Frequently Asked Questions

It's important to know if your husband entered the U.S. legally or illegally.

If he was legally admitted and inspected upon entry, you may file a family petition for his benefit with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services ("USCIS") and he may be able to concurrently apply for permanent residence ("green card"), a temporary work card, and a temporary travel document.

If he entered illegally, you may nonetheless file a family petition for his benefit with USCIS; however, unless you or another family member or prospective employer filed a petition or labor certification for his benefit, or in some cases for the benefit of his parent(s), on or before April 30, 2001, he may be required to complete his green card processing by attending a final interview at the American Consulate General or Embassy in his native country.

It is likely that your husband will encounter a significant problem if he is required to complete his immigrant visa processing in his home country, because U.S. immigration law provides that if he has been unlawfully present in the U.S. in excess of 180 days after April 1, 1997, he may not reenter for 3 years after voluntarily departing. Similarly, if his unlawful presence exceeds 1 year, he may be excluded for 10 years after his removal or departure. In that regard, your husband's trip to his home country to complete his immigrant visa processing will trigger the 3-year or 10-year exclusion and, although a waiver is available if his exclusion would be an extreme hardship to you or another qualifying relative, a waiver may be difficult to obtain.

As a U.S. citizen, you may file petitions with the appropriate United States Citizenship and Immigration Services ("USCIS") Service Center to classify your parents as your immediate relatives. If your parents are in the U.S. and were legally inspected and admitted upon entry, they may concurrently apply for permanent residence ("green card"), a temporary work card, and a temporary travel document.

If your parents entered the U.S. illegally, or if they are not in the U.S., they must complete their green card processing by attending a final interview at the American Consulate General or Embassy in their native country. Thereafter, they will be admitted into the U.S. as immigrants and will receive their green cards via mail.

I consistently recommend marriage in the U.S. if your personal circumstances and those of your fiancée permit. In order for your fiancée to come here for marriage, you must file a petition with the appropriate United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Service Center so that your approved petition may be assigned to the American Consulate General or Embassy in your fiancée's home country. Your fiancée may thereafter apply for a K-1 visa, enter the U.S., conclude your marriage within 90 days of entry, adjust status to lawful permanent residence, and receive a green card.

If you are married in your fiancée's home country, your wife may not accompany you upon your return to the U.S. until you file an immediate relative petition with USCIS. You must then decide if you will remain with your wife in her home country while USCIS processes and approves your petition, or if you will pursue K-3 classification for her pending adjudication. If you don't pursue K-3 classification and return to the U.S. without her, you must also decide whether you will thereafter return to her home country if you are required to appear with her at the American Consulate General or Embassy for an immigrant visa interview.

Although expediency has often been the greatest advantage of marriage in the U.S., processing a spouse to come to the U.S. may actually be just as efficient. In that case, your wife could be admitted in the K-3 classification and be allowed to remain in the U.S. while her petition and adjustment of status is being processed.

Lawful permanent residents are not required to become American citizens. However, the right to vote and the ability to file immigrant petitions for family members are two benefits of citizenship that inspire resident aliens to naturalize at the earliest opportunity.

To become a naturalized citizen of the U.S., you must file a petition with the appropriate United States Citizenship and Immigration Services ("USCIS") Service Center and establish your lawful admission for permanent residence, minimum periods of residency and physical presence in the U.S., good moral character, an attachment to the Constitution, an understanding of the English language, and knowledge of American history and government — although the English language requirement may be waived for persons who have had their green cards for at least 15 years and for those with specified disabilities.

It formerly took as long as three years for USCIS to process naturalization applications and, although present USCIS policy requires processing most cases in no more than twelve months, many of my recent cases have taken as little as three months between filing and approval. Although legal representation by an attorney is not required for a naturalization case, an attorney may assist you by preparing and processing your case and determining which immigration laws are applicable to your circumstances. In that regard, USCIS will review your entire immigration and personal history during the naturalization process and, therefore, even minor law violations or immigration problems in your past may affect you and could even permit USCIS to begin proceedings to rescind your green card and/or remove (deport) you from the U.S.

You must begin the process with an employment offer. In that regard, a prospective employer may file an H-1B petition with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services ("USCIS") to classify you for temporary employment in a "specialty occupation," provided that your Bachelor's degree and proposed employment position qualify under immigration law.

If your prospective employer's petition is granted, you would be classified in the "H-1B" non-immigrant visa classification and could be authorized to work for as many as six total years. "Specialty occupation" means an occupation requiring the theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge to fully perform an occupation, and which requires the attainment of a bachelor's or higher degree as a minimum requirement to perform the job duties. Specialty occupations include such professionals as engineers, computer professionals, accountants, systems analysts, architects, physical therapists, scientists, librarians, market researchers, psychologists, financial analysts, management consultants, and some health care professionals.

Your prospective employer must obtain an approved Labor Condition Application from the U.S. Department of Labor before filing an H-1B petition. Additionally, if you are in the U.S. in a non-immigrant status such as an F-1 student — whether or not you are in your period of optional practical training ("OPT") — you may seek to change your classification from F-1 to H-1B without leaving the U.S. In the alternative, however, you may also apply for an H-1B visa at an American Consulate General or Embassy in your home country.

H-1B visas are subject to an annual quota for each government fiscal year. In that regard, 65,000 are allotted for traditional specialty occupations and an additional 20,000 are allotted for those H-1B aliens who have attained a master's degree or higher from a U.S. university. USCIS historically receives more H-1B petitions than are permitted under the annual quota, so it begins accepting H-1B petitions for new employment on April 1 of each year for employment to begin on or after October 1, the first day of the fiscal year.

Employment for certain other specified employers, and petitions for present H-1B beneficiaries who desire to extend their present H-1B classification or change employers, are not subject to the annual quota.

I'll need to know more details in order to address your concerns; however, it's common for United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE") to survey jails and court records and arrest a convicted alien when he or she is released from jail or reports to a probation officer. If you committed a deportable offense as described in the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act, you are subject to arrest, detention, and removal proceedings in Immigration Court.

A deportation case begins with the government issuing a Notice to Appear in Removal Proceedings. Thereafter, you are required to appear for a Master Calendar hearing in the Immigration Court so that you may respond to the government's charges. Forms of relief such as adjustment of status, voluntary departure, asylum, and withholding of removal may be available to you if you are found to be removable. Additionally, cancellation of removal is available if you are a permanent resident who has continuously resided in the U.S. for 7 years and been a permanent resident for 5 years.

Many persons in removal proceedings are released upon posting a bond and may therefore remain in their homes and with their families until their case is heard in Immigration Court. However, aliens charged in removal proceedings as aggravated felons may not be entitled to bond and may even be administratively removed (deported) without being referred to the Immigration Court. Unfortunately, some offenses which seem relatively minor are considered aggravated felonies under present immigration laws. There is some good news, however, because the Supreme Court has ruled that some offenses are no longer deportable offenses and, in some cases, an alien may even seek previously unavailable relief if he or she pleaded guilty to an aggravated felony, or if it is appropriate to reopen a prior deportation case.