Interview Scheduled – Minimal Notice
The good news is we are seeing more and more interviews being scheduled. These interviews are for spouse visa cases and fiancé visas where there is an interview that occurs at a US embassy or US consulate abroad. Things are still slow and there’s a backlog. It’s still painful, waiting for your interview but there…
Tell the Truth! || Immigration for Couples
One of the top things that you should do in your immigration case is to tell the truth. That seems pretty straightforward enough and you were planning on doing that anyway but it’s more complicated than that. Something we see all too often, is that people don’t realize what things that they might have to…
Starting Your Immigration Journey
Have you found the love of your life and you’re so excited to start your future and your life together in the United States? Have you found yourself lost at the beginning of your immigration journey and the alphabet soup that is immigration? From K1 fiancé visas and IR1 and CR1 spouse visas, it’s normal…
The Third Wheel || US Immigration
Do you happen to have a third wheel in your relationship? Someone or something that shouldn’t be there that’s holding your relationship back? I want to talk about a third-wheel phenomenon that I see with couples going through the immigration process and also having gone through the process myself with my husband. I typically don’t…
Name Change After Marriage
When a couple gets married, especially a couple who is going through the immigration process, the process is unique. Some additional questions that couples tend to ask are, “How do I change my name? When do I change my name? Can I change my middle name? Do I have to change my name?” Name Changing…
Letters of Support I130F & I129F || US Immigration for Couples
If you are filing an application for your spouse or your fiancé for their green card, part of that process is showing immigration that you have a real relationship based on love and not just to receive an immigration benefit. To show immigration that you have a real relationship based on love, you have to…
NVC Case Number Received: What Next?
What happens next when you receive your National Visa Center case number? It will depend on what type of case you have. If you have an I-130 petition that’s been approved and the National Visa Center sends you your case number and notice, there’ll be details on the notice so you can begin the online…
Travel on a K1 Fiancé Visa
We’ve been receiving questions about whether or not you can travel domestically on a K1 fiancé visa. Whether or not you can leave the United States after you receive the fiancé visa. Some people seem to believe that there’s some rumor that you have to leave the country after you receive a fiancé visa. The…
How Long to Get Work Permit After Biometrics?
How long does receiving a work permit take from the point when you get your biometrics notice in the United States? This is a question that has to do with people who are applying for adjustment of status. When you get your biometrics notice and give your fingerprints, how much longer after that would you…
Still No Work Permit?!
Many of you who are going through an immigration process have probably noticed that it’s taking a very long time to receive your work permit. What is going on with work permits? The delays are very significant and we are seeing backlogs and delays across the board with immigration applications. You need to be able to…
Celebrating Pride Month || Immigration for Couples
Pride month is so great because it is a recognition of all of the progress that has been made. It’s also an important reminder of the progress and the steps that still need to be taken for equality for the LGBTQ+ community. Pride month is even more than that. The great thing about pride month…
Navigating the Unknown | US Immigration for Couples
In your immigration case and in life, navigating the unknown can be exciting. It can also be extremely overwhelming and stressful. In the immigration journey you all are going to hopefully just have to do the steps one time. It’s human nature to want to feel in control and you are probably doing a lot of research.…
Vaccination Requirements || Immigration for Couples || Covid-19
Part of the immigration process for individuals who are applying to receive their green card is a medical exam. During that medical exam, the civil surgeon will determine what vaccinations are required. These two are part of the requirements for receiving a green card. Many people are asking which vaccinations are required, what to take…
Delayed Social Security Card
The Social Security office has been closed since the beginning of the pandemic. It’s been well over a year and it’s having a huge impact not only on individuals who are going through an immigration process but everybody else in the United States who has a Social Security Number. They are only allowing individuals to…
How to Check Case Processing Times? – Adjustment of Status
A lot of individuals are asking, “How long is it going to take for me to receive my green card? When am I going to receive my interview for adjustment of status?” When they go online to check processing times, they don’t see what option to select. This is one of the unique forms to…
Immigration Waivers
There’s many different kinds of immigration waivers. These are things that you might have to ask forgiveness for from immigration. Immigration has a book of all of their laws called the Immigration and Nationality Act. It includes a list of problems that a person might have in their immigration history or in their past that…
How to Check Case Processing Times – I 129F, K1 Fiancé Visas
How do I check the case processing times for I-129F K1 fiancé visa? It can be a little tricky because a lot of individuals think, “I’m sending my application to this lockbox in Texas. That my case is being processed in Texas.” But when they try to check the case status online in processing times online…
Social Security Number – Immigration
We’ve noticed a trend recently that a lot of people are asking about Social Security numbers. Specifically, individuals are asking, “When should I apply for a Social Security number?” and “What if I already have a Social Security number?” and “When can I work? If I have a Social Security number, can I just start…
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…