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Do Criminal Convictions Affect Eligibility for Visas or Green Cards?
Immigrants, including those who wish to come to the United States and those who are currently in the country and wish to obtain authorization for permanent residence, will need to be aware of the issues that could affect their ability to receive a visa or Green Card. There are certain factors that may lead to inadmissibility, which may prevent a person from receiving authorization to enter the U.S. or limit their ability to remain in the country. Criminal convictions are a common issue that can affect admissibility, and immigrants who have been convicted in the past will need to understand their options as they address issues related to immigration.
What Are the Requirements for Sponsoring Family Members for Immigration?
U.S. citizens and Green Card holders have the right to sponsor certain family members for immigration to the United States. This will allow a family to live together in a safe community and pursue the opportunities available to residents of the U.S., including earning income through employment and seeking an education. Family-based immigration involves a complex set of requirements that must be met in order for an immigrant to qualify for a visa and Green Card. By understanding the documents that must be filed and the information that will need to be submitted, a sponsoring family member can take the correct steps to bring their family members to live with them.
Eligibility Requirements
In order to be eligible to sponsor a family member for immigration, you must be either a U.S. citizen or a lawful permanent resident with a valid Green Card. You can only sponsor certain family members for immigration, and the types of visas that you can apply for will depend on your status and the specific relationships. If you are a U.S. citizen, you can sponsor your spouse, your children (as long as they are younger than 21 years old and are not married), and your parents for Immediate Relative visas, which are typically available with no quotas and no wait times. U.S. citizens can also sponsor unmarried adult children, married children, and siblings for Family Preference visas, although these visas have quotas and wait times, and they are issued according to an order of preference. If you are a Green Card holder, you can sponsor your spouse and unmarried minor children for Family Preference visas.
When Will an Immigrant Be Eligible for U.S. Citizenship?
People from other countries who wish to permanently resettle in the United States may encounter difficulties as they navigate the immigration process, and understanding the rules and regulations that govern eligibility for citizenship is not always easy. The path to becoming a naturalized citizen is long and complex, but understanding the basic eligibility requirements can help make the process easier and more straightforward.
A Guide to Eligibility for U.S. Citizenship
People who are born within the United States will automatically be considered to be citizens. Children born to U.S. citizens abroad will also usually be able to receive citizenship as long as their parents or grandparents meet certain residency requirements. Others who wish to become citizens will usually need to complete the naturalization process. Naturalization will be available to people who are at least 18 years old and who meet other requirements, including:
Adjustment of Status and Consular Processing: What Is the Difference?
Understanding the differences between adjustment of status and consular processing is an important part of navigating the immigration process. Both options involve filing an application for a green card, but there are a few key differences that could make one option more suitable than the other depending on a person's specific circumstances. Immigrants and their family members can determine the proper steps to take by working with an attorney who is experienced in immigration law.
What Is Adjustment of Status?
Adjustment of status (AOS) is the process by which an immigrant may apply for a green card while already in the United States. It allows immigrants who have entered the country legally or, in some cases, those who have overstayed their visa to submit an application for lawful permanent resident (LPR) status without leaving the country.
Can a Person With Children Receive a Fiancé Visa?
A fiancé visa allows a foreign national to travel to the United States in order to marry a U.S. citizen. However, when it comes to receiving a fiancé visa, there are certain issues that must be taken into consideration—including whether the foreign fiancé has children. By understanding the applicable immigration laws, a couple can make sure they take the correct steps to ensure that all family members will be able to live in the United States.
Applying for a K-1 Visa
K-1 fiancé visas are immigration visas that allow foreign fiancés of U.S. citizens to enter the United States for the purpose of getting married. In order to be eligible for a K-1 visa, the U.S. citizen and foreign national must meet certain requirements, including:
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The couple must have met in person within two years before filing the immigration paperwork. However, this requirement may be waived in certain circumstances, such as when traveling to another country would involve extreme hardship for one or both parties or when meeting prior to getting married would violate a person's religious or cultural practices.
What Will Happen if My Conditional Green Card Expires?
When an immigrant receives a Green Card, they are given lawful permanent resident status, allowing them to continue living in the U.S. indefinitely, work for U.S. employers, and travel both inside and outside the United States. However, some immigrants will initially qualify for conditional Green Cards that will be valid for two years. At the end of the two-year period, a person will need to take steps to remove the conditions on their Green Card, and if they fail to complete this process, their status as a lawful permanent resident will expire.
Repercussions of an Expired Card
If a conditional Green Card expires, a person will no longer have authorization to live and work in the United States. They may also lose certain rights and benefits, such as Social Security and Medicare benefits, travel privileges, and eligibility for government-funded programs. If a person loses their status as a lawful permanent resident, they may become eligible for deportation. It is important to take the correct steps to remove the conditions on permanent residence before the expiration date. In situations where a Green Card has expired, a person can consult with an attorney to determine their options. In some cases, it may be possible to renew a Green Card or remove the conditions on permanent residence after the expiration date has passed.
Will Criminal Convictions Affect Eligibility for U.S. Citizenship?
Applying for citizenship in the United States is a complex process that should not be taken lightly. In order to become a lawful citizen of the country, an individual must meet certain criteria that are defined in U.S. immigration laws, including residency requirements, knowledge of United States history and government, and the ability to speak, read, and write English. A person must also be able to show that they have good moral character, which may be affected by their previous criminal history. It is important to understand how criminal convictions that took place in the past may affect a citizenship application.
Criminal Convictions That May Affect Good Moral Character
Certain types of offenses are severe enough that they are considered to be "permanent bars" to establishing good moral character. These include murder and other "aggravated felonies," such as sexual assault, drug trafficking, possession of child pornography, money laundering, and theft-related offenses or violent crimes that resulted in a prison sentence of at least one year. A person who was involved in genocide, torture, or similar activities will also be permanently barred from U.S. citizenship.
Can I Receive a Waiver of Inadmissibility When Applying for a Visa?
The process of applying for an immigrant visa or a green card can be long and complicated. In some cases, a person may be determined to be inadmissible to the United States. A finding of inadmissibility may be due to past criminal convictions, a period of unlawful presence in the United States, or health-related issues. If you have been informed that you are inadmissible to the U.S., you may be wondering if there is any way that you may still be able to receive your immigrant visa or green card. In certain situations, waivers of inadmissibility are available, and with the help of an immigration attorney, you can determine whether you will be able to meet the requirements for this type of waiver.
Eligibility for Waivers of Inadmissibility
Based on the circumstances of your case, the U.S. government may choose to excuse your inadmissibility. If you receive a waiver of inadmissibility, you will still be able to apply for an immigrant visa or green card. The eligibility requirements will be different depending on the reasons for inadmissibility:
Is there a mistake on your green card?
If you have gone through the process of applying for legal permanent residency, you are probably ready to take a break from dealing with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. After all, receiving a green card can take seemingly forever and requires jumping through dozens of bureaucratic hoops.
When you receive your green card in the mail, you should immediately inspect it for any errors. If you notice one or more, you must take prompt action to correct the problem.
Who owns the mistake?
Your first step is to assign responsibility for the mistake. That is, you must know whether you made the error or whether the USCIS did. To do so, you should look through your permanent residency filing to see if you made a typographic error or some other error. If you did, you likely must pay to correct the problem.
Do you have to pay for a new card?
If the USCIS made the error, though, you probably qualify for a fee waiver. That is, according to the USCIS, you can file a form to request a replacement card without having to pay its filing fee. When you complete the form, be certain to provide accurate and complete information. Also, include the erroneous card with your filing.
Understanding what extreme hardship means
If you are an immigrant looking into potential waivers, the extreme hardship waiver might be one available. It is applicable to people who may claim extreme hardship from deportation.
This waiver, also called the 601 waiver, exists to delay deportation and resist banishment from the country for up to 10 years.
What is extreme hardship?
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services discuss what extreme hardship is. Unfortunately, the definition itself is intentionally left quite vague which means there is a lot of room for interpretation in the immigration courts.
The law defines four specific levels of hardship, though. This ranges from one to four, with four being the least severe. Not only should a person have at least one qualification from level one, but they should have several qualifications from other levels, too. Serious life situations or plausible fears about going back to a home country are ideal for extreme hardship.
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