Immigration FAQ
Passing your citizenship interview may feel like the defining moment in your journey toward naturalization, but it’s not the final step. You’re not a US citizen until you receive your naturalization certificate, and you won’t receive your certificate until you attend an oath ceremony.
If you have a pending application for a marriage-based Green Card or Adjustment of Status Green Card, you may travel outside of the United States with a travel document known as advance parole. Advance parole acts like a US visa, and specifically allows the traveler to re-enter the United States upon their return.
When the USCIS adjudicator who is reviewing your case needs additional information to complete your application, the adjudicator will mail you a Request for Evidence (RFE). Once USCIS receives your response to the RFE, the adjudicator will issue a notice of receipt with an expected timeline to review your newly submitted evidence.
While you can’t petition for a friend’s immigrant visa or Green Card (only family members can do that), you can financially sponsor a friend’s immigration petition with Form I-864, Affidavit of Support.
B-Category visas are a type of visitor visa (temporary, non-immigrant) issued for business and tourist travel to the United States. Generally speaking, a B1 visa is for business-related projects, while a B2 visa is for tourism and pleasure-travel.
All US citizens are US nationals, though the inverse isn’t always true (we’ll discuss the difference shortly). In contrast, a Green Card holder is an immigrant who has permission to live and work in the United States. By definition, a Green Card holder would be a foreign national or foreign citizen, not a US national.
Immigration law is rarely cut-and-dry, but in this case the answer is clear. A US citizen—whether he or she is born in the United States or becomes a naturalized citizen—cannot be deported.
Immigrants who file for a work permit concurrently with their Green Card application typically fall on the longer side of that estimate, with most Green Card applicants receiving their Employment Authorization Document (EAD) in about..
Forms G-325 and G-325A are identical questionnaires that were once used to collect biographic information to supplement Forms I-129F, I-130, and I-485. Form G-325 was used to..
There are no provisions in US immigration law that allow an illegal immigrant to change status to a legal immigrant or legal resident (Green Card) based on time spent in the United States. However, an illegal immigrant who is subject to removal proceedings (deportation) may petition for Cancellation of Removal based on three factors:
When the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) was passed in 1994, the bill included a provision to allow battered spouses, children, and parents of US citizens or permanent residents to petition for a visa or green card without the abuser’s knowledge.
The length of time it takes to deport an illegal alien depends on a number of factors and can vary significantly from case to case. Factors such as the individual’s location within the United States, length of time spent in the country, criminal background, and prior deportation cases can heavily influence the process.
When applying for a job with a company in the United States, you will often come across a question that sounds something like this: “will you now or in the future require sponsorship for employment visa status?” Generally speaking, this is the employer’s way of discovering whether or not the company will need to incur visa sponsorship costs when hiring a new employee.
