Virginia Immigration Legal Questions

Hello. I can certainly assist you with your immigration matter. I have nine years experience as an immigration attorney and five years experience as an immigration officer.  My services are affordable and I offer payment plans. Please contact me for a free consultation. I look forward to assisting you.... Read Answer

The fastest way is for you to petition for your step daughter as long as she was under 18 years of age when you and her father legally married. Depending upon the US consulate the process can take 10-16 months. Costs vary with every client but my firm does offer payment plans.  We have clients throughout the United States and will be happy to assist with your immigration matter. Please contact my office for a free initial consultation. 915-219-4070 Thank you. Samuel J. Zermeno, Esq.... Read Answer

Applications for employment authorization take at least 90 days to process. If it has not yet been 90 days since you filed there is nothing you can do to speed up the process whether you have an attorney or not. If, however, it has been more than 90 days since you filed you can push USCIS to make a decision. You should attend an infopass appointment at the local field office. You can find pro bono legal providers in your area at http://www.justice.gov/eoir/list-pro--legal-service-providers-map.... Read Answer

The question is whether your J-1 visa is bound by a two-year foreign residence requirement. If so, you would either have to satisfy it or waive it before you could apply for an adjustment of status to permanent residence. I assume that your J-1 stay expires in 2016 (instead of 2015 as you have stated in your facts) and that your grace period allows you to remain until February 9, 2016. I suggest that if you are not subject to the two-year requirement, you and your husband can begin the process and you can file adjustment of status papers to the Chicago lockbox of U.S.C.I.S. If you are still subject to the two-year requirement, you would hold off on the adjustment of status paperwork until you have cleared yourself of it. I note that an individual who has been inspected and admitted and who is now out of status is still allowed to adjust status to permanent residence if married to a US citizen as long as otherwise qualified.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 may want to try and pay the bills in advance of any future trips to the Unitrd States. I have been contacted by individuals who were denied entry due to unpaid hospital bills. You can contact the hospital regarding payment and have them send proof of payment to you. I would carry this proof of payment when traveling to the country. ... Read Answer

Since you have had your green card since 2008, you do not have to inform immigration of your divorce and remarriage. Such should not affect your green card 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 Answer

Yes, you can file for him, but his greencard will take about 18 to 20 years and he cannot be here out of status awaiting it. Your parents may petition for him once they are greencard holders, again it's about 8 years. For your brother I would recommend and urge him to consult with and hire an immigration lawyer to assist him with his case. The lawyer  will be able to debrief and brief him, analyze, assess and evaluate his case in order to maximize the possibilities for an alternative and successful result.  ... Read Answer

 In order to apply for citizenship in the United States, the applicant must be a green card holder for a period of five years. if the applicant is married to a US citizen, they only need to be a green card holder for 3 years. Depending on the amount of time you have spent out of the country due to your job, you may be required to provide additional evidence with your application to prove that you have not abandoned your residency while away on work.  ... Read Answer

An I-129F petition, your affidavit detailing how the relationship grew, proof that you've actually met, photos, your passport showing visits(s) to Jamaica. Takes about 6 months. I would urge you to consult with and hire an immigration lawyer to assist you with this case. Not because I think you’re not capable of handling it, you may will be, but in order for the lawyer to debrief and brief you, analyze, assess and evaluate your case in order to maximize the possibilities for a successful result.  ... Read Answer

You can go to the interview if you have already filed the application with U.S.C.I.S. If you have never received a green card and are presently applying for it on form I-485, you could explain the situation to the officer and present all the proof that you have of the abuse and bona fide marriage. The officer could conceivably make a decision based upon the evidence if he or she is convinced that you have had a bona fide marriage and of the reason for which your husband will not come to the interview. If you already have a conditional green card and are attempting to remove its conditional basis through the filing of form I-751, an immigration officer has the authority to change the basis of the application from a joint filing to one in which you entered into a bona fide marriage but it has been dissolved through divorce. In such case, you would have to ultimately divorce your husband. The immigration officer would most likely give you time in which to do it. If you have proof of the abuse, you could in the first situation file form I-360 as a battered or abused spouse.  In the second situation, your I-751 basis could also be changed to that of an abused spouse.  In either the 1st or 2d situation, you would bring along documentation of bona fide marriage and of the abuse such as reports and affidavits from police, judges and other court officials, medical personnel, school officials, clergy, social workers, and other social service agency personnel. 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 best option will depend upon what was the reason for denial. If you are missing documents, you might attempt to retrieve whatever documents are necessary and refile. If the reason involves a question of law or mistake of fact by U.S.C.I.S., you might consider appealing the denial. 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

Since you appear to have sent in your STEM OPT application on time and are only responding to an RFE to which you can respond by November 24, it would not appear that you have to worry about an I-20 having 30 days validity. You also do not have to use the reply envelope of U.S.C.I.S., and can use your own envelope. On most occasions when we have RFE responses, we do not use the envelope that comes with the RFE. 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 will not be able to obtain a fiancé visa until you either complete the two-year home residency requirenent or the requirement is waived. The fiancé visa process is two-step. The first step requires your United States citizen fiancé to file a petition with USCIS. The second step requires you to apply for the actual visa. Given current processing times, your fiancé may be able to start the process for you now. I encourage you to work with an experienced immigration attorney as obtaining a fiancé visa is not simple. You can read more about the process at http://myattorneyusa.com/immigration-law-and-practice/immigration-to-the-usa/family-immigration.... Read Answer

To be eligible for benefits under INA 245(i) you must meet all criteria. It is your burden to price eligiblity. You cannot rely on USCIS to track down whether you are eligible or not. You may be able to obtain old records from either USCIS or the Department of State. It will depend upon what information you have about the case. If you were a derivative beneficiary, you at need to request records related to the principal beneficiary.  There are no set attorneys' fees. An attorney is free to set his/her own rates. Rates vary depending upon location, experience of the attorney, and complexity of the case. Given it is not clear exactly how you are seeking adjustment of status, it is hard to give even a rough estimate. I would encourage you to speak directly to a few attorneys.... Read Answer

In your fact situation of your non-citizen spouse abandoning you multiple times over 9 years of marriage and returning to you for financial reasons, I doubt that the Department of Homeland Security would be interested in your case as you have already had a nine-year relationship with your spouse. I cannot tell you whether your situation would be a basis for annulment as I handle immigration law exclusively. 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

It is difficult to know the reason for which your case is being held up. I suggest that if you have only been following your case on the U.S.C.I.S. website, you should schedule an infopass with the field office to see what is happening with your case. I note that under the rules, a naturalization applicant should file for replacement green card unless the green card will be valid for six months past the date of filing the naturalization application. However, enforcement of this rule varies from immigration office to immigration office. 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