I-94 Form

One of the most important forms issued to non-immigrants is the I-94 card, which is issued at the US border (land entry, airport, sea port, etc). The I-94 form contains two parts and is perforated for easy separation. The first part is filled out by the traveler either at the border or before arrival — you may see foreign nationals filling out these forms on the airplane just before they land in the US — and asks questions related to the person’s admissibility to the US. Depending on the answers, a person may be turned away at the border. If the traveler fails to answer the questions truthfully, it could have long-ranging consequences, including being permanently barred from ever coming back to America.

The bottom part of the I-94 form is stamped by the border officer and indicates the port of entry, date of entry and how long the person is permitted to remain in the US. The I-94 card is typically stapled into the visitor’s passport and is official evidence that the visitor entered the country legally and is currently authorized to be here. If a law enforcement officer requests proof of a visitor’s legal right to be in the US, failure to show the I-94 card could have negative consequences.

I-94 Form to Prove Legal Entry

Certain non-immigrants, such as employees or immediate relatives of US Citizens, may have the opportunity to apply for a green card while physically present in the US. The case starts by filing for I-485 and, along with it, a copy of the I-94 to prove that the applicant legally entered the United States as legal entry is typically a requirement. Without form I-94, adjustment of status may not be possible and, even worse, the applicant may find himself in deportation proceedings. If the I-94 card has been lost, there may be a way to obtain a replacement I-94 card or get the information immigration officials require to prove legal entry. If your I-94 card has been lost, you should consult an immigration lawyer prior to filing for adjustment of status.

Although an immigration lawyer, especially those who belong to AILA, has access to many information sources not accessible to the general public, we still need to follow guidelines for accessing information on cases pending at USCIS. As a general rule, we must all start with contacting USCIS through their 800 number. In the past, getting significant assistance through this number had been a frustrating and time-consuming process.

Up until a month ago, when an immigration lawyer called USCIS her call was answered by a very low level customer service representative who read directly from a script. Any attempt to bypass this interaction and request help from an immigration officer was met with resistance, followed by the rep picking up where they left off or (when my luck was really bad) starting from an earlier point in the script. First the rep needed to ask whether I was a customer, employer or immigration lawyer. When I said “immigration lawyer”, they would inevitably want to then confirm that I was not an employer. No, I’m not a customer either. Once you convinced the rep that you were, in fact, an immigration lawyer (as opposed to a customer or employer) they would then request information specific to the case. When they were done looking the case up, and having you describe why you were calling, they would tell you that they were transferring you to an officer. Once you got to the officer, you would have to explain your situation all over again.

Immigration Lawyer Option Added to USCIS Call Center Menu

Last quarter USCIS solicited feedback about how calls were being handled by the 800 number. Given that my view of the 800 process had been shared by many of my colleagues, I can just imagine the kind of responses the request generated. Well, it must have worked. Last week I called the 800 number and was shocked to discover that there was a menu option for immigration lawyers that, if chosen, would lead you directly to an immigration officer — the only people authorized to provide most of the case-specific information that I need. Not only did I save time by avoiding the first-tier rep and his awful script, but I was also able to avoid the stress that often stemmed from the interaction. Bravo, USCIS!

Prior to 2009, spouses, parents and children of US Citizens who entered the US on the visa waiver program (VWP) could safely apply for a green card in the US via adjustment of status, even if the authorized period of stay (typically 90 days) had expired. In fact, applicants who had overstayed the VWP for years were routinely issued green card through adjustment of status, especially spouses. The ability to adjust status in the US was particularly useful for those who would otherwise have a 10 year bar to re-entry if they were to return home to finish the green card processing.

Adjustment of Status Policy Change

Starting in 2009, many USCIS local officers began refusing adjustment of status applications for immediate relatives who had overstayed the VWP program. In addition, many of the applicants would then be deported. Although Los Angeles immigration lawyers did not experience this type of treatment at the LA USCIS office, many applicants who were interviewed through San Diego were rounded up and sent home.

Adjustment of Status Safe Again for VWP Overstays

Thankfully, the practice of automatic denial and deportation for visa waiver program adjustment of status applicants has ended. In April 2011, USCIS headquarters issued guidance to local offices instructing them to, once again, handle visa waiver program overstays exactly as they would handle overstays on other types of non-immigrant visas — approve those that are otherwise qualified, unless the applicant already has a removal order.

Although immigration lawyers throughout the US applauded this move by USCIS, it does not mean that all those who would benefit from adjustment of status should send in an application. Adjustment of status is discretionary and can be denied for a variety of factors, especially if there are negative aspects of an applicant’s background. Given that denial of adjustment of status often results in deportation, it is always advisable to consult with an immigration lawyer prior to filing any application with USCIS.

WARNING: USCIS in San Diego will still only approve VWP overstay cases where the applicant can show a “good reason” for overstaying the visa.

Adjustment of Status and Intent

Although it is true that many immediate relatives of US citizens can adjust status, it is not true for all of them. To be eligible to adjust status in the United States, the beneficiary must not have entered the US with the intention to stay and apply for a green card. The point in time when the immigrant made the decision to file for a green card is of utmost importance when examining the issue.  Unfortunately, some people call me even before their loved one has arrived. In those cases, I must explain that it would not be lawful for the person to enter the US already planning on filing an adjustment of status case (although, sadly, some immigration lawyer has told them otherwise). The decision to adjust must be arrived at some point after the person has gotten here, but not so soon after arrival that immigration officials think it was planned all along. How to prove that there was no “preconceived” intent is something you and your adjustment of status immigration attorney should discuss prior to filing your application.

When Adjustment of Status Goes Bad

It is extremely important not to file an adjustment of status application unless you are well and truly eligible to adjust. When an adjustment of status application is denied, for whatever reason, the applicant can be placed into removal proceedings or (for people from Visa Waiver Program countries) simply sent home. Although being sent home or deported is not necessarily the end of the world, it can have dire consequences for subsequent immigration applications. For example, if an immigration officer were to decide that you had intended to file an adjustment of status application upon entering the US, you could be charged with misrepresentation and given a lifetime bar to immigrating. Although it may be possible to waive this bar, the waiver process is not easy. You’d also be facing a deportation bar that needs another type of waiver.

Alternative to Adjustment of Status

When a client or potential client is obviously not eligible to adjust status, I suspect there was preconceived intent, or when an adjustment of status case seems particularly risky, I always remind them that they can return home and consular process their green card case. It is  important to keep in mind that adjustment of status is a privilege and not a right. Although an immigrant visa at a US consular post abroad must be granted if an applicant meets all of the (many) requirements, a USCIS officer does not have to let an applicant adjust status in the US and can send them home to finish processing. Although the vast majority of adjustment applicants get a good result, those with murky or unfavorable backgrounds  may be denied simply because the officer does not think he or she is worthy of the privilege, even if the applicant is otherwise admissible.

For people who have not been unlawfully present in the US for more than 180 days and, thus have not incurred an overstay bar, the decision to file for adjustment or not can be a very easy one to make. However, clients who have been in the US without authorization for more than 180 days must typically decide whether to file for adjustment of status and risk being denied or return home and file a waiver for the prior unlawful presence.

One of the major complaints of E-Verify opponents, however, is that the system sometimes returns a false negative for someone who actually is eligible to work, such as a US citizen, green card holder, or authorized non-immigrant worker. A debate has been raging between pro-enforcment and anti-enforcement groups as to whether the ability to control unauthorized employment trumps a person’s right to engage in the job hunting process without being snagged in E-Verify’s false positive pool.

In an effort to reduce the number of false positives returned for those who are actually eligible to work in the US, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) launched the E-Verify Self Check System today. The purpose of the system is to allow all workers and prospecitve workers in the United States to learn ahead of time what their E-Verify record will show so that they can clear up any discrepancies or inconsistencies before running into problems with a prospective employer.

The E-verify Self Check is the first online employment eligibility program offered directly to workers and job hunters. The free service is completely voluntary and was developed during a collaboration between DHS and the Social Security Administration (SSA). As of now, only those who maintain an address and are physically located in Arizona, Idaho, Colorado, Mississippi, Virginia or Washington DC are eligible to use E-Verify Self Check. Additional locations will be rolled out over the next few months.

E-verify Self Check Steps

The E-verify Self Check system can be accessed here. There are four steps to using the E-verify Self Check system. First, the user enters his or her identifying information, such as name, date of birth and address. They then confirm their identity by answering demographic or financial questions generated by a third-party identity assurance service. The user then enters their social security number or, if applicable, alien identification number.  Once this information is gathered, the E-verify system compares the information against Social Security and DHS records and declares whether the person is legally eligible to work in the United States.

This system is similiar to the system an employer will use to check a job prospect’s employment eligibility. However, employers are reminded that they cannot require a prospective employee to run Self Check instead of doing its own employer E-verify check. Employers are also not permitted to use results of an E-verify Self-Check when filling out an employee’s I-9 form.

If the E-verify system indicates that a person is not eligible to work in the US, he or she will be instructed on how to resolve any data mismatches with the Social Security Administration or DHS. DHS assures users of E-verify Self Check that their personal data is purged from the system as soon as the session is complete. In addition, those who lack a sufficient amount of data on their credit report may not be able to use the Self Check system as it relies on credit history to verify a user’s identity.

Note: those who use the E-verify Self Check system will see an inquiry on their credit report. This will NOT affect their credit score.

Although immediate relatives of US citizens (i.e. parents, children and spouses) are immediately eligible to apply for a green card, other family members must wait in a (very long) line. Only a small number of green cards are made available for adult sons and daughters of US citizens, brothers and sisters of US citizens, and spouses, children and unmarried sons and daughters of green card holders. Further, applicants from countries with a history of high numbers of immigrants, such as Mexico and the Philippines, must wait even longer.  For instance, brothers and sisters of US citizens who were born in the Philippines must wait 23 years for a green card.

At the start of 2011, the wait for a green card for spouses and children of lawful permanent residents was approximately six years. As of the most recent Department of State visa bulletin, the wait is now approxmately seven years.

DV Lottery and Green Card numbers for April 2011

If you filed a non-immigrant visa application through Cairo and had your interview prior to January 28, 2011, your case is being processed normally. You can check the status of your pending case at here.  Visas are typically returned to applicants via DHL courier service.

If you are living in Egypt and need to apply for a US visa before the Embassy resumes processing, you can apply for your non-immigrant visa at a US Embassy or Consulate anywhere in the world. However, you will be required to pay the visa fees set for applicants from that country.

For immigrant visa applicants, the USE Cairo hopes to resume processing applications for spouses and children of US citizens shortly; you will be contacted to reschedule your interview if it was canceled. If you haven’t been interviewed yet, you can request your case be transferred to an Embassy or Consulate in another country by contacting the Immigrant Visa section of that Embassy.

If you were scheduled for a diversity visa interview between January 30, 2011 and March 31, 2011, you will be contacted by the Cairo IV section for rescheduling. For those who may have interviews between April and September 2011, details will be forthcoming.

The American Citizens Services Unit at the Embassy is open for emergency services for US citizens only between 9am and noon, Sunday through Thursday.

I-601 Waiver Filing Process

Unfortunately, most green card applicants who file their cases without a green card attorney do not realize that they are inadmissible to the United States and, therefore, need an I-601 waiver until they are literally at the immigrant visa interview at a US Embassy or Consulate abroad. By then, the green card applicant has usually waited many months from the time the original petition was filed with USCIS. If the applicant did know, in advance, that he or she needed an I-601 waiver, it may be possible to turn the waiver in right then at the interview. However, for most applicants, they must be given time to work on the waiver and will return to the US Embassy or Consulate at a later time to turn it in or, in rare cases, be allowed to mail it in. Given the complexity of preparing a winning I-601 waiver, this period of time can be anywhere from a couple of weeks to up to a year.

Once the waiver is prepared, paid for, and turned in, the applicant must now wait for a decision. In most parts of the world, processing for a I-601 waiver can take months. In some locations, such as Mexico, an I-601 waiver can take over a year.

I-601 Waiver Expedite Process

Given that most I-601 waivers are filed when the green card applicant is outside the US, the time it takes to get a decision on the waiver often poses a hardship on family members whose lives are on hold until a decision is made. For example, if the husband of a US Citizen is waiting in Mexico for his I-601 waiver to be decided, his wife and children may be residing in the United States without him. His absence may create serious financial consequences for the family as the mother may need to pay for child care so that she can get a job to support the family while he is away.

As a green card lawyer, I field many questions about how to speed up the process when a family is waiting for a loved one to return. The simple answer is that many do not qualify for speedier, or expedited, processing. Although the absence of a loved one, provider, or supporter may be dire in a family’s eyes, this situation is the rule rather than the exemption. If USCIS were to grant an expedite whenever the absence created hardship, there would not be many cases left to process through regular channels.

However, there are some I-601 waiver cases that do warrant expedited process. Those cases usually involve life-threatening illnesses or imminent military deployment. In a nutshell, the circumstances must be extraordinary. Up until now, there has been no formal process that a green card lawyer could undertaken in order to request an I-601 waiver expedite. Instead, the requests are made informally in formats that may vary from country to country. Prior to requesting an expedite, the green card lawyer must research the informal procedures utilized by the USCIS office in question.  What’s worse is that there is typically no response to an expedite request. If it is approved, the client will receive a decision on the I-601 waiver faster than everybody else. If it is denied, the green card lawyer will be able to (eventually) tell based on the fact that no decision is forthcoming.

USCIS proposes implementation of a formal I-601 waiver expedite process

In early January 2011, USCIS posted a draft policy memo that, if implemented, will formalize the way applicants can request an expedited decision on an I-601 waiver that has been filed outside the US. The policy would give USCIS managers overseas the authority to, in extraordinary circumstances, exercise discretion to expedite form I-601 on a case-by-case basis. Right up front the memo reminds us all that the desire to enter the United States as soon as possible is not, without more, “extraordinary.”

What is “extraordinary”, then? The USCIS defines extraordinary situations as those that are time-sensitive and compelling to the point where the applicant’s presence in the US is required sooner than would be possible if the I-601 waiver were processed normally. The situations include, but are not limited to:

• When the applicant has urgent and critical medical needs that can’t be addressed in the home country;
• When a family member in the US has a life-threatening medical condition and needs help;
• When a family member in the US had died or has a terminal illness;
• Either the applicant or qualifying family member is particularly vulnerable due to age or disability;
• Applicant is at risk of serious harm due to personal circumstances if he/she remains in the home country;
• It would be in the US’s interest for the applicant to be here;
• The qualifying relative is in the US military and is either deployed or will be deploying soon and needs the applicant here to deal with deployment-related issues;

In order to request an expedite, the green card lawyer should present sufficient evidence to support the request or explain why evidence is not available. Each USCIS office abroad will post instructions for submitting expedite requests. Upon submission of an expedite request, the USCIS will send a receipt to the applicant. All requests will then be reviewed within five business days and, if approved, the applicant will be notified within ten business days. However, USCIS will not provide notification that the expedite was denied. Therefore, applicants should assume a denial if no response is received within 15 days of the notice of receipt.

How can a green card lawyer help with an I-601 waiver expedite request?

Whether or not your I-601 waiver expedite request will be approved is almost entirely dependent on the qualify of evidence you provide to the USCIS office abroad. A green card lawyer can be instrumental in determining 1.) what aspects of your individual situation is compelling enough for an expedite and 2.) what type of evidence should be collected and submitted to support the claim. If you would like to discuss your chances of an I-601 waiver expedite, contact us today at 800.989.6842 and speak with a green card lawyer.

Immigration attorneys across the United States have longed known what has been vocalized in the press in recent months  – there is huge segment of young people in the United States who currently have absolutely no path to legalization. Most of these kids were brought to the United States as babies or children, but assimilated quickly into our culture. As a result, most do not speak their native language or have any recollection of being in their home country.

More on this as the story breaks…

K1 Visa filing fee decreases

The filing fee for form I-129F, which is used to petition for a K1 visa for a foreign fiance, decreased from $455 to $340. The decrease is, most likely, in response to the fact that the US Department of State recently increased the portion of the K1 visa fee that must be paid at a US Embassy or Consulate abroad during the fiance visa interview. Earlier this year, that fee increased from $131 to $350.

Naturalization and Citizenship filing fee remains unchanged

The fee for filing form N-400 used when applying for US Citizenship has remain unchanged at $595. However, since the biometic fee that must be paid along with the N-400 filing fee increased from $80 to $85, the total filing fee actually increased $5 to $680.

Below is a table that summarizes the rest of the filing fees for USCIS forms. An immigration attorney can help you figure out what fees will be due when you file your immigration case.

Form Number	Name of Form	Fee through November 22, 2010	Fee on and after November 23, 2010
I-90	Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card	$290	$365
I-102	Application for Replacement or Initial Nonimmigrant Arrival-Departure Document	$320	$330
I-129	Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker	$320	$325
I-129f	Petition for Alien Fiance(e)	$455	$340
I-130	Petition for Alien Relative	$355	$420
I-131	Application for Travel Document	$305	$360
I-140	Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker	$475	$580
I-191	Application for Advance Permission to Return to Unrelinquished Domicile	$545	$585
I-192	Application for Advance Permission to Enter as Nonimmigrant	$545	$585
I-193	Application for Waiver of Passport and/or Visa	$545	$585
I-212	Application for Permission to Reapply for Admission into the US after Deportation or Removal	$545	$585
I-290B	Notice of Appeal or Motion	$585	$630
I-360	Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant	$375	$405
I-485	Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status	$930	$985
I-526	Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur	$1,435	$1500
I-539	Application to Extend or Change Nonimmigrant Status	$300	$290
I-600 I-600A I-800 I-800A	Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative or Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition	$670	$720
I-601	Application for Waiver of Ground of Excludability	$545	$585
I-612	Application for Waiver of Ground of Excludability	$545	$585
I-687	Application for Status as a Temporary Resident under Sections 245A or 210 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA)	$710	$1,130
I-690	Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility	$185	$200
I-694	Notice of Appeal of Decision under Sections 245A or 210 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA)	$545	$755
I-698	Application to Adjust Status from Temporary to Permanent Resident (Under Section 245A of Public Law 99-603)	$1,370	$1,020
I-751	Petition to Remove the Conditions of Residence	$465	$505
I-765	Application for Employment Authorization	$340	$380
I-817	Application for Family Unity Benefits	$440	$435
I-824	Application for Action on an Approved Application or Petition	$340	$405
I-829	Petition by Entrepreneur to Remove Conditions	$2,850	$3,750
I-881	Application for Suspension of Deportation or Special Rule Cancellation of Removal (Pursuant to Section 203 of Public Law 105-110)	$285	$285
I-907	Request for Premium Processing Service	$1,000	$1,225
	Civil Surgeon Designation	$0	$615
I-924	Application for Regional Center under the Immigrant Investor Pilot Program	$0	$6,230
N-300	Application to File Declaration of Intention	$235	$250
N-336	Request for Hearing on a Decision in Naturalization Proceedings	$605	$650
N-400	Application for Naturalization	$595	$595
N-470	Application to Preserve Residence for Naturalization Purposes	$305	$330
N-565	Application for Replacement Naturalization Citizenship Document	$380	$345
N-600	Application for Certification of Citizenship	$460	$600
N-600K	Application for Citizenship and Issuance of Certificate under Section 322	$460	$600
	Immigrant Visa DHS Domestic Processing	$0	$165
Biometrics	Capturing, Processing and Storing Biometric Information	$80	$85