IMMIGRATION LAW

On March 1, 2003, the Department of Homeland Security became responsible for securing U.S. borders and managing the immigration process. In the past, these two important missions were bundled together within one agency – the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Under DHS, however, immigration services and border enforcement functions will be divided into separate agencies, allowing […]

Each year, the Diversity Lottery (DV) Program (also known as the Green Card Lottery) makes 55,000 immigrant visas available through a lottery to people who come from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. The State Department (DOS) holds the lottery every year, and randomly selects approximately 110,000 applicants from all qualified […]

I entered the U.S. on a tourist visa, and I just married a U.S. citizen. Will I be allowed to stay in the U.S.? Yes, file adjustment of status at your local USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) office, and you are allowed to stay in the U.S. while the adjustment is pending. The foreign […]

Technically, in determining whether your status has been abandoned any length of absence from the U.S. may be considered, even if it is less than one year. Lawful permanent residents may travel abroad and be re-admitted in permanent resident status after brief absences from the U.S. An alien registration card (often called green card) may […]

Lawful permanent residents or conditional permanent residents who wish to remain outside the United States for more than one year, but less than two, require a re-entry permit. Trips of less than one year usually do not require any re-entry permit; permanent residents who remain outside the United States for more than two years usually […]

The Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended, provides U.S. citizens with two options for facilitating the immigration of future spouses to the United States: the K-1 fiance visa and the alien-spouse immigrant visa. In many cases, the processing time for a fiance visa is shorter than that for an alien spouse. Fiance visa processing can […]