-864 form, but some consular officers still consider it a relevant question. So it is not certain as to whether there is a concern here. If your younger son will be interviewing with U.S.C.I.S. instead of at a US consulate, such a question would most likely not come up as we've only seen it with consular officers.    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

Your husband will not be able to obtain employment authorization through your petitioning for him. That is because there is no current priority date and he is not eligible to adjust status in the US as he is not in legal status. He may be able to obtain employment authorization through his asylum application, however. To do so, he or his attorney would have to file the asylum application with the office of the immigration court first and then after 150 days (assuming that it has not yet been denied), he would be eligible to apply for employment authorization on form I-765 employment authorization application. The legend for employment authorization for an asylum candidate is C –8. 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