New York Immigration Legal Questions

Generally speaking, aliens are entitled to a hearing before an immigration judge before being deported. In your fact situation, I assume that you are saying that your son's father had to check into Immigration every six months. That is a procedure used for individuals who have already seen the immigration judge and received a final order of deportation. They are then given in some cases an order of supervision which allows them to stay temporarily while DHS Enforcement Removal Operations attempt to make arrangements to send them back to their home countries. During check-in's, such individuals are sometimes taken, detained, and finally deported.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 best that you can do in my opinion is to obtain a complete copy of your husband's criminal and immigration histories and formally consult with an immigration lawyer. Of the questions that you ask, the only one that I can answer with certainty is that a US citizen does not have the right to have a spouse live in this country just by virtue of the US citizenship 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

Generally there is no advantage to delay the filing of a naturalization application beyond the earliest day of eligibility: for most Permanent Residents married to U.S. citizens, they may apply for naturalization as early as 90 days before the end of three years following grant of Permanent Resident status. In the event that your baby is born after you file the application but before your naturalization interview and examination, you simply should plan to identify your child at your interview and provide a copy of the child's birth certificate. The child's birth certificate, and even pre-natal medical records identifying your husband, can be helpful documentation to prove that you and your husband are still living in a bona fide marital relationship - strong and persuasive documentation of that type is needed for success when applying for naturalization earlier than five years following grant of Permanent Resident status. The naturalization application process often is significantly more complex than it may appear from reading the naturalization application form, its instructions, and material researched through the Internet. Inadequate supporting documentation or other errors can cause significant delays or even more harsh consequences. It would be wise to work with an immigration attorney for the naturalization application process.... Read More

If you have an order of deportation, you cannot adjust your status with USCIS. You have to reopen your deportation case, have the order rescinded and the proceedings either terminated or adjust your status before the Immigration Judge. 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.... Read More

Some information is missing from your post, and some might be inaccurate. Expiration of your F-1 visa does not mean you have to go back to your country: once admitted on an F-1 visa, you remain in F-1 status so long as you continue to study full-time in an accredited school and do not accept employment without USCIS authorization or violate your status in any other way; you need a new F-1 visa only if you leave the U.S. and want to come back after the expiration of your original visa (in which case you should talk to the people in the international students' office in your school to make sure you have all the necessary paperwork when you leave the U.S.) Your options depend on several facts: 1) how old are you now? 2) are you married? 3) how old were you when you lived with your mother? 4) when did your mother become a U.S. citizen? More questions will likely arise as you start answering the questions I listed. There is a possibility that you do not need a green card because you might already have U.S. citizenship. Considering how wide the inquiry might branch out, a face-to-face consultation with an immigration attorney will likely serve you best.... Read More

You may be able to apply for a visitors visa now and have it approved although, as you are aware, the granting or denial of such visas is in the discretion of the American consular officer. From your fact situation, it does not appear that you did much wrong. You applied and received a student visa, came to the US, immediately realized that something was wrong and that you did not fit within the student program of the school, and immediately left the country. You also appear to have good ties to your home country such as family and job. No one can ever guarantee that someone will or will not obtain a visitor's visa, but you should perhaps try.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 is, of course, your right to decide where to give birth to your child. If you expect not to return to the U.S. for over a year, you should consider taking steps to preserve your permanent resident status here (applying for an advance parole is one of such steps but, alone, might not suffice; discussing the issue on an open forum would be unwise, it should be done in your immigration attorney's office) Another matter is the consequences of your decision for your child: if born in the U.S., he/she will be a U.S. citizen by the dint of birth on the U.S. soil - and a citizen of Canada because of your Canadian citizenship. If, however, you give birth in Canada, your child would have only the Canadian citizenship. You would have to file an immigrant petition to obtain a green card for your daughter or son, and take care to not lose it if your child would be spending extended time outside of the U.S. If you become a U.S. citizen sometime before the child's 18th birthday, and if all the conditions will be met, the child will become a U.S. citizen simultaneously with you; otherwise, he/she would have have an option of filing for a naturalization after reaching 21 years of age (and accumulating the requisite 5 years of uninterrupted physical presence in the U.S.)... Read More

An immigrant visa is one that would make you a law permanent resident (i.e. a green card holder). A visitor visa is a nonimmigrant visa. It appears you adjusted your status in the U.S. You can read more about deriving citizenship at http://myattorneyusa.com/deriving-citizenship-through-parents-after-birth.... Read More

You can file petitions for your daughters. The problem is that filing of a petition does not extend their visas and does not give your daughters the right to remain in the U.S. while they wait for the green cards. If your daughters are under 21 years of age and not married, their green cards will become available in 22 months (it will take a couple of months more to actually receive them); if they are over 21 and not married, the wait time is 6.5 years (unless they are citizens of the Philippines (wait time - 10.5 years) or Mexico (wait time - 21 years). If your daughters stay in the U.S. after their visa status expires, they will not receive green cards at the end of the waiting period: they will be required to leave the U.S. for 10 years. If there is a reason why they cannot go back to their country, you need to speak about it with an immigration attorney. There is also another reason for a consultation: depending on the details of your case, it might be possible to avoid the petition process altogether and obtain green cards for your daughters in a few months, possibly, without the need for them to go back home.... Read More

The code on your green card indicates to the Immigration Service how did you become a permanent resident; it has some utility in the agency's statistics and processing paperwork. But your rights and duties as a permanent resident are the same regardless of the category in which you are classified (with very few exceptions which are of no importance in this case). One of the rights you have as a permanent resident is the right to be work for any employer who would hire you; you do not need an extra document, like an employment authorization card, in order to accept employment or to obtain a Social Security number.... Read More

Unfortunately, you cannot benefit from a marriage to an H1B visa holder: to change your legal status in the U.S. you need to have a status; yours ended about 10 years ago. At this time, the law makes you ineligible for any status in the U.S. until you return to your country for 10 years. One exception from this rule can be granted if you marry a U.S. citizen. Other exceptions exist but they all require petitions by your U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse, parent, or child, and are very difficult to obtain.... Read More

You can get a divorce in the U.S., and, most likely, can obtain permanent resident status here without the need to leave the U.S. Neither of these tasks should be attempted without professional assistance, so you really should find an attorney. If you cannot afford one, call the local bar association and ask for a referral to an attorney who would take your case on a reduced fee basis or without a fee. It would be best to give this matter a high priority as the longer you and your children remain in the U.S. without any legal status, the more problems can accumulate with your case.... Read More

You could apply for naturalization now (3 months prior to the 3rd anniversary of your first green card) if you *continued to live together* with your U.S. citizen spouse. Since you have separated for over 6 months, the privilege of early filing is not available to you, and you have to wait another 2 years before filing for naturalization.... Read More

You might want to submit the documents showing the change of your name to the U.S. immigration authorities now. In any event, when you go to the immigration visa interview at the U.S. Embassy, bring with you the original documents showing the change of your name, a set of certified copies, and, if the documents are not in English, a certified English translation of each document.... Read More

Generally, the process is rather straightforward: after receiving a Certificate of Marriage, you fill out several forms (I-130, I-485, G-325, I-864, I-765, I-131) and send them to USCIS. The forms and the instructions are posted at uscis.gov/forms. If your paperwork is done right, in a couple of weeks you receive a Notice acknowledging submission of the forms; a bit later - an invitation to the fingerprinting center; and, in a couple of months - a summons to an interview at 26 Federal Plaza. If you pass the interview, your wife would get a temporary green card, good for 2 years. If you marriage survives for 1.5 years, you will file papers asking the government to give your wife a 10-year green card and to remove the condition tying her status of U.S. permanent resident to continued validity of your marriage (after that, she can divorce you and still keep her green card). 3 years after becoming a permanent resident, she will be able to apply for U.S. citizenship (but, if she divorces you, she will have to wait 2 years longer before applying for citizenship). In your case, there is wrinkle. When your fiancee enters the U.S., she will be asked to state the purpose of her visit. If she comes on a tourist visa or a visa waiver (available to her as to a citizen of Ireland), she must state that she has no intention of immigrating to the U.S. Should she admit that she comes to get married and later apply for a green card, the immigration inspector must turn her around and send her back to Ireland. If she lies and gains entry, when you file the immigrant petition and the application for a green card, USCIS will say that she entered the U.S. under false pretenses, i.e. committed a visa fraud. It might make sense to apply for a fiancee visa, K-1. The process is simple; the form and instructions are at uscis.gov. It costs $340 to file; and USCIS will take 5-6 months to process it. If you have reasons not to follow the K-1 visa procedure, talk to an immigration attorney about the alternative solutions.... Read More