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Citizenship / Naturalization and the N-400 Application

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14 11, 2022

When the Worlds of Marijuana, State Law and U.S. Immigration Meet: Yes Means No

By |2022-11-20T13:31:43-06:00November 14th, 2022|Categories: Citizenship / Naturalization and the N-400 Application, General, Green Cards, Non-Immigrant Visas for Temporary Workers / H-1B|

By:  Richard Hanus, Esq. Published November 14, 2022 Mixed signals.  This is the best way to describe our society’s stance when it comes to marijuana use and U.S. immigration law.  Our state laws send one message, such as in Illinois where marijuana use and distribution is now legal.   Our federal laws though send a completely opposite message, prohibiting these very same activities. When it comes to applying for a Green Card or U.S. citizenship – immigration benefits rooted in federal law – an admission you smoked or distributed weed, including pursuant to authority under state law, can crazily lead to application denial.  Even worse, you might [...]

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30 10, 2022

Citizenship Filings Processed at Lightning Speed and Other Immigration Law News

By |2022-10-30T16:33:36-05:00October 30th, 2022|Categories: Citizenship / Naturalization and the N-400 Application, DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)|

By:  Richard Hanus, Esq. Published October 30, 2022 Processing times for N-400 applications Lawful permanent residents living in the Chicago area and across the U.S. are seeing their applications for U.S. citizenship processed at record pace.  For my clients across Illinois and Northwest Indiana filing N-400 Applications for Naturalization, we are seeing a total processing time of just 4-5 months – with applicants waiting 90 -120 days for interview scheduling and another 30 days or so for the scheduling of citizenship oath ceremonies. It is anyone’s guess as to why U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) is making citizenship processing a priority, [...]

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12 10, 2022

COVID and the Curveballs It Throws at Immigrants

By |2022-10-13T09:22:53-05:00October 12th, 2022|Categories: Citizenship / Naturalization and the N-400 Application, Customs and Border Patrol / Travel to and from the U.S.|

By:  Richard Hanus, Esq. Published October 12, 2022 The COVID pandemic continues to be one giant curveball for societies across the globe.  The way we interact with one another, whether socially or for business, may never be the same.  The pandemic has also led to significant changes in our legal systems and processes, including here in the U.S. and the way our immigration system functions.   Extensive delays define the way many aspects of our system operates, a state of affairs rooted in both pandemic related factors as well as the previous  administration’s overall neglect of our legal immigration infrastructure.     To this day, many aspects of our [...]

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24 08, 2022

Lawsuits Against U.S. Immigration Can Work, Especially When a File is Stuck in a Government Basement

By |2022-08-26T07:37:24-05:00August 24th, 2022|Categories: Citizenship / Naturalization and the N-400 Application, General|

By:  Richard Hanus, Esq. Published August 24, 2022 When it comes to a long delayed immigration filing, such as for U.S. citizenship or permanent residence, the decision to sue the government to compel a decision can be a tough one.  Importantly, a lawsuit in this context is not to compel an approval on an application, although that’s what any applicant would hope for.  Instead, the lawsuit is simply a request with a federal judge to push the process along and force the reviewing government agency to do their job and give the applicant  a decision, any decision.   The first questions almost every applicant asks themselves are: Why [...]

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23 06, 2022

The Dog Ate My Homework OR U.S. Immigration Can’t Process My Citizenship Application Because My File is Stuck in a Government Warehouse Basement

By |2022-07-18T19:31:14-05:00June 23rd, 2022|Categories: Citizenship / Naturalization and the N-400 Application, General|

By:  Richard Hanus, Esq. Published June 23, 2022 Over the course of the pandemic, people in the U.S. and around the world have gotten used to all kinds of inconveniences and delays.  There is a new normal out there and we humans have by and large learned to adapt and adjust our expectations.  The world of U.S. immigration and agency processing of applications such as for green cards and US citizenship is no exception, and delays related to both the pandemic and the previous administration’s neglect of our legal immigration system continue to rear their ugly head. In general, foreign nationals present [...]

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22 08, 2021

How to Apply for U.S. Citizenship

By |2021-08-22T09:44:00-05:00August 22nd, 2021|Categories: Citizenship / Naturalization and the N-400 Application|

By:  Richard Hanus, Esq. Published August 22, 2021 Are you thinking about applying for U.S. citizenship? You're far from alone. The United States has long been recognized as a country that boasts plenty of opportunities and as a safe place for families to grow and thrive. That said, the process required to get into the United States has many legal requirements before you're admitted into the country as a citizen. If you don't know what you're getting into, you could quickly get yourself confused during the process. Luckily, this process becomes much easier when you know what to expect. This helpful [...]

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29 05, 2021

Disrupting an Immigration Nightmare: A Little Relief for Noncitizens Falling into the Voter Registration Trap

By |2021-05-30T08:25:55-05:00May 29th, 2021|Categories: Citizenship / Naturalization and the N-400 Application|

By:  Richard Hanus, Esq. Published May 29, 2021 What do you get when you combine a motor voter system that too easily registers non-citizens to vote and federal laws that impose extreme immigration consequences for unsuspecting, inadvertent registrants and voters?  I call it government assisted immigration suicide.  Sounds hyperbolic, I know.  But it’s the best way to describe how well intended laws designed to make voter registration quick and easy can also make life miserable for immigrants who mistakenly get registered and as a result, are denied green cards or U.S. citizenship  and sometimes even face deportation.  In recent days however, the U.S. [...]

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22 03, 2021

The Green Card and Naturalization Processes Just Got Easier

By |2021-03-23T06:16:46-05:00March 22nd, 2021|Categories: Citizenship / Naturalization and the N-400 Application, Family-Based Immigration Law, General|

Published March 22, 2021 By Richard Hanus, Esq. The Biden Administration recently removed two significant Trump-era obstacles for applicants seeking lawful permanent residence (Green Card) and U.S. Citizenship.  These obstacles were seen by many as purposeful government strategies aimed to cut down on the issuance of U.S. immigration benefits for foreign nationals and without a solid public policy purpose.  Just as important, it seemed the Trump administration’s implementation of the rules were designed to send a loud political message to a particular audience, that we have enough foreigners as part of U.S. society, even ones with legal status. Obstacle to Green [...]

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30 12, 2020

How to Get a Green Card For Your Parent

By |2021-01-04T09:47:57-06:00December 30th, 2020|Categories: Citizenship / Naturalization and the N-400 Application, DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Family-Based Immigration Law, Green Cards, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S., United States Embassies Abroad|

Published December 27, 2020 By Richard Hanus, Esq. There are a couple dozen ways a foreign national can come live in the U.S. as a lawful permanent resident (aka as a “green card” holder) with most involving either a family or employer/employee relationship.  When it comes to family relationships, an adult U.S. citizen’s petition for their foreign national parent is among the most popular and efficient processes available. The basic requirements: 1) the child filing on behalf of their parent must be 21 years of age or older, and 2) the petitioning child must be a U.S. citizen.  The adult child [...]

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26 11, 2020

How the Anxiety of Becoming a Naturalized U.S. Citizen is About to Double

By |2020-11-28T06:48:39-06:00November 26th, 2020|Categories: Citizenship / Naturalization and the N-400 Application, DHS / Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), General, Lawful Permanent Residence in the U.S., U.S. Immigration Law and Legislation|

Published November 26, 2020 By: Richard Hanus, Esq. Becoming a U.S. citizen can present numerous challenges for applicants, whether intellectually, logistically or in many cases, emotionally.  A deeply personal and meaningful process in the hands of a U.S. Department of Homeland Security immigration officer is an experience that can cause many foreign nationals to feel uneasy and full of angst, no matter their eligibility or confidence in other aspects of life.  That angst is going to soon become worse for many applicants, with the implementation of an expanded U.S. government/civics test component of the naturalization process, a test most of our U.S. [...]

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