Obtaining a green card based on marriage can seem straightforward unless either the U.S. citizen petitioner or the foreign national spouse has ever been married before. If they both were living in the same state and were married and divorced in that state, the former divorces may hold up in court. Even either spouse has… Read More »
Kim Kardashian is on an Australian immigration watch list now due to her multiple trips to Australia taken to promote her handbag line and reality TV show. The cardinal rule of visitor visas in the US is that you are here to visit, not work. Aussies feel the same way and expect her to get… Read More »
What happens if you lied to immigration to get your green card in the first place or you were inadmissible at the time of adjustment in the United States and CIS found this out after you’ve received your green card? CIS can start immigration proceedings against you by issuing an NTA. You may have relief… Read More »
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced a new policy today to guide officers in knowing when to issue notices to appear (NTA). An NTA is the charging document that’s filed with the immigration court to place in immigrant into removal proceedings. Once an NTA is issued an accepted by the court, CIS no longer has… Read More »
It is difficult to obtain a driver’s license in CA if you are in CA illegally or can’t prove legal status. It may be advantageous for immigrants who are undocumented to keep their foreign driver’s licenses valid so they have i.d. and are less likely to get fined or arrested for driving without a license… Read More »
In Carrillo de Palacios, the Ninth circuit held that any unlawful presence period before 4/1/1997 can be used to trigger the permanent bar even if the illegal or attempted illegal re-entry happened only months after 4/1/97. The case is currently on appeal because it allows for a new law to be applied retroactively to unlawful… Read More »
Determining case status is one of the most frustrating parts of the current waiver process outside of the US. CIS offices not only differ on processing times for waiver submissions, but there is usually no way of finding updated information on how long a case is taking. The first place I always recommend is reviewing… Read More »
The One Step Filing Procedure Is Now Rare. As of August 25, 2011, US citizens residing in a foreign country that does not have a US CIS office in that country, are no longer allowed to directly file their marriage-based immigrant visa cases with the consulate in that country. They have to file the case… Read More »
The US Consulate in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico receives 20,000 waiver filings (for unlawful presence, misrepresentation, prostitution, and criminal grounds) a year, with two full time workers assigned t the waivers. They have the only waiver system in the wqorld that is two-tracked. A case can be “instantly approved” within 3 weeks, on average, if the… Read More »
On June 17, 2011, ICE published a memo on their interpretation of when they will use prosecutorial discretion to dismiss pending removal cases. ICE, a subset of the Department of Homeland Security, is aiming its resources on enhancing border security and identifying and removing criminal aliens, those who pose a threat to public safety and… Read More »
