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Recent Blog Posts
How to Bring Your Foreign Spouse to Live in Illinois
If you are a U.S. citizen or green card holder living in Illinois who wants to bring your foreign fiancé or spouse to join you, there are specific immigration pathways for doing so. This blog will explain the process for obtaining a fiancé or spousal visa with a DuPage County, IL immigration lawyer, as well as attaining permanent resident status for your spouse once in the United States.
Obtaining a Fiancé Visa
A K-1 fiancé visa allows your foreign fiancé to enter the U.S. for the purpose of getting married to you within 90 days. Here are the steps:
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You must file an I-129F fiancé visa petition with USCIS proving you have a genuine relationship and intend to marry within 90 days of your fiancé’s arrival.
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Once approved, your fiancé can apply for a K-1 visa at the U.S. embassy in their home country. This involves an interview, medical exam, and other screening steps.
Debunking Common Myths About U.S. Immigration
The process of immigrating to the United States usually involves many complex tasks that must be completed in a specific order. A single misstep in this process could lead to delays or even a denial of someone’s visa application. As a result, it is important to understand the details of the process and to seek guidance when an applicant has questions. Otherwise, their hard work could be undone by a misunderstanding of how to apply successfully for favorable immigration status. For example, many applicants struggle unnecessarily in their application processes due to the myths outlined below.
Myth: All/No Visas Are Subject to Quotas
Visa applicants are sometimes under the impression that there are either no restrictions on the number of visas approved annually or that there are quotas in place for every type of visa available. In reality, some visas are subject to quotas and others are not. An experienced attorney can help individual applicants to accurately assess whether the unique visa type that they are seeking is subject to limited availability or not.
An Introduction to USCIS and Its Role in the Immigration Process
Options for immigrating legally to the U.S. are numerous, yet some legal immigration statuses are far easier to secure than others. Additionally, the process of applying for any specific immigration status is complex and can take a very long time
The federal agency that most directly governs legal immigration processes in the U.S. is referred to as the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. It is a division of the Department of Homeland Security and is known as USCIS for short. Foreign nationals who wish to secure a legal immigration status must have their application for this status approved by USCIS. Similarly, those who wish to change an existing status must petition USCIS for approval.
Facilitation and Frustration
As USCIS’s primary role is to facilitate legal immigration processes, the agency does a great deal of work to help ensure that individuals who are seeking legal immigration status for employment, familial, or persecution-based reasons have the opportunity to navigate the various application processes available to them effectively. The agency provides a great deal of free information about various immigration opportunities and requirements on its website and various online immigration tools, for example.
What to Expect During Your Naturalization Interview
When you have spent a long time working towards U.S. citizenship, and you finally receive a date for your naturalization interview, you may be both excited and nervous. It is normal to feel a little apprehensive about this interview. The naturalization interview is a very important step in your journey to citizenship. Knowing what to expect during the interview can help you prepare and feel more confident going in. As there can be a long wait should you need to repeat or reschedule the interview due to missing information or incomplete paperwork, it is very important to make sure that you are well-prepared the first time. An attorney can help you prepare for your interview and work to ensure that you have all the needed documentation.
What Happens During a Naturalization Interview?
A naturalization interview can be stressful, even if you have done everything needed to prepare yourself. A few things to expect during your naturalization interview include:
When Will an Immigrant Need to Remove Conditions From a Green Card?
Obtaining a Green Card is a huge milestone for immigrants to the United States. A Green Card will provide a person with the ability to live and work in the U.S. permanently. However, for some immigrants, the journey does not end after a Green Card is issued. If a person receives a conditional Green Card, they will need to take action to obtain a permanent Green Card before the date that their conditional permanent residence expires. By understanding the procedures that will need to be followed to remove the conditions from a Green Card, immigrants can avoid potential issues and ensure that they will be able to continue living in the United States.
Conditional Green Card Requirements
An immigrant who is married to a U.S. citizen may have received a conditional Green Card if their marriage was less than two years old when they received authorization to enter the United States. Immigrants who come to the U.S. on a fiancé visa and spouses of U.S. citizens who receive a CR-1 visa will receive conditional Green Cards. Investors who received EB-5 visas will also be issued conditional Green Cards. A conditional Green Card will generally be valid for two years, and a person will need to apply to remove the conditions prior to the date that their Green Card expires.
What Are the Options for Family-Based Immigration to the U.S.?
The United States has always been an attractive destination for immigrants who want to share in the American dream. While immigration laws and policies can be complex and confusing, there are many options for family-based immigration to the U.S. In many cases, family members will want to take steps to ensure that they can live near each other, and the United States recognizes this by offering various options for people in other countries to join their loved ones in the U.S. For immigrants who wish to resettle in the United States and family members who plan to sponsor their loved ones for immigration, it is important to understand what types of visas may be available. Options for family-based immigration may include:
Immediate Family Members
Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens have the highest preference when it comes to family-based immigration. These relatives include spouses, unmarried children under the age of 21, and parents (if the U.S. citizen is at least 21 years old). These individuals will be eligible for Immediate Relative (IR) visas, and they can immigrate to the U.S. without being subjected to numerical limitations, meaning there is no cap on the number of visas available to these immigrants.
Changes to the Asylum Process May Affect Some Immigrants
There are numerous reasons why immigrants may seek to enter the United States. Some of the most urgent immigration cases involve people who have left their home countries due to dangerous conditions, political upheaval, religious persecution, or other issues that have affected their health and safety. These immigrants may be able to apply for asylum. If immigration officials determine that a person has a credible fear of experiencing persecution or suffering other forms of harm, they will be allowed to remain in the U.S.
The asylum process is a complex and often lengthy journey for those seeking refuge in the United States. It involves multiple steps, background checks, applications, interviews, and potential court proceedings. To make matters more complicated, some new rules may soon be put in place that may make some immigrants ineligible for asylum. By understanding these rules and the options for legally entering the U.S., immigrants can make sure they will be able to apply for asylum or receive other forms of relief.
When Are Immigrants Eligible for Cancellation of Removal?
If you are an immigrant in the United States, the possibility of deportation may be weighing on your mind. There are a wide variety of reasons that people are detained by immigration officials, including entering the U.S. without authorization, remaining in the country after the expiration of a temporary visa, or committing certain types of crimes. Even if you have made a home in the U.S. and established ties to your community through family relationships and employment, you could be forced to leave the country. To prevent this from happening, you may need to understand the options for defense against deportation, including determining whether you may be eligible for cancellation of removal.
What Is Cancellation of Removal?
Cancellation of removal is a form of relief from deportation that allows immigrants with certain qualifications to stay in the U.S., even if they have violated immigration laws or may be required to leave the country because they have not maintained a legal immigration status. If cancellation of removal is granted, a person may be allowed to remain in the United States, and they may be granted lawful permanent resident status, or they may be able to use waivers of inadmissibility when applying for a Green Card.
Supreme Court Allows Title 42 Expulsions of Immigrants to Continue
Over the past few years, immigration officials in the United States have used a rule put in place by the administration of President Donald Trump to quickly expel certain types of people who entered the country illegally. This rule, known as Title 42, was created in March of 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and its stated purpose was to prevent the spread of infections by immigrants entering the country. However, even though the threat of COVID-19 has decreased, this rule has remained in place, and it has allowed officials to expel 2.5 million people from the U.S.
While it may seem clear that Title 42 is no longer necessary to address health risks, multiple states have argued that the policy should remain in place. They have claimed that ending Title 42 would result in a wave of migrants entering the country, leading to serious problems as states struggle to provide the necessary housing and services. In November of 2022, a federal judge ruled that Title 42 was unlawful, and the policy was scheduled to end on December 21, 2022. However, 19 states pursued legal action to contest this ruling, and on December 27, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an order requiring Title 42 to remain in place until it reaches a decision on whether the states should be allowed to fight the judge's decision.
How Will a Criminal Conviction Affect an Immigration Case?
Immigrants to the United States may face a number of obstacles as they seek authorization to enter or remain in the country, obtain lawful permanent resident status, or become U.S. citizens. One important factor that can have an impact on an immigration case involves criminal convictions that occurred in the past. If you are an immigrant to the U.S. who has been convicted of a crime, you will need to understand how your conviction will affect your immigration status.
Criminal Convictions Can Lead to Deportation
One of the biggest consequences of having a criminal conviction as an immigrant is that it could lead to deportation proceedings in certain cases. Depending on the severity of the charge and any other factors involved, such as aggravating circumstances or prior offenses, a criminal conviction could result in removal from the country. "Deportable offenses" include:
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