Virginia Immigration Legal Questions

The present expedite criteria of USCIS are – severe financial loss to a company or person; emergencies and urgent humanitarian reasons; US government interests; and clear USCIS error. Whether USCIS will consider the situation to be sufficiently within emergent or urgent humanitarian reasons is up to the agency. You can try and see what happens. I note that the Vermont Service Center of USCIS is processing K-1 petitions between 8-10.5 months and that your case is currently pending eight months. If by some chance your case is at the California Service Center (the only other center processing K-1 petitions), the processing time is 6-8 months. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee & Arthur Lee, Esqs.’ (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

OK so there's millions of people all over the world that want to get into the United States, and everybody has to wait their turn. The only time an expedited Request will be granted is if it's based on a family or medical emergency, like an illness or an upcoming funeral. Otherwise no family cases can be fast tracked. ... Read Answer

You should read the instructions on the I-130 petition for alien relative which your wife will have to file for you and the I-485 adjustment of status application that you will fill out. The forms and instructions are all online at the USCIS website, USCIS.gov. Generally, you and your wife would file the forms concurrently. You can also file with forms I-131 for travel outside the US and I-765 for employment authorization. Your wife will also have to fill out the financial sponsorship form, form I-864. The I-485 supplement is not required in your case. A medical examination on form I-693 can be taken now or presented to USCIS at the time of interview. Good luck! Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee & Arthur Lee, Esqs.’ (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

For the month of August 2021, the visa availability date for the F-4 category of US citizens filing for their siblings is up to March 1, 2007 for people from Singapore. Although visa chart time does not match calendar time, a guesstimate would be six years or so of waiting. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee & Arthur Lee, Esqs.’ (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 question is too general to be answered without knowing your qualifications and/or any connections that you may have with companies and individuals in the US. However, let me shortly describe for you the H-1B process. Most H-1B petitions begin with the employer registration process in March to winnow the number of selected companies/individuals that can file petitions. These are the petitions that are capped in number. Most petitions from this group are filed from April-June and the earliest working day for approved petitions is October 1. Non-capped petitions filed by higher educational institutions among others can be filed at any time during the year. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee & Arthur Lee, Esqs.’ (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

It depends on the reason for the §217 refusal. If you can explain or refute the ground for refusal, you can attempt to obtain a visa at the American consulate or embassy. Otherwise, you may wish to wait for a while to establish your nonimmigrant intent and home ties in your present country of residence before approaching the American consulate or embassy for a visa. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee & Arthur Lee, Esqs.’ (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 sponsor is under a legal duty to reimburse the government if the foreign national, who he sponsored, receives public benefits. Thats the general rule but there are exceptions that are too numerous to mention here. If she is not accepting any public benefits, then you dont have anything to worry about. ... Read Answer

Sponsoring your parents puts them in the immediate relative category which does not have dependents. Therefore, they would have to immigrate before one or both begins the sponsorship for their son. They would have to show their income to apply for him, but could also use the income of a household member or joint sponsor. Assuming that your parents immigrate, and during the time of their filing for their son, there is open visa availability before your brother turns 21, the waiting time would be approximately 1-2 years. If the visa category (F-2A) date is not available for your brother until after the age of 21 (even counting the adjustment on age afforded by the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA)), his case would fall into the F-2B category for adult children of permanent residents, which currently has a 5 ½ year backlog.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 laws only have a number of categories for family-based cases, and they do not encompass a 16-year-old nephew. If you believe that he is a promising student, perhaps you could attempt to sponsor him under an F-1 visa to study in the States. The decision whether to issue him the visa would be in the discretion of the American consulate or embassy officer who interviews him. 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 mother will be able to apply for an SSN if she applies for an I-765 employment authorization application, has it approved, and then makes the SSN application. She is eligible to file for the I-765 as she has already filed the I-485 application. I have not heard that anyone is able to obtain an SSN based on an I-130 approval alone. Your mother’s pending B-2 extension makes no difference. Even persons in valid B-2 status are not allowed SSN’s. 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 will assume for purposes of your question that you are a US citizen in applying for your mother. Your sister unfortunately falls within another category than your mother, and probably the best thing is for your mother to immigrate, and then she can immediately sponsor your sister. Given the favorable quota situation presently, there is the possibility that your sister may be able to immigrate in the year after your mother enters the US. 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

OK so unfortunately there's no quick way for you to sponsor your girlfriend and your Daughter to be able to lawfully be admitted into the United States. What you're going to have to do is get married, and then sponsor your wife and your daughter for green cards at the US consulate in Mexico. This is a year long plus process, and it's even slower now because of the COVID-19 virus. The other issue in your case is you have a Mexican domicile. In order for you to sponsor your daughter and your Wife to obtain green cards, at some point during the process, you are going to have to convince the US consulate that you have taken significant steps to establish a US domocile. ... Read Answer

I assume that you received a notice of termination from the Department of State’s National Visa Center. This is a procedure by the Department to clean out cases in which people do not move forward with consular processing. If your husband was already adjusted to permanent residence by USCIS, the termination by the Department of State will have no effect upon the validity of his 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

Our standard advice to individuals in removal proceedings is to obtain good legal representation by an immigration lawyer. In looking at your facts, your offenses appear to be fairly minor and barring further incidents, the focus of the immigration court will likely be upon the bona fide character of your marriage to a US citizen. You and your spouse should work together to collect and save all evidence that would prove a bona fide marriage such as proof of any children born to you both, tax returns, lease or deed with rent receipts or mortgage statements, utility bills, credit card bills, life, health, auto insurance, 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 Answer

If your father held US citizenship or lawful permanent resident status and was petitioning for you before passing away, the petition might still be able to live on if approved and the executor of his estate filed a request to have the case continued for humanitarian reasons. Since this is a website dedicated to answering immigration questions, we would not be able to answer any other questions pertaining to other types of benefits that you might be able to receive upon your father's passing. 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

While U.S.C.I.S. may or may not be willing to expedite the I-130 petition, it cannot do anything to speed up the visa availability dates. As you applied for your married daughter, your case falls under the F-3 category for married sons and daughters of US citizens. The waiting time is currently approximately 12 years. I sympathize with her situation, but the US government does not give immigration benefits to those claiming domestic violence and abuse when they are outside the United States.  Approval of the I-130 petition does not bring about interim privileges.  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

Theoretically the actions that you propose to do can be done if you are a US citizen – however, I caution you that the new public charge regulation is in effect, and you would ultimately have to file an I-864 affidavit of support for everyone that you sponsor. You would have to show that you have sufficient income, assets, or resources to support yourself, anyone in your household, and the person that you are sponsoring at 125% of the federal poverty guideline. A joint sponsor would have to do the same, and would have to convince U.S.C.I.S. that he or she was actually willing to give financial 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