Texas Immigration Legal Questions

Your wife would know by early June whether she has been selected in the H-1B lottery. Since her STEM OPT is expiring in August, that would give her plenty of time to apply for H-4 status before the OPT expires. I do note that the Trump administration is attempting to undo the right to EAD for certain H-4 individuals, and hopefully such would still be available at the time of your wife’s application. Under the circumstances, I do not see a problem with the last action rule. 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

With the N-400 application for naturalization, your husband must put down the information concerning his arrest and the disposition. Since the case was dismissed, it should not have an effect on the naturalization application unless your husband admits that he committed the crime.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

Yes, he is married to you so I-130 qualifies for your spouse. However, you might want to consider Citizenship before you petition for your spouse. Green Card petitions can take up to two to three years. Citizen petitioning takes a little around 12 to 14 months. We are based in New York but we do provide services in your state, as well as have monthly payment plans available. Above answer and comments to questions are for general purposes only. Feel free to call 1-877-866-8665 Ahsan Syed, Case Manager. ... Read Answer

Answer yes if you got your Green Card by getting married to a permanent resident or citizen, otherwise the answer is NO. Because you are a Spouse of an alien classified as Professional holding an advanced degree or of exceptional ability. Above answer and comments to questions are for general purposes only. Feel free to call 1-877-866-8665 Ahsan Syed, Case Manager. ... Read Answer

At the age of 18, you would be free to marry without parental consent in any state. Your boyfriend's having a social security number and having been a Dreamer does not necessarily mean that he can adjust status in the US through your sponsorship. That would depend upon whether he entered the country by being inspected and admitted or paroled at the point of entry. If not, he would have to go through consular processing which at the very least consists of your filing an I-130 relative petition for him, having it approved, and him initiating consular processing to interview for an immigrant visa in his home country.  DACA prevents the accrual of unlawful presence, but persons whose DACA statuses expired begin to accrue it after reaching the age of 18. The consequence is that 180 days of unlawful presence bars an alien for three years and one year of unlawful presence bars him/her for 10 years if he/she has to leave the country. If your boyfriend has already accrued those periods of unlawful presence, you might still be able to fix his papers, but would likely have to go through much more effort and risk in that he would have to go through the I-601A program to immigrate. That involves your filing an I-130 relative petition for him, having that approved, and him filing for an I-601A application for waiver of the 3/10 year bar for being in the country illegally for either of those time periods past the age of 18. The waiver is based upon showing that you would suffer extreme hardship if he had to return home and could not come back. He would wait for the result here and if approved would set up a consular interview in his own country for an immigrant visa. Assuming that he has no other immigration problems, the interview would most likely be normal and he likely would return to the US within 1-2 months. 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

To apply for an L-2 employment authorization in your circumstance in which the L-1 and L-2 extensions are pending, you would fill out the employment authorization form, I-765, and attach copies of the two receipts, proof of your marriage, and a photo ID. For further information, you can go to the U.S.C.I.S. website for forms at www.uscis.gov/forms. 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 your wife's H-4 visa status is expired and she is still waiting for the H-1B which was filed on her behalf, she would not be considered out of status as long as the H-4 extended until September 30 if your wife is applying for a cap H-1B. Your wife can file for an H-4 extension even after the date is expired, but it will be up to U.S.C.I.S. as to whether it will approve a late extension. As your I-140 petition is already approved, you can think of your wife filing an H-4 EAD, but should be aware that U.S.C.I.S. is reportedly looking to rescind the rule that allows H-4 employment. If you and your wife do decide to go that route, your wife can file for extension and EAD at the same time. If your wife obtains the H-4 EAD before her H-1B is approved and the H-1B is later approved, the H-1B would be valid and supersede the H-4. 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 is what are your equities and the type of crime for which you are serving a felony sentence. If you wish to know if you can avoid deportation, you should have a friend or relative take your entire criminal file to an immigration lawyer for an assessment of your chances. 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 the circumstances that you described, it is difficult for me to see that your husband would ever come back to the United States legally. A crime involving manufacturing and delivery of drugs (I assume that it is drugs) and a sentence of 10 years is an aggravated felony. 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

Yes if your boyfriend exits the USA he then will become subject to either a 3 or 10 year bar depending upon how much unlawful presence he has accumulated. To get around that he would have to file a waiver and proof of extreme hardship would need to be shown. Your best and safest bet is to relocate to the USA and process his paperwork here. My advice is to retain counsel to pursue the safest strategy for success. Every case is unique and every case must be delicately handled to assure the best chance of success.... Read Answer

A person can be charged with many crimes, but the determining factor is what he was convicted of or pleaded guilty to. If it was for having 2 g of coke, and if the problem was discovered at the time of inspection coming back to the United States, there would certainly be an issue. He would likely be placed in removal proceedings in which an immigration judge would ultimately make the decision as to whether he could keep the 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

US immigration law allows a waiver for permanent residents who are convicted of a possession  offense of 30 or less grams of marijuana. If there is no other charge against him, he should be okay. 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 already received your US citizenship, it cannot be taken away absent material fraud or misrepresentation in having obtained it. It certainly cannot be taken away for a  condition which arises following the grant. 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 the case of your undocumented employee, she would chiefly be sponsored by her daughter, and I assume that you would act as the financial cosponsor. Such sponsorship would be through your filling out an I-864 affidavit of support form. Under the law, such a sponsor is responsible for providing financial support for up to 125% of the poverty guidelines, and your assets can be deemed hers if she makes application for means tested benefits from a local, state, or federal government. The obligation lasts until the alien has acquired 40 quarters of work, becomes a US citizen, passes away, or leaves the US permanently. Insofar as your liability as an employer is concerned, a driver's license is not sufficient documentation to hire someone in the US. That plus a Social Security card without a limiting date would be sufficient, however, for employment. But even if that was the case, it appears that you were made aware of her illegality a year ago when she informed you that her license was expired. You might be liable for fines, although it is questionable that DHS would be interested in going after you. However, in these days of Trump, there are no guarantees.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

This may turn out to be a difficult situation in two instances – where she adjusted status to permanent residence in the US since the illegal entry would in most cases prevent an individual from adjusting status, and in the second case if this was a second illegal entry. In that case, DHS may see the green card as invalid as having been given in error. As your wife has a prima facie permanent residence card, the chances are that she will ultimately be released and given a date to appear before an immigration court.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

Generally, failure to register for Selective Service because an applicant was unaware of the requirement will not stand in the way of eligibility for naturalization. Information about Selective Service registration must be answered accurately on the naturalization petition; a letter from the Selective Service showing that you now are too old to register should be supplied to the USCIS; and you should be prepared to explain that the failure to comply with your legal obligation to register was due to not knowing of the requirement rather than due to a willing refusal to comply with the law or due to a lack of good moral character. These are just some of the details of importance in the naturalization application process; it would be wise for you to work with an immigration attorney to assure eligibility and to assure proper completion and supply of full supporting documentation in the application process.... Read Answer