Immigration Legal Questions

As Canadian citizens, you are not required to obtain visas to come to the US, nor apply for a visa waiver under the ESTA program. Canadians can basically enter the US by showing their Canadian passports. You must of course tell the truth to Customs and Border Protection if asked about your prior situation. In such case, the question of whether to overlook your prior violations will be up to the immigration inspector, and whether he or she believes that you will only be making a temporary trip for vacation and not work. 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 More

In a shoplifting situation for naturalization, USCIS asks for final disposition and the arrest record. I note that some officers may be satisfied with a certified copy of the final disposition. 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 More

Generally speaking, USCIS will not make an adjudication on an I-485 application until a known arrest has been resolved. There is a chance that the arrest may not come up if you had a fingerprint taken in November 2023 and the arrest occurred in July 2024, but there is also a chance that USCIS will rerun your prints prior to making a final adjudication. 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 More

Whether you can obtain the F-1 visa depends upon the discretion of the US consular officer who interviews you since the F-1 visa is one requiring nonimmigrant intent. If the officer is convinced that you are going to the US to pursue your schooling, will not try to adjust status in the US, and will leave the US if the schooling is interrupted, he or she may approve the visa application. I cannot tell you what the chances are, but believe that most consular officers would ask you to wait until you immigrate under the F-2A category. 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 More

A green card holder is obligated to maintain a domicile in the US, and six months per year in the US is generally thought of as the standard to avoid potential problems. In addition, an individual cannot leave the US for a year or more just based upon the green card. Trying to spend most of the time overseas and just touching base in the US also has risks. A person coming to the US as a tourist is not allowed to wait in the US while being petitioned under a category that is backlogged. I note, however, that the visa chart for dates for filing under the F-2A category for adjustment of status based on marriage to a permanent resident is only backlogged currently to June 15, 2024. So depending upon visa movement, a tourist in the US may be able to file for adjustment of status when the quota becomes current and remain here during the processing. On your other question of what happens if she comes as a student or on a temporary work visa, she would likely have enough time to file for adjustment of status given the movement of the F-2A category at present. Once the priority date is current and an adjustment of status application able to be filed on form I-485, an applicant can also apply for advance parole to leave the US on form I-131 Application for Travel Document during the pendency of the adjustment of status application. 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 More

Where the ending date of the I-129 petition is beyond the date of the LCA’s validity, the H-1B can still be approved, but the time should be confined to the ending date of the LCA. 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 More

Although the federal agencies do not disclose what databases are shared, I do not believe that a consular post would have access to information from USCIS that you applied for information under the Freedom of Information Act. 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 More

Claiming SSI and Medicaid and other means tested benefits could bring about difficulties with your parents and the petitioner and any joint sponsors as they guaranteed your parents’ financial support. If the next president is Mr. Trump, there is more of a possibility of trouble. On your specific question of whether it could impact their green card renewals, they are given 10 years on their green cards, and so that situation will not come up for many years. It is hard to say what the climate of the country will be 10 years from now and what questions will be asked on the renewal green card form. 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 More

Our advice in the past has been that a straight flight to a US territory like St. Thomas and a direct flight back to the US is legally feasible for persons with pending adjustment of status applications, although there could be problems with immigration authorities on the return. The advice still holds even as we have noted instances in which people have been given problems on closed loop voyages due to confusing advice by Customs and Border Protection. We have also just heard that a F-1 student was required to produce an original USCIS approval on a domestic trip from New York to Los Angeles. If you are willing to deal with a potentially stressful situation, you can go, but if you do not do well in such situation, you may decide to cancel the trip. 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 More

It is a little late in the day to try to cancel your brother’s immigrant visa if it has already been issued. I am not sure that it can be canceled at this stage although you may contact the US Consulate that issued the visa to see whether it is still possible now. 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 More

The rule of thumb is that USCIS will usually backdate the green card one year from the day of issuance in an asylum based green card therefore allowing naturalization at the end of four years instead of five. Since the date on the green card is already backdated one year in most cases, I imagine that the date that you can apply for citizenship is 2026 unless USCIS failed to do the backdating. 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 More

Concerning your uncle who may be an undocumented immigrant, the laws are in flux concerning liability of those who support and help undocumented immigrants in the US, and if Mr. Trump becomes president again, current laws may be interpreted to impose liability on persons who aid illegal immigrants. 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 More

Background checks are generally to ascertain information other than immigration status, and so I do not believe that the fact that you do not have the EAD card in hand at this time will impact the check. Lack of a Social Security number may have an effect as it lessens the amount of available information about you. Of course, if the employer offers you the position, you will have to submit evidence of employment authorization (the actual card)  and fill out the I-9 employment authorization verification form. 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 More

Process to Promote The Unity and Stability of Family Program per USCIS, if this applies to you two then it means he can possibly stay. Eligibility: Be present in the United States without admission or parole; Have been continuously present in the United States for at least 10 years as of June 17, 2024; and Have a legally valid marriage to a U.S. citizen as of June 17, 2024.   Reach out to an immigration attorney to review your case.... Read More

Generally the rule is that an individual file for asylum within 1 year of coming into the country, you did not mention how long you have been in the States. There is an exception to the 1-year rule if it is due to things like Change in Circumstances/Extraordinary Circumstances. Strongly you recommend getting with an immigration attorney to review your case.... Read More

No. Approval of the I-129f is just the first leg of the journey. The file is then sent to the NVC for further processing and then shipped off to the US Consulate in the Fiancé's home country for final processing. The immigrant will need to obtain police clearance certificates from every country he lived in for at least 6 months, after the age of 16. ... Read More

With Biden's Immigration Executive Order which allows undocumented persons married to U.S. Citizens; this will give the undocumented persons the ability to have their U.S. Citizen spouse petition without them leaving the country. Full details will be release soon; I strongly recommend you have a legal strategy session with an immigration attorney.... Read More

Congratulations on your upcoming marriage. There are several forms and pieces of evidence you will need to submit. Most basic one can be obtaining good pictures together with family and friends while you are in Ghana/during the wedding. I will strongly recommend you seek assistance from an attorney who can assist you with the detailed process that way there is no room for mistakes/delays in getting your future wife to the United States.... Read More