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| THE INFORMATION ON THIS SITE IS INTENDED FOR GENERAL INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. ALWAYS SPEAK WITH AN IMMIGRATION ATTORNEY OR ACCREDITED REPRESENTATIVE TO DISCUSS THE SPECIFICS OF YOUR CASE. What is U.S.C.I.S.? Does I.N.S. still exist? U.S.C.I.S. stands for United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. Immigration and Naturalization Services (I.N.S.) no longer exists. When the I.N.S. was eliminatined, it was replaced by several new government organizations, including U.S.C.I.S. The new agency called U.S.C.I.S. is a part of the Department of Homeland Security. U.S.C.I.S. handles all of the administrative duties of immigration, such as processing forms and applications. United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (U.S.I.C.E.) provides all of the enforcement duties connected with immigration. This includes arresting undocumented immigrants and those who have violated their status, conducting raids on businessness, and detaining immigrants who have been convited of certain crimes. What is an undocumented immigrant? An "undocumented immigrant" is any person who is in the U.S. without permission to be here. Undocumented immigrants include those persons who entered the U.S. without permission and those who entered lawfully but stayecd in the U.S. after the expiration of their visas. Can an undocumented immigrant apply to stay in the United States legally? The answer to this questions is, "it depends". Every person's case is different, and we strongly encourage you to speak with an immigration attorney or accredited representative to discuss the specifics of your case. However, there are a few general ways an undocumented person may apply to remain in the United States: Family-Based Petitions Certain immediate family members who are United States citizens may be able to file a visa petition for an undocumented immigrant. If this applicaiotn is approved, the undocumented immigrant may be able to apply for legal permanent residence (a green card). The family members who can file such petitions are spouses, parents or children over the age of 21. It is important to note, that an undocumented person who did not enter the U.S. legally must usually return to their home country while this application is being processed, which can take many months or even years. Cancellation of Removal is the process by which an undocumented immigrant asks the Immigration Court to allow them to remain in the United States. A person is only eligible to ask for this if they meet certain requirements, including having lived in the U.S. for many years (usually 10 years) and having close family members that are U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Cancellation of Removal can only be granted to an immigrant who has already been arrested by immigration and place3d in removal (deportation) proceedings. An immigrant may apply for Asylum if they fear they will be harmed or persecuted on account of their political belief, religion, or social group if they are forced to return to their home country. In most cases, an immigrant may only apply for Asylum during the first year they are in the United States. Currently, there is NO law allowing undocumented immigrants to apply for "Legalization" or "Amnesty." Do not pay any fees to any person or organization that says they can get you a green card if you pay them. What is Asylum? How do I apply for asylum? Asylum is granted to immigrants who can successfully prove that they are likely to be a victim of violence or persecution on account of their political belief, religion or social group if they return to their home country. Asylum cases can be "pending" for a long time, and it often takes many years before a decision has been reached on the case. A person who has applied for asylum cannot be forced to leave the United States until a decision has been reached on their case. After an asylum application has been on file for 150 days (five months, an applicant for asylum can apply for an Employment Authorization Document, which will allow them to work legally while their case is being processed. If an immigrant's asylum application is granted, then the official status of that immigrant will be "Asylee". After a person has been granted asylum, he or she may apply to bring any spouse or children to the United States. One year after they have been granted asylum, the asylee may apply to become a Legal Permanent Resident (a green card holder). Four years after they are granted permanent residence, an Asylee may apply to become a full U.S. citizen. An immigrant may apply for asylum by filing Form I-589 with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (U.S.C.I.S.). This form is available on their website at www.uscis.gov . However, asylum cases can be very difficult to prove, so we encourage anyone who is considering applying for asylum to contact an attorney or Accredited Representative to discuss the specifics of their case. I am not a citizen of the U.S. and I married a citizen. What do I do now? Your first step should be to speak with an attorney or Accredited Representative to discuss the specifics of your case. There are many different forms to file with U.S.C.I.S., and the process can be very confusing. There can be many factors that influence what you will need to do with your application, such as how you first entered the country, what your criminal history is, and whether or not you have been removed (deported) from the United States before. An attorney or Accredited Representative will help to explain what you will need to do before you begin the process of "Adjusting Status". NOTE: If you are not in lawful status in the U.S. or if you are not sure if your status is still valid do NOT go to an immigration offie in person to ask questions or file any application. If you are not in status and you appear at a U.S.C.I.S. office, you may be arrested and placed in removal (deportation) proceedings. If you are concerned about your status, you shodul consult an immigration attorney before going to a U.S.C.I.S. office. I have a United States Citizen child(ren). Can they help me to stay in the United States legally?
A United States Citizen children may file a visa petitions for his/ her parent(s) only if the child is over the age of 21. Even if the child is over the age of 21, the parent may not be eligible to stay in the U.S. and recevie the visa. The parent may neede to leave the U.S. to receive the visa, which coudl take several months or even hyears. What is Deportation? What is Removal? "Removal" is the technical word for deportation. If an person is ordered removed, she will be returned to her home country by the U.S. government. If a person is removed from the United States, she will have an automatic 10-year bar from returning to the United States. This means, the removed person will not be able to receive a visa, or enter the United States legally during those 10 years. If a person is removed from the United States and then returns to the U.S. by an illegal method, and is arrested by Immigration and Customes Enforcement (I.C.E.), he or she will be removed again. Such a person will be required to wait in a detention center, without the option of a bond, until he or she is removed, and does not have a right to a new hearing before an Immigration Judge. What is Voluntary Departure? Voluntary Departure is an alternative to being removed (deported) from the United States. If a person is in removal proceedings, he may request Voluntary Departure from the Immigration Judge. Certain people are not eligible for voluntary departure, including people who have criminal records and pepole who have been granted voluntary departure in the past. If the Immigration Judge grants voluntary departure, the person will be allowed to return to his home country on his own within a set period of time. He will be requried to pay for his own trip out of the U.S, and usually must pay a bond to ensure he will leave the U.S. The benefit is that the person will not have the 10 year bar from returning to the United States. This benefit is only helpful if the person has some way to obtrain a visa to return to the U.S. What is a Refugee? How can I become a Refugee?Refugee status is only granted to those individuals who have been displaced from their homes due to war or natural disaster. The United Nations determines who can be declared a Refugee, which is usually done once an individual has moved into an official refugee camp. Once given refugee status by the United Nations, the refugee and their family are relocated to a host country. The refugee has no choice as to which country they are sent to, and it is entirely dependant upon which host countries are accepting refugees at that time. More information on Refugees can be found at www.unhcr.org If a person enters the United States as an official refugee, she will become eligible to apply for Legal Permanent Resident (LPR) Status one year after entry. Once she have becomes an LPR, she will be able to apply for U.S. citizenship a few years after that. I applied for Naturalization years ago. I took my test and I passed it. Why have I not gotten a decision on my case yet? Why have I not been allowed to take the oath? This question is one we hear frequently in our office. Thousands of immigrants have been waiting years to be allowed to take the oath and to become a full citizen. When we contact U.S.C.I.S. to ask what is taking so long in processing these Naturalization applications, we enevitably get the same response: "background checks". The background checks on individuals who have applied to become citizens can take many years. We understand that U.S.C.I.S. is working to improve the time it takes to complete a background check, but as of yet, many of our clients are still waiting for their background checks to be completed. There are some attorneys and organizations who have taken it upon themselves to file lawsuits against the government for these delays, but our office does not yet have the resources to file similar lawsuits. To read more on this issue, click here: Does an immigrant have to learn English to become a citizen? In most cases, the answer to this question is "yes". Most immigrants will be required to learn enough English to pass the civics test (for sample questions from the civics test, click here). In certain cases, an immigrant can receive a waiver of this requirement if they can prove: 1. They are over the age of 50 on the date they filed the Application for Citizenship (Form N-400), AND they have lived in the United States for at least 20 years since the date they became a Legal Permanent Resident (LPR). or 2. They are over the age of 55 on the date they filed the Application for Citizenship (Form N-400), AND they have lived in the United States for at least 15 years since the date they became a Legal Permanent Resident (LPR). or 3. They can prove they have a medical condition which prevents them from learning English. The form for this waiver is called an N-648, and it must be completed by a doctor. It is important to note that U.S.C.I.S. does not consider old age to be a medical condition which would prevent a person from learning English. | |
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