Published on Lawyers.com and the Epoch Times on August 30, 2013
Q & A 1. 2. 3. 4.
Q&A 1.
How I Get Green Card by Making Investment in U.S.
We open a business and I found out she is illegal in this country. I don't thrust her anymore and I want advise how this can affect me in the future.
Mr. Lee answers:
Investment immigration can be done through the EB-5 program for either an investment of $1 million in most areas or $500,000 in a targeted employment area (TEA), which investment will promote the hiring of 10 US workers. You can go through an individual investment or seek a regional investment center for your investing purposes. I note that your funds must be at risk and there is no guarantee that you will obtain a green card or will gain, break even, or lose money in your investment. Investment immigration has a good track record of success, although the risk factor must be acknowledged.
Q&A 2.
What Paper Work Should a Chinese Citizen Bring to the US to Marry an American Citizen
I plan to marry my fiancé from China. She was wondering what paperwork she would need to bring when she comes over. Birth Certificate, LIFEBOOK, drivers license, passport? Any help would be appreciate along with any advice.
Mr. Lee answers:
Initially I must caution you that if you and your fiancé are planning for her to travel to the States on a visiting visa for the purpose of marriage, she might have a problem with a U.S.C.I.S. officer who may believe that she abused the visitor's visa. The proper course where the purpose of coming to the US is to marry is for you to file a fiancée visa petition with U.S.C.I.S. Documents that your fiancée should bring over are her notarial certificate of birth, dissolution decrees from all former unions, and birth papers of any children that she may have. She should of course have a valid passport. Those would be the general papers from overseas that U.S.C.I.S. requires. Whether she requires any other papers for any other agency would depend on the requirements of those agencies.
Q&A 3.
Will I Get a Work Permit While Waiting for an Answer of My Application for a Waiver of the Two Years Home Residency?
I received a scholarship funded by my home country government. Last April (2013), I finished my program of studies and my J-1 visa, tied to the two year rule, was cancelled and I returned to my country. In June, I came back to the US with a tourist visa that I got before the J-1 visa was granted. Now, I will marry a US citizen and we want to apply for a hardship waiver of the two years residency requirement. I have read that this process could take more than one year and an appeal could extend the process for another year. Then, will I get a work permit, if we file all the forms for adjustment of status (I-130, I-485, I-765, etc) with the hardship waiver application (I-612), while I wait for the decision on the waiver? If I get the work permit and the waiver process takes more than a year, could I renew the work permit? Will USCIS proceed with the residency interview without the waiver decision from the Dept. of State Waiver Commission?
Mr. Lee answers:
If you file all of the paperwork for adjustment of status along with the hardship waiver application, you run the risk of having the applications all rejected or denied as the general rule of U.S.C.I.S. is that you should have the waiver or at least a waiver recommendation in hand prior to submitting an application for adjustment of status. We have of course seen situations in which applicants are not rejected or denied and are allowed employment authorization during the time that the adjudication is pending. U.S.C.I.S. will schedule you for interview in accordance with the schedule of the local field office. The average time for interview in Hartford, the field office location for the state of Connecticut, is approximately 9 months as per the processing time chart. At the time of interview, there is a chance that you will be denied adjustment of status even if you have a waiver approval as you did not have it at the time of the filing. On the other hand, an immigration officer may just accept it. If you do not have an approved waiver by that time, you could be denied or the immigration officer might decide to pend your case and give you a small period of time to obtain the waiver. During the time that a case is pending for adjustment of status, U.S.C.I.S. will normally extend employment authorization. The better strategy of course in my opinion is to either fulfill the two-year home residence requirement or obtain a waiver or Department of State recommendation of such prior to applying for adjustment of status to permanent residence.
Q&A 4.
Green Card, Full Time Student in USA, Adjust Status
Can I adjust status in USA to continue the adjustment process from USA? I have always kept myself a legal status as a student. The only concern I have is that I worked off campus and this could give me hard time. Is there any way do adjust to obtain my green card without the need to go outside USA? how , what options... ?
Mr. Lee answers:
I will assume that when you say that you worked off-campus, you worked and were paid for your employment and that you were not authorized under any form of internship or externship to work off-campus. That being said, whether you can adjust status to permanent residence in the U. S. at some later point depends upon the category, and whether there are any law changes. If you marry a U. S. citizen, illegal employment would not keep you from adjusting status in the U. S. Also if there are law changes which would allow other classes of persons who violated their statuses to adjust status, you might be benefited. Otherwise if U.S.C.I.S. was to know of your unauthorized employment, it would not allow adjustment of status and you would have to consular process your immigration papers.
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