+ Marriage-Based

A United States citizen or lawful permanent resident may petition for lawful permanent residency for his/her spouse. In order to be eligible for lawful permanent residence status, you will need to demonstrate that:

• You are both free to marry
• Your marriage is legal in the place that you were married
• Your marriage is bona fide
• The foreign national is admissible to the United States.

To demonstrate the bona fides of your marriage you need to show that you entered into your marriage to live as a married couple, not solely for immigration purposes. A person who enters into a marriage solely for immigration benefits is subject to criminal penalties of up to five years in prison and fines of up to $250,000. In addition, an intending immigrant who enters into a marriage solely for immigration purposes will not be eligible to immigrate through a visa petition filed by any other person at any time. That is, the foreign national will be permanently barred from immigrating through a visa petition or work based petition.

+ Foreign-Born Fiance

As a United States citizen, you may petition the US Citizenship and Immigration Service (“USCIS”) to bring your fiancé to the United States. You must first demonstrate that you have met in person in the past two years, that your relationship is bona fide, that you are both free to marry and that your marriage would be recognized in the state in which you plan to marry.

+ Petition To Remove Conditions

If you have not been married for more than two years at the time you were granted Lawful Permanent Resident status, you have been granted conditional permanent residence. Within the 90 day period prior to the two-year anniversary of the approval of your application for permanent residence, you must apply to have the conditions on your permanent residence removed. If you do not file this application timely, your lawful permanent resident status will be terminated and you will be subject to removal from the United States. If you are no longer married or together with your spouse, you may still be able to file to remove the conditions of residency, however you will need to file a waiver application.

+ Preference Categories

As a US citizen you may petition for your parents, your siblings, and your children (minors and adult children). As a lawful permanent resident you may file for your spouse, your minor children or your over 21, unmarried children.

When you file a petition on behalf of a family member you will be getting in line for a visa number. The date you file the petition will be considered your priority date, once the petition is approved. Your relative cannot file for permanent residency until the priority date becomes current with the Department of State Visa Bulletin.

Priority dates exist because the United States limits the number of people who can immigrate to the United States each year under each preference category and based on country of origin.

+ CSPA

The Child Status Protection Act was enacted on August 6, 2002 to provide continuing benefits to children who turn 21 while their case is pending due to long processing delays or priority date delays. Please contact our office to see if you might benefit from this provision.

+ Provisional Waivers

If you entered the United States without inspection, only one time, and are married to a United States citizen, you may be eligible to apply for permanent residency at the US consulate in your home country with a waiver. We have had great success in winning hardship waivers for our clients. Please contact our offices to discuss your eligibility.

+ Inadmissibility Waivers

You are only eligible for permanent residency if you are admissible to the United States. If the US Citizenship and Immigration Service determines that you are inadmissible, you may be eligible to file a waiver.

We have extensive experience and success in filing winning waivers approved for a variety of inadmissibility issues including but not limited to unlawful presence in the U.S., misrepresentations to immigration, communist membership waivers, medical related waivers, child alien smuggling, and J visa waivers. Please contact our office if you have been found to be inadmissible to the U.S. and are required to file a waiver.

+ Deferred action for childhood arrivals (DACA)

In the absence of comprehensive immigration reform there has been an increasing effort to provide immigration benefits through special legislation and different programs within USCIS.

DACA is an option for young people, born after June 15, 1981, who have attended, or are attending school in the United States, entered the US before tuning 16 and have continuously resided in the US sinceJune 15, 2007. If you qualify for DACA the USCIS will issue you a work authorization card for two years. You will be able to renew DACA every two years.

If you would like our assistance, please contact our office.

+ Parole in Place (PIP) for relatives of persons in the US military

If you have a family member who is an active duty member of the U.S. Armed Forces, member for the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve, or Veteran who previously served in the U.S. Armed Forces, you may be eligible for parole in place. If granted, you will be allowed to remain in the US, eligible to apply for work authorization and may be eligible to adjust your status if you have a qualifying relative.