Green Card Marriage Lawyers

We are committed to providing you with the support and guidance you need at every step of the way. Interview questions typically focus on the details of your relationship and daily life together. You may be asked about how and when you met, your wedding, your living situation, daily routines, finances, and future plans. The officer is looking for consistency between both spouses’ answers and between your testimony and your documented evidence. The type of green card you receive depends on how long you have been married at the time USCIS approves your application. This distinction has significant implications for your future immigration obligations.
This expertise is invaluable in creating a robust application that satisfies all requirements. We are a Washington, D.C.-based Immigration Law firm with a minimum of 20 years of marriage immigration lawyer experience in immigration law, having a profound understanding of its intricacies. Typically a one-step process, it includes petition approval, adjustment of status, and simultaneous work authorization issuance within 90 days via an Employment Authorization Document (EAD). USCIS conducts marriage interviews, assessing authenticity with a timeline of three to eight months. Documents like wedding photos, joint bills, and tax returns are scrutinized.

If processing through a consulate abroad, work authorization begins only after entry as a permanent resident. Eligibility is based on whether the marriage is legally valid where it was performed, not on the couple’s gender. Same sex marriages are treated the same as opposite sex marriages under U.S. immigration law. That means more detailed questioning at interviews and closer review of supporting documents. If the spouse is outside the United States, the case proceeds through consular processing. They will be subject to a preference based quota system, and have to wait for their turn in the green card waiting game.
If your foreign spouse is residing in the U.S., he/she may be eligible to remain in the country while your marriage based green card petition is pending and adjust your status once it is approved. Adjustment of status is generally an immigration option if the foreign spouse is in the United States with a valid visa such as a employment based visa or student visa. Part of the family immigration area of immigration law, a marriage-based green card is a type of visa given to spouses of permanent residents or United States citizens. While you may try self-petitioning for a spousal green card, you have better odds of success with an expert spouse visa attorney on your side.
If a violation falls within §245(k), the better argument is that Congress has already determined that such limited violations should not bar adjustment. USCIS may consider the facts in the totality of circumstances, but treating a forgiven violation as a decisive discretionary negative could be challenged as inconsistent with congressional intent. Applying a broad consular-processing preference to VAWA cases would often be inconsistent with the humanitarian purpose of the statute. USCIS may still analyze admissibility and any applicable discretionary factors, but the “go abroad and consular process” rationale is weak in this context. Immediate relatives remain in a relatively strong position. INA §245(c)(2), which bars many applicants who fail to maintain status or work without authorization, expressly excludes immediate relatives from that bar.

We represent both U.S. employers and foreign workers. "It's really hard to tell how this is going to be applied," said Jessie De Haven, senior staff attorney with the California Immigration Project a non-profit that provides legal services to low-income immigrants. Organizations that provide legal and other assistance to immigrants said they were hearing from clients concerned about what the new guidance would mean for them. The Adjustment of Status processing times can be quite lengthy.
If a prior marriage was not properly terminated, your current marriage may be considered invalid – putting your entire green card case at risk. Anyone who attempts a sham marriage for immigration benefits is foolish. Sure, marriage is one of the quickest routes to earning legal residency. But it doesn’t hold up in practice, and I can tell you exactly why because a USCIS officer told me directly.

Yes, you may file a green card application even if you have criminal record. Nevertheless, your criminal record might be an obstacle – depending on its seriousness, it could definitely affect your eligibility to adjust status in the US and obtain a green card. You could also be placed in removal proceedings (deportation). A Criminal Immigration Lawyer NYC could become absolutely necessary at this point. The I-485 is filed by the immigrant spouse to adjust status to that of a permanent resident of the United States.
That approach is consistent with the statute and with longstanding discretionary adjudication. Other cited cases are not adjustment cases in any meaningful sense. Kucana v. Holder concerns judicial review of motions to reopen. Santos-Zacaria v. Garland concerns exhaustion and claims-processing rules. Matter of Marin and Matter of Mendez-Moralez are discretionary-relief balancing cases, not ordinary I-485 cases. Matter of Castillo-Perez and United States v. Francioso concern good moral character in other contexts.
Our team’s dedication to our clients’ success is exemplified in our track record. The husband was a U.S. citizen, while the wife was an immigrant. The intricacies of their case involved the wife’s entry into the U.S. through a nonimmigrant visa which she overstayed. This led to common misconceptions about her eligibility for a marriage-based green card. The immigration attorneys at the VisaNation Law Group have significant experience in all aspects of the marriage-based immigration process. They have successfully handled dozens of fiancée visa and marriage immigration cases.

Whether your spouse or fiancé(e) is living abroad or in the U.S., our attorneys will guide you through the appropriate process with clarity and care. Both spouses must attend an interview with USCIS or a U.S. consulate to verify their relationship if interviews are scheduled. There are a multitude of different questions that an immigration official may ask you during the marriage interview. The documents that you include with your case will depend on your particular situation and the evidence that you have available based on your relationship. To apply for an immigrant visa, you must complete and submit a Form DS-260.
Missing records or insufficient income can delay or derail your green card application. In other situations, a sponsor may not earn enough to meet the affidavit of support financial requirements. This problem can usually be solved with the help of a joint sponsor, like a family relative, close friend, or employer, who files a supplemental affidavit of support on behalf of the immigrant spouse. The extra precaution may be the saving grace for your marriage-based permanent residence application. Their efforts to obtain a marriage-based green card also fizzled because their marriage was not legal. At first glance, the path to Sophia’s permanent residence status seemed straight-forward.

This time, on May 22nd, they gave a press release that focused on the Adjustment of Status(AOS) applications filed to get a green card, while in the US. This caused a lot of panic in the immigration community waiting for their Green cards. A green card is a permanent residency card that allows you to live and work in the United States permanently. A visa, on the other hand, is a temporary document that allows you to enter the United States for a specific purpose and for a limited amount of time. Hosted by US immigration lawyer Jeremy Richards and other partners, our ongoing webinars provide opportunities for discussion and conversation about a variety of US immigration law issues.
At our Wilner & O’Reilly, APLC, law offices in California, Utah, and Idaho, we are dedicated to providing excellence in immigration law for a wide variety of clients. This includes as a Lawyer for Green Cards and as a Marriage Immigration Lawyer. Neither spouse can be currently married to another person. Any prior marriages must have been legally terminated through divorce, annulment, or death of the former spouse.