01 Jun 2022

Humanitarian Reinstatement Following Death of Petitioning Relative

In most circumstances, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is required to revoke an approved family-based petition for alien relative (form I-130) if the petitioning relative dies before the beneficiary is issued an immigrant visa. However, under certain circumstances, a humanitarian reinstatement request is...

26 May 2022

I am a U.S. citizen, and just turned 21. I would like to sponsor my parents for green cards; but as a full-time student my income is limited. Any options to still sponsor them?

Answer In completing an I-864 Affidavit of Support form, the individual sponsoring a family member for permanent residence normally must demonstrate income at a level equal to or above 125 percent of the federal poverty guideline level. If the sponsor does not have a sufficient annual...

26 May 2022

I filed my I-485 based on the dates for filing chart. Earlier this month, the USCIS approved my I-485 and issued me a green card. However, my priority date is not yet current on the final action chart. May I still keep the green card?

Answer Unfortunately, this type of error can be a serious problem for a number of reasons. First off, if the USCIS notices the error, they typically will move to revoke the green card. Second, even if the USCIS does not revoke the green card, it could...

19 May 2022

Can I file my I-485 from India?

Answer In order submit an I-485 application, one needs to physically be in the United States at the time of filing. If you wish to apply for a green card from India, the application normally would be submitted for consular processing (i.e., applying for an immigrant...

05 May 2022

I am interested in applying for a green card through the EB5 program based on an investment in my own business. How do I determine if a location qualifies as a targeted employment area (TEA) based on its being an area of high unemployment?

Answer Trying to determine whether a particular location qualifies as a high unemployment area can be challenging. The requirement is that the business must be located in a census tract, or contiguous census tracts, experiencing unemployment of at least 150 percent of the national average. Sometimes,...

25 Apr 2022

Interview Waivers for Certain Conditional Permanent Residents

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has implemented a risk-based approach to waive interviews for conditional permanent residents (CPR) who have filed a petition to remove conditions on residence (form I-751). This replaces the previous policy, which had mandated interviews for virtually all CPRs...