Posted on July 06, 2023 in English

A green card, also known as a Permanent Resident Card, allows its holder to live and work permanently in the United States. There are several options to obtain a green card and information is available about how to renew it.

Green cards

One of the most common paths to a green card is through a close family member. If the applicant has a close family member who is a U.S. citizen or holds a green card, they may be able to sponsor the applicant.

Usually, immediate relatives of U.S. citizens are given priority. This includes a spouse, unmarried child under 21 years old or parents of an adult U.S. citizen.

U.S. employers may also sponsor an applicant. Employers may extend job offers to employees with extraordinary abilities, like researchers, executives and to people who have an advanced degree to work in the U.S.

People who have refugee or asylum status in the U.S. may also qualify for a green card. Refugees can apply one year after they arrive in the U.S. and for those who have been granted asylum, they can apply after one year as well. There are also other special programs that offer green cards.

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 Posted on June 29, 2023 in English

Divorce is complicated, and going through a divorce as an immigrant can mean a whole new level of complications. In addition to the other worries that come with a divorce, you may worry about deportation.

The good news is that a divorce does not necessarily mean you will immediately be deported. However, you should still know how divorce will impact your immigration status, learn about your options and take any necessary steps to avoid deportation.

Conditional residents

If you are already a lawful permanent resident, your immigration status should not be affected. This is not the case if you are a conditional resident.

You are a conditional resident when you are married to a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident for at least two years. When you are a conditional resident, you have a 3-year residency requirement before you can become a lawful permanent resident.

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 Posted on May 19, 2023 in English

This is a common question among non-U.S. citizens who give birth to a baby while visiting the United States. Whether the mother is here on vacation or for another temporary reason that does not allow her to remain in the United States permanently or work in the United States, it can be a complex issue.

American citizenship by birth

Children born in the United States are U.S. citizens by being born on U.S. soil. However, that only gives the mother (or father, for that matter) the right to remain in the United States if they are also a citizen, in the U.S. on a visa or already have a Green Card.

An American child born to non-citizens on U.S. soil cannot immigrate their parents. The child must be a 21-year-old adult before they can sponsor their parents. In the meantime, however, the child can enter the United States as often as they like, given that they are U.S. citizens.

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 Posted on May 16, 2023 in English

With the increase in violence in the world, most notably in Ukraine and Sudan, the mechanics of the program known as Temporary Protected Status (TPS) are worth revisiting.

An overview of the TPS program

The TPS program was created by Congress in 1990 as part of the Immigration Act of 1990. The program permits the Secretary of Homeland Security to designate countries that are undergoing armed conflict, environmental disaster, or extraordinary and temporary conditions.

The program provides a work permit and stay of deportation to foreign nationals from any of the designated TPS countries who are in the United States at the time that the Secretary makes the designation.

Approximately 354,625 TPS eligible individuals are living in the United States, and an additional 274,820 individuals may be eligible for TPS under five additional designations announced by the Biden Administration since February 16, 2022.

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 Posted on May 09, 2023 in English

Sometimes a person enters the United States as the fiancé of a U.S. citizen to get married and live in the United States. If so, they might be granted a conditional green card. The conditional green card is granted to those who have been married less than two years from the date the green card was issued.

Once two years has passed since their arrival in the United States, the conditional green card holder can apply with their spouse to have the conditions removed. Generally, this must be done jointly by the spouses. But what if the green card holder is no longer married when this time comes? Can they renew their green card and stay in the United States?

Green cards and divorce

If you have a permanent green card, and you divorce, your divorce generally will not affect your ability to renew your green card. You can remain in the United States, barring any circumstances that would warrant removal.

If you have a conditional green card, and you divorce, you might encounter some issues when the time comes to renew your green card.

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 Posted on May 01, 2023 in English

The First Amendment to the U.S. Bill of Rights guarantees the rights to free speech and assembly. But these may clash with the federal Immigration and Nationality Act that makes it unlawful to encourage a noncitizen to come into, reside or enter this country illegally. This encouragement provision of U.S. immigration law is currently before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Encouragement provision

Taking this law at face value, a prosecutor may seek a conviction if a person knew or recklessly disregarded that a noncitizen's entry into the country or residence would be illegal.

There are apparently no limits because the prosecution does not require a speaker to intend that a noncitizen commit a crime or that the criminalized speech be directed to an undocumented immigrant.

This INA provision took effect in 1986 and updated other laws that prohibited advertisements of U.S. job opportunities overseas and encouraging or inducing non-citizens to enter this county. Other provisions of that law criminalize harboring and transporting noncitizens who are in this country illegally or bringing noncitizens into the U.S. without limit.

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 Posted on April 17, 2023 in English

If you are an immigrant living in Virginia, you may wonder how a criminal conviction could affect your immigration status. The answer is not simple because different crimes and sentences may have different consequences, depending on your immigration status and history. However, some general principles can help you understand the potential risks.

Deportation or removal

First, it is important to know that any criminal conviction can make you vulnerable to deportation or removal proceedings, even if you are a lawful permanent resident (Green Card holder) or have a valid visa. This is because the federal immigration law defines certain crimes as grounds for deportation or inadmissibility, regardless of the state law or the severity of the offense.

These potential problematic crimes include aggravated felonies, which are serious crimes, like murder, rape, drug trafficking, fraud, money laundering, etc. Crimes involving moral turpitude, which are crimes that involve dishonesty, fraud, violence or depravity, such as theft, assault, forgery, perjury, etc., can flag you for deportation or removal. Crimes related to domestic violence, such as battery, stalking, child abuse, violation of a protective order, etc., can also qualify.

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 Posted on April 11, 2023 in English

A lot of people come to the United States in hope of securing a stronger financial future for themselves and their families. But this isn't the case for everyone. Each year, thousands of people arrive at the border in order to seek protection from some sort of threat that exists in their home country.

If you're amongst those who come to America seeking protection, then you're probably fearful of being returned to the danger that you've fled. And the complexities of the United States' immigration laws can leave you feeling uncertain about your future. We hope that this post will shed some light on the asylum process so that you have a better understanding of what the process entails and how it can be used to your advantage.

Asylum basics

In its most basic terms, asylum is the process of withholding removal of an individual who is unable or unwilling to return to their home country out of a well-founded fear of being persecuted on the basis of their race, religion, nationality, membership is a particular social group, or political opinion.

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 Posted on March 09, 2023 in English

When people in Virginia are trying to navigate the complex nature of immigration and naturalization, certain terms come up that could stoke confusion. A broad term that is used when assessing candidates for naturalization is that they are found to be of "good moral character," or GMC.

The idea behind GMC is that an immigrant is expected to live up to the standards of the community. They must show that they have been of GMC during a certain time called the statutory period. Generally, it is limited to the past five years, but courts may consider time beyond that. Certain spouses of U.S. citizens will be assessed based on three years.

This is done based on each individual case, but generally, any history of criminal activity can greatly hurt an immigrant's position.

However, there is an exception for people whose criminal charges were political in nature. Knowing how to take advantage of this exception requires understanding the rules and having professional assistance.

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 Posted on February 21, 2023 in English

Love does not always recognize international borders. When an American citizen gets engaged to marry a person from another country, the couple often asks about their immigration options.

Fiancé Visa

If the couple plans to live in the United States, it is generally necessary to petition for a K-1 visa, commonly known as a fiancé visa.

The K-1 visa authorizes a person engaged to an American citizen to enter the country for 90 days for purposes of getting married. It is important that the couple get married during that 90-day period or the person will need to leave the country.

Once the couple marries, the fiancé can petition for lawful permanent resident status and remain in the country while the petition is being processed. If the fiancé has minor children, they can also petition for their children's entry and residency in the country.

Requirements for a fiancé visa

As you might expect, a primary requirement to obtain a fiancé visa is intent to marry. It may be necessary to offer evidence that your engagement is legitimate, such as photographs, records of visits or time together or written statements from others attesting to the validity of the relationship.

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