Immigration Law Facts and Issues - Articles by Richard Hanus - USA Visa Counsel.com » Conditional Permanent Residence Based on Marriage

Lou Dobbs Said What?

Admin — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 05:46:10 +0000

When it was announced Lou Dobbs, a controversial television commentator, was leaving CNN, I set out to write a column explaining the significance of his views and departure from CNN and whether the controversy surrounding him is truly warranted. I finished a few drafts but had a difficult time [...]

CIR ASAP

Admin — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 09:02:26 +0000

For about the tenth time in the past decade, I am writing about a new legislative initiative presented to allow for the legalization of the vast majority of those present in the U.S. in violation of our immigration laws. This time, the initiative is called Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America’s [...]

New Immigration Legislation to Benefit Widow(er)s of U.S. Citizens and Other Surviving Family Members of Deceased Petitioners and Applicants; Significant Questions Remain

Admin — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 20:59:47 +0000

On October 28, 2009, President Obama signed into law important immigration provisions to address the unjust consequences of slow Citizenship and Immigration Services processing, particularly relating to widows and widowers of U.S. citizens. The law also includes ameliorative provisions relating to other types of family relationships and petitions; the death [...]

Public Benefits and Immigration

Admin — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:05:29 +0000

In the past month, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services released a “Fact Sheet” outlining the law as it relates to a foreign national’s receipt of certain public benefits in the U.S. and the possible adverse consequences it might pose for his/her effort to become a U.S. permanent resident. [...]

CIS Issuing Approval Notices for Long Pending I-130 Petitions; Now What?

Admin — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 21:42:01 +0000

In recent weeks, it appears Citizenship and Immigration Service Centers across the US have been making headway on their backlog of long pending visa petitions filed by US Citizens or Permanent Residents on behalf of their foreign-born family members both living in the US and abroad. Many of these [...]

My Marriage is Falling Apart, and Our I-751 Joint Petition to Remove the Conditional Basis on My Resident Status is Still Pending — What Do I Do?

Admin — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 23:21:58 +0000

When a foreign national is granted U.S. residence as a result of his marriage to a U.S. citizen, the permanent resident card (green card) is usually issued on a conditional basis, and valid for only two years. In other cases, where the marriage at issue has already reached its second [...]

Break Neck Speed: The State of Permanent Resident and Citizenship Processing

Admin — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 15:27:54 +0000

Foreign nationals in the U.S. who are applying for U.S. permanent resident status (including conditional permanent resident status) aka “adjustment of status,” based on marriage to a U.S. citizen, or another type of family-based petition with current visa availability, are seeing their applications being processed efficiently and speedily. So are [...]

Help for Widows and Widowers of U.S. Citizens Seeking to Remain in the U.S.

Admin — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 03:01:07 +0000

The way current legislation reads, widows and widowers of U.S. citizens who are married less than two years at the time their U.S. citizen spouse passes away are not eligible for U.S. permanent residence. That is, foreign nationals living in the U.S. and awaiting processing of their applications for permanent [...]

New Filing Instructions for Residents Seeking to Renew Resident Cards

Admin — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 18:46:25 +0000

US lawful permanent residents renewing their Permanent Resident Cards by way of direct mailing of Form I-90 (as opposed to online filing) should pay attention to two important changes.

Firstly, I-90 applicants are now instructed to file their supporting documentation when submitting their application, as opposed to only presenting it when [...]

New Poverty Guidelines In Effect For Sponsors Completing Affidavits Of Support

Admin — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 14:44:13 +0000

Before intending family-based immigrants are issued their visa, or approved for adjustment of status, the petitioning U.S. family member or their joint co-sponsor will have to submit an I-864 Affidavit of Support (or acceptable I-864 variation) and most of the time, satisfy certain income requirements. The most common exception [...]