Q & A November 21, 2004
Q & A 1. 2.
Q&A 1.
Two years after married to an U.S. Citizen are considered permanent
resident upon entry
Dear Mr. Lee:
I’m your loyal reader and have a question.
After divorcing my ex-wife, I married my current wife in China on
4/10/02. I came back to U.S. and applied for my wife and 3 children.
My wife and children came to U.S. on 4/12/04. From registration
of marriage to entering US, it had been over 2 years and 2 days.
We received 2-year greed cards not 10-year. Did the immigration
make a mistake or it’s the law? How should we apply for a
10-year green card? Please advise.
Thanks.
Dear reader:
Individuals who enter the U.S. for residence status two years or
more after being married to their petitioning spouses are considered
permanent and not conditional residents upon entry. In your case,
the mistake was obviously caused by the fact that your wife and
her children interviewed for immigrant visas before the marriage
was two years old and received conditional residence packets from
the consulate. Your family fortunately understood the two year rule
and ensured that they would not travel to the U.S. until the two
years had expired. To rectify the inspection error, your wife and
children can apply for I-90s ( Application to Replace Permanent
Resident Card). However, you should be aware that the U.S.C.I.S.
appears reluctant in many cases to comply with the law and it may
take much effort to straighten out the problem.
Q&A 2.
Naturalization Interview takes about 8 months in Boston and 10
months in Newark
New Jersey’s Ye Reader asks:
I’m 78 years old and received my green card on December 1,
1999. From you articles, I understand that I could apply for naturalization
90 days before the 5 years expired.
I live with my children in Massachusetts and New Jersey, therefore,
I could pick one of these 2 states to apply for naturalization.
Could you please let me know how long will it take to receive interview
notice for these 2 states?
Dear reader:
Currently both Boston and Newark take approximately one year to
interview naturalization cases, according to the official U.S.C.I.S.
processing charts.
|