Texas Immigration Legal Questions

US citizens who are at least 21 years of age can file relative petitions for their parents. However, because your mother was previously convicted of a crime and was deported, she will need to apply for one or more waivers of inadmissibility with USCIS before she will be eligible for an immigrant visa.... Read More

More information is needed. How old was his stepson when the marriage took place? Are you in the United States or outside the United States? How did you enter the United States? With a visa? I strongly recommend an appointment with a competent, ethical, experienced immigration attorney before there are further complications.... Read More

The petitioner in a marriage case must supply an I-864 binding affidavit of support. That being said, a petitioner who is unable to supply financial assurance is allowed to have a joint sponsor – someone who is willing to take up the financial burden as long as the offer of financial support is credible. Such an individual would normally fill out another I-864 form and supply all of the evidence including job letter, bank letter, pay stubs, tax returns, etc. 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

Where the I-751 is filed jointly in a case like yours, you may be able to obtain approval even under your present circumstances as long as there is no divorce. Otherwise, you are allowed to change the character of the I-751 filing either affirmatively or if you receive a notice for interview from U.S.C.I.S. At that time, you can show all the evidence of his violence and your calling the police and you may be eligible for a waiver under the Violence against Women’s Act. You may also start your own proceedings for divorce and obtain a waiver through having had a bona fide marriage which is now ended. Please note that these are 2 separate waivers and under the second, a divorce is required at the end before the conditional residence can be removed. 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

Assuming you are a US citizen and at least 21 years of age, you may petition for both your sister and mother at the same time. However, your sister will have a longer wait, because she must wait for her priority date to become current before she can get a visa to come to the United States.... Read More

The fact that you are pregnant will be irrelevant to immigration eligibility issues connected with you sponsoring your mother through consular processing to gain U.S. immigration benefits. Once you give birth, however, that will change your "family size" for purposes of determining the sufficiency of your documentable income in sponsoring your mother. If you were to have inadequate documentable income for your family size to meet the legal requirements, then it may be necessary to have a joint sponsor for your mother's case. Of course, there are many other details that have an impact upon eligibility. 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 to attain your goals, and who then could offer legal representation in the often complex application process.... Read More

If your brother is an international student holding valid status as a student, his work under a TPS work permit would be violative of his student status even if authorized by U.S.C.I.S. in my opinion.  He could have another option to perhaps obtain curriculum practical training from the institution to work in his paid internship as you say that it is related to his schooling. I encourage him to discuss the matter with the designated school official (DSO). 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, a U.S. citizen age 21 or older may petition for a parent to obtain immigration benefits in the Immediate Relative visa category. Doing so, however, would not authorize adding a 23-year old brother as a "derivative beneficiary" even if the brother is dependent upon the parent, and so other avenues should be explored for the brother. That might include, as you suggested, having a parent file for your brother after the parent obtains immigration status. It also might include, if applicable, an independent application for the brother based on employment offer from an employer qualified and willing to sponsor him, or an application in the F4 visa category that you could file directly for your brother (but be aware of a very long backlog for visas in that category). It would be wise for you and your parents to consult with an immigration attorney about legal representation in the often quite complex application process to achieve their goals; at that time an immigration attorney also could explore potential eligibilities, options and strategies for your brother.... Read More

It is difficult to know what happens after a tip is submitted to ICE about an illegal immigrant. In the past, many tips were ignored as ICE only had so many staff members and there are 11 million undocumented immigrants. The practice generally in many parts of the country was to go after more egregious situations involving multiple people or criminal violations. Currently the Trump administration is pushing for the expansion of ICE officers and more detention facilities. Once it ramps up its capacity, one can expect that more tips will be given attention. At this time, it is uncertain whether the person you describe will become a target for arrest. If detained, she could be taken to a city/county jail or immigration detention center, whichever has capacity and if the city/county jail has a contract with the federal government. If she has not already been an immigration proceedings, she would be entitled to present whatever case she has in front of an immigration judge. The process could go on for years although the Trump administration has said that it will focus on criminal aliens and your person could become a target if criminal charges are filed against her. On whether there is any way that she could stay in the country, she should seek consultation with an immigration lawyer who can go over all of her individual facts and situations. 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

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. The short answer is that it will depend on why he was deported. Was he here illegally? Did he overstay his visa? Does he have a criminal history, and if so, what was he convicted of ? Since we do not have all the facts, it is impossible to give a meaningful answers. 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 husband's situation.... Read More

The naturalization application process requires each applicant to reveal all instances in which he/she was cited (or arrested or detained) by any enforcement officer for any reason. While some very minor offenses may have no consequences for naturalization eligibility, failure to identify them can form a basis for denial of a naturalization application. Appropriate certified copies of disposition documents should be supplied to the USCIS for each offense (and where no such documents still exist, as may be the case for a non-felony matter 12 years ago, an originally signed letter from the appropriate court representative explaining that no record exists and explaining why that is true, should be supplied). The naturalization application process often can be significantly more complex than it appears just from reading the Form N-400 and its instructions, and reading the statute and published regulations. Especially when an applicant has some "blemishes" on his/her record, it would be wise to work with an immigration attorney.... Read More