Arizona Family Based Immigration Lawyer
Current laws and regulations permit a U.S. citzenship or permanent resident
to sponsor certain qualifying foreign relatives for permanent residency. Once
permanent residency is legimately obtained and maintained, eventual citizenship
for the foreign family member through naturalization is also possible, but not
all family members can qualify for permanent residency. Recent changes in rules
about illegal immigration can result in adverse determinations, even when a
U.S. citizen fiancé or spouse is the sponsor. Dealing with United States
Citzenship and Immigration Services, the National Visa Center and U.S. consulates
abroad can be frustrating. The rules for obtaining and successfully maintaining
permanent residency, and transitioning from permanent residency into citzenship
are complicated, sometimes unforgiving, and normally should be attempted only
with competent legal advice. Otherwise, costly and sometimes irreversible errors
may occur, with far reaching implications for the family members that can include
deportation.
Pima County Arizona Family Based Immigration & Naturalization Lawyer:
Messing Law Offices
Contact Messing Law Offices for a free seven minute
telephonic consultation or to arrange an initial consultation if you have questions
about permanent residency, citizenship, qualifying family members, deportation
of relatives, or other issues of family member permanent residency.
US Citizen Sponsors of Family Members
Fiancé visa
- A fiancé of a U.S. citizen must obtain a visa to enter the United
States from a U.S. Consulate abroad, after obtaining preliminary written approval
from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service located within the U.S.
Qualifying children of the fiancé can also obtain derivative visas to enter
the United States as part of this process.
- After the fiancé successfully enters the U.S., the couple must marry
within a specified time and the foreign spouse must adjust
status to that of a permanent resident by filing appropriate documents
with the USCIS (formerly INS) within a time set by law, or all immigration
benefits may be lost and the foreign fiancé or spouse will have to leave the
United States. Special rules also apply to permanent
residency for the children of the new spouse who entered on derivative
fiance visas. Messing Law Offices has extensive experience with all aspects
of the fiancé immigration process, including for dependent children.
Spousal visas
- If the foreign spouse lives outside the U.S., either permanent residency
or a special variant of a fiancé visa ("K-3 visa") can be requested
from a U.S. Consulate in an appropriate country. If the spouse is inside the
U.S., then he or she may be able to adjust
status to that of a permanent resident within the United States. In certain
cases, even if currently within the U.S. the spouse may be best advised to
travel abroad to obtain permanent residency
from a U.S. consulate in an appropriate foreign country. Carefully considered
strategic considerations should dictate which type of immigration benefit
to request and where. Messing Law Offices has extensive expertise to guide
the applicants through this complicated process and obtain the most favorable
benefits possible.
Contact Messing Law Offices for a free seven minute
telephonic consultation or to arrange an initial consultation if you have questions
about a type of visa to request and where to seek it, or how best to immigrate
a fiance or spouse.
Couples who have been married less than two years before an application for
permanent residency is filed must also fulfill special rules on conditional
permanent residency. Before the end of the two year conditional permanent residency
period, an application to remove the conditions must be made on a form I-751
which is available for free with instructions from the USCIS website. A pending
divorce or existing legal separation can result in a denial of the application
to remove the conditions, in which case the permanent residency will be lost.
A number of exceptions can save the permanent residency of a foreign conditional
permanent resident even if the marriage is unsucessful, but experienced legal
advice should definitely be sought in such a situation.
Contact Messing Law Offices for a free seven minute
telephonic consultation or to arrange an initial consultation if you have quesitons
about the removal of conditions on permanent residency in order to obtain a
ten-year green card. Messing Law Offices has considerable experience in preparing
successful petitions to remove conditions on permanent residency and to help
salvage the permanent residency of conditional permanents whose marriages have
run into difficulties during the two year period of conditional permanent residency.
Fiancé and spousal visas present many special problems that are the
subject of frequently asked questions about fiancé
and marriage visas posed to Attorney John Messing.
Other categories of relatives of U.S. citizens
Immediate relatives of US citizens (visa immediately available)
- Spouse of US citizen
- Unmarried child under 21 years old;
- Parent, if the citizen is at least 21 years old (whether child is married
or not).
Other classes of relatives of US citizens (visa subject to preference categories)
- Unmarried son or daughter over 21;
- Married son or daughter (any age); or
- Brother or sister, if the citizen is at least 21 years old.
Permanent Resident Sponsors of Family Members
Lawful Permanent Residents can also apply for a limited class of qualifying
family members, but in addition to the rules applicable to immediate relatives
of U.S. citizens, the foreign family member must wait until a visa is available
in the appropriate category of visa preferences, before any immigration benefit
can be obtained, which can take months and sometimes years to obtain. If naturalization
of the permanent resident occurs during the pendency of the application for
the qualifying family member, then visa availability is immediate, and the waiting
time is eliminated.
Contact Messing Law Offices for a free seven minute
telephonic consultation or to arrange an initial consultation if you have questions
about visa availability times or effects of naturalization upon an existing application by a permanent resident for a relative to obtain an immigrant visa.
Qualifying categories for relatives of Permanent Resident include:
- Husband or wife;
- Unmarried son or daughter (any age)
Contact Messing Law Offices for a free seven minute
telephonic consultation or to arrange an initial consultation if you have questions
about immigrant visa applications from permanent residents, visa wait times,
or qualifying family relationships.
Affidavit of Support Requirement
As part of the application process for a relative, the sponsoring family member
has to agree to be financially responsible for the relative he or she is sponsoring
and prove that he or she has sufficient assets and/or income to make this undertaking,
through a document called an affidavit
of support. If the foreign relative goes on certain specified types of public
assistance, then the sponsoring relative agrees to reimburse the Government
for any expenditures it makes. In certain cases, even if the U.S. citizen or
permanent resident family member lacks sufficient income or assets to qualify
for this undertaking, another person can become a joint sponsor and assume all
or part of the obligation. The rules applicable to affidavits of support are
complicated. Learn more about affidavits
of support.
Contact Messing Law Offices for a free seven minute
telephonic consultation or to arrange an initial consultation if you have questions
about affidavits of support, adjustment of status, qualifying relatives, or
other issues about getting a family member permanent residency.
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