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Does the Constitution apply to you if you are not a citizen?
That immigration is a complex matter is no secret. Whether you are trying to bring your fiancé to America, work in the United States or get your Green Card, the application process can seem demanding. Appeals may seem to take forever. And denials can often put hope to the test.
Regardless of your adjustment of status, you may not understand what rights you have. According to a professor from Yale Law School, Cristina Rodriguez, the U.S. Constitution applies to undocumented immigrants. Rather than “citizen,” the Constitution often refers to “person” or “people.” Therefore, Rodriguez says the rights apply to you, regardless of citizenship.
How rights might apply to you
Just because these Constitutional rights might apply to you does not mean you can necessarily predict how they will be effected. It may be good to consider what the following rights could look like in your case:
Make the most of a green card marriage interview
Many Texas immigrants hope to obtain a permanent resident legal status in the United States. Those who have married U.S. citizens will, at some point, attend a green card/marriage interview. Answering questions during an official immigration interview can be quite stressful, and not performing well can ultimately place one’s status at risk.
The purpose of the marriage interview is to rule out fraud. The federal government is aware that some people try to abuse the system by entering marriage under false pretenses, perhaps even for money to help immigrant spouses gain permanent resident statuses. The marriage interview is designed to weed out those whose relationships are not legitimate.
To avoid problems, it is best to arrive at a green card/marriage interview well prepared. This includes bringing all written documentation pertaining to entrance into the United States. In addition, one should bring a marriage certificate and any additional evidence that may help convince the interviewer that the marriage in question is bona fide. Such evidence might include photographs, correspondence between spouses, greeting cards or notes, and things like bank statements or other mail addressed to both spouses.
Marriage to a US citizen does not always lead to a green card
Many Texas households include family members who are U.S. citizens who happen to be married to spouses who are not. The federal government often calls such marriages into question if it has reason to suspect that a relationship is fraudulent and that two people have gotten married simply to help one of them obtain permanent resident legal status. A non-citizen marrying a citizen, however, doesn’t necessarily mean that person will gain green card privileges.
A person who marries a born or naturalized citizen has the option of petitioning the federal government for a green card. Numerous documents must be submitted to request permanent residency. Requesting permanent resident status is not a legal obligation; in fact, an immigrant spouse should only do so if he or she plans to remain in the United States on a permanent basis.
Immigration laws can be quite complex. If a person files a petition for a green card based on a marriage to a U.S. citizen, he or she will want to seek clarification of all regulations pertaining to travel in and out of the country. While some statuses allow for traveling abroad and returning to the United States after marrying a citizen and filing application for a green card, others do not.
Green cards for parents not limited to birth parents
Under federal law, U.S. citizens are allowed to petition for green cards for certain relatives. This includes parents. Typically, U.S. citizens that are over 21 are eligible to pursue a green card for parents who are from another country.
Does this only extend to birth parents? No, it does not. Citizens generally are allowed to petition for adoptive parents and step-parents to be granted permanent resident status.
As a note, there are some added required supporting documents for petitions for non-biological parents.
For cases involving adoptive parents, this includes:
- A copy of the adoption certificate (which generally needs to show the adoption occurred prior to the citizen turning 16)
- A statement on when and where the citizen lived with the adoptive parent
For cases involving step-parents, this includes:
Rejection rate of fiancé visas holds oddly steady
The rate of rejection of almost every kind of immigration visa has jumped in the first nine months of 2018, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
The denial rate for most immigration applications jumped from 8.3 percent in 2016 to 11.3 percent in 2018. The denial rate from H-2A agricultural workers and H-1B high-skilled workers went from 16.8 percent in 2016 to 22.6 percent in 2018. The denial rate for green cards went from 5.9 percent in 2016 to 7.9 percent in 2018.
Most of these categories saw either a measured increase between 2016 and 2018 or a large bump in the last year. One of the odd blips during the increase in visa denials is that the K-1 visa – the fiancé visa – jumped from 13.6 percent in 2016 to 21.8 percent in 2017, then actually dropped 0.8 percent between 2017 and 2018.