Sadri Law, PC

Divorce will not impact many green card holders’ green card status. However, this only applies to lawful permanent residents with a 10-year green card. If you are a conditional resident, divorce and separation could impact your legal status, and you must act quickly with the help of an immigration attorney to protect yourself.

The only action you must take is to file Form I-90 or the Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card status. This will allow you to renew or replace your green card. Our attorney helps you prepare, file, and submit a Form I-90 after divorce.

Am I Responsible for My Spouse After Divorce?

Many spouses achieve legal citizenship status through marriage. If your spouse received permanent residence by marrying you, it’s your financial obligation to support them, even if the divorce settlement did not include alimony or spousal support.

You also are responsible for financially providing for your ex-spouse even if they received half the marital assets in the divorce. It is set up this way to weed out couples that only marry for marital status and divorce shortly after and live off of the government. Your financial duty is to ensure your spouse is not eligible for public benefits like food stamps and unemployment benefits.

We ensure you comply with these legal obligations so your spouse does not pursue legal action.

Do I Need to Notify Immigration of My Divorce?

Divorce would impact conditional residents if they received legal status through a spouse. Divorce can hinder a spouse’s (conditional resident) ability to gain permanent residency if they don’t take immediate action. Essentially, a divorce dissolves the relationship that made you eligible for a green card, and even if the USCIS has already approved you, you may no longer be eligible.

Our attorney helps conditional residents prepare, file, and submit Form I-751 to immigration authorities with a joint filing requirement with their spouse to prove the marriage was in good faith. There are certain exceptions to filing without a spouse, including domestic violence or a spouse’s death.

Are there Other Conditions to Worry About After Divorce?

A divorce might pose an issue if you were only married to your spouse for two years or annulled your marriage. The two-year period after a couple marries allows the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to ensure the marriage was entered in good faith and not for citizenship purposes.

The USCIS will likely investigate your marriage further. Our attorney can help you file a Form I-751 petition in response, which helps prove the validity of your relationship. Failure to file or an unsuccessful petition can result in deportation, so we will ensure you act vigilantly. Contact our law offices today to protect your green card status: 408-402-4967.

A foreign-born citizen on a temporary visa in the United States to live or work can use an adjustment of status to obtain lawful permanent residency. An adjustment of status is the process by which a person attains an immigrant visa or green card.

Generally, all foreign-born individuals must be in a lawful status to seek an adjustment of status, or the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services will deny their application. For example, suppose an immigrant overstayed the U.S. on an expired visa or never had a lawful status. In that case, a status adjustment is impossible for these non-citizens.

We can quickly determine if you are a candidate for an adjustment of status when you speak with our experienced immigration attorney.

Am I Eligible for an Adjustment of Status?

An adjustment of status is an application filed by a foreign-born citizen in the United States who wants to change their non-immigrant status to immigrant or permanent resident. To be eligible, an immigrant must meet the following criteria:

• Proof of residence in the United States
• An immigration petition must have been approved
• An immigrant must have entered the United States legally
• There must not be any change in an immigrant’s circumstances that might hinder eligibility, such as employment

During our consultation, our attorney will review your case and determine your eligibility for an adjustment of status.

What is Form I-185?

Form I-185 is the official green card application for individuals looking to pursue an adjustment of status. Different requirements are needed to complete and file Form I-185 for immediate relatives, individuals in the United States for employment, and special immigrant juveniles.

For example, family preference immigrants must meet the exact requirements as immediate relatives and provide additional proof regarding lawful status, documentation regarding a relationship to the applicant, and additional forms mandated by the USCIS.

We will ensure that you provide all necessary documentation and proof required by the USCIS to ensure a seamless process.

What Happens After Approval?

An adjustment of status approval usually takes eight to 14 months for family-based applications and sometimes longer for other forms, such as employment-based or special immigrant juvenile applications. However, a perk is that immigrants may remain in the United States as they await the arrival of their status adjustment.

Our attorney helps vet your eligibility and fulfill the requirements to cut down on time and money. It’s also part of our job to ensure we fix any issues that delay or stand in the way of your achieving lawful permanent residency. Contact our firm for assistance with Form I-185 or the application process and schedule a consultation with our experienced immigration attorney at 408-402-4967.

Foreign-born individuals migrate to the United States for a better and safer life for themselves and their families. The most common reasons include more work and educational opportunities, better living conditions, and less violence.

When migrating from another country, there are different ways to live and work in the United States. The four main categories of immigration status include citizenship, permanent or conditional residency, non-immigration status, and undocumented immigration status.

From temporary visas to permanent residency to citizenship, our attorney can help you pursue the correct legal immigration status or offer legal representation regarding your current or future immigration status.

What is an Undocumented Immigrant?

Undocumented immigrants, also known as unauthorized immigrants or “illegal aliens,” are foreign-born people that live and work in the United States but do not have the proper authorization to do so. A person becomes an undocumented immigrant if they enter the United States without permission or do not get their temporary visa renewed. Not following immigration law is considered a violation, and a person can get removed from the United States if caught.

With one phone call to our firm, our experienced immigration attorney can help undocumented immigrations explore legal strategies to avoid deportation.

What is Permanent Immigration?

Non-citizen immigrants that hold a green card are considered lawful permanent residents (LPRs) of the United States. Permanent residents can live and work in the United States and share many of the same rights as United States citizens, though they cannot vote in federal, state, or local elections. An LPR is valid for approximately ten years.

Permanent residents can apply for U.S. citizenship after five years of residency or three years if married to a U.S. citizen. We can help you apply for a green card to obtain permanent immigration status.

What is the Process of Immigration?

In most cases, a person must sponsor you or file an immigrant petition to live or work in the United States legally. Family-based immigration is the most common type of migration in which a spouse, parents, or another family member provides sponsorship. Another way foreign-born people migrate to the United States is through an employment-based visa. We ensure you complete the steps in the immigration process and do all the leg work involved in helping you prepare and file the necessary paperwork.

If you are already in the United States and need to apply for a green card, or you’re looking to immigrate to the United States, contact our attorney to assist with your immigration process. A better life is right around the corner. Contact our firm today and learn more about your options: 408-402-4967.

Citizenship lawyers, though more commonly known as immigration lawyers, help foreign citizens navigate various obstacles and issues only immigrants face when applying for citizenship, among other things. Often immigration attorneys assist with ensuring forms and applications are correctly completed. Our attorney helps our clients with the following:

• Visa applications
• Green cards
• Citizenship
•  Naturalization
• Deportation
• Non-citizen employment

Our attorney can help you conquer some of the most common citizenship issues, from visas to asylum to immigration appeals.

What are Common Reasons for Deportation?

Deportation is complex and one of the primary reasons immigrants seek experienced legal help. There are many reasons for deportation, including marriage fraud, overstaying on an expired visa, violating an order, and providing false information or documentation, among other things. Deportation threatens your family and hinders your right to asylum and due process.

A person previously deported or in removal proceedings will benefit from a citizenship lawyer. In a trial, the opposing attorney’s only goal is to deport you. Our immigration attorney will review possible avenues of relief, argue the law on your behalf, prepare you for court, advise you on how to respond to questions, and deal with important requirements and deadlines regarding your case.

Is it Faster to Apply for Citizenship with Legal Help?

Immigrants must comply with a variety of requirements to attain U.S. citizenship. An attorney will make the citizenship process easier and faster when you aren’t sure what forms to fill out, what documentation you need, or whether you meet good moral character standards.

Our attorney will save you time and money when applying for citizenship. Having all the right tools in place, including an experienced immigration attorney, can help you achieve citizenship faster than handling the process.

What Doesn’t a Citizenship Lawyer Handle?

A citizenship lawyer will make the application process more accessible and provide legal representation if problems occur. Our attorney does much of the heavy lifting and manages citizenship cases. However, we still need clients to cooperate and answer questions, provide information, and gather documents so we can file forms and respond on their behalf.

Many visa programs, especially permanent citizenship, require immigrants to learn English or beef up their U.S. history knowledge as part of the final interview process. We don’t do this for our clients, but we can share resources to help them learn and prepare. Additionally, we offer guidance to our clients when answering questions on the application form, but we do not tell them how to answer them.

For help with U.S. citizenship, our attorney is the resource you need to thrive in your case. Set up a consultation with our experienced immigration attorney: 408-402-4967.

A temporary work visa is suitable for foreign-based folks who want to enter the United States for employment. They last for a fixed period compared to permanent work visas. Temporary visas typically last up to three years and cover fixed-term employment, task-based contracts, or seasonal and casual work.

There are several steps you must take to secure employment authorization. We help you apply for immigration status, prepare a form I-765 and submit the application for processing. It can take anywhere from two to seven months to receive approval.

What is a Permanent Work Visa?

With the right blend of skills, education, and work experience—or a combination of these things—immigrants can live and work in the United States indefinitely with a permanent work visa. There are five employment-based categories people fall under:

• EB-1 Visa: Professors, researchers, and managers or executives
• EB-2 Visa: Individuals with advanced degrees, exceptional ability, or National Interest Waiver (NIW)
• EB-3 Visa: Skilled or unskilled professionals
• EB-4 Visa: Religious workers or special immigrant juveniles
• EB-5 Visa: Individuals that can attract foreign capital to the U.S., such as investors

What is a Student Visa?

A student visa is required to study in the United States. Student visas allow individuals to access practical training not available in their home country to complete their degree. There are a few types of student visas:

• F-1 Student Visa or “Academic Student” visa is meant for people that wish to study at an academic institution such as a college, university, or seminary
• M-Student Visa or “Vocational Student” is designed for individuals in vocational or non-academic programming
• J-I Exchange Visitor Visa or the J-1 Visa is used by international visitors that enter the United States temporarily for educational or cultural exchange purposes

Wait times for a student visa vary depending on the country. It could take days, weeks, or months. Our immigration attorney will ensure your application is correct to help with processing.

How Do I Choose Between Temporary or Permanent?

There are slight differences between temporary and permanent visas. A temporary visa is an option for individuals who want to enter the United States for a short time for employment and educational purposes or travel. Temporary visas are just that—temporary—and must be renewed, though there is no guarantee. The length of stay can be anywhere from six months to one year.

There are fewer restrictions related to permanent visas, and foreign individuals can work and live permanently in the United States without the risk of expiration. We help individuals seeking temporary, student, or permanent visas complete the necessary steps to obtain a visa and achieve their goals. Call us to discuss the best visa option for your needs:408-402-4967.

U.S. citizens can bring their foreign spouses to the United States using two different visa options: IR-1/CR-1 or a K-3 marriage visa. A CR-1 is an immigrant visa suitable for couples married for less than two years. An IR-1 is another immigrant visa appropriate for couples married for more than two years.

A K-3 marriage visa is also referred to as a nonimmigrant visa. It allows a foreign spouse of a U.S. citizen to travel to the United States and await an immigrant visa to be issued. Two petitions are usually required for a K-3 visa, and we will cover both options with you. We can help you bring your spouse to the United States with an appropriate visa option.

What is a Fiancé Visa?

A fiancé visa (K-1 visa) is not related to a marriage visa such as the CR-1, IR-1, or K-3. Engaged couples who want to get married in the United States can use a fiancé visa. It allows a U.S. citizen and a foreign-born citizen to get married within 90 days.

Compared with any marriage visa, fiancé visas are quicker alternatives as they often get issued in five to seven months. We help you file a petition and submit all necessary paperwork and documentation to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for processing.

What is the Required Documentation for a Spouse?

A foreign spouse must be married to a U.S. citizen with a green card or lawful permanent residency (LPR) status to come to the United States. The required documentation for a foreign spouse includes the following:

• A completed Form I-130
• Copy of a marriage certificate
• Copy of any divorce decrees, death certificates, or annulment decrees
• Passport
• Evidence of all legal name changes

U.S. citizens must be able to prove legal status with a valid passport, birth certificate, or other similar forms of identification, as well as proof of a green card. There are many requirements to follow, and we will walk you through the checklist.

Can My Spouse Come to the United States with a Pending Visa?

If your spouse is a foreign citizen and you are a United States citizen, you can file a Form I-130 so that your spouse is eligible to apply for a nonimmigrant K-3 visa. This will allow your spouse to come to the United States to live and work while the visa petition is pending.

It can take anywhere from seven to 24 months for the USCIS to process and approve “spousal sponsorship.” We will ensure you fill out the proper forms and complete the application process.

Contact our law firm to schedule a consultation and discuss legal strategies and marriage visas to bring your spouse to the United States. Speak with our experienced immigration attorney: 408-402-4967.

The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) is a federal law that allows abused and battered women to petition for legal status in the United States without relying on their abusive spouse or another U.S. citizen to sponsor their green card. In other words, a woman can pursue a lawful permanent residency (LPR) in the United States independently and without the help of their abuser, which is a requirement under normal circumstances.

VAWA cases can take anywhere from 16 to 21 months to resolve. The role of our attorneys is to ensure the court has enough evidence to approve your petition.

Am I Eligible for a VAWA Self-Petition?

If you are a spouse or former spouse of an abusive U.S. citizen or LPR, we must be able to help you prove that you are a victim of extreme cruelty or domestic assault and battery to proceed with a VAWA self-petition. Your eligibility depends on some of the following criteria:

• Proof that you married your spouse in good faith
• Proof that you are married to a U.S. citizen or LPR and they are abusive toward you
• Proof that your spouse lost legal status due to a domestic violence incident
• Proof that your marriage was legally terminated by death
• Proof that your spouse abused your children or family members
• Proof that you are a person of good moral character

We will discuss other requirements with you as part of our consultation.

What Should Be Included in a VAWA?

A VAWA petition is a personal account of your experience with an abusive spouse, as the court will demand supporting evidence before making a decision. Our attorney ensures intimate details are included regarding you and your spouse—from how you met to how your relationship developed to why you got married. We will also have the types of abuse you and your children or family members experienced and when the abuse occurred.

The second part of a self-petition is filling out Form I-360, a petition specifically for individuals pursuing a green card based on marriage without a spouse’s help.

Can an Immigration Attorney Help My Chances?

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) must have written evidence and proof of abuse before granting a woman consideration for LPR. Abused women seeking a green card without the help of an abusive spouse must also be eligible first.

As most cases take months to resolve, we can improve your chances of success by gathering the necessary information and details to appease the court. Anytime a VAWA petition is rejected because of a lack of evidence, such as medical or police records or other documentation proving assault and battery.

We will ensure you can back up your claims and prove abuse. Contact our firm to get started: 408-402-4967.

Naturalization is the process by which U.S. citizenship is granted to a lawful permanent resident (LPR) after three years if you are married to a U.S. citizen or five years. Once a person becomes a U.S. citizen through the naturalization process, they cannot be deported, nor can citizenship be taken away.

There are some exceptions to this, however, and denaturalization is possible if a citizen received citizenship when they were not eligible or if they committed fraud to attain U.S. citizenship.

Can a Naturalized Citizen Be Deported?

A naturalized U.S. citizen is an individual that has been granted citizenship or permanent and indefinite residency in the United States. Unless there are extenuating circumstances, a naturalized U.S. citizen is a U.S. citizen and is no longer at risk of deportation.

Denaturalization is the process in which a person is stripped of their citizenship status. The grounds for this include an illegal or fraudulent naturalization process, the conviction of criminal activity, dishonorable military discharge, and dual citizenship in another country, to name a few examples.

If you are facing denaturalization and possible deportation, do not hesitate another minute, pick up the phone and contact our immigration attorney.

What Rights Does a Naturalized Citizen Have?

Naturalized citizens are U.S. citizens and share many of the same rights and responsibilities. This includes the right to vote, access to government benefits, and the ability to get a job in the public sector. Another advantage of becoming a naturalized citizen after fulfilling a lawful permanent residency is that U.S. citizens can no longer be deported, with some exceptions.

The only rights naturalized citizens do not have are the right to run for the Office of President or Vice President of the United States. They may run for public offices, such as mayor, school board, or city council.

How Do I Apply for Naturalization?

Our attorneys can help you apply for naturalization and fulfill your dreams of becoming a permanent U.S. citizen. To apply for naturalization and become a U.S. citizen, you must meet the following requirements:

• Be at least 18 years old
• Have proof of being a lawful permanent resident for 3-5 years, depending on the specifics of your case
• Be able to speak, write and read English
• Show good moral character
• Demonstrate knowledge of U.S. history and government and loyalty to the U.S. Constitution
• Be willing to take the Oath of Allegiance to the United States

If you are applying for naturalization or facing denaturalization and other issues regarding your U.S. citizenship, contact our immigration attorney for immediate assistance. Call our offices today: 408-402-4967.

A parent with a green card can sponsor a child that is 21 years or older. Children over 21 are also known as unmarried “sons or daughters,” per immigration law. To sponsor their child, green card holders must file a visa petition with the help of an immigration attorney. Our law firm helps parents prepare and submit Form I-130 to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), a vital tool in the sponsorship process.

There are many supporting documents as part of the filing process and fees, and if more than one child is involved, green card holders must fill out an additional I-130 form. Our firm handles all necessary paperwork to avoid mistakes and ensure success.

How Long Does Sponsorship Take?

There are many variables involved in sponsorship that impact processing times. Generally, it takes longer for unmarried sons and daughters to get approval. On average, it could take three to four years.

Approval depends on whether the parent is a U.S. citizen, a lawful permanent resident, or a green card holder. How long a sponsorship case takes also depends on the location where it is being processed and where the interview will take place.

Our attorneys work with parents and children to navigate the sponsorship process, accurately file paperwork, and overcome obstacles as they arise to achieve citizenship.

Are there Liabilities to Sponsoring a Child Over 21?

There are responsibilities and liabilities involved in being a sponsor. Once a parent signs an affidavit of support on behalf of a child, they automatically assume legal and financial responsibility.

For instance, parents are financially responsible for their children until they become U.S. citizens or are credited with 40 quarters of work—whichever comes first. Parents must maintain at least 125 percent of the U.S. poverty line based on household size.

If a sponsor isn’t providing financial support according to immigration law, a child might be able to sue. We ensure you are aware of your rights and responsibilities related to sponsorship to avoid legal trouble involving your obligations.

What are the Challenges Associated with Sponsorship?

One of the most frustrating aspects of sponsorship is approval time. Limited visas are available for immigrants overall, and unmarried sons and daughters fall into the preference category. Compared with immediate relatives, this is not a priority category. Because more people seek visas than are available, a continuous backlog prevents more people from becoming U.S. citizens sooner.

We don’t want our clients to waste years of their lives or money spinning their wheels in the immigration system. Contact our immigration attorneys to protect you, your rights, and your family: 408-402-4967.