Immigration
-- Frequently Asked Questions |
Question:
How long after becoming a permanent resident
does it take to become a United States citizen?
What are the requirements for naturalization?
Answer: First, all applicants for U.S.
Citizenship must be at least 18 years old.
Second, a person is eligible to apply for
citizenship if he or she has been lawfully
admitted for permanent residence.
The Applicant must prove that he or she has
continuously resided as a lawful permanent
resident in the United States for at least five
years prior to filing for citizenship.
Marriage-based petitions are an exception to the
five year requirement and such applicants may
apply for citizenship after three years.
The Applicant must also prove that s/he has been
physically present in the United States for at
least 30 months out of the previous 60 months.
(i.e. the 30/60 rule). The Applicant must prove
s/he has been a person of good moral character
for the statutory period. Generally, the
statutory period is five years. The statutory
period is three years for person’s who obtained
permanent residence through a marriage-based
petition. The prospective citizen must have an
ability to read, write and speak ordinary
English, and have an understanding of basic U.S.
history and government.
Question: I would like to file a visa
petition for my spouse. Want documents do I need
to bring to the interview to prove a valid
marriage?
Answer: You can prove the validity of
your marriage with many different types of
documents. For example, your U.S. Federal Income
Tax Return should show either ‘married filing
jointly’ or ‘married filing separately.’ Other
examples include a lease agreement with both
your names on it; new joint bank account
statements; notarized affidavits from friends
and relatives; letters and/or cards addressed to
you as husband and wife; proof of vacations
taken together, and junk mail addressed to you
both. USCIS will want to see evidence of
cohabitation, evidence of jointly held assets,
jointly filed income tax returns, and other
evidence which will tend to show that you
married your spouse for love, and not solely to
get your green card.
Question: I was granted permanent
residency based on my marriage to a citizen.
There were conditions placed on my status. What
does this mean?
Answer: You are a permanent resident on a
conditional basis. This means that your
residency was granted to you less than two years
after the date of your marriage. Your residency
expires two years from the date it was given to
you. You will need to file for removal of these
conditions 90 days prior to the expiration of
your residency status. To do this, you will need
to show that you are still married and are in a
bona fide marriage.
Question: I entered the U.S. illegally
several years ago and married a citizen last
year. Am I eligible to apply for permanent
resident status?
Answer: Adjustment of status occurs in
the United States after an individual has been
inspected and admitted or paroled by presenting
her/himself for inspection. A Form I-130
petition and a Form I-485, Application to Adjust
Status, can be filed simultaneously only where
it is for an immediate relative. Obtaining your
“green card” in the U.S. can only take place if
you entered the country with a valid visa. If
you did not you will have to apply for a visa at
a U.S. consulate abroad. You will also have to
submit a waiver showing extreme hardship to your
spouse if you were forced to remain outside the
U.S.
Question: What do I need to prove in
order to obtain a visitor’s visa to the United
States?
Answer: There are several issues that
affect whether a visitor visa will be given to
an applicant. Everyone applying for a visitor
visa is presumed to want to immigrate to the USA
on a permanent basis. In order to rebut this
presumption a person has to provide evidence
that they will return to their home country
prior to the expiration of their visa. This
might include proof that you were invited to
visit for a short vacation based on a letter in
affidavit form from a friend or family member in
the U.S. Also, besides establishing the reasons
for the visit, you will also need to prove that
you have every reason to return to your home
when the purpose of your trip is accomplished.
This might include evidence of employment that
you will be returning to. Bank accounts,
evidence of relatives in your home country, and
ownership of property in your home country are
all examples of facts that you may want to
provide.
Question: I just realized that my green
card expired. What do I do to obtain a new one?
Answer: First, you should not travel with
an expired green card. You will also need to
file an application to replace your green card.
This will be done on Form I-90. You will not
lose your permanent resident status if you do
not renew your Green Card nor will your
permanent resident status will not expire or
change. However, you are required by law to
carry evidence of your status and it is best to
apply for a new green card as soon as possible.
Question: I am a naturalized citizen. Is
there any way my citizenship can be taken away
from me?
Answer: Yes. If within two years of
becoming a citizen the USCIS finds that the
person acquired citizenship through
misrepresentation, then administrative
revocation can take place. If the time limit of
two years has expired the government must file
suit in federal court to have the person
"denaturalized.” However, the chances of this
ever happening are very small.
Question: Is there any new immigration
reform that has been made into law? How will the
new immigration law affect me?
Answer: As of May 25, 2006, both the
Senate and the House of Representatives have
passed immigration reform bills. The Senate
passed the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act
of 2006 (S. 2611) on which May 25, 2006 while
the House passed the The Border Protection,
Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control
Act of 2005 (H.R. 4437) on which December 16,
2005. Both bills vastly differ from each other
in terms of content and law. The bill passed in
the Senate encompasses a greater part of
immigration benefits issues, while the bill
passed in the House focused mainly on protection
and security.
In order for any immigration reform bill to be
made into law, a conference committee formed of
both Senators and Representatives will convene
to create one bill based on compromises. After
one bill is drafted, both the Senate and the
House will vote on it, if passed in both the
Senate and the House, the bill will be sent to
the President who can then either sign it into
law or reject it. Currently there is no schedule
set for the conference committee or vote date on
the bill.
Question: I would like to travel outside
the United States. Do I need to apply for
advance parole before leaving the country?
Answer: There are certain classes of
people who need to obtain advance parole before
leaving the U.S. They include aliens in the
United States who wish to travel abroad but
have:
1. An application for adjustment of status
pending;
2. Been admitted as a refugee or have been
granted asylum;
3. Been granted benefits under the Family Unity
Program;
4. Been granted Temporary Protected Status;
5. An asylum application pending; and/or
6. An emergent personal or bona fide reason to
travel temporarily abroad.
The purpose of advance parole is that it enables
an alien to come back to the U.S. after
traveling abroad without the necessity of
obtaining a visa to the U.S., and it preserves
whatever application the alien has pending with
the USCIS.
Question: I obtained permanent residency
based on my marriage to a U.S. citizen. We are
now divorced. Can my green card be taken away
from me or cancelled?
Answer: It depends. If your status is
that of a conditional permanent resident, and
your marriage has been terminated, it is
possible for the alien to obtain a waiver of the
termination. A waiver of the termination is
granted to the alien if the alien can show that
the marriage was a union in good faith and the
alien was not at fault for his failure to file
the joint petition to remove the condition.
Generally speaking, if the conditional permanent
resident can show that the marriage was entered
into in good faith, it is presumed that he was
not at fault for failing to file a joint
petition. Divorce does not adversely affect an
alien's immigration status after the alien
obtains permanent residence unconditionally. |
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