Virginia Immigration Legal Questions

A USCIS naturalization examiner does not require 100% exact dates. As long as your dates are approximately correct and not an attempt to misrepresent your past record of travel, you should not face any adverse implications on your inaccuracies by him or her. 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 I am not aware of what preference category you are applying under, I cannot tell you how long it would take you to ultimately immigrate. With regard to your aged out son, you could submit an I-130 petition for him under the F-2B category (single son or daughter over the age of 21 and unmarried of lawful permanent resident) when you receive your immigrant visa. There is the possibility that he may be endowed with your priority date dependent upon whether a case now pending before the Supreme Court involving the CSPA goes in your favor. In addition, your son can go the traditional route of taking optional practical training, having an employer sponsor him under H-1B visa status, and that same employer would then apply for his permanent residence, most likely under PERM labor certification processing. 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 are applying for permanent residence and contemplate an interview at an American consulate or embassy, question 41 on DS – 230 should not cause you a problem since your reckless driving would not be considered a crime involving moral turpitude. You should of course give the original or certified copy of the court disposition and, if possible, obtain a copy of the arrest record. 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

A green card option is not availing to this child based on information provided. But a change of his status from B-2 tourist to F-1 student is a possibility. The change must be done before his B-2 expires To get F-1 status, he must enroll at any CIS approved public or private school authorized to accept foreign students. DHS will need proof that you have funds to be responsible for his tuition and other necessaries. If a change of status from B-2 to F-1 is successful, your nephew can remain in the US for several years as he pursues his academic career. Thereafter, if he finds employment with a US company, he then changes from F-1 to any of the appropriate immigrant or nonimmigrant employment based visa categories. Ultimately, he can receive a green card. The experience of a good immigration attorney is necessary to navigate this course... Read Answer

If your husband jumped ship, I assume that he was a crewman, and crewmen are not adjustable in the States unless they have the benefit of section 245(i) which allows most illegal individuals to adjust status in the States so long as they had a labor certification or immigrant visa petition pending on their behalf by April 30, 2001 and were physically present here on December 21, 2000. A good route for your husband to explore the present time is the I-601A waiver under which you would petition for him on form I-130 relative petition, have it approved, and then submit an I-601A waiver to USCS to request forgiveness of his being in this country illegally. He would have to show that you would suffer extreme hardship if the waiver is denied. If that is approved, he would then complete consular processing and go oversea for an immigrant visa interview in his own country. Please note, however, that the I-601A waiver only takes care of the bar against returning incurred by his illegal stay. Other grounds of the inadmissibility such as crimes, fraud, drugs, etc. are not covered. 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

I assume you are asking the question in the context of an application for citizenship.  The continuous residence requirement is counted backwards for five years.  In the last five years as a permanent resident, you cannot have been gone for more than one year in total.  Absences of an accrued period of six months or more during that same period will require you to prove that you did not intent to abandon your permanent resident status.  Your medical condition can help you explain a lengthy absence.... Read Answer

If you pleaded guilty to or were convicted of three marijuana offenses, you would not be approved for adjustment of status to permanent residence even if married to a US citizen with two US citizen children. The law allows for forgiveness if an offense only involves 30 g of marijuana or less for one’s own use, but that only applies to one incident, not multiple ones. 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 won't be able to work for the company right now.  Also, to qualify for a work visa (an H1B visa), the position the company wants to hire you for must require the degree you are currently seeking.  H1B visas are numerically limited each year, so you wouldn't be able to apply until the April after you have obtained your degree (April 1st is when the numbers become available for the year).... Read Answer

This question pertains to whether you were ever arrested, received a citation for an infraction or misdemeanor which you committed or were detained by the police or other government agency. If you were only a victim of a crime or domestic violence and never personally arrested, then you would answer no.... Read Answer

Here is the rule:  9 FAM 41.62 N8.5 Multiple or Consecutive Exchange Programs (CT:VISA-1806; 02-16-2012) An exchange visitor may participate in multiple or consecutive exchange programs unless otherwise limited or prohibited by the Exchange Visitor Regulations (see 22 CFR 41.63). Under no circumstances, however, should a consular officer issue an individual two separate J-1 visas for two different programs that will run back-to-back or simultaneously (i.e., Au Pair then Trainee; or Summer Work Travel then College University Student). I could find no reference in the regulation to the 3 months your program is referencing, but they obviously will control the process in any case.... Read Answer

I will assume that you were the principal in the immigration case and not your wife. If you are the dependent, your wife could continue the case and you could eventually immigrate as for dependent. You have not revealed what type of immigrant petition was filed on your behalf in 2007, but I will also assume that it was employment-based as there is a backlog that would have prevented your immediate adjustment of status although it would have allowed you under a glitch at the time to file form I-485 in the summer of 2007. You unfortunately cannot reinstate your status as you abandoned the I-485 application by staying out past the date of the advance parole. Entry under your B-1/B2 visa where you have an intention to permanently remain in the States would be considered a misrepresentation. In addition, it does not reverse abandonment of the I-485 application. If you do have an employment based case and if the employer is still willing to continue the sponsorship, the petitioner can request USCIS to send the approved I-140 petition for consular processing and you could be interviewed and approved for an immigrant visa when your priority date becomes current. If your employer will no longer continue your application for immigration because of your abandonment of the job or for other reason, you may be able at some point to have another US employer sponsor you for the green card. The new employer would have to go through labor certification processing, but if you were previously approved for an I-140 petition, you would be entitled to request your 2007 priority date for your new case. If you are eligible for H-1B sponsorship, that is probably the best route to come back to the States. I do note, however, that sponsorship requires a qualified employer, that the H-1B season will begin on April 1, and will likely last only a few days before the H-1B Is exhausted. However, that being said, legislation that will be introduced into Congress very shortly proposes to almost double the amount of the H-1B quota. 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

She has to be a permanent resident (green card holder) for 5 years before she qualifies for citizenship. Of those 5 years, she has to be physically present in the US for at least 2.5 years in order to qualify. If she only stays in the US for 1 month per year, she will lose her status as a green card holder because that is not evidence of permanent residence in the US.... Read Answer

Your mother will have a five year (four year, 9 month, technically) wait to apply for citizenship after being granted permanent resident status. However, there are rules regarding physical presence prior to applying for naturalization. She may file a Reentry Permit before she begins extensive travel time outside the US, but you are going to want to fully review her plans with an immigration attorney.... Read Answer

He is inadmissible because of the deportation.  The period of his inadmissability depends on the removal allegations.  He may be eligible for a waiver of the ground of inadmissibilican if he can show extreme hardship to a US citizen spouse or child.  It is not a simple matter of you marrying him and bringing him back.... Read Answer

You do not state it, but I assume that your husband is a US Citizen. If so, he will file the form I-130 with USCIS (http://www.uscis.gov/i-130). UPon approval, the case will be sent to the National Visa Center, where you will pay another fee and submit some documents. Information about that process is available here: http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/nvc/nvc_1335.html... Read Answer

For the month of January 2013, the F-2A category for spouses and children of permanent residents is available for petitions filed before September 22, 2010, worldwide except for those born in Mexico (which is backed up to 9/1/10). A guesstimate is that the time to become current will be between 2 – 3 years. During that time, the best advice for your wife would be to remain in the States. F-1 visa status is based upon nonimmigrant intent, and an indication that she is married to a permanent resident who has petitioned for her green card may cause problems with visa renewal or even reentry into the U. S. at a port of entry. 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