Certain family members may receive legal permanent status, or a green card, by having an immigrant visa petition filed and approved. An I-130 Form should be filed where the petitioner is a family member. I I-140 is appropriate where an employer is the petitioner. To avoid delays, one must submit all the requested documents along with the proper form. A petition may be approved or denied with or without an interview. Only after the visa petition is approved, the alien may adjust status pursuant to INA § 245 to receive his green card by way of adjudicating form I-485. USCIS may adjust status after an affirmative application, or defensively during removal proceedings.
There must be a visa immediately available before an alien can adjust status. There exist various preference categories that will determine the wait for an available visa. Aspiring immigrants are classified into categories based on a system of preferences. The immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, which includes parents, spouses and unmarried children under the age of 21, do not have to wait for an immigrant visa number to become available once the visa petition filed for them is approved by USCIS. (An immigrant visa number will become immediately available).
The relatives in the remaining categories must wait for an immigrant visa number to become available according to the following preferences:
First preference: Unmarried, adult sons and daughters of U.S. citizens. Adult means 21 years of age or older.
Second Preference: Spouses of lawful permanent residents, their unmarried children (under twenty-one), and the unmarried sons and daughters of lawful permanent residents.
Third Preference: Married sons and daughters of U.S. Citizens.
Fourth Preference: Brothers and sisters of adult U.S. Citizens.
In addition to having a visa available, the alien must not be inadmissible pursuant to INA s. 212(a), or must seek a waiver pursuant to INA 212(h) or INA 212(i) along with adjustment of status.
ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS THROUGH MARRIAGE
Aliens married for less than two years to a green card holder or a U.S. citizen spouse, may only be granted conditional residency. One of the spouses must file form I-751 within 90 days of the second marriage anniversary to remove the residency condition. To remove the condition, you must document the bona-fides of the marriage. Both spouses are usually required to prove that the marriage was bona-fide when entered into, but if the spouses have already divorced by the time form I-751 is filed, the filing spouse must prove that the marriage was properly entered into.
INTERNATIONAL ADOPTION
To read general information about adoption, click here.
The Marzec Law Firm may assist you in gaining legal permanent residency or to conduct an appeal of any petition that has been denied. Please contact us today.
MARZEC LAW FIRM
The Marzec Law Firm, PC is conveniently located in downtown Manhattan, Williamsburg-Brooklyn, Clifton-New Jersey, and Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. The Firm currently serves clients in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, California, Florida, and Illinois. Click here for directions to the New York City office.
