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TN visa status allows Canadian or Mexican professionals within a certain set of occupations to work in the United States. It’s a nonimmigrant status that can be continually renewed. Because many TN professionals live and work in the United States for many years, they often end up meeting a future spouse in the United States. Once married to a U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse, TN professionals may generally apply for permanent residence (green card). Although TN visa holders may adjust status to permanent resident, there are some special considerations that should be reviewed before applying. Continue reading
Tag Archives: I-485
How to Help a Parent Get a Green Card
To help a parent get a green card, the eligibility requirements are generally very simple. As the son or daughter who wants to petition a parent, you must be a U.S. citizen and at least 21 years old. Although it gets a bit more complicated, this privilege also extends to certain step and adopted sons and daughters.
What’s more, immigration law defines parents of U.S. citizens as immediate relatives. Therefore, parents get priority as compared to other preference-based family relationships. There is no numerical limit on immigrant visas for immediate relatives. In other words, there isn’t the long wait associated with other categories when you help your mother or father obtain permanent residence in the United States. The process begins by filing a visa petition for your mother or father. Continue reading
3 Things You Need To Know About Taxes Before Moving To The U.S.
Whether you are a temporary nonresident alien in the United States or you’re planning to move to the U.S. permanently, there are actions you can take to get your tax affairs in order. It’s important to know your tax resident status and what specific tax obligations some with your situation.
Planning your finances before you become liable for U.S. taxes or find the U.S. trying to tax your worldwide income can save you a significant amount of money. Continue reading
Green Card through Marriage to a U.S. Citizen
Getting a green card through marriage to a U.S. citizen is one of the fastest ways to obtain permanent residence (and citizenship) in the United States. But it can also create significant immigration problems for couples that don’t understand the U.S. immigration system.
Permanent residence is not automatic after marriage. There is an application process that must be followed. Although a green card through marriage to a U.S. citizen is one of the quickest ways to immigrate, there are several steps that include application forms, a medical examination, fingerprinting, and various approvals. For certain people, applying for a green card through marriage can create significant, long-term immigration problems. Continue reading
Marriage to a U.S. Citizen After a Visa Overstay
The questions vary from, “Can I stay in the U.S. after a visa overstay and marriage to a U.S. citizen?” to “What happens if my visa expires and I’m married?” These questions are concerned with obtaining a legal status in the United States despite a period of unlawful presence.
Spouses of U.S. citizens do have special immigration privileges. They benefit from certain provisions in the law that are favorable in cases where the intending immigrant has overstayed a visa. But it’s important Continue reading
How to Apply for a Family-Based Green Card
United States immigration laws provide a variety of ways to apply for a green card (permanent resident status). The different paths come through family relationships, employment, refugee/asylum status, diversity lottery, and several special immigrant classes .
However, the vast majority of immigrants apply for a green card through a family relationship. For example, 66% of the 1.1 million people who obtained a green card in 2017 were in a family-based category according to USCIS statistics. Continue reading
U.S. Taxes and Immigration Consequences
For immigrants arriving to the United States, the American tax system can be a very new and confusing concept. In fact, the U.S. tax system is so complex that most natural-born Americans have difficulty filing each year. As a general rule, U.S. tax law applies to you if you live in the United States or spend a significant amount of time here.
In the United States everyone with income above certain levels is expected to file a tax return. That’s not true in all countries around the world. In many countries, the government withholds taxes from paychecks, and the individual never has to directly file an income tax return. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the U.S. agency responsible for collecting taxes.
Whether you are a lawful permanent resident or an undocumented immigrant, it’s important that you get a basic understanding of your tax filing obligations. Continue reading
Getting Ready for the Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status Interview
A foreign national spouse of a U.S. citizen who is also inside the United States can generally apply for a green card without leaving the U.S. This process, known as adjustment of status, concludes with an interview. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) interviews virtually every applicant for a marriage-based green card. Upon completion of a successful marriage-based adjustment of status interview, the applicant will generally become a permanent resident (green card holder). Every couple should prepare for this interview. Knowing what to expect, what items to take, and how to respond to questions will improve your chances of a quick approval. Continue reading
Marriage Green Card: Obtaining Permanent Residence through Marriage
Marriage green card is a common phrase used to describe a permanent resident card obtained through marriage to a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident. Permanent residence is an immigration status that allows a foreign national to live and work in the United States permanently. Of course, the permanent resident may choose to naturalize as a U.S. citizen once eligible.
A marriage-based green card can be one of the quickest ways to obtain permanent residence. The marriage alone doesn’t provide any immigration status to a foreign national. But marriage to a U.S. citizen or permanent resident is a qualifying relationship for a foreign national to apply for immigration benefits. Continue reading
DACA Green Card through Marriage
Since September 2017 the Trump Administration has had a policy to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Although the decision to wind down DACA has been stopped in the courts for now, the future of the program is uncertain. This has put a renewed emphasis for many DACA recipients to find other paths to legal status. Obtaining a DACA green card through marriage to a U.S. citizen is one of the most common ways to gain legal status.
The DACA program does not provide a direct path to permanent residence (green card). However, certain individuals with DACA can apply for permanent residence in the United States. In other words, under current immigration law, no individual can apply for a green card on the basis of having DACA. There must be some other factor that makes a DACA recipient eligible for a green card. These factors may include marriage to a U.S. citizen, certain employment, and others. The most common scenario, and the focus of this article, is a DACA recipient who marries a U.S. citizen and then wants to adjust status to permanent resident. Continue reading