Washington Immigration Legal Questions

 In the eyes of Immigration, you are employed even if you are just self-employed, and your wife should mark  the application "yes", and just say self-employed, or put down the name of the company at  your home address. 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

In the situation that you describe for your friend, gender bias and mistreatment/abuse might not be enough for asylum status at this time for a person from Bangladesh. There might be another result for a person claiming such from a country like Saudi Arabia from which there are widespread reports in major newspapers of government officials being complicit in abducting women who try to escape the country and subjecting them to punishment upon return. Your friend should perhaps try to obtain the green card through other means, e.g. employment, marriage.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 difficulty in your fiancé's case is that by coming to the US illegally after being deported, he has incurred the permanent bar under which a waiver is only available after 10 years and only with the permission of U.S.C.I.S.  He would likely only be able to gain relief if he was able to prove that the deportation was unlawful. This is unfortunately the state of the law these days.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 you are removed even while under a temporary stay of removal, you would be deemed inadmissible if and when your K-1 petition is approved and you attend an interview with an American consular post in Mexico. You would have to have the order of removal removed before being deemed eligible for entry into the US under the K-1 visa. 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 you are married to a US citizen in a bona fide marriage, you and your spouse can begin the green card process and you will be able to drop out of college and remain in the US. Marriage to a US citizen places you in the immediate relative category, under which falling out a status would not make you ineligible for the green card. You would be considered in a state of grace until the I-485 adjustment of status application is decided. 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

Im not sure of your reasons to marry if you dont plan to live together. If you plan on living in Norway, then the Immigration laws of Norway would apply. However, if you plan to marry and live separately-he in Norway and you in the USA, and just plan on him traveling to visit you here, the Immigration officer will ask him alot of questions about why he intends to visit you when the officer finds out you both are married. That will set off major red flags and may cause your future spouse to not be admnitted on a visitor visa. Consult with counsel to discuss all the facts of your situation and the goals you want to achieve. ... Read Answer

Your question is quite general and therefore difficult to answer. I suggest that you visit with an immigration lawyer who can go over each of your friends and family’s situations in order to give the best advice. 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

Good moral character, unfortunately, has little to do with your husband's situation.Misrepresenting oneself as a US citizen on the I-9 employment verification eligibility form has consequences if U.S.C.I.S. finds out about the misrepresentation. If done before September 30, 1996, a willful misrepresentation can be waived upon the showing of extreme hardship to a US citizen or permanent resident spouse or parent. On or after September 30, 1996, a willful misrepresentation is generally not waivable and is a ground for removal.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

In your situation as I am given to understand, another company purchased the subsidiary of the holding company without making the holding company part of its company, and so the holding company is disconnected from the actual operating US and overseas offices. It seems a troubling situation, and it appears that the best option would have been for the purchasing company to make an L-1 amendment to put you in the US office or for the purchasing company to acquire the holding company. You may already be out of status, and perhaps the best option is for the purchasing company to make a late petition with explanation to change you to the subsidiary and hope that U.S.C.I.S. accepts the explanation. If not, you would have to leave the U.S. to consular process the L-1 assuming that the petition is 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 Answer

Significantly more information is needed in order to provide a legal analysis and estimate of the amount of time to be expected for your spouse to be able to come to the United States. This includes, for example, information about your spouse's nationality, your spouse's current location, any immigration-related applications that ever may have been filed by or for your spouse, etc. It would be wise for you and your spouse 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 provide an estimate of processing time and could offer legal representation in the often complex application process.... Read Answer

Generally, it is form I-94 (which used to be a white paper stapled into the passport and later became an online document), or some stamp in her passport. If she was driven across the border from Canada, things can get more complicated, since there may have been no such document issued to a Canadian citizen. Generally, anyone coming to the U.S. by air will have evidence of lawful inspection and admission into the U.S.... Read Answer

Form DS-260 asks about all children, and you should put down the children that you have. Another question on children asks whether the child is immigrating with you to the U. S., and the answer for that should be “no” for your citizen child. 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

There is nothing she can file. In fact, you should leave the U.S. as soon as possible because you will not be able to adjust status through your sister with an expired visa. Only spouses, children and parents of the U.S. citizens can do that. Everyone else must be in valid status, or this filing could be for nothing. You have to wait for your immigrant visa outside the U.S., or you must be in some other valid status at all times. I am afraid that you may have already created a problem for yourself if you overstayed your visa and did not change status to some other valid one. Waiting for a green card from a sibling may take over a decade! During this entire time, you must either be in some other valid status here or you must wait outside the U.S. This is the unfortunate reality.... Read Answer

If you get married here, you should not leave the U.S. until you get your green card (unless it's an emergency, and a wedding or a prepaid vacation or something are not considered emergencies). Otherwise, if you leave, you will have to stay outside the U.S. until your immigration process is complete and you get your immigrant visa to return to the U.S. (which could take a year, give or take).... Read Answer

If your mother now is a Lawful Permanent Resident, then she will not become eligible to apply to become a naturalized citizen until 90 days before the end of five years from the date she became a Permanent Resident (90 days before the end of three years for many people who obtained their Permanent Resident status based upon marriage to a U.S. citizen). Your own status as a U.S. citizen will not alter this time requirement. Aside from the amount of time one must wait to become eligible for naturalization, there are many other details that determine eligibility. It would be wise for your mother to consult with an immigration attorney who, after learning all the relevant details about her, will be able to advise about eligibilities, options and strategies, and will be able to offer legal representation in the often quite complex naturalization application process.... Read Answer