Virginia Immigration Legal Questions

You may marry. Once married, you could file an immigrant visa petition on behalf of your spouse. However, this visa will not give your husband the right to remain in the country. The process of obtaining lawful permanent residence through a green card holder takes approximately 18-24 months.  He could potentially change his status to another nonimmigrant visa such as a student visa. However, there is not enough information to determine what options may be available.  The steps that need to be taken will depend upon how you choose to proceed. You and your boyfriend would benefit from a consultation to discuss the process and options available. In the interim, you can read more about family immigration at http://myattorneyusa.com/family-immigration.... Read More

Are you referring to immigration paperwork or paperwork needed to get married? If you are referring to immigration paperwork, you can only start the process once married. It is a two-step process. You will first need to file an immigrant visa petition on his behalf. Once the petition is approved, your spouse will apply for an immigrant visa. You can read more about family immigration at http://myattorneyusa.com/family-immigration. If, however, you need assistance with paperwork to marry, you should contact the Dominican Republic's consulate.... Read More

If you are deep in the process of permanent residence and have filed an I-485 application for adjustment of status, the employer can only revoke the I-140 approval before 180 days. You could make an agreement with the company not to revoke the approval. Otherwise the most that you would be able to keep under current law is the priority date of the I-140 petition provided that it was approved.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

First, you need to follow up on your appeal. You can contact the clerk's office at the Board of Immigrations Appeals. Second, depending upon the status of the appeal, you will either need to file a motion to remand or a motion to reopen. The goal is to get your immigration case back before the immigration judge so he/she can adjudicate your Form I-485. I encourage you to work with an attorney. In the interim, you can read more at http://myattorneyusa.com/removal-and-deportation-defense.... Read More

1. This is solely up to you and your fiancé. You could marry and file now or complete your studies and marry. 2. You could travel with advance parole. Advance parole can be requested as part of the adjustment of status process. If granted, you could travel outside the United States.  You can read more about adjustment of status at http://myattorneyusa.com/adjustment-of-immigration-status.... Read More

Your nephew has to apply for the visa. You cannot file a petition on his behalf so he can study English in the United States. Your nephew will need to apply for a student visa by submitting a DS-160 and appearing for an interview. He will need a valid I-20 from an authorized school. The program at your church may not be qualified to issue I-20s. He may have to attend ESL classes at the community college. You can read more about student visas at http://myattorneyusa.com/student-visas.... Read More

You can certainly file a petition for your wife but you risk losing your green card, because you committed material misrepresentation. You failed to disclose your marriage even though the visa application specifically asks. You did so because you knew you would otherwise be ineligible for a visa. This is material misrepresentation. You face very serious consequences including loss of your residence, removal proceedings, and permanent bar to admission. You can read more about the consequences of material misrepresentation at http://myattorneyusa.com/waivers-for-fraud-or-willful-misrepresentation-of-a-material-fact-to-obtain-an-immigration-benefit.... Read More

I understand you want to bring your stepfather back as quickly as possible but more information is needed to determine if he is eligible to return. Not every person who is deported is eligible to return. Individuals who are eligible to return typically require an immigrant visa petition to be approved as well as an application for permission to reapply for admission and waiver. This is a complicated case. You should at the very least consult an attorney. You will need to know as much as possible about your stepfather's immigration and criminal histories. You can read more about hardship at http://myattorneyusa.com/extreme-hardship.... Read More

To file a fiancé visa petition, you must demonstrate you have met in the past two years. There is a limited exception if you can establish hardship or cultural/social rules against meeting before marriage. Obtaining an exception is extremely difficult. You can read more about fiancé visa petitions at http://myattorneyusa.com/k-1-and-k-2-visas-for-fiancees-and-derivatives.... Read More

Assuming you had a green card valid for ten years, you should not have any issues. Your green card should be renewed without issue. However, if you were a conditional resident with a green card valid for two years only, you could face issues removing the conditions on your residence. Technically, your residence expires upon failing to file a petition to remove conditions prior to the expiration of your green card. You can read more about conditional residence at http://myattorneyusa.com/removing-conditions-on-permanent-resident-status-derived-from-marriage.... Read More

This question is best posed to your employer's immigration attorney. If your employer does not have an attorney, schedule a consultation with an attorney where he/she can review the case related materials. This attorney has all the relevant information to advise you. In the interim, you can read more about work visas at http://myattorneyusa.com/work-visas.... Read More

The first step is for your husband to become a lawful permanent resident. He can only become a United Sttaes citizen after he has been a lawful permanent resident for either 3 or 5 years. More information is needed about your husband's immigration history to ascertain how to best proceed. First and foremost, any attorney would need to know how your husband entered the country and whether he was ever in deportation/removal proceedings. His manner of entry will dictate how he will proceed to obtain lawful permanent residence. You can read more information about family immigration at http://myattorneyusa.com/family-immigration. You can use the Find A Layer feature on this site to find an attorney in your area. ... Read More

Attorneys on this site cannot directly solicit business. You can use this site's Find A Lawyer option to find immigration attorneys near you. You may have to expand your search to Richmond, VA. You could also contact the Virginia Bar Association for a referral. In the interim, you can find information about family immigration at http://myattorneyusa.com/family-immigration.... Read More

Have you been placed in removal proceedings? It is not clear whether you were served with a Notice to Appear yet. I understand you do not have a court date. If you received a Notice to Appear, you may obtain a stamp in your passport that serves as temporary evidence of lawful permanent residence. You are eligible for this stamp as you remain a resident until a final order by an immigration judge. ifcyou have not been placed in removal proceedings, you may want to consider re-filing the Form I-651 with more documentation. You may be able to submit sufficiebt evidence to overcome the deficiency in your prior filing. You can read more about conditional residence at http://myattorneyusa.com/removing-conditions-on-permanent-resident-status-derived-from-marriage. Or if still married, you and your spouse could through the adjustment of status process again.... Read More

The answer will depend upon how you entered the United States. The forms that must be filed will vary depending upon whether you are eligible to seek adjustment of status or need to obtain an immigrant visa through consular processing. Additional work may be needed if you were ever in deportation removal proceedings. You can read more about adjustment of status at http://myattorneyusa.com/adjustment-of-immigration-status. You can also read about consular processing at http://myattorneyusa.com/family-immigration.... Read More

It could be an issue. It would depend upon how you obtained originally obtained status in this country. It will also depend upon what actions you must take to reacquire citizenship to your country of birth. You can read more about dual citizenship at http://myattorneyusa.com/adjustment-of-immigration-status. ... Read More

If your girlfriend's case was denied, she would not be considered legal since she has no other nonimmigrant legal status in the US. She should do what she is doing at this time, which is to try to obtain a copy of the decision. It is only at that time that she would have an idea as to the reason for the denial and whether she could contest it through a motion to reopen or reconsider. Although there are technically 30 days to file a motion after denial, U.S.C.I.S. would likely entertain a late motion where your girlfriend never received the decision previously and made reasonably diligent efforts to obtain the denial after learning that her application was denied. I do note that persons who have changes of status denied and who have no other legal status can incur a three-year bar upon return if they remain in the US for 180 days or more after the date of the denial. Success on a motion to reopen or reconsider would retroactively make all of the time legal since the time of the denial. A difficulty may be that a decision might not be forthcoming within 180 days on a motion, and your girlfriend may have to make a decision as to whether to stay in the US to continue the motion or leave the country to avoid the three-year bar. Although there may be a number of reasons for which your girlfriend's application was denied, one to consider may be that from your fact situation, there appears to have been a gap between the time of J-1 expiration and the filing of the change of status application. 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

 It will take 4-6 months for the I-130 to be approved. Once approved, you will need to continue with consular processing. This can take several more months. Having an attorney will ensure that the process moves more smoothly and assist in getting your wife here faster. Please contact me if you would like additional assistance.  ... Read More