Guidelines to Follow in order for Immigration or USCIS to Recognize a Marriage

When recently asked if immigration would recogonize a Dudeist marriage, and whether it could potentially cause problems, I pleasingly responded.

Under Colorado law anyone can solemnize a marraige including the couple themselves. You must apply for a valid Colorado marriage license and must register the marriage, but the demonination or belief system of the person conducting the marraige is irrelevant for purposes of whether the marriage is legally valid under Colorado Immigration law. The key is that you must obtain the marraige license and certificate from a clerk of a county court.

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The Importance of Proving Your Marriage is Valid

When requested to verify your marriage is valid, it is ultimately your burden to prove. You do this through objective evidence of the relationship such as joint taxes, joint bank accounts, travel tickets, mutual purchases, correspondence, etc. If the I-130 has already been approved by USCIS, there is a presumption of regularity in the marraige and the consulate would have to send the case back to USCIS with a request that the I-130 be revoked. At that time, USCIS would send you a Notice of Intent to Revoke and would allow you time to send additional documentation and evidence of the marriage. If they determine that the original decision was correct, they will reaffirm the approval and send the case back to the consulate for a second interview. If they determine the original decision was invalid, they can revoke the I-130. 

It is also possible that after investigation, the consulate will be satisfied by the evidence provided and will approve the I-130 and issue the immigrant visa.

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Applying for a Green Card to Marry Someone After being Involved in a Domestic Violence Dispute

After being charged with domestic violence, can a female citizen still marry the man involved who is also the father of her baby. Is she still able to help him obtain a green card?

Advice Offered by myself, a Colorado Immigration Lawyer:

Possibly, but there is a lot more information I would need to know to determine the best course of action. The answer depends on whether he entered legallly or illegally. If he entered legally, and you get married to him, he can remain in the United States and apply for permanent residence on the basis of the marriage. He must demonstrate that he entered the U.S. legally and that the marriage is a real marriage not solely for the purpose of immigration benefits. He files a packet of forms with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service through a process called adjustment of status. While the application is pending, he is entitled to work authorization. Depending on the nature of the crime, he may be inadmissible as a permanent resident and may need to seek a waiver of the crime. To obtain the waiver, he would have to demonstrate that it would be an extreme hardship on you or his lawful permanent resident or U.S. citizen parents or children. If the waiver is approved, the adjustment of status can be granted.

If the case is approved, he will be issued a conditional permanent resident card that is valid for two years. At the end of the two year period, you must both file another petition called a joint petition to remove conditions on residence and prove that the marraige is still valid. If approved, they will issue him a 10 year unrestricted permanent resident card.

If he entered illlegally, then, most likely, he will have to leave the U.S. to process his paperwork. The process begins with the filing of an I-130 immigrant visa petition in which you must establish the bona fides of the relationship. Once the I-130 is approved, the case is sent to the National Visa Center which is the hub for consular processing around the world. The National Visa Center will send you forms that you must complete on behalf of your spouse, including the affidavit of support. The affidavit of support is to demonstrate that you have sufficient income to prevent your spouse from obtaining welfare. After you complete the forms and send them to the National Visa Center, your spouse will be scheduled for an interview at the consulate. There, they will determine if there is anything in your spouse's past that would prevent him from immigrating such as crimes, immigration violations, etc. Because he has been in the U.S. illegally for more than a year, he will need a waiver of his unlawful presence in addition to a possible waiver for his crime. If everything goes well, he will enter as a permanent resident,subject to the two year rule described above.

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Can Someone Divorce their Wife & Marry Another Woman while I-130 is in Process?

The answer depends on the status on which you entered the U.S. If you entered on a Colorado K-1 Visa, then you cannot adjust status based on any marriage other than the marriage on which you entered. If you entered in another status, then you may be able to divorce your current wife, remarry and adjust status based on the second marriage.

Be aware, however, that to obtain permanent residence based on the second marraige, you will have to demonstrate that both of the marriages were bona fide marriages entered into for legitimate reasons. This means that you will have to have objective evidence for both marriages that you intended to live together as a married couple. If you cannot prove this, then the judge may deny adjustment of status.

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Master and Individual Hearing for Immigration cases

For those of you wondering how long after the master hearing does the judge usually set the individual hearing for regarding immigration cases-               That depends on the jurisdiction and the judge to which your case is assigned. It also depends on whether you are detained or on the non-detained docket. For Colorado Citizenship, we have four judges on the non-detained docket. Average time between the Master and the Individual hearing is approximately 1-3 years.

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Bypassing FBI/CBI to Change Middle Name to Husband's Name Based on Marriage Certificate

You can change your name during the citizenship application process. But to legally change it independent of the citizenship process, you have to go through the court.

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Different expiration dates on DS and in Passport.

In this post, I will explain What happens if your passport expires in Dec 2011 but your DS was only valid until March 2011. I will also address the topic of re-entry after overstaying a visit to the US.

As I understand your facts, your visa is valid until December 2011, but your DS form was only valid until March 2011. If that is the case, your J-1 (Training and Exchange Visa) program ended March of 2011 and you would have had an additional 60 day grace period to remain after the termination of your J-2 program. However, if the DS form is no longer valid because the program ended in March of 2011, you cannot use the J-1 visa to enter the U.S. You will need to get a new visa to enter the U.S. The fact that you overstayed the prior J-1 visa may make it more difficult to obtain a new visa.

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US Resident by Joining Navy wants to marry an Illegal Alien

The woman considered an illegal alien came here in 2001 with her mother and wants to marry a young man who became a US citizen through joining the navy. The couple wants to marry without having her return to her country.

My advice to this young man seeking legal advice was:
Once you are married, you can file for your spouse. The process begins with the filing of an I-130 immigrant visa petition in which you must establish the bona fides of the relationship. Once the I-130 is approved, however, there will be a wait of several years because there is a backlog in the category for spouses of a permanent resident. As a member of the military, however, you qualify for expedited citizenship.

If you obtain citizenship, there is no limit to the number of visas available to spouses of U.S. citizens so your wife would not be subject to a backlog and could immigrate immediately.

The next issue is whether she entered legally or illegally. If she entered legally, and you get married and you obtain citizenship, she can remain in the United States and apply for permanent residence on the basis of the marriage. She must demonstrate that she entered the U.S. legally and that the marriage is a real marriage not solely for the purpose of immigration benefits. She files a packet of forms with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service through a process called adjustment of status. While the application is pending, she is entitled to work authorization and travel permission. If the case is approved, she will be issued a permanent resident card. Then, as the spouse of someone in the military, she can immediately file for permanent residence.

If she entered illlegally, then there is a process by which spouses of military members can apply for "parole in place" This process takes the individual from being undocumented to documented in the United States. If approved, she would be issued an I-94 card that is evidence of lawful status in the U.S. With that status, she would then be able to file for adjustment as explained above. Parole in place is discretionary, so she would need to review her immigration and criminal history with a colorado immigration attorney to assess her chances of obtaining parole in place. We have been successful in getting parole in place in many similar military cases.

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Are PhD Students Granted Residency Following Graduation?

The answer is yes, but not without difficulty. Foreign Medical Graduates are usually here in J-1 status and as a foreign medical graduate you will be subject to a two year foreign residency requirement before you can work in the U.S. in H-1B professional status and before you can seek permanent residency. There are waivers of the two year foreign residency requirement and those waivers require you to work for an interested government agency, or work in an underserved area in a primary care capacity or to seek a hardship waiver. The waivers can be difficult to obtain, but they are granted.

If you get the waiver, you can then proceed to H-1b or permanent resident status. You should definitely consult with colorado immigration lawyers who has experience in such matters.

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What Happens when your 1-20 for F1 Visa is Suspended

A client requested information regarding what happens when their 1-20 for F1 Visa is suspended.

The reason they were asking was because there was a mix up at this person's school, which caused their 1-20 to be wrongfully suspended. After this happened, they were contacted by an ICE agent who informed them that they needed to fix it or leave the country ASAP. The client was inquiring about whether there would be an outstanding warrant for their arrest.

The truth is that there probably is not a warrant. If there was, the ICE agent  would have taken you into custody. However, you are clearly on the radar screen and need to do what you can to fix your status. It is possible that you may be able to "reinstate" your student status. You do this by obtaining a new and valid I-20 from the school and filing form I-539 application for reinstatement to student status.

If the school was at fault for the failure to maintain status, the school might be willing to assist you with the reinstatement process. Otherwise, you will want to consult with an immigration lawyer in Denver Colorado.

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Applying for a license after Visa Approval

Being familiar with Colorado Immigration Law, I am often asked about when a legal immigrant is able to apply for a license. In Colorado, the law requires  that you have proof of "lawful status" before obtaining a driver's license. If your case was adminstratively closed because you have a pending I-485 application for permanent residency, you can file for work authorization and once it is approved, you can obtain a social security card. With the work authorization and social security card, you will be eligible for a drivers license.

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When a Person Wants Out of a Green Card Marriage

Marriage fraud is a crime that is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and $250,000 in fines. You are wise to get out of this as quickly as possible. However, you will need the assistance of at least three attorneys to make sure that you minimize any liability that may have already attached based on your actions. You will need a divorce attorney to assist you with the divorce and to make sure that no admissions are made in the divorce proceeding that could be used against you in a criminal court. You will need a criminal attorney to advise you regarding the criminal implications of past conduct and to minimize criminal liability. Finally, you will need an immigration lawyer in Denver, to help you withdraw the pending petition.

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When Legal Immigrants are Convicted of Crimes

When asked if a legal immigration would be subjected to deportation after being investigated upon imprisonment. I answered that Without more information and specifics about the crimes of which he is convicted, I could not tell whether he would qualify for a bond or whether he would be subject to mandatory detention.

I would also need more information to advise a person to whether the man in question qualifies to fight his deportation. Generally, if he is a lawful permanent resident and this is the first time he had been placed in removal proceedings he would maybe qualify for cancellation of removal, but he has to have been in the U.S. for 7 years after a lawful admission, must have been a permanent resident for 5 years and must not have an aggravated felony on his record.

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Applying H1B by new employer while L1B extension is in progress by current employer

You have two options. You can premium process the L-1B and get the approval of the L-1B with extension of status and then file for a change of status to H-1B or you can leave the U.S., file the H-1B through premium processing and consular process and obtain a new H-1B from abroad. You will need to withdraw the L-1B once you leave the U.S.

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Green Card Without Sponsoring

In case you were wonderinf if you could attain a GC without having a company (or family) sponsoring it?

The main ways to obtain permanent residence are through a family petition, an employer petition. There are other ways, however. One way is called cancellation of removal which requires that you demonstrate 10 years of continuous physical presence in the U.S., good moral character during that time, no disqualifying crimes and exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse, parent or child. Unfortunately, you can only seek this type of residency if you are in removal proceedings and seeking it as a defense to removal. Another way of obtaining residency is if you have been the victim of domestic violence at the hands of a U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse. Finally, there are residency options if you fear going back to your home country based on a chance of persecution because of your race, religion, nationality, political opinions or membership in a social group. There is a means of obtaining residency based on length of time in the U.S. alone. It is called "registry" However, you must demonstrate continuous residence in the U.S. since 1972.

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When Immigration Investigates Your Living Situation to Ensure you are Married

It is your burden to demonstrate that the marriage upon which you seek permanent residence was bona fide at its inception. You must do this by objective evidence of the marriage. If the marriage was, indeed, not a real marriage, then the government could allege that you have engaged in marriage fraud and you could be prosecuted for that.

If that is the case, you need to consult with both a Colorado immigration attorney and a criminal attorney. If the marriage was a real marriage at its inception, then the government could deny the case and initiate removal proceedings against you at which time you may seek to renew your application for residency based on the marriage before an immigration judge.

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Looking to Change Status from H1B to F1

To change status from H-1B to F-1, you need to be enrolled in a school that has the capacity to issue F-1 visas. The school will need to issue you an I-20 form and enroll you in the SEVIS system. Then, once you have the I-20, you will need to file for a change of status from H-1B to F-1 with USCIS. Currently, change of status applications are taking about 3.5 months. If, after your education, you would like to change back to H-1B status, you can do so, but anytime previously spent in H-1B status will be calculated against the maximum period of 6 years in total H-1B status. The exception to this is if you leave the U.S. for a full year in which case you can obtain a new 6 year period of H-1B status.

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Past attempt to get a green card- positive or negative on a new petition?

The past application, alone, should not be detrimental to a future application, and in some cases, may actually be very helpful. For example, if the prior application was filed prior to 2001, then it may make you eligible for a law called 245(i) that enables you to pay a penalty and be forgiven for certain status-related violations. But, you should also make sure that the previous denial did not result in the initiation of removal proceedings against you and that you do not have an outstanding order of removal.

If you do, you would be required to reopen the removal proceedings before you can proceed with filing for a new permanent resident application. You should definitely consult with immigration attorneys denver in this case.

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1-94 Card Lost for the Second Time and Trying to Apply for an I-130

f you filed an I-102 for a replacement I-94, and it is approved, you will receive a new I-94 card and can use the number on the I-94 card for proof of lawful entry. The number on the I-102 receipt is not sufficient. However, if your father paid a fine in the past because he could not find your I-94 card, you could be covered under a law called 245(i) which forgives you for the initial unlawful entry and you may not need to file an I-102 at all.

You should definitely consult with an immigration attorney denver  to determine whether you are covered by 245(i) or whether you should proceed with filing the I-102 in your case.

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Questions Immigrants Often Have After Filing for Citizenship

After applying for citizenship and receiving a receipt and alien number, often people want to know whether they can go to school, obtain a driver's license, and legally obtain employement.

In terms of obtaining an education, that all depends on the school you are applying to.

Generally, to obtain a driver's license in most states requires both a social security card and proof of lawful status.

Once you obtain your work authorization card (usually within 60-90 days from filing) you can obtain a social security card and then a driver's license. These are the documents you will need for most of the issues you face including work, school, bank accounts and others.

If you would like more information or assistance with this process, contact a local immigration attorney Colorado who can help you along.

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