Young Immigration Couple

Spouse Green Card: Non U.S. Citizen Petitioner

Family Immigration

Green Card holders (permanent residents) may petition for their Spouse (husband or wife).

First let’s look at the rules for the spouse of U.S. citizens. They are pretty straight forward.

Petitioner is a U.S. Citizen

A U.S. citizen (petitioner) files the I-130 petition and the spouse (beneficiary) can can file the I-485 at the same time. In other words the U.S citizen files the petition to prove that their alien relative is in a real marriage and the beneficary, the foreign national, applies for adjustment of status at the same time. They want to adjust their status from whatever non-immigrant visa they entered on into that of Lawful Permanment Resident.

Petitioner Is A Green Card Holder (Non U.S. Citizen)

Now, when the petitioner is only a green card holder things are more complicated because there is a backlog right now. Congress has limited the number of visas for the spouses and under-aged children of Lawful Permanment Residents. So in this situation under current processing times and guidelines you have to file the I-130 petition first.  The beneficiary is given a priority date when the I-130 petition is filed. This is the receipt date. The priority date is the beneficiary’s place in line. The beneficiary then must wait for that date to become current. Each month they have to check the visa bulletin to see when that priority date is going to become current. Once it becomes current then they can apply for the I-485 Adjustment of Status. This is called a “2 Step” process.

1 Step vs 2 Step Process

When a U.S. citizen files this is called a “1 Step” process because it is all done in one step. However, when the petitioner is a Green Card holder it is called a “2 Step” because it takes two steps. First the petitioner files the I-130 and the beneficiary is provided with a priority date. Once the priority date is current the beneficiary can file for Adjustment of Status.

Now given the fact that right now we are looking at 4 years plus for the processing of the spouses and under-aged children of Green Card holders to get a final decision it is most likely that the prority date will not become current until after the petitioner, the Green Card holder’s spouse, becomes a U.S. citizen and then upgrades their case. Now the petitioner is a U.S. Citizen and the USCIS is going to go ahead and process their petition and hopefully approve it and the beneficiary, the children or the spouse, can apply for the I-485 Adjustment of Status and get their Green Card. So it is a little bit trickier when the petitioner is only a Green Card holder.

Spouse Green Card Questions?

Questions about the spouse green card immigration process? Looking for help to make sure your petition or application can be processed as quickly as possible? Please contact immigration attorney Jessie M. Thomas. Call (214) 838-0045, Text (214) 838-0045 or Email contactus@staylegally.com today.

K1 Alien Fiancé Visa Petition Can Reduce Separation Time

Family Immigration, Immigration News

The glorious sun is shining bright. The smooth silky sky is the most beautiful shade of blue anyone has ever seen and every drifting cloud looks like blooming hearts. You’ve got that silly sucker smile strapped to your face and Your mind is stuck on 1 person day and night. You’re in love and You have never felt so alive!
Now your back home and the love of your life is back in his/her home and reality has struck and you realize that you are oceans apart from the only one you want to spend the rest of your life with. You are a U.S. Citizen…. and she/he is not….. You can’t imagine being separated for almost 1.5 years waiting for him/her to get a green card via the Immigrant Visa petition before coming to the U.S. What could you possibly do now???

Well, this is where I, the managing attorney of The Law Office of Jessie M. Thomas, can assist.

Let me propose to you the K1 Alien Fiancé Visa Petition I-129F which generally takes less than half the amount of time. This also happens to be one of my favorite immigration subjects.

The K1 Alien Fiancé Visa Petition I-129F allows your foreign citizen fiancé to travel to the United States and marry you here. But there are some requirements that must be met.

First of all you must be a U.S. Citizen. This route cannot be used by green card holders and you must have met your fiancé face to face within the last 2 years prior to filing the K1 Alien Fiancé Visa Petition I-129F. In very limited circumstances USCIS can waive the meeting requirement. It is usually based on religious/cultural reasons or extreme hardship as the reason why you have not met your fiancé in the last 2 years. A very subjective test is used and you must be able to convince USCIS.

You must also show that you and your fiancé intend to get married within 90 days of his/her arrival- no excuses. If you both do not get married to each other within this timeframe then your fiancé (probably your ex-fiancé by that point) must leave the country immediately. Also note that your fiancé cannot change her mind and marry someone else while on this K1 fiancé visa that YOU filed for him/her.

You must be able to prove that you both are legally free to get married at the time of filing the K1 Alien Fiancé Visa Petition I-129F and that your marriage is legal in the United States in the state where you plan to get married.

Since the K1 Alien Fiancé Visa is also a high fraud category, government officials will be scrutinizing each K1 Alien Fiancé Visa Petition I-129F case that comes before them. Keep in mind that if these highly trained officials find out there is fraud involved you can be incarcerated for upto 5 years and/or be forced to pay a $250,000 fine. In short, do not use the K1 Fiancé Visa process illegally or in bad faith.

If you truly want to bring your fiancé to the U.S. as quickly as legally possible and you have a bona fide relationship with your fiancé then The Law Office of Jessie M. Thomas will guide you quickly and correctly from the K1 Alien Fiancé Visa filing to the NVC consular processing portion to the adjustment of status process until your fiancé gets the green card in hand.

USCIS fees are going to be increased from the current $340 to $535 on December 23, 2016. The legal fees for The Law Office Of Jessie M. Thomas are separate and will depend on the complexity of each individual case. However we offer one of the lowest fees around and offer flexible payment plans that most attorneys would never offer.

If you are interested in hiring the Law Office of Jessie M. Thomas to handle your K1 Alien Fiancé petition filing or any other immigration related filing, please contact us for a free evaluation and fee quote by visiting our website and filling out a Contact Us Form or by emailing ContactUs@StayLegally.com or by calling (214) 838-0045.

Appeals Court Denies Emergency Stay in Legal Challenge to Deferred Action

Family Immigration, Immigration News

Today, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals denied the federal government’s request for an emergency stay of the preliminary injunction on Obama’s expanded deferred action initiatives announced last November. The preliminary injunction announced in February has temporarily stopped President Obama’s deferred action initiatives from being implemented. These initiatives, announced last November, could protect up to 5 million immigrants from deportation. As a result of today’s order, … Read More at:  https://immigrationimpact.com/2015/05/26/appeals-court-denies-emergency-stay-in-legal-challenge-to-deferred-action/

The court’s temporary injunction, issued February 16, does not affect the existing DACA. Individuals may continue to come forward and request an initial grant of DACA or renewal of DACA under the guidelines established in 2012. For help with deferred action please contact Dallas immigration attorney Jessie M. Thomas at (214) 838-0045.

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