QUESTION:
I live in Iceland and I have a girlfriend with us citizenship, but she has
been living in my country for around 8 years now. Her dream is to move
back to the US to her father’s family again. Her mother is Icelandic. So I
want to ask, what can I do to get permission to move to and work in the
US? Marriage is on our plan for the future 🙂 but we like to go as soon as
we can, I already know about a job for me.
Answer from Caro Kinsella, Immigration Attorney:
Your girlfriend can either file a K-1(fiancé visa) for you; my office is
seeing a processing time frame of about 4-6 months for this type of visa.
As you said you want to enter the U.S. ASAP. I would suggest you file a
tourist visa.
Question:
I appealed to BIA 1 year a 7 months ago, my case is asylum. Do you know
how long does it usually take? seem my friends were only one year. thank
you
Answer from Caro Kinsella, Immigration Attorney:
That seems like an awfully long time, Bia decisions are typically within
one year. I would call the clerk at the BIA, to see whether they can
confirm anything about whether your matter has been adjudicated.
QUESTION:
US female citizen marrying a male citizen of the US. Male citizen is in
the US on a travel visa. Can they get married now in the US?
Answer from Caro Kinsella, Immigration Attorney:
If you enter the U.S. under a tourist visa (I guess that’s what you mean
by travel visa), then after 30 days of him being in the U.S. he is free to
marry you. The 1st 30 days of entering, there will be a preconceived
intent issue which is irrebutable.
QUESTION:
I’m U.S. Citizen and me and my bf want to get married. However he does not
have a papers to live in the U.S. He was 7 years old when he entered the
U.S.what’s the process we would need to take in order for him to obtain a
green card? During this process will he be able to get a temporary work
permit and/or driver licence in california?
Answer from Caro Kinsella, Immigration Attorney:
It really depends on how he entered the U.S. (for example was he inspected
or did he cross the border). If he is eligible to adjust his status in the
U.S. through you, then once his papers are filed he will get his work
authorization within 90 days and if not we can request an interim work
authorization. My office typically sees a turn around time of roughly 4 -6
months before you will be called for an interview to get the conditional
green card.
QUESTION:
Hi I came to the united states at the age of 6. My father brought me into
the country with another boys documents. I am now 24 years old with a 4
year old son and engaged to be married. I have been told that if i leave
the country before i am deported, that i can return to the united states.
I am a college student who recieves good grades and I have never had a
brush in with the law. This is the only country that i know, and i refuse
to retun to dominican republic and contribute to their economy. What can i
do to stay in this country? If i leave, how long will it be until i can
return . My father abandoned me after he brought me here, and I cannot
imagine a life without my son. Please help
Answer from Caro Kinsella, Immigration Attorney:
If you have proof of the boy’s identity you entered the U.S. Under then if
your fiancée is a U.S. Citizen you should submit a waiver (this will waive
your unlawful presence in the U.S. Along with the fraud for using
another’s identity). Your fiancée & child would act as the qualifying
relatives and would have to show extreme hardship. You submit without
leaving the U.S. (as you will trigger a 10 year bar if you leave the
U.S.).
Question: Hello,my name is Jane. I live in Michigan. I have a question about
form I-360 and I-485. I’m applying for VAWA (I-360). My question is if I can
apply form I-485 at the same time with form I-360 or if I have to be
approved first and then apply I-485. Thank you very much
Your Reply: On the provision that u were married to a U.S. Citizen yes you
can file concurrenly.
Question: I am an American born citizen and would like to apply for
citizenship for both my parents. They have been in America for 25 years
illegally due to overstaying and have no criminal record, no deportation, my
mother owns a house and they both pay their taxes. My parents are legally
married but are separated. My mother doesn’t want me to apply for my father,
is there any possible way I would be able to apply for them separately? As
for instance my mother first and then my father? or is it necessary that i
file for both at the same time?, and would it be wise to apply and file on
our own or with a lawyer?
Your Reply: As dependents you must file for them separately. This means a
separate I-130 and I-485 for each of them. However, based on whether they
were inspected and admitted into the U.S. will determine whether you can
in fact file for them.
Question: What would happen if a 53 year old born Canadian citizen was
visiting in the USA and did not have a Canadian passport?
Your Reply: You are in the U.S. without lawful status. But if you were
waived across the Canadian
border then there is no record of you being in the U.S. I would advise
you to depart the U.S. and re-enter with them stamping your entry into the
U.S. onto your passport. As a Canadian you can either apply
for a TN visa or a B-2 visa (the latter will be automatically stamped into
your passport).
Question: Appreciate you and chance to contact with you.I am a US citizen
and my wife from other country has her I-485 pending for green card with
USCIS. Our testing and interview for her green card is scheduled for the end
of this month.My job was relocated to another city about 2 months ago but we
have not informed USCIS about our move and change of address.We have a good
relationship with our landlord and tenants from our previous old address and
have just stayed in contact with them to check the mail and send us USCIS
letters received to our new address.In a small way we have been maintaining
our old address while staying at our new address until my wife can get her
green card. We have not formally changed our address with the postal service
yet.We plan to just drive to the city for our interview for ease of
processing to avoid lengthy delays.Since our interview date is so close,
should or should we not inform USCIS of our change of address?As well, we
kindly ask your suggestions on how to handle and what to say during the
green card interview especially if any questions on address are asked.If we
do inform USCIS of our change of address, is it possible that USCIS will
claim that we abandoned the application and deny my wife her green card?
This would be absurd to me if USCIS should this.My wife’s visa expires in
the middle of May as well. Should we contact with her embassy here in the US
to lengthen the visa stay in case the green card falls through and/or just
reapply with USCIS again before her visa expires.This will be the second try
for my wife’s green card since the first time it was denied because we went
on a 7-day Carnival cruise with family to Mexico. We were unaware that we
needed an I-131 advanced parole approval even for a short cruise like this
and did not apply. When we went to our first green card interview, USCIS
said that we had abandoned the application and denied my wife her green
card. If we had really abandoned the application, why would we haved filled
out all the forms, did all the waiting, did all the fingerprinting, went to
our interview, and gone through all the trouble. This was unreasonable and
absurd to me that USCIS denied my wife her green card for this.From this
experience, we have lost a little bit of faith in USCIS and thus have not
informed them on our change of address to avoid possibility of lengthy delay
and another denial. We now have the I-131 approval in case my wife may need
to travel and also my wife is about to receive her EAD work permit as well.
We have the green card testing and interview at the end of this month and
ask if we should or should not inform USCIS on our change of
address.Appreciate you and your thoughts and suggestions.Thanks!Daniel
Your Reply: 1. You need to inform USCIS of your change of address to avoid
any future problems; by not telling them it could backfire on you.
2. In reference to the interview – USCIS officer will have your petition in
front of them at the interview. They will ask basic questions such as date
of marriage, who was there, spouses date of birth and maybe questions about
each others family. If they suspect fraud they will separate you and ask you
more in depth questions. So my advice is know the important dates and
events.
3. You say your wifes current visa will expire in the middle of May; this is
no longer of concern as once you file the I-485 that is her new status until
they adjudicate and either approve or deny it (if the latter then you need
to retain an attorney for legal advice); but you dont need to renew her visa
as the I-485 is her new status.
4. USCIS is correct, you must wait to get the I-131 approved before leaving
the U.S. or the I-485 will be deemed abandoned. I have many clients confused
about this point also
Question: hello, i over stayed a tourist visa and now i would like to marrie
my boyfriend, he is a citizen. Would i be able to adjust my status?thank you
Your Reply: You don’t need any waiver of inadmissibility. By virtue of your
marriage to a U.S. Citizen, your unlawful presence is essentially waived.
You are fine to adjust your status (make sure you have your I-94 card as
proof of being lawfully admitted)
Question: I was born in Mexico and was brought to the United States by my
parents with a Tourist Visa at the age of 9 now im been thinking about
getting married with my former boyfriend. I was wondering If there would be
a penalty when we got married? or would i be able to become a Resident .
Your Reply: As long as you still have the I-94 card showing you entered the
U.S. under a tourist visa along with your boyfriend being a U.S. Citizen
then once he becomes your husband he can petition you for your green card
without having to depart the U.S. (providing you have not committed crimes
etc.)
Question: I have the understanding that if my girlfriend were to leave the
u.s before turning 18 1/2 that the bar will not apply to her. however, my
only concern is will her being here as a minor effect her ability to get a
fiancee visa in any way (i am a u.s citizen 18 years old and she is Mexican
18 years old). i do plan on getting an immigration lawyer/attorney. also
will try to find all the proof of a valid relationship i can find (such as
plane tickets, pictures, letters, phone records) any advice that you can
give would be much appreciated.
Your Reply: If you are under 18 years and phsyically present in the U.S.
you are not accruing unlawful presence in the U.S. so technically if she
departs before turning 18 years; then she will not trigger either the 3 or
10 year bar. You as a U.S. citizen can then file for her fiance (K-1)
visa and once approved she can re-enter the U.S. under this visa.
Sincerely,
Caro Kinsella
Attorney & Counselor at Law
Law Offices of Caro Kinsella
Phone: 954-304-2243
Email: [email protected]
