Author: New York Family Immigration Attorney Alena Shautsova Priority dates in immigration play vital role: when priority date is current, a person who had a petition filed for them can adjust their status or file for an Immigrant visa. In some categories, people wait for years or even decades for a priority date to become "current". In a cer ...
Full article »Author: US Marriage Green Card Attorney Alena Shautsova You are a US citizen; you have met a love of your life, you guys got married and started sharing your lives. Unfortunately, your spouse is "undocumented". Soon you realized that without “legal papers” in the US, you guys could not apply for a mortgage, share health insurance or even file ...
Full article »Author: Marriage Immigration attorney Alena Shautsova An RFE or request for more evidence is a document issued on a yellow or pink paper that many applicants for adjustment of status meet with a great distress. First, I should state here that if you receive an RFE, do not panic. Look at it as an opportunity to supplement the record and present cla ...
Full article »Author: Green Card Attorney Alena Shautsova When somebody enters into a marriage, they usually hope that the union would last forever and spouses would respect each another, and they would live happily –ever- after... Some marriages last for a long time, some forever, and some for days or hours. United States Immigration laws require that a non-c ...
Full article »Author: Green Card Lawyer Alena Shautsova An I-130 form is a U.S. Immigration document that needs to be filed in order for a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident to sponsor a family member. This form is necessary for a husband to sponsor wife, for a brother to sponsor a brother and for a parent to sponsor a child. Usually, the form has to be f ...
Full article »Author: Marriage Immigration Attorney Alena Shautsova One of the most common types of Immigration cases every practitioner encounters is an application for an immigration status based on marriage. These application can be sorted out to two main groups: applications based on marriage based to a U.S. citizen (a USC) and applications based to a mar ...
Full article »Author: VAWA attorney Alena Shautsova A K-1 visa is issued to a fiance of the U.S. citizen who is willing and able to get married to the U.S. citizen within 90 days of arrival. If everything goes well, the couple gets married and later, they apply for adjustment of status for the non-citizen. The marriages by K-1 visa holder and a U.S. citizen are ...
Full article »Author: US Visa Attorney Alena Shautsova If your green card application is based on marriage to a U.S. citizen, you will be called for an interview with a USCIS officer. During your initial interview with USCIS you may ask you to come back for a second interview, also known in New York as a Stokes Interview. It is important to remember that this ...
Full article »Author: US Immigration Attorney Alena Shautsova With the US Supreme court decision in United States v. Windsor, the US recognized federal benefits in connection with same sex couples. To wit, the US government allowed family sponsored immigration for same sex unions. Gay spouses are allowed to sponsor their loved ones for adjustment of status, i ...
Full article »Author: US Immigration Attorney Alena Shautsova With the US Supreme court decision in United States v. Windsor, the US recognized federal benefits in connection with same sex couples. To wit, the US government allowed family sponsored immigration for same sex unions. Gay spouses are allowed to sponsor their loved ones for adjustment of status, i ...
Full article »Author: Marriage Visa Attorney Alena Shautsova Form I 751 petition to remove conditions on permanent residency, must be filed by those couples whose marriage (if one of the spouses is a non-US citizen) is younger than two years at the time of the adjudication of the immigrant visa application or application for adjustment of status. The form must ...
Full article »Author: New York Immigration lawyer Alena Shautsova Immigration marriage fraud may take various forms: from exchanging moneys for marriage to conspiracy to broker individuals for marriage. Please see: What Is Marriage Fraud and How Does the USCIS Operate to Prevent It?. Finding of the marriage fraud has drastic immigration consequences but also ma ...
Full article »Author: Marriage Visa Attorney Alena Shautsova The process of adjustment of status based on marriage starts with the marriage itself. A couple can file their immigration forms the next day following their wedding: the law does not require that the couple waits any specific time to submit their applications. First, both spouses have to collect all ...
Full article »Author: Family Visas Lawyer Alena Shautsova Do you believe that because your marriage is real you will be able to pass the Immigration interview without preparation? Let’s practice. Can you, without thinking more than 2-5 seconds about the answer, give answers to the following questions, and then ask your spouse if you got it right: Date and p ...
Full article »Author: K-1 Visa Attorney Alena Shautsova When a US citizen wishes to invite his fiancé to the US, he or she has to submit a K-1 or fiancé visa petition. If granted, the petition will allow a foreign fiancé to obtain a K-1 visa to come and stay in the US for up to 90 days. Within the 90 days, a couple must get married or fiancé has to leave the US ...
Full article »Author: Parole in Place Attorney Alena Shautsova On November 15, 2013, USCIS issued an official Memorandum clarifying the procedures for parole in place: a relief available for EWI (entrant without inspection) immediate relatives of the Military personnel. This relief is not a new law. In fact, it has been used by Immigration practitioners for a ...
Full article »Author: US Visa Attorney Alena Shautsova Every year, thousands of U.S. citizens get married to foreigners and if they thought that the marriage and wedding is the most tiring part, they were bitterly mistaken. After the wedding, the happy couples have to “deal” with the maze of the U.S. immigration laws. Some brave hearts attempt to do it on their ...
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