Lots of people have heard of the “90-day” misrepresentation rule for filing an adjustment of status application only after someone has been in the US for 90 days. Our firm does not follow the “90-day” rule. If you misrepresented when you entered the US, it’s still misrepresentation if you wait 9 years to file. If you did NOT misrepresent when you entered, then you can file before 90 days. We frequently file applications for spouses of US citizens who enter the US less than 90 days prior to application filing. In this case, a client in the middle of a grad program entered the US on a student visa after visiting her family during winter break. The day she entered, her fiancé proposed. There was no longer any uncertainly about the future of their relationship, and they got married that week. Our team packaged strong evidence of the surprise engagement and wedding, and the case was easily approved at a USCIS interview without any problems.

Even an arrest for marijuana can complicate a client’s chances of getting a marriage-based green card. A criminal court won’t ask a defendant to “explain” what happened, but USCIS will. That means that even if a case never went further than an arrest, the issue must be disclosed on the green card application and the applicant will need to explain what happened. Our client was arrested for marijuana possession because he was with someone who was using marijuana legally according to state laws. The client’s case was immediately thrown out in state court. He was clearly eligible to get a green card through his marriage to a US but after the USCIS interview, his case languished for almost one year. Our team repeatedly reached out directly to the local USCIS director, and also to local and national liaisons for assistance. We were always told that the case was still pending. Finally, one day, the client’s green card appeared in the client’s mailbox, and he is now a Lawful Permanent Resident of the US. (One positive of the wait: His green card was approved after his two-year wedding anniversary, so his first green card was a “10-year” card, not a “2-year” card.)

A client’s US citizen needed to return the US before he was able to get an immigrant visa, aka as a “green card.” We represented the couple as they were separated for over a year and half, during COVID, waiting for his immigrant visa to process through USCIS, the National Visa Center, and the US Embassy in Europe. Many months into the National Visa Center process, the client wanted to travel to the United States to see his US citizen daughter graduate from high school. Our team prepared a strong package for our client to show to US Customs and Immigration, proving that while he wanted to move to the US with a “green card,” at that time, he just wanted to enter the US for a few days to see his daughter graduate. His quick trip was a success, and a few short months later, he had his Embassy interview and his immigrant visa approved. He wrapped up his life in Europe and moved to the US to start a new life with his wife and children.