Monday, December 7, 2009

Immigration: Love, Marriage and the GreenCard Peerally Shah, Esq.


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Marriage is certainly a very important concept, and the body in the United States and, as such, Congress must ensure that a foreigner who marries a United States citizen spouse has an immediate opportunity for a permanent preference file under the first category. It is good to know that a permanent residents (green card holders) may file a marriage petition but the wait time for the priority day is long, and therefore do not give directAbility of recipients to receive a green card.

The first consideration in cases of marriage is that marriage must be (in good faith, literally "good faith") or a marriage is not for the purpose of immigration benefits only. A good marriage is the belief in the intention of the bride and groom to a life together at the time, testified that she had been married to establish. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) formerlyINS ( "Immigration"), has different criteria for determining if a marriage was registered in good faith. These include but not limited intermingling of assets, joint lease, joint financial responsibility, and pictures. It is generally accepted that a couple knows the intimate affairs of each other. Therefore, it is very important to present the marriage document to you to prove your bona fide relationship. It is imperative that a person does not respond a fraudulent marriage. A fraudulent marriage is both the petitioner (for U.S. citizens to punish spouses) and the recipient (the person) of the benefits and could even result in criminal charges, including jail time. While immigration does not detect fraudulent marriages, they will recognize an arranged marriage, as long as it is registered in good faith.

To file a marriage petition, you should have a valid marriage. A valid> Marriage is one that is recognized in the state in which it takes place. For example, if Ram goes to Anita, and moves in Nevada, married in California, the marriage will be recognized by the Immigration Department. However, when Ram and Anita are cousins, first, Nevada does not recognize the marriage and thus immigration will not recognize this marriage. This is very important because you might not this fact until you know your file petitions with the Immigration. Alsoif the marriage takes place, for example, the Fiji Islands will recognize the immigration of marriage, as long as the marriage is recognized in Fiji. Note that a proxy marriage is not recognized. A proxy is a marriage, if not meet the bride and groom on the day of the wedding. The exception to this rule is if the marriage after the proxy marriage was consummated.

Once married, the documents can be processed either in the United States,if the recipient (the receipt of green card) is processed in the United States or abroad will be able through the U.S. Consulate. During the processing of cases abroad, you can opt for a K3 visa in order to reduce the waiting time. Even if no marriage has taken place not bring, you can even his fiancee on a K1 visa. The visas are only for U.S. citizen petitioners. On the other side, so the marriage will be processed in the United States, (aProcess called adjustment of status), the recipients in the United States entered legally but only for a day. That is, the person should be chosen over the United States on a valid visa. If you are registered with the crossing of the border, out of luck if they benefit from a provision under INA 245 (i). This provision is necessary if any type of petition in favor of the beneficiaries was on or before 30 April 2001 submitted. There are many requirements to prove that you benefit from this provisionthe law. You need to speak to an experienced attorney about your case. Although you run for your visa, you will definitely need an immigration attorney before you speak to proceed with any kind of case.

During the adjustment of status process, you should not leave the United States when you file and receive an approved reentry / parole to enable. You should know that a parole or reentry permit is to be no guarantee of entry into the United States. This can only be on a boardPlane and arrive at the entry to the U.S., where an official of the Immigration Department if you will not be allowed in the U.S. or. If you have more than 180 days has expired on your visa before applying for a green card, you should not rely on any case, the United States. In fact, you will be subject to a 3 years bar. This bar will prevent the person is not only back in the U.S., but also in obtaining permanent residence. At this point can only help a liberation. It is important toGood to know that the waiver is not easy to get. If you run more than 365 days prior to the application, you should not leave, because his this time, in which a bar 10 years. The same rule as the bar is 3 years with the exception of the bar is used for 10 years and the waiver is getting much more difficult.

If you file petition for your marriage, you will be called for fingerprinting and an interview within 3 to 8 months if the papers properly filed. They shouldParticipation in this interview with your spouse and proof that your marriage is bona fide (good faith). At this point, it is highly advisable to take a lawyer with you during these interviews. Be allowed, in fact a licensed attorney to sit with you in conversation. If the contracting officer is satisfied with the interview, and the vetting is completed, he or she will tell you that he or she will issue a response soon. You can get an answer in the next week that yourCase was approved and a letter welcoming you to the U.S. as permanent residents.

On the other hand, if replaced by immigration or admission proves that is the case, fraudulent, you can be arrested on the spot. At this point, are highly recommended to keep silent until your lawyer is present. In another case, if the officer is not satisfied, you may be called for another interview or they could refuse your case. Technically, shall be denied if it will give you one months agoReferring the case to the Immigration Judge. In this way, your attorney may, where appropriate, to include a way to file the case again. If that fails, the case in immigration court are invoked. The immigration judge will review the case de novo (again) and a determination. That means you have to prove your case or the government has to prove that your marriage was not bona fide. Again, it is highly advisable to take an experienced attorney to move in such cases.

Ifthe case is accepted, the recipient will be granted when a conditional residence was issued at the time the green card marriage less than two years. You should check whether you have a conditional residence. Usually a conditional residence Green Card have an expiry date of 2 years from the date of issue. You must remove the conditional residence status 90 days after the second anniversary of issue of the green card by filing a Form I-751 to. It isessential to the removal file otherwise your status will be terminated. Normally, if you still married to your spouse is a U.S. citizen, you will file a joint petition to remove such conditions. Is, if you can prove your marriage was bona fide, you will receive a permanent residence for 10 years about 6 months after filing of Form I-751st If immigration has reason to suspect foul play, they will launch an investigation and there could even say: You and your partner for removalof conditional residence interview. If they are satisfied, they will grant you unconditional permanent residence. If not they will refer the case to an immigration judge.

The question is what happens if there is a separation or divorce before or during the 90 days preceding the anniversary of the expiry of the conditional greencard. The following are few potential scenarios.

Divorce finalized prior to filing the removal of conditional residence.

In this case, one needs to file the removal of conditional residence waiver (Form I-751) even if the marriage has not reached two years. You will be required to prove that your marriage was entered in good faith and the marriage was not terminated through your fault. The process will follow typically the same path as when you file the case jointly with your wife;
Two years anniversary of the conditional green card has come to term and the divorce is not finalized. In this case, you will need to get the divorce finalized as soon as possible so that you can file the Form I-751 waiver; and
You were able to file your joint petition of removal of conditional residence and during this time your marriage is facing troubles and you separate and intent to divorce your spouse. You need to inform the USCIS and wait for the final divorce decree and file a Form I-751 again.

There are numerous other permutations of situations regarding the removal of conditional residence namely abusive US citizen spouses, or hardship situations. You should speak to your attorney regarding your particular case.

There are other provisions under the law to protect beneficiaries namely in case of abuse by US citizen spouses. In case, one is abused by his/her citizen spouse, one will be eligible to file for VAWA (Violence against Women Act) protection. Note that VAWA can be used in favor of man also. There are also situations where the US citizen spouse dies before the case is approved.

Because VAWA and other exceptional cases are very unique cases. We will try to cover them in our next article.

And remember, it is highly recommended to speak to an experience licensed attorney before filing any kind of immigration case.

The information contained in this article is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject matter. No recipients of content from this article, clients or otherwise, should act or refrain from acting on the basis of any content included in the article without seeking the appropriate legal or other professional advice on the particular facts and circumstances at issue from an attorney licensed in the recipient's state. Shah Peerally is the managing for the Law Offices of Shah Peerally located in Fremont CA. The law office focuses on Immigration Law.
http://www.peerallylaw.com Ph:510 742 5887 Email:shah@peerallylaw.com

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