Recent Posts to Immigration Blog
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What is a Stokes Interview?
The Stokes interview is the second interview that marriage visa applicants must attend if their first marriage visa interview is not successful. In New York City marriage visa cases the second interview is called a Stokes interview based upon a class action settlement in which the immigration agency agreed to [...]
Congratulations on your recent engagement. You probably have a lot of planning to do …and a lot of questions that need to be answered. If you are marrying a U.S. citizen, here are the answers to some common marriage visa questions. If your question is not answered below, get it answered by contacting a marriage [...]
Many foreign nationals who are married to U.S. citizens (and who are living in the United States) are eligible to adjust status and gain permanent residency in the United States. However, not too many of these individuals know the process for completing the process. They do not know the steps to the marriage visa and [...]
True or False?
Does a foreign national automatically gain citizenship by marrying a U.S. citizen?
FALSE. Many potential clients approach family immigration lawyers thinking that as soon as a couple gets married, all of the foreign national’s immigration problems will disappear. Unfortunately, this is not the truth. A foreign national who marries a U.S. citizen [...]
As has been predicted by this NYC Family Immigration lawyer, the USCIS and the Department of Homeland Security have announced that starting August 15, 2011, all I-130 immigrant visas will have the option of filing at the Immigration agency’s Chicago Lockbox.
Previously, most family-based immigrant petitioners living overseas were required to file the I-130 immigrant [...]
The Immigration agency has announced plans to adjudicate all marriage and fiance(e) visa applications subject to the Adam Walsh Act at the Vermont Service Center. The Adam Walsh Act requires that the Immigration agency affirmatively determine that a Petitioner will not be a risk to an immigration beneficiary, if that petitioner has been convicted of [...]
The USCIS has announced that it will soon begin issuing joint advance parole and work authorization documents for applicants seeking family-based immigration petitions.
Normally, when an immediate relative of a U.S. citizen seeks to obtain permanent residency in the United States, the applicant will file an “adjustment of status” application and will concurrently file an [...]
The Department of Homeland Security has announced that the Texas Service Center is experiencing delays in it adjudication of immediate relative family immigration petitions. The delays are due to a recent shift in petitions from the California Service Center to the Texas Service Center. Immediate relatives are family members who are the spouse, minor child [...]
If you and your lover are seeking a marriage visa or a fiancee visa, make sure you act appropriately on all social networking sites. The immigration agency may be watching your profile and posts, and may misinterpret an innocent statement made by you or one of your friends to mean that you and your lover [...]
The New York Times recently ran an article about a couple that has been married for over seventeen years, but who have been unable to demonstrate to USCIS that their marriage is legitimate and wasn’t solely for immigration purposes. Think about that for a second – if someone married another for immigration purposes only, why [...]
This past weekend, the New York Times ran an article about the Stokes Unit at the New York City USCIS Field Office. The Stokes Unit is the Immigration unit that reviews marriage visa cases to ensure that a marriage is entered into for the right reasons and that a marriage is not entered into solely [...]
Many foreign nationals enter the United States and marry their U.S. citizen sweetheart without much forethought about the specific immigration details involved. Many believe that it is simple for a foreign national to obtain a green card once he or she is married to a U.S. citizen. It is not.
As a recent New York [...]
Isaac R. Baichu, a former USCIS immigration officer in New York City, has pleaded guilty to coercing a foreign national spouse of a U.S. Citizen with threats of denying her green card application and deporting her family members. Mr. Baichu, who is 48, told the 22 year old Columbian spouse that he would deny her [...]
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