How to Check Case Processing Times – N400
Checking case processing times for N-400 is similar to the adjustment of status. You’ll see that your case is pending at the National Benefits Center. Because you’re going to have an interview scheduled as part of your immigration naturalization process, you’ll have to use the field office that’s closest to your home. First, go to…
Naturalization Policy Changes || USCIS
At the end of May, USCIS made an announcement with regards to policy for adjudicating the applications. They’ve made changes in how immigration determines or makes a decision on an application. The change has to do with good moral character and registering to vote. Read: Policy Manual | USCIS This policy is making some clarifications…
How to Contact the National Visa Center
The National Visa Center has a few different ways you can get in touch with them and this is a common question people are having. They want to contact the National Visa Center because they have issues with their online CEAC account, an account where you have to upload documents and get prepared for the…
Updates! Green Card Extension Changes
USCIS announced at the beginning of 2021 that they are changing policies and procedures as it relates to extensions for green cards. If you have a 10-year green card you have to renew it every 10 years so you can continue to have proof of your status and continue to be a lawful permanent resident.…
Immigration Interviews – COVID Updates
USCIS interview changes as it relates to the ever-changing landscape of COVID. On May 17th of 2021, USCIS announced some changes in their facilities as it relates to changes in COVID with everyone receiving vaccines. Read: USCIS Response to COVId-19 The main point of the announcement from USCIS is that they are no longer requiring…
Reschedule Biometrics Appointment
USCIS just made an announcement regarding the process for rescheduling biometrics appointments. Read: Preparing for Your Biometric Services Appointment A biometrics appointment is the appointment that you have to attend as part of your immigration application to take your biometric data such as fingerprints and photo. This typically happens most commonly in adjustment of status…
Using Assets – I-864
Form I-864 is pretty cumbersome. There’s a lot of moving parts and documents that go along with it and it seems to be the form that intimidates individuals the most in their immigration journey. For those of you who are just starting on your immigration journey, the form I-864 Affidavit of Support is part of…
I-693 Courtesy Notice
We’ve had a lot of people receive an I-693 courtesy notice for their adjustment of status application. The I-693 is the medical exam form. It’s part of the application for adjustment of status to receive a green card. You have to go to a civil surgeon to a doctor and have a medical examination completed.…
Biometrics Rule Withdrawn (May 2021)
On September 11th of 2020, the Department of Homeland Security made a proposed rule, an announcement that they were going to expand the rules of who would have to receive biometrics appointments. The proposed rule had many parts and was much more detailed than that. Read: Collection and Use of Biometrics by US Citizenship and…
Fiancé & Spouse Visa Interviews – Mexico Updates
For fiancé and spouse visa interviews, specifically in Mexico, there have been recent updates on the Department of State website. Typically, we don’t do country specific updates but Mexico is such a high volume consulate. They are the highest volume in the world. They have so many cases and one of the longest backlogs. This…
Filing Taxes When Spouse Has No Social Security Number
Everybody is filing their taxes during this time and a common question they all have is what to do when your spouse is a foreign national. They’re an immigrant and they don’t have a Social Security Number yet. What are you supposed to do when you’re filing your taxes? A lot of individuals think that…
Locate the USCIS Office Processing Your Case
To locate the USCIS office that’s processing your case, it can be found on your receipt notice. After you mail your application, you will receive a notification from immigration that says form I-797, Notice of Action. Specifically, the example that comes to mind is a lot of people are having confusion over fiancé visas. For…
Tourist Visa Denial – Impact on K1 & CR1 Applications
A common question that we’ve seen from individuals who are on their immigration journey for a fiancé or spouse visa is that they want to know what happens if they previously applied for a tourist visa and was denied. A lot of people are worried about how that will impact their eligibility and their application.…
Expedite Request Facts
We know with COVID, so many people are waiting and separated. That’s painful and we know that you’re looking for creative ways to be able to be together and also to get that immigration process moving so you can be together and start your life together. We have had a lot of people ask, “What…
Virtual Immigration Interviews
For those of you who are going through an immigration process called Adjustment of Status, a process that happens here in the United States. The process for naturalization and sometimes, removal of conditions, includes an interview as part of the process in your case. We are constantly seeing USCIS, like so many organizations, having to…
I-864P (2021) Updates
Starting April 1st, the I-864P guidelines have been updated. It’s something that happens every year and so we anticipated that. There’s part of a process to receive a green card called an Affidavit of Support. It’s also called form I-864. You have to show that before you can receive a green card, that the immigrant…
How to Check Visa Statistics
The most common question we receive right now is “How long is it going to be before I get an interview and how long is it going to be before I can receive an approval on my K1 visa or my spouse visa to be able to enter the United States? Are the embassies open? Are they…
Share Your Opinions with USCIS!
USCIS announced that they’re requesting public input on how USCIS can reduce administrative and other barriers and burdens within its regulations and policies. On February 2nd of 2021, President Biden signed an order requesting that we restore faith in our legal immigration system and return back to the ideals and the understanding that we are…
Update! US Embassy Moscow
The US embassy in Russia just announced that they will be cutting consular staff down by 75 percent. Starting May 12th, they will be suspending all visa services for non-immigrant and immigrant visas and they will be reducing their services and staff to only accommodate life and death emergency situations for US citizens. This means…
Great News! TPS for Venezuela
On March 8th of 2021, the Secretary of Homeland Security designated Venezuela as a country for TPS, Temporary Protected Status. Temporary Protected Status is something that the Secretary of Homeland Security can decide to designate a country with temporary protected status if there are events in that country like natural disasters or a civil war…
K1 Visa: US Driver’s License
A lot of people are asking about this recently. There are a lot of people on our Facebook group that are receiving their K1 visas when entering the United States. For the US Driver’s license, people are asking, “When can I get it? Can I just go with my K1 Visa? What do I need…
Important! KR1 and CR1 Updates
Important information and updates about K1 and CR1 visas. It has been a very difficult year. That’s probably an understatement over 2020 with the pandemic happening. There has been so many delays in the US embassies and consulates. For those of you who are going through the fiancé visa process and spouse visa process, you…
Work Permit Delays (April 2021)
If you’re going through an immigration case specifically, an adjustment of status case, work permits are an option that’s available to some individuals who are actually in the United States and are able to complete their entire green card process here in the US. Who gets a work permit and when does a work permit…
K1 Visa Approved – What Next?
If you have a K1 visa that’s been approved, what happens next? The I-129F application, that petition that you file with immigration, that’s what you’re sending immigration to show you have a real relationship. When that petition is approved, that’s immigration saying, “Yes, we see that you have a real relationship and we’re approving your…
I-130 Marriage Requirements
We have a lot of individuals who ask us questions about the I-130 marriage requirements. Whether or not the individual has to get married in their country of origin and whether or not the marriage has to occur in a certain place. The I-130 petition is the petition that you file when you’re married to…
Important! USCIS Response Deadlines
USCIS has made an announcement that they’re extending the flexibility for individuals to respond to certain types of requests specifically Requests for Evidence (RFEs), Notice of Intent to Deny (NOIDs). Read: USCIS Extends Flexibility for Responding to Agency Requests Basically, if you receive a Request for Evidence, a Notice of Intent to Deny in your…
Embassy Backlogs and Proclamation 10052
Proclamation 10052 is a proclamation that was announced in 2020 that suspended the entry of certain immigrants into the United States. The Biden administration made an extension of that proclamation through March 31st of 2021. It has now sunsetted, which means it has ended, because we are in April of 2021. A lot of people…
Public Charge Changes at US Embassies and Consulates
Public charge changes at US embassies and consulates. We had released a video about this previously. Form I-944 and those changes in the public charge rule had been ended. There was a lot of confusion and so, let’s clarify them and also explain the changes at US embassies and consulates with regard to public charge.…
Visa Issuance Trends – March 2021
Visa issuance trends in March of 2021. The case type that we’re specifically seeing this change in is with spouse visas. A lot of people refer to them as CR1 or IR1. Anybody who is married to a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident and lives abroad, when you’re completing a spouse visa process,…
Managing Stress in Your Immigration Journey
One of the most important things of your immigration journey is taking care or fostering your relationship and doing what you can to manage the stress of your immigration journey. I know that’s easier said than done. I’m not a medical professional. I’m not a therapist but I am a human being and someone who…