Green Card, Citizenship and Family Based Petitions
Adjustment of status relief oftentimes called “Green Cards” or “Permanent Resident Cards”, allows those from other countries to live and work in the United States – sometimes permanently. A person with a green card is a permanent resident in the United States, who enjoys many of the same rights of United States citizens. The major differences are that permanent residents cannot vote and they can be deported for certain types of crimes. You may obtain a green card based on your family relationship with a United States citizen or United States permanent resident.
Family-based green card applications are available if you have a qualifying family member, such as a spouse, child, parent or sibling, who is willing to petition for you. The family member must be a United States citizen, or permanent resident. Relatives of United States citizens or naturalized citizens generally can immigrate sooner than relatives of green card holders. Spouses and unmarried children can usually immigrate faster than any other relatives. Parents can immigrate too, but only if their child is a United States citizen. While brothers and sisters of United States citizens can obtain permanent residency, the process is generally very slow.
A green card holder may become a United States citizen five years after receiving that green card. However, if an immigrant received his or her legal permanent resident through marriage to a United States citizen, and the immigrant is still married to (and living) with the same United States citizen, then the immigrant can file for naturalization three months prior to the third year anniversary of obtaining his or her first legal permanent resident card. If the immigrant is no longer married to the United States citizen, then the immigrant is eligible to file for naturalization three months prior to the fifth year anniversary of obtaining his or her first legal permanent resident card. The naturalization process includes many steps, including an interview and a brief test.
The following are examples of the applications Monteiro & Fishman LLP files seeking adjustment of status and Family-Based Petition relief:
- K-1 fiancé visas and subsequent adjustment of status to permanent resident
- Form I-751 petitions for removal of conditions on permanent resident status based on a joint filing for an existing marriage and waivers of the joint filing requirement based on a terminated marriage, abuse, or hardship
- Motions and appeals to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Board of Immigration Appeals, Administrative Appeals Office, and other United States government agencies and bodies
- Form I-601 extreme hardship waivers for grounds of inadmissibility including certain crimes, fraud or misrepresentation, and unlawful presence
- Form I-601A provisional waivers of inadmissibility for unlawful presence
- Form I-212 applications for permission to reapply for admission to the United States for those who were previously removed (deported) from the United States
- Self-petitions for victims of domestic violence under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)
- Parole-in-Place for spouses, children, and parents of United States military personnel
- Applications for Employment Authorization Documents, Advance Parole, Reentry Permits, and other U.S. immigration benefits
- Responses to Requests for Evidence and Notices of Intent to Deny for pending cases
