Police Clearance Requirements – Immigration for Couples
Hi, everyone. I am Attorney Megan Pastrana of Immigration for Couples and I’m here for our weekly live immigration attorney chat. We’ve been seeing an uptick in interviews being scheduled and so, a lot of individuals are asking about the police clearance certificate requirements. There are also people in our Facebook group who are just being…
Fiancé Visa: Is Religious Ceremony Risky?
“Is it okay for my fiancé and I to have a religious ceremony?” We encourage all of our clients when we’re talking about this topic to think about the risks of doing a religious ceremony. The first risk is that in some countries, the religious ceremony is a legally binding ceremony that would make you…
Does the US Allow Dual Citizenship?
Do we allow dual citizenship in the United States? That question usually comes up when an individual is thinking about filing for naturalization to become a United States citizen. The interesting thing about the United States is that the US law does not mention dual nationality or require a person to choose one nationality over…
221(g) Visa Refusal
A 221(g) is a visa refusal under 221(g) of the Immigration Nationality Act which means that the applicant didn’t establish that they were eligible for the visa. The Immigration and Nationality Act is the list of immigration laws and 221(g) is part of the immigration laws and says that a consular officer cannot give a…
Should I Apply for a Tourist Visa?
Is it okay to apply for a tourist visa before I file or while my spouse and fiancé visa is pending? With immigration, there are so many complexities and aspects, so it depends. What it depends upon is your prior immigration history. Have you ever applied for a visa previously? Have you ever violated the…
Waiver of J1 Visa 2 Year Requirement
The J-1 visa is what they call a non-dual intent visa, which means that your intent is to be here temporarily and not long-term. Part of that is a two-year requirement that you have to return to your country. In general, if you have a two-year requirement on your visa itself, it’ll say two-year physical…
K1 Visa -REQUIRED EVIDENCE – 2022
There are three main categories of K1 visa required evidence. There can be other types of evidence and other documents that you might need depending on the specifics of your case but in general, there are three categories of evidence that are required for your fiancé visa petition to show that you’re eligible. 1. You…
Impact of Mortgage on Affidavit of Support
What is the impact of a mortgage on my eligibility to be the sole sponsor for my spouse’s case and how would a mortgage impact the case? Previously, there was a form called I-944 that was in addition to this affidavit of support where immigration wanted to see your debts as well as showing that…
K1 Visa Wait Times – 2022
How long does the fiancé visa process take in 2022? The fiancé visa process involves three applications and two interviews. In each one of those steps, we’re dealing with a different immigration office and each immigration office has its own estimated wait times. This general estimate is a compilation of the estimated wait times for…
Naturalization – 3 & 5 Year Rule
How long does a person have to wait before they can become a United States citizen? Becoming a United States citizen involves a process called naturalization and in general, there is a wait time of three or five years. If you are married to a United States citizen, the wait time for you to become a United…
Important Tips – Taxes and Immigration | 2022
At the beginning of every year, taxes are a big topic. There’s a lot of overlap between taxes and immigration. There are various components of the immigration case that involve taxes. Here are a few important tips on taxes in relation to immigration cases, specifically spouse visa cases. 1. File Your Taxes Jointly If you’re…
K1 Fiancé Visa – Processing Time Increase
Processing times for K1 fiancé visas went up again. It now is saying 9 to 12 months and it’s extremely stressful to see those wait times increase. A lot of you are asking, “Why is this happening? What does this mean for my case?” USCIS hasn’t made an official announcement but immigration, in general, is still…
I-864P Affidavit of Support – Do I Make Enough?
Are you wondering if you make enough to be the sole sponsor on the affidavit of support I-864 form? If you’re at the phase in your immigration case where you’re having to complete an affidavit of support, you might find yourself a little bit overwhelmed. It’s one of the more complicated parts, if not the most…
Marriage on a Tourist Visa
Is it possible to enter the United States on a tourist visa and get married? The short answer is yes, it is possible. There isn’t anything in the law that prohibits you from doing that. However, even though it is possible, there are some problems that a couple can encounter if they try to go down this…
Update I130 – Lawful Permanent Resident to US Citizen
If you were a lawful permanent resident when you first filed your I-130 petition but became a United States citizen through naturalization later in the process, you can and should update your petition to change your status. If you are a lawful permanent resident and you petition for your spouse, that application will have a…
Translations – When are They Required?
If you have relationship evidence that’s in another language other than English like text messages or letters of support, does it need to be translated? Anything that you are sending to USCIS, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, requires that any document not in English are to be accompanied by a translation. If you have…
How to Submit Photos as Relationship Evidence
Relationship evidence has to do with photos. A lot of couples are asking, “I have hundreds of photos, how should I submit them? Should I put them in a word document? Should I just submit them in a scrapbook? Should I tape them on a page and put sticky notes? Should I write on the…
NVC – Original Document Requirement
When you’re at the National Visa Center phase of your case and you’re preparing documents to upload into the CEAC portal, you probably have already logged into your CEAC portal and can see all of those required documents. Part of that document list includes an original marriage certificate and an original birth certificate. National Visa Center…
NVC Phase – What Documents Are Needed?
If you’re at the National Visa Center phase of your case, there’s a whole new list of documents that you’ll need to collect. What documents do you need and is there a standard list? It depends on the country where your interview will occur and on the specifics of your case. Here at Immigration for…
Age Difference – Impact on Immigration Case
If you and your partner have a significant age gap, is that a concern? Immigration does have a list of certain things that they consider to be red flags and having a significant age difference is one of those red flags. The way that immigration looks at any relationship, even for ones with a red…
Tips on Travel to US While Petition Pending
Are you able to travel to the United States if you have ESTA or a tourist visa while your application is pending? Fiancé visa wait times are very long right now. As of January 2021, it’s over seven months, so it is understandable that some couples want to visit each other between those wait times.…
Important Updates – US Embassy Russia
In April 2021, the US embassy in Moscow, Russia had to close and discontinue services due to the government of Russia prohibiting the US embassy in Moscow from employing foreign nationals in any capacity. When that happened, we made announcements and we promised that we would give all of you updates as we had more…
Waiver of In-Person Consular Interview
There was an announcement by the Department of Homeland Security in December of 2021. They, along with the Secretary of State, decided that because they need to get cases moving through, they are going to waive certain types of interviews in limited circumstances. Read: Important Announcement on Waivers of the Interview Requirement for Certain Nonimmigrant…
NVC Role – K1 Visa
The National Visa Center is basically a go-between between USCIS here in the United States and the US embassies and consulates abroad. The National Visa Center’s role is to collect documents that are required for the interview phase of the case for visas that will be happening at a US embassy or consulate abroad. There’s…
Does My Spouse Attend AOS Interview?
The other topic that has been really popular lately is whether or not your spouse needs to attend that adjustment of status I-485 interview. Recently, immigration has made a change to the interview letter form that comes when your interview has been scheduled. These changes made a lot of people confused because immigration is being very clear…
Still No Green Card – What Next?
If you have gone through a consular processing spouse visa process, once you arrive in the United States with your visa, your green card will arrive in the mail. We’ve had a lot of individuals that are asking, “It’s been several months since my arrival in the United States and I still haven’t received my…
Transfer Case to Another Embassy
“Can I transfer my case to another embassy or consulate? Would it make it faster?” It’s great that people are looking for a way to find a shortcut or to make things move more smoothly. Transferring a spouse or fiancé visa case to another embassy or consulate is something that we actually do pretty frequently…
CR1/ IR1 Entry Stamp
An I-551 stamp is put in a person’s passport when they enter the United States after completing the spouse visa process. The spouse visa process is completed while the immigrant is abroad. There’s an interview at a US embassy or consulate abroad and once you are approved at your interview at the US embassy or…
K1 Visa – Immigrant or Non-Immigrant Visa
Is the K1 visa an immigrant or a non-immigrant visa? If you’re going through the K1 fiancé visa process, you are probably wondering how your case will be treated, whether it’s treated like an immigrant visa or a non-immigrant visa. There are all kinds of memos that are released about especially during COVID about how…
Interview Cancelled
Individuals who were scheduled for an interview later receive a notice that says their interview has been canceled. Maybe you got on your USCIS case status check and you saw that it said your interview was canceled or you got a letter in the mail that said your interview was canceled. You likely have been…