Common Marriage-Based Green Card Interview Questions
The last part of the marriage green card process is an interview with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Many of my clients thinks that idea of a face-to-face interview with a USCIS is scary and overwhelming. In most cases, I assure my clients that the interviews are generally easy-going conversations if they are prepared.
The Importance of a Practice “Green Card Interview” with a Lawyer
If you are a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident with a foreign spouse that you wish to bring to the United States to live and work, you will need to apply for a marriage green card. Part of this process involves an interview with an officer from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) or a consular officer abroad. In the U.S. the interview may be done with the two of you together or separately. While this can be the most intimidating part of the immigration process, being prepared can help everything go more smoothly, make you less anxious, and dust of rusty memories that you will need to recount to the USCIS interviewer.
The Role of Family & Friend Letters in Green Card Filing
Congratulations on your marriage! Now what happens if you are a U.S. citizen and your spouse is foreign? You likely want to petition for your spouse be “get a green card” either by coming to the U.S. or applying for a green card from within the US. to the U.S. as a permanent resident. As part of that “green card” application, you will also need to show that your marriage is “real.” Real? You may be wondering what on earth a “real” marriage is. Well, when people get married solely just to obtain a green card, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) does not consider the relationship to be legitimate. These “sham” marriages are illegal and carry heavy penalties for fraud. The USCIS carefully scrutinizes the authenticity of marriages when applying for a green card. As a result, you and your spouse bear the burden of proving that your relationship is valid.
Fiancé Visa Versus a Spouse Visa
Many of my clients have questions about the nitty-gritty of the fiancé or marriage visa application process. They want to know how they can prove and document that their marriage is real; if their same-sex spouse or fiancé will be recognized; and how the fiancé and marriage visas differ.
So, You’ve Married a U.S. Citizen: How to Document the Next Four Years of Your Life Until You, Too, are a U.S. Citizen
You married a US citizen. Congratulations on wedded bliss! Now, what comes next? You will need to document your life together for the next few years until you get your green card and then you too become a U.S. citizen. What do you need? What should you document? In this post, I’ll walk you through how to record the next few years of your life.
The New (Ab)normal Under the Trump Administration: Increased Processing Times
Delays and changes to U.S. immigration policy have been international news over the last few years. Many of my clients are frustrated over increased wait times at every step of the visa or permanent resident application.
Under the Trump administration, processing delays have nearly doubled even as the number of immigration applications has decreased. The government established U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in 2002 to improve application backlogs. Unfortunately, backlogs are distressingly common in the Trump era. Here’s what you need to know.
What Documents Should I Include in My Green Card Filing?
If you are recently married or engaged to a U.S. citizen, the green card application process can seem overwhelming. You may have questions about how long the process will take and how likely you are to have your application approved. While every couple’s situation is different, in this post, I will walk you through what you will need for your green card filing so you can start compiling the documentation you’ll need as soon as possible.
United States immigration law allows for a U.S. citizen to petition for a green card for a spouse who is already in the U.S., for a spouse who is outside the U.S. or for a fiancé to obtain a visa to travel to the U.S. to seek admission with a green card.
Right now, it takes about 6 to 12 months for USCIS to approve a green card for a spouse in the U.S. and about one year for USCIS, the National Visa Center and then the U.S. Embassy to approve to a fiancé visa or spouse visa from outside the U.S. as of 2019 and an additional one to two years to get the U.S. green card.
The documents you include will vary based on your specific circumstances. To start preparing your application, you will need to gather:
Never include fake or altered documents. Pay attention to details on the documents–do not include documents that will hurt, rather than help your case.
I recommend that all applicants consult with me or another immigration attorney before filing any application, even if you ultimately decide to file without the representation of a lawyer. I work with clients from all around the U.S. and the world to make this process less confusing and as efficient as possible.
Some issues that may make it more difficult or even impossible for certain immigrants to get spouse visas. For example, criminal issues, misuse of visas, fraud or misrepresentation, unauthorized time in the U.S., and deportation/removal from the U.S. may change the spouse’s eligibility for the green card.
On October 11, 2019 various courts blocked the Trump administration’s implementation of new public charge rules that drastically increase the scope of inquiry for the public charge determination.
The new rules, if ever formally implemented, will prevent applicants for receiving green cards if they have used a wide variety of “benefits” most of which fall well outside the long-standing practice of considering “cash” benefits (often called “welfare” payments). The new rules consider the applicant’s family’s receipt of benefits, even when the family members are clearly eligible for the benefits as US citizens.
Since the announcement of the proposed rules, immigrant families and communities have been in fear of losing their current immigration statuses or being ineligible for future immigration statuses. Schools have seen decreases in enrollments for subsidized school-lunches. Health-care facilities have seen decreases in Medicare enrollment. (Schools and medical clinics may still be helping the same numbers of hungry and sick kids–but they are not getting financial credit (funds) for their numbers because of the decline in official enrollment in the programs. To me, this outcome is completely unacceptable and immoral. The Trump administration is scaring parents into not seeking food and medical care for their children. Like many other humans in the US and around the world, this result of this administrations policies sickens me.
Despite the courts blocking the formal implementation of the rules, the new public charge rules have been sneaking into immigration policy for many, many months. For example, many embassies/consulates are requiring additional documents for immigrant (“green card”) applicants and temporary visa (such as tourists and students) to prove that they will not be “public charges.” For example, people with medical conditions that would clearly be eligible for medical treatment in the US (that is, there is proof of future medical insurance) have been denied visas because they cannot prove ability to pay for treatment or prescriptions out of pocket. Similarly, tourists and students have been asked to prove that they will carry full insurance in the US–something that in most cases (at least that I know of) is impossible for a non-resident of the US to prove.
Until the Trump administration, one of my main jobs as a lawyer was to tell clients the law and the likely possible outcomes of their interaction with the law. Under this administration, we are bombarded by unconstitutional, illegal and/or immoral policies and proposed rules almost on a daily basis. Many of the proposals go no where legally but almost all of them have one effect of the administration: to make people live in fear. My practice has been affected. For example, while these horrible public charge rules are not “officially” in place, I now counsel clients on how to deal with the issues as if those rules were in place. I have talked with parents about making a difficult decision of whether to get their children covered for health insurance for which they qualify or to forgo such benefit to avoid any potential problem with immigration applications. What a horrible decision for a parent to have to make. Let’s hope that this madness ends soon. If you are eligible to become a US citizen, apply now so that you have a chance of voting in the presidential election of 2020!
For years, DHS agencies including USCIS and ICE have investigated non-citizens through social media. USCIS and ICE will present documents that show clients, for example, using controlled substances, advocating support for terrorist-designated organizations and other problematic organizations, and having romantic relationships with people other than the US citizens petitioning for green card.
This week DHS announced that it will create fake social media accounts to further its long-standing practice of investigating non-citizens through social media. This announcement caused Facebook to reiterate its policy of prohibiting fake accounts and caused uproar among immigrant advocates, privacy advocates and free-speech advocates alike.
This policy, however, should not surprise anyone. Non-citizens have fewer privacy, free-speech and other rights in this country than do US citizens (generally speaking except for systemic issues of racism, sexism and other discrimination that may trump immigration status). Non-citizens need to strive for very clean, if not non-existent, social media presences. Regardless of whether Facebook prevails in disallowing DHS from setting up fake accounts, non-citizens in the US need to make sure that their social media records do not cause them harm vis-a-vis their immigration status.
Maine ACLU Obtains CBP Training on CBP Transportation Checks
The US Border Patrol routinely uses “transportation checks” as a means for investigating the immigration status of individuals it accidentally or purposefully encounter. The document above describes the law that arguably allows for stops anywhere within 100 miles of a US border. In Maine and other states along the Canadian border, much of the state is within 100 miles. Because of this, the US Border Patrol can set up transportation stops on highways for the purpose of conducting “consensual” checks of drivers’ and passengers’ immigration status. Also, as discussed in the attached document, the US Border Patrol can enter buses and conduct “consensual” checks of identity and immigration status. The training manual states that the US Border Patrol does NOT have to inform individuals of their right to refuse to answer questions, and most people do NOT know of this constitutional right. Individuals without immigration status are in a Catch 22. Regardless of their constitutional rights including the right to refuse to answer questions, if they do not answer questions, it is likely that the US Border Patrol will find a way to change the encounter from “consensual” to probable-cause based, and thereby will require cooperation and disclosure of identity.
If you have questions about your immigration status, about ways to possibly fix your immigration status, or about your constitutional rights in encounters with law enforcement officials, contact my office to set up a consultation with Attorney Ellen Sullivan. The initial consultation is scheduled for 55 minutes, with a charge of $200 that you may pay by cash, check or credit card.