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K-1 Fiancé(e) Visa and Protection Under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)
In this post, we will explore two special cases in family-based immigration: fiancé(e) visas and protection under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). If you are a U.S. citizen and engaged to a foreign national, you can file a fiancé(e) petition, so your fiancé(e) can get a visa to come to the U.S., also known as the K-1 visa. This visa allows your fiancé(e) to enter the U.S., and you would have to get married within 90 days of your fiance(e) arriving in the U.S. To apply for a K-1 visa, the U.S. citizen petitioner must first file a Form I-129F, Petition for Alien Fiancé(e), with the USCIS. Once the…
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Which One Processes Faster? A Fiance(e) Visa or Spouse Visa?
I meet with many people who ask me if they should do a fiance visa or spouse visa if their significant other is not in the U.S. and will process at a U.S. consulate. Generally speaking, the fiance visa will be faster if the goal is to be together in the U.S. as soon as possible. Remember that once your fiance comes to the U.S. with the fiance visa (K1 visa), you must get married within 90 days of your fiance entering. Once you are married, the green card application can be filed, and your fiance would remain in the U.S. while that is processed. Eventually, an interview will be…
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Employment-Based Immigration, Family-Based Immigration, Green Card, Lawful Permanent Residency, Policy Change, U.S. Citizenship
Why Could Your Case Be Taking So Long? USCIS Processing Delays Remain at Crisis Level
Nationwide, you and millions of families, businesses, and individuals applying for immigration benefits are waiting longer for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to process and approve applications and petitions. Based on previously available USCIS data, in Fiscal Year (FY) 2014, an average case took about five months to process. In FY2020, an average case took more than nine months. Anyone who files applications or petitions with USCIS is affected. You and other people applying for family-based benefits, employment-based benefits, naturalization, travel documents, and employment authorization are all experiencing delays. Between FY2017 and FY2019, USCIS’s processing times for all petitions and application form types rose more than 37%. The dramatic…
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The 3 Agencies Involved in Immigrant Visa Cases: USCIS, NVC, and the U.S. Consulate/Embassy
I want to preface this post by saying that all three of these agencies are involved when a family member or employee is being petitioned for, and that person is not currently in the U.S. and will be processing at a U.S. consulate/embassy abroad. However, there are instances when a person is going through the immigration process that involves the I-601A stateside waiver process (you can read more about that process on this blog post), and dealing with these three agencies would also apply in those cases. For anyone who wants to be petitioned for, or if the person is self-petitioning, to become a green card holder in the U.S.,…
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Employment-Based Immigration, Family-Based Immigration, Green Card, Lawful Permanent Residency, Policy Change
COVID-19 Vaccines Will Be Required for Green Card Applicants Starting October 1, 2021
Starting October 1, 2021, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the U.S. Department of State will require COVID-19 vaccinations for all applicants applying for refugee or lawful permanent residence, with some exceptions. All applicants who receive their medical examination ON OR AFTER October 1, 2021, must complete the COVID-19 vaccine series and provide documentation of vaccination. This change will impact anyone who completes the medical exam ON OR AFTER October 1, 2021. If the exam is completed BEFORE October 1, 2021, and it remains valid, the COVID-19 vaccine will not be required. Waivers for the vaccine may be available in these scenarios: -Not age-appropriate -Contraindiction – a reason for…
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Humanitarian Reinstatement – How An I-130 That Has Been Terminated Due to the Petitioner Passing Away Can Be Saved
One of the sad realities of our immigration system is that it can take a very long time to bring over certain family members. For example, if a U.S. citizen mother petitions to bring her married son to the U.S., it could take over 22 years before that son will be able to come to the U.S. if he is a Mexican or Filipino national. If the son is a Canadian national, it would take about 12 years. Another reality is that a Petitioner can pass away during this waiting period. When that happens, by law the I-130 is automatically revoked. Fortunately, there is a way to save this I-130…
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New Policy for the I-751 Petition to Remove Conditions
On November 30, 2018, USCIS published new guidance on interviews at the I-751 stage (you can read more about what the I-751 is here). This policy went into effect on December 10, 2018, and applies to all I-751s received on or after that date. The significant change that is occurring is that if the principal petitioner was not interviewed at the stage of when the beneficiary first received the two-year conditional residency, then there will be an interview at the I-751 stage with USCIS. The type of situation this would apply to is where the principal petitioner petitioned for a spouse, and the spouse goes through the U.S. consulate abroad…
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What You Need to Know About the Differences Between Adjustment of Status and Consular Processing
If you want to become a lawful permanent resident (aka LPR or green card holder), you will either do it through adjustment of status or consular processing. The way you choose depends on where you are when a visa becomes available, your preferences, and your circumstances. If you are already living in the United States, you can become a lawful permanent resident without leaving the country by applying for adjustment of status. If you are outside of the United States, you can use consular processing to be admitted as a lawful permanent resident. A question I get asked often is if a person can travel to the U.S. on a…
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If You Are A Restaurant Owner, Petitioning for A Specialty Chef Is An Option
The restaurant industry is in dire need of good chefs based on what I hear from restaurant owners. I’ve had the privilege of working with several restaurants who are petitioning for specialty chefs to get their green cards. Every year, the U.S. government gives out a certain number of employment-based visas. For all countries except for China, India, and the Philippines, the category that would correctly be used for specialty chefs is the EB-3 skilled worker category, and there is no waiting period other than processing times. What I mean by waiting period is that for certain countries where a lot of people have applied for that particular category of visas because there aren’t enough visas to give out, there…
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Obtaining a Green Card Under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)
The federal Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) provides victims of battery or extreme cruelty a way to get a green card. One purpose of VAWA is to remedy immigrant abuse and improve criminal justice in the areas it covers. A major difference between green cards obtained through family and green cards obtained through VAWA, is that VAWA green card applicants self-petition without the knowledge of their abusers. This provides protection from spousal abuse. For example, person A is a U.S. citizen, and person B is an immigrant. Person A and person B marry. A abuses B from the beginning of their marriage. B would like to apply for a green…
