News Archives - Page 8 of 26 - Marriage Green Card and Citizenship Attorneys

The Temporary 540-Day EAD Extension Rule

March 27, 2023

An Employment Authorization Document (EAD) is a work permit issued to individuals in many different immigration categories. If you receive an EAD, it may be used to prove to an employer that you are legally authorized to work in the United States. If you are eligible for an EAD, you may submit an application on Form I-765, with photos and fees, if required. As long as you remain eligible for an EAD, you may apply to renew the EAD before it expires. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has previously granted an automatic 180-day extension to work authorization while an EAD renewal application is pending for certain applicants.

You may be eligible for an automatic extension of work authorization if:

You timely filed your Form I-765 before the before the date that your current EAD has expired or within the applicable filing period for TPS applicants.
You are applying to renew your EAD in the same category as your previous EAD. (There is an exception for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) beneficiaries or pending applicants: their EAD and renewal application must contain either the A12 or C19 category, but the categories do not have to match each other.)
Your eligibility for employment authorization is NOT dependent on the adjudication of another benefit.

Now, due to historically long processing times, USCIS has temporarily increased the automatic extension period for up to 540 days, while an EAD renewal application is pending. The change was formalized through a Temporary Final Rule, which will remain in place through October 26, 2023. After October 26, 2023, USCIS has indicated that it will revert to 180-day automatic extensions.

To receive the automatic extension of up to 540 days, you must timely file an EAD renewal application in an eligible category (see next page) by October 27, 2023.

As proof of your employment authorization, you will present your expired or expiring EAD and the Form I-797C receipt notice that USCIS sent you after you filed your EAD renewal application. Your employer is required to verify or reverify your employment authorization and record the details of the documents that you present on Form I-9.

If you or your employer are confused about when your work authorization extension will now expire, you’re not alone! USCIS has created an online tool to assist you and your employer in calculating your work authorization extension date: https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-resources/employment-authorization-document-ead-automatic-extensioncalculator.

Finally, if your EAD renewal application is denied, then the automatic extension of work authorization may end before the 540-day period. your work authorization, please discuss the specifics of your situation with an attorney.

The Temporary 540-Day EAD Extension Rule

Finally, if your EAD renewal application is denied, then the automatic extension of work authorization may end before the 540-day period.

The EAD categories eligible for the 540-day automatic extension to work authorization (as indicated on Form I-765 under “Class Requested” at the time of the EAD renewal application) are:

540-Day EAD Extension Rule

If you have questions about your eligibility for an extension of your work authorization, please discuss the specifics of your situation with an attorney or find an immigration attorney via https://www.ailalawyer.org.

***© 2023 American Immigration Lawyers Association. AILA is the national bar association of immigration lawyers comprised of over 15,000 members located in every state of the United States and worldwide.***

New U.S. Lawful Permanent Resident Card

March 27, 2023

• On January 30, 2023, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) began producing the redesigned U.S. Permanent Resident Card.
• The redesigned card will be issued concurrently with existing card stock until it is depleted.
• All previously issued cards remain valid until their printed expiration dates.

U.S. Permanent Resident Card.

If you have a question on boarding a traveler, it should be directed to the appropriate Regional Carrier Liaison Group (RCLG), Immigration Advisory Program (IAP) Officer or Joint Security Program (JSP) Officer.

***This post is taken from AILA Doc. No. 23032408. (Posted 3/24/23)***

You got a Request for Evidence! Now what?

March 14, 2023

Learn about USCIS Request for Evidence (RFE) and how it can impact your pending case with USCIS. USCIS uses a “Request for Evidence” as a way to communicate with you while you have a case pending with USCIS. “RFE” is the shorthand way of referring to a Request for Evidence.

Sometimes, the RFE asks for items that were missing from your application, such as a birth certificate or divorce certificate. Sometimes, the RFE asks for additional financial proof to show that an I-864 sponsor or joint sponsor can prove an income about the minimum incomes listed at Form I-864P.

Sometimes, however, USCIS’s request indicates that it has doubts about your eligibility–or your ability to prove your eligibility–for the immigration benefit you requested. For example, if you applied for a marriage-based green card and submitted a docket showing a dismissed charge of possession of marijuana, USCIS may ask for proof, such as lab results, that the alleged amount of marijuana was under 30 grams. Providing that particular requested information may be impossible and you will need to advocate to USCIS that your case can be and should be approved without the lab results.

Many times, especially in the past two years, USCIS’s RFEs are mistakes, meaning that USCIS is asking for something that you already submitted or do not need to submit. For example, we often receive RFEs for birth certificates or different formats of birth certificates, when we have submitted the proper birth certificate in the original application.

If you need to talk to an experienced immigration attorney. We’ve helped hundreds of people traverse the complicated immigration and citizenship process. We would love to help you as well. Call (617-272-7980) or email hello@cambridgeimmigrationlaw.com to get in touch.

First steps in Representation: Questionnaire and Document Request

March 13, 2023

sign your Representation Agreement and get started today Congratulations on starting your US immigration journey with Cambridge Immigration Law. We are grateful that you decided to entrust us with the important task of helping you achieve your life goals through your US immigration journey.

After you sign your Representation Agreement and set up your payment plan, your case is officially opened and our Legal Team takes over. A few days after your case is opened, our Legal Team will email you an invitation to set up a Kick-Off meeting. In that meeting, our attorney will review your case strategy with you. Our paralegal will obtain your signature on documents to start the case. Our paralegal will also review what information and documents we will need from you.

Our paralegal will follow up with you after the meeting by sending an email that has a link to an online questionnaire and online document request. The online questionnaire is hosted by Docketwise, a secure online portal designed exclusively for immigration attorneys and their clients. The document request is hosted by Lawmatics, another secure online portal for the legal industry that stores your documents that we will use for your case.

As you get started with the online questionnaire and document request, please reach out to our Legal Team with any questions. You may not understand or be able to answer a particular question. You may not have certain documents that we have requested. Let us know, and we will help.

Discover how Cambridge Immigration Law provides outstanding client services and frequent case updates for hired clients.

We help you follow your case and understand case updates

March 10, 2023

At Cambridge Immigration Law, we strive for two things: achieving your life goals through legal victories and providing outstanding client services at all times. One thing that sets our firm apart from many others is the frequency and depth of communication that we provide to our clients. When you become a hired client of Cambridge Immigration Law, we encourage you to stay in touch with us via email, phone, Zoom and in-person visits. We want to know your concerns, and we want to answer your questions. Without exception, we respond to current client inquiries within one business day.

In our efforts to maintain open and frequent communication with our clients, we check on your pending immigration case every two months and provide you with an update about your case. Often, our updates to you are that things are still within normal processing times. However, as soon as we see any change in the online status of your case or receive any communication from USCIS about updates, we contact you.

From Misunderstandings and Medical Challenges to Citizenship Victory: How Cambridge Immigration Law Helped an Immigrant Overcome Hurdles to Achieve US Citizenship

March 7, 2023

Discover how Cambridge Immigration Law helped an immigrant overcome legal hurdles and medical challenges to achieve US citizenship in this inspiring story. Almost two years ago, a mother of an adult son called our office desperate for help. Her son recently attended a US Citizenship interview. Shortly after the interview, he received a Notice of Intent to Revoke his previously renewed and approved marriage-based green-card. Her son (the applicant for US citizenship) was shocked by the accusations in the Notice. USCIS accused her son of lying to get his green card, lying on various immigration applications, and then lying at his US Citizenship interview.

Our team met with the mother and her son and spoke with them at length. We learned that for years the applicant for US citizenship had suffered from various medical challenges including schizophrenia. These debilitating conditions affected his memory, his ability to understand written and spoken language, and his ability to express himself verbally and in writing. While the applicant had submitted a valid N-648 Medical Certification of Disability, USCIS somehow did not understand that the applicant’s disabilities were the cause of the mistakes on his applications and testimony. Looking at his immigration file with the understanding that this applicant struggled with memory, cognition, and communication skills it was clear that the “lies” alleged by USCIS were sadly misunderstandings and miscommunications caused by the applicant’s serious medical conditions.

The applicant hired our team to respond to the Notice of Intent to Revoke. We prepared multiple letters of support from the applicant’s family and friends. The family and friends explained that the applicant’s relationship with the US citizen ex-wife was real. They couple loved each other, but their relationship and lives became complicated when the applicant started struggling with schizophrenia, which went undiagnosed for years. We prepared documentation that thoroughly proved that the applicant’s medical conditions caused his memory and communication problems. We submitted an excellent and clear package that defended the client against USCIS allegations of lies and USCIS’s attempts to not only deny the client’s citizenship application but also to revoke his lawful permanent resident status.

USCIS delayed over 20 months in responding to our submission. Our firm contacted USCIS at least six times in various formats–emails, online inquiries, written requests. In February 2023–20 months after we responded to USCIS–we received the amazing news that the applicant was scheduled for a Naturalization Oath Ceremony. Weeks later, he became a US citizen. Now, his decade-long journey to US citizenship has ended in victory. The applicant, and his entire family, now know that they will never lose their son to deportation from the United States. With his US passport and Certificate of Naturalization, he has all the rights, privileges and protections of a proud US citizen.

What happens after my immigrant visa interview at the US Embassy?

March 6, 2023

Congratulations! You had your immigrant visa interview! As you know, the immigrant visa interview is the last step outside the US before you enter the USA to become a lawful permanent resident who holds a US “green card.”

About two weeks after your embassy interview, the embassy will return your passport with an “immigrant visa” in the passport by whatever means your particular embassy uses. If you have not received your passport within a week or so, contact our office if you are working with our team. Also, if you are working with our amazing team, please send us an image of your visa once you receive it so we can save it into your file and verify all of the details are accurate.

This immigrant visa in your passport will allow you to enter the US as an “immigrant”, and the moment you enter the US you become a Lawful Permanent Resident. After you get your passport with your immigrant visa, you will have 6 months to enter the US. When you enter the US, US Customs and Border Protection will log your entry and that will immediately trigger the production of your green card. Usually, USCIS produces the green card and mails it t you within 30 days of entry. While you wait for the green card, you can use the visa in your passport to get a state ID, show authorization to work, and to travel in/out of the US.

The green card will be mailed to your address on file. Our clients’ green cards are mailed to our office, and when we receive the green card, we coordinate with the client to deliver it to the client.

When you arrive in the US for the first time, the Social Security Administration agency will produce and mail you a “social security” card. The social security card should arrive in about 1 month. If it does not, you can visit a local Social Security Administration office to request the card.

If you enter the US on an immigrant visa before your 2-year wedding anniversary, your green card will be a Conditional Lawful Permanent Resident card valid for 2 years. Before your green card expires you will need to file a I-751 petition to remove conditions on your green card, and you must file the I-751 petition in the 90 days prior to the expiration of the 2-year green card. The application will involve proving (again!) to the US government that your marriage is real. You should contact our firm about 6 months before the card expires so that we can begin working on your I-751 petition.

Three years from the date that you become a Lawful Permanent Resident, you may be eligible for US citizenship. Contact our firm about 2.5 years after you firm become a Lawful Permanent Resident so we can help you with your US citizenship application. Note: Your I-751 Petition probably still be pending at the time you file your US citizenship application.

Why you do not need a joint bank account to be approved for a marriage-based green card

March 2, 2023

You do not need a joint bank account. in marriage based green card application You don’t need a joint back account to win a marriage-based green card. The only thing that you absolutely need to prove your marriage is a marriage certificate. After that, you need to provide documents that paint a picture of your life using lots and lots of paper.

We have a great list of 99 documents to submit with your Marriage-based green card application that you should submit with your application at this link.

Why your friend’s spouse can apply for a green card after entering as a tourist, but your spouse can’t.

February 28, 2023

friends spouse can apply for a green card For starters, let us say that US immigration law is so confusing! We often meet with potential clients who are convinced that their case is just like their friends’ case. Due to a small difference in facts, the legal cases are drastically different. In the situation of one person entering as a tourist and applying for a green card, that will work if the person who entered as a tourist planned to return to the home country but then something changed while the person was in the U.S. That situation is called “changed circumstances.” On the other hand, a person who uses a tourist visa to enter the US to stay permanently is violating a basic requirement of the tourist visa, which is to plan to leave the US and return to the home country. If a person uses a tourist visa to enter the US with the intention of filing for a green card after that entry, US immigration law considers that situation to involved “misrepresentation” or “fraud” in the use of the tourist visa.

You married a US Citizen and you need a Green Card? Here’s how Cambridge Immigration Law can Help

February 24, 2023

Congratulations! We love working with clients like you at this wonderful time in your life, and we are confident that you will love working with our amazing team in Cambridge Immigration Law.

To start your work with our team, our attorney will confirm that you are eligible to win your application before you submit it. If your case has gray areas in terms of your eligibility, our attorneys will tell you the potential problems and potential outcomes, if there is a legal or factual reason your case could be denied.

Next, we will tell you what your case needs and what it does not need. You don’t need to worry about how to answer a particular question because we will figure that out for you. You don’t need to worry about whether you included the correct immigration forms or fees because we will put exactly what is needed into the application. In our years of experience, we have probably seen a case just like yours, and we will use our experience to win your case just as we did for other clients. On the other hand, if your case is different from others, we know how and where to find the resources necessary to properly evaluate and present your case.

In addition, we will prepare you for any interview that your case may have. We never underestimate the importance of interview preparation. We help our clients be ready for standard questions that may be asked and we prepare our clients for more complicated questions that could relate to their cases. Also, we help the clients prepare for the unexpected because we never know what officer will conduct the interview, how that officer may be feeling on the day of the interview, and what unexpected questions the officer will ask.

Throughout all of our work with you, you will see that Cambridge Immigration Law will provide excellent client services while bringing your case to the legal outcome you desire. We want to meet with you. We will return your emails. We will call you back. You are our clients and we are here to support you.

When you have your green card and are ready to live your life as a lawful permanent resident, we will inform you of future necessary steps in your immigration journey when you need to renew your green card or visa, when you want to apply for US citizenship, and when you want to sponsor other relatives, such as your parents, to immigrate to the US.

To sum it all up, Cambridge Immigration Law will take away your stress about your immigration case so that you focus on the wonderful parts of your new life with the love of your life.

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Category: News

You may be eligible for an automatic extension of work authorization if:

The EAD categories eligible for the 540-day automatic extension to work authorization (as indicated on Form I-765 under “Class Requested” at the time of the EAD renewal application) are: