Tag: marriage based green card

Are you eligible for a marriage-based green card within the US? What is your marital status—engaged or married?

Marital Status Matters: Discover your eligibility for a marriage-based green card from within the US—engaged or marriedWhat is your Marital Status? Are you engaged or married? 

If you’re trying to figure out if you’re eligible to get a green card based on your marriage to a US citizen or lawful permanent resident, let’s start with an easy question: Are you married or engaged? If you’re not yet married, you cannot file for a marriage-based green card from within the US. There is a route for fiancé/fiancées of US citizens if the fiancée is outside the US; but there is no path for a fiancée to get the green card from within the US unless the fiancée entered the US with the special fiancée visa (K-visa). 

 

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.

Does having an attorney at your Marriage-Based Green Card USCIS Interview make your case look suspicious?

Does having an attorney at your Marriage-Based Green Card Interview make your case look suspiciousAbsolutely not! Having a good attorney makes you look, and actually be, prepared for your USCIS interview. 

Before the interview, your attorney should do the following:

  1. Provide you with a copy of your application and ask you to carefully review it for updates and edits (mistakes)
  2. Provide you with a list of common interview-questions that you can review and practice with your spouse
  3. Meet with you for about 60 minutes to review any updates/edits and conduct a mock interview with you and your spouse
  4. Assess why your case may have been scheduled for an interview (since most cases are not schedule for interview, as of fall 2023) and prepare explanations and documentation that will address the potential weaknesses/problems in your case
  5. Provide you with a check-list of documents that you need to provide to the attorney or bring with you to the interview

If your attorney is not taking those steps to prepare you for the USCIS interview, then your attorney is not doing his/her job and you should consider hiring a new attorney to represent you at your interview. 

During the interview, your attorney should take thorough notes of the officer’s questions and your answers, provide documents that they officer cannot find, provide explanations of your immigration history, criminal history, and any legal issues in the case, push back on the officer if s/he is asking inappropriate or irrelevant questions or badgering you or your spouse, and/or speak with a USCIS supervisor if the officer is not appropriate or does not give a decision on the day of the interview. The attorney should explain that the best way to get information from the spouses is in person, and that USCIS should take the opportunity that day to obtain information from the couple that they need. Also, you or your attorney should suggest that USCIS call the people who wrote letters of support for you in order to confirm the testimony that they provided in their letters. 

 

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.

When will you get a decision after your Marriage-Based Green Card Interview?

When will you get a decision after your Marriage-Based Green Card InterviewYour USCIS officer may give you a decision while you are at the interview. However, there is no requirement for USCIS to give you a decision on the day of the interview. If you do not get a decision at the time of the interview, you (or your attorney) should ask to speak with a supervisor and then advocate to the supervisor for a decision on that day. 

After speaking with a supervisor, it may be clear that no decision will be made that day, then you should ask the officer when s/he plans to make a decision. Usually you will get a decision within a few days of an interview. If you do not receive anything from USCIS within 30 days of the interview, then you should contact USCIS (online) to request a copy of the approval notice. USCIS Boston states that decisions will come within 6 months, but in our experience, it is completely out of the norm if a case takes longer than a week to receive a decision. 

You can check the status of your case online at USCIS.gov at “Case Status”  using the receipt number on your USCIS notices. Usually you will see updates after the interview explaining if the case is under review, approved, or denied, or if a request for evidence has been issued, or if the green card is in production or already in the mail.

 

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.

Can I work while my marriage-based green card application is pending?

marriage-based green card pendingMaybe! Some people are eligible to work even if their marriage-based green card pending after submitting the application because they have another visa that allows them to work. Others are not eligible to work with their marriage-based green card pending  until a temporary “employment authorization document” is approved. Currently, USCIS is processing the temporary work permits very slowly…or not at all before the green card is finally approved. At the time of starting your case, and throughout as we get updates and new information, our attorneys will give you estimates of how long it will take for USCIS to approve a work permit for you. Also, we will let you know if there is a problem if you worked without permission at some point before or after submitting your green card application.

 

If you and your partner are beginning the green card process as an affianced couple or as a married couple, you should discuss your situation with an experienced immigration attorney. We’ve helped hundreds of couples traverse the complicated immigration and citizenship process. We would love to help you as well. Call 617-676-0503 or email hello@cambridgeimmigrationlaw.com to get in touch.

From Asylum to Happy Marriage-Based Green Card

Marriage-based green card

After 8 years and with our help, our client obtained a marriage-based green card. He is finally a Lawful Permanent Resident of the United States! Our team first started working with a wonderful, young gay man from a country where he was persecuted. Eight years ago, we filed for asylum for him–right at the time when the asylum system started to drastically slow down from about a 1-2 year timeframe to the current 5 to 8 year processing time. As our client waited for a decision on his asylum case, he built a life in the US, graduating, working, and falling in love with a US citizen.

Our client married his husband almost three years ago, and we filed a marriage-based green card application for him. Due to a very minor criminal issue, his green-card application was delayed more than a year. Today, our team opened the mail and received the wonderful notice that the marriage-based green card was finally approved. Congratulations to our client and his husband!

 

If you and your partner are beginning the green card process as an affianced couple or as a married couple, you should discuss your situation with an experienced immigration attorney. We’ve helped hundreds of couples traverse the complicated immigration and citizenship process. We would love to help you as well. Call 617-714-4375 or email hello@cambridgeimmigrationlaw.com to get in touch.

Marriage Based Green Card Approved!

Marriage based green card approved!Recently, our client was thrilled that his marriage based green card was approved. Due to COVID travel restrictions and embassy closures, 2020 was a stressful year for him and his wife, but now they are at ease that their application has been approved.

 

If you need to talk to an experienced immigration attorney. We’ve helped hundreds of couples traverse the complicated immigration and citizenship process. We would love to help you as well.  Call 617-714-4375 or email hello@cambridgeimmigrationlaw.com to get in touch.

February 28 Update – U.S. citizenship after immigrating almost 9 years ago

Us citizenship -American flag and USCIS logoLast week, we represented a client who obtained U.S. citizenship after immigrating to the U.S. almost 9 years ago. He had met his wife in Europe, married there, had a child there and immigrated to the U.S. on a marriage based green card. He now enjoys the peace and security of U.S. citizenship.

 

If you need to talk to an experienced immigration attorney. We’ve helped hundreds of couples traverse the complicated immigration and citizenship process. We would love to help you as well.  Call 617-714-4375 or email hello@cambridgeimmigrationlaw.com to get in touch.

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Marriage-Based Green Card Document Guide

We work hard to make your immigration case easy for you. Use this easy guide to help you organize the documents that you would use if you are eligible to submit an application for a marriage-based green card application. You should consult with an attorney to figure out if you are eligible for a green card before you submit any applications or documents to the U.S. government.