Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with greencard

nanny Visa

jasondigitized — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 08:16:16 -0800

My wife and I live outside the United States. We are both U.S. citizens. We currently employee a full-time nanny for our daughter. Our nanny is from the Philippines and she is awesome. She is not a U.S. citizen. Eventually we will be moving back to the U.S. What is the likelihood that we could take our nanny with us when we move back? What would we have to do to make this possible?

Do I have a new Daddy?

thebazilist — Sat, 09 May 2009 13:02:59 -0800

My sister and I suspect that our mother may have recently gotten married. Her boyfriend is Indian and they live in California, but the marriage also could have happened in Canada, or in India. How can I find out? My mother has always been very secretive (issues, etc.). My sister and I are the only relatives in the picture. We are all very close, talking on the phone every few days. She lives in Los Angeles and has a boyfriend who is Indian, whom we've never met but have spoken to, and neither of us has seen any red flags. This is not about there being any danger in the situation; she's old/young enough to take care of herself and has no money to steal or anything like that. I simply want to know whether she's married in case, for example, God forbid something should happen -- I'd like to be aware of something as simple as her marital status. Before you jump to the "just ask her" conclusion, I certainly plan to do that if I can't easily and inexpensively find out on my own, but my mother does not respond well to "prying" or accusations that she's been lying or unduly secretive.

Several months ago, my mother started talking about how the boyfriend is trapped at a company he hates because they're responsible for his visa status (my vague understanding), and wishes he could start his own business but he can't without a green card, and isn't that unfair? The next time I saw her, I noticed her wearing what looked like an engagement ring but I didn't say anything about it. Shortly thereafter, on the phone, she told me that he'd proposed, and she was thinking about it. Later she told me that she'd accepted, so that he could get his green card. This could be true, or she for whatever reason doesn't want to tell us that she wants to marry him because she loves him. I asked if that was the only reason she was marrying him; she avoided giving a straight answer. My sister and I should be happy for her to marry someone that she cares about and who'll make her happy, but maybe my mother doesn't believe this; I don't know.

After this, the marriage/engagement was never mentioned again. My mother then started planning a trip to India to visit her fiance's parents for January. Story from my mother: In December, coming back to LA via Vancouver from overseas, the fiance was stopped by immigration. Usually the type of visa he has doesn't give problems, but they'll flag every however-many people for a more thorough check. He was stuck in Vancouver and couldn't return to the US. He told them that he was planning to return to India in a few weeks and would be able to renew or accomplish whatever necessary paperworks at that time; he had his ticket for proof, etc. They allowed him to return to LA to get his stuff together, then he and my mother went to India. I only got a very superficial account of the trip -- they went here, here, and there and the food gave her heartburn -- and haven't seen any pictures.

My sister and I now think that maybe they got married to expedite his return to the US after his visa difficulties in Vancouver. Or they got married before the Vancouver difficulties, and maybe his recently married status is what caused the problems in Vancouver. In any case, they probably went to India to have a traditional ceremony there for his traditional (I think Muslim) family.

What makes sense, given immigration/visa/green-card laws? Does that make sense about the routine check in Vancouver? Would they have been able to get married with his status in limbo? Would a wedding in Canada have worked for what they want to accomplish?

What's the easiest way to look up marriage-license records in California and/or British Columbia? Or, if the only ceremony was in India, would whatever Indian license they received be enough for US recognition, or would they have needed to then follow-up with something here? I'd probably go for asking her before trying to get marriage info from India (unless you tell me it's easy).

Just registered for Selective Service; can I still apply for naturalization?

Anonymous — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 14:30:45 -0800

I'm 25 and a Permament Resident of the United States. I want to apply (and am eligible) for citizenship. Stupidly, I neglected to register for Selective Service until now. However, I was able to get my registration processed before my upcoming 26 birthday (the absolute deadline for registration). Can I apply for citizenship, or will I not have the requisite five years of good moral character, since I haven't registered until very recently?

Can't remember trips for citizenship application

limon — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 10:15:20 -0800

US permanent resident, applying for citizenship. I've made many brief road-trips to Canada over the past five years to see my family and can't possibly remember them all. There are also two trips to Europe I can't precisely date. The citizenship application requires that I report all trips out of the country. What should I do? I really don't want to wait another five years for citizenship. Can I ask to view my entry/exit record with USCIS so as to be able to reconstruct my travels on that basis? Is there a better way to do this?

How quickie is too quickie when it comes to a green card marriage?

Anonymous — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 21:46:59 -0800

Green-card-via-quickie-marriage-filter.... Some similar questions in the past, so forgive the slight retread for the sake of specifics and a late-2008 perspective.

Against our advice (and the Ask Metafilter links we sent), a close friend married a man from Turkey in order for him to stay in the country (he's here on a student[?] visa, I believe, and working at a gas station). His visa expires in January. They are "in love" but only met two months ago--the feeling is: a marriage certificate is just a piece of paper, this way they can feel things out and he can at least get a green card. There were no witnesses/guests to the city hall ceremony--she hasn't even told her parents or siblings yet (they're both in their mid-twenties). They will not be living together. They haven't talked to any lawyers, though he has friends who have gone through the process successfully with similarly borderline marriages.

So they aren't doing this for money or anything, but it's not a "real" marriage either. And, on paper, it looks pretty suspicious. AskMe descriptions of the process vary from most-intrusive-experience-ever to some-tough-paperwork-but-the-interview-was-a-breeze. My question: how much scrutiny can they expect? Do her parents need to be in on it? Is there anything they should do next besides starting all that paperwork? Best-case-scenarios? Worst-case scenarios? (They just got married last week, by the way.)

(Previously-linked sources like visajourney are very informative but tend to approach everything with the assumption that you have a "real" marriage with oodles of love letters, photos, and family willing to back you up. I know that you're not their lawyer and that they should talk to one as soon as possible.)

Green Card Lottery chances.

Anonymous — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 08:40:27 -0800

Green Card Lottery. Are my chances better if I state my country of birth as Australia or PNG? I am going to apply for this years Diversity Visa Lottery. Technically I can claim my country of birth as Papua New Guinea or Australia. Given that visas are distributed on a regional and national basis, does it make any difference to my chances which country I put down? Australia and PNG are in the same region, but I am wondering if the lower population of PNG would skew the probability of being chosen.

What happens (legally) when an American and a Japanese person marry?

Vorteks — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 15:00:53 -0800

International Marriage filter: When a US Citizen marries a foreigner, what process is involved in bringing the new spouse to the US and getting permanent resident status? I'd like to know how difficult it is for a US Citizen to marry a foreigner (specifically, a Japanese person), and bring them here to the US to stay. What are the legal procedures? How long does it take? What, if any, is the chance of "failure"?

I know a lot of people are going to tell me to talk to an immigration lawyer. Believe me, I will... if/when the situation comes up. You see, right now I'm not yet dating. I'm just considering a potential relationship, and if I decide to pursue it I'd like to know up front what I'm getting into. So YANAL, or at least YANML, I understand. But what can you tell me about the process? I'd like to get a "birds eye view" at least.

Bonus points: What would be involved in a US Citizen marrying a Japanese person and getting permanent residence in JAPAN? This seems less likely in my case. But hey, it could happen.

Thank you MeFites!

New immigrant filter: Can he work? Social security office screw up?

potsmokinghippieoverlord — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 16:21:56 -0800

Social Security card confusion? Doesn't have the "valid for work only with DHS Authorization" wording? Eh? So I'm about to marry my British fella this Friday (yay!) and several weeks ago he applied for and received a SSN/card.

However, I thought cards for new immigrants would have the "VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH DHS AUTHORIZATION" stamp on them. His doesn't. Whaaaa....?

Once we're wed, we're going to do the whole expensive adjustment of status thang so he can have a green card and can travel freely. But I'm wondering if the Social Security office screwed up by sending him a card without that stamp.

1. Can he work now? He didn't get an EAD stamp (work authorization -- which would allow him to work for the first 9o days of his arrival).

2. Do we have to fill out the I-765 anyway?

I'm suspecting that the answers are NO and YES, just so we're right with the ol' gubmint.

What does the hive mind say?

Feel like I am using her, but anyway:

Anonymous — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 16:46:31 -0800

I, an immigrant on F-1 (expired, though I am still on status), am going to get married to an American next month. We decided that I should apply for work authorization and permanent residency. Some questions … Work authorization is most important at this point (I will be graduating and looking for academia positions for Fall), so if we need to divide our focus and efforts, we would like to do so on work authorization. We are getting married next month (end of January).

a) What would a good (and concise) place to start reading up on this task?
b) Am I really late in terms of preparation?
c) How much time would it take for me to get the work authorization?
d) We would really like to skip a lawyer (both poor grad students) — advisable?

Thanks!
(setup a temporary email address for correspondence: askmefi.gc@gmail.com)

Can a person in the US with a green card bring over a family member?

brokekid — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 07:54:54 -0800

An Ethiopian friend, who has her green card, would like to bring over her sister's youngest son (I believe he is eight years old) to live with her in Washington, DC. Is this even possible and how likely is this to happen in the near future?

Is it legal to for a Canadian to work in US for a Canadian company without working papers?

Anonymous — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 15:47:11 -0800

Is this illegal? I'm a Canadian living in the US legally but not allowed to work. I run an online business based out of Canada (use a Canadian address for all payments, bank account etc...). I suppose I'm working for a Canadian company (my own) but living in the US. Additionally, and I haven't done this yet, would importing revenues from the business to use for living expenses affect the legality?

[independence day filter] so how do I become a citizen?

krautland — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 18:11:43 -0800

[independence day filter] so how do I become a citizen? I'm a german citizen who came to the U.S. in 2000 on an F-1 visa. upon graduation (2004, BFA) I did my OPT and got an O-1 visa (in 2005) and slowly what had been a stopover became a new home.

the O-1 is a great visa but it's still a visa and thus a hassle.
I can't do freelance work and every time I change employers we have to go through expensive visa attorneys and wait for the processing to be done. I still haven't been drawn in the greencard lottery, in which I have participated in for six years, and my automatic greencard is years away. that leaves citizenship as an option but I'm not interested in marriage or military service. so what's a man to do for mere equality? am I missing an option?

US Immigration: lawyer needed or not

spacefire — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 08:01:44 -0800

Immigration through spouse: should I get a lawyer or can we file on our own and still get the greencard within reasonable time? I am already in the US on H1B work visa. I have been living in the US for over 7 years now. My wife is a born citizen.

Will USCIS visit us at home?

Anonymous — Fri, 04 May 2007 16:43:38 -0800

I'm a 2 Year Green Card holder married to a US citizen (I came on a K1 Visa). Now we're filing I-751 - Removal of conditions on permanent residency. Will USCIS visit us at home to see if there's I came to the US to be with my wife two and a half years ago on a K1 fiancee visa, and now have a 2 year conditional Green Card. The card expires in 90 days, and we're filing to have the conditions removed and get my 10 year Green Card. We are familiar with the process, have all our ducks in a row and papers in order, and know there may be an interview. Our question is whether USCIS will/may visit us at home without warning.

I read a couple of immigration newsgroups and I don't see any discussion of the possibility of a surprise 'marriage proving' home visit. However, I do see the odd anecdote, often almost in passing. I can't find anything to point to right now, but a poster will say something like "He was very nice, as was the gentleman who came to our house without notice early one morning to check we were really married..." I'm worried this is common, as the rare, scary stuff that happens to folks gets discussed ad infinitum.

So how likely is this? Our marriage is totally, awesomely genuine, but that doesn't mean we have nothing to hide! We don't have kids and tend to leave porn and various interesting sex related items around. I don't know exactly where 'passionately married' stops for USCIS and 'bad moral character' begins. Some of these items might also be 'gender non-traditional'. Please don't say 'why not just hide the porn?' unless you think it is likely they will come; I'm not going to sanitize our lives for a year plus unless I have to. I also work away from home often, potentially for a week or two at a time. I know that's not going to look so good to a marriage inspector. So does this really happen? What will they do if they come?

I would also love to hear I-751 interview experiences, but I guess that's straying into chatfilter...

Please respect that I have legitimate reasons for posting this anonymously (that are not fully covered above) and we are NOT trying in any way to defraud the immigration process.

How do I file a complaint against the USCIS for their mistake?

pikaboy202 — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 13:20:07 -0800

The INS made a mistake and took away my friend's green card. What can she do? On a recent trip, my friend had her (and her family's) green cards were taken away at the airport. They were told that the green cards were no long valid and that they need to get new ones. They were admitted into the country.

They went ahead and got new green cards and were sent THE SAME EXACT ONES BACK! There is absolutely no difference in the old cards and the new ones. Quite frankly, no one has any idea why the original ones were invalid.

Needless to say, immigration made a mistake when they made my friend spend a thousand dollars to get their original green cards card back. How does she go about filing a grievance?

I'm a soon-to-be attorney but don't know how to go about this. You can always sue the government but there has to be a less painful way of filing a grievance. I've checked the USCIS website and of course there's no form you can fill to complain.

Please help me hive mind!!

How To Stay In The USA?

forallmankind — Sun, 11 Jun 2006 15:28:22 -0800

Can someone refer me to an immigration lawyer in CA? I'm trying to find out if applying for a Green Card is the only way to go about trying to secure permanent residency in the US. I'm a UK citizen working on an H-1B visa, which runs out in 2 years 3 months. I'm interviewing with a new (very large) company this week and they've already given assurance that sponsoring me for the remainder of my visa is no problem. But, with the clock ticking, I'm also planning to add to my negotiation sponsorship for a Green Card (I believe the process takes 2-3 years & $8-9K), after a probationary period first.

I'd like to make sure that this is the best way to go, but can't consult with my current companys' immigration lawyer because he's useless, and most lawyers (understandably) tend to be less than helpful when they know they're not going to be handling the case.

Greencard lawyer with track record?

lalochezia — Fri, 05 May 2006 08:40:45 -0800

Green Card Filter - Affordable immigration lawyer who specializes in National Interest Waiver (NIW - EB2) category preferably with a track record? I'm about to start applying for my green card. I'm a scientist going through the National Interest Waiver (NIW/EB2) process.

Does anyone know any proven lawyers with a good track record in NIW/EB2 permanent residency applications? Preferably who have worked with scientists? Or a place where I can find such data/recommendations?

I'm not interested in one-off anecdotal results: I have several friends who went through cheaper lawyers for EB-1/2 processes (NIW, Outstanding Prof/Researcher etc), with varying results from great to meh.

I was going to use these guys. One of their partners sits on an immigration subcomittee, they write analyses of decisions and and post them on their website.

I've been very impressed with what they have to offer in terms of their professionalism, knowledge and and resources. My question is: am I paying too much: NIW can be a simple process (but the lawyer has to know how to craft the application) and with these guys its $8k from start to finish - $6k up to the filing then about another $2k after NIW is granted to the 'green card' itself.

This may be a case of getting what you're paying for. I just want to know if there are other immigration lawyers with as good a record that I can hire for less money

Bonus points: Anyone who has any advice over and beyond this (I've had lots) is welcome to add their 0.2c.

Marrying an immigrant

Anonymous — Thu, 14 Jul 2005 10:05:45 -0800

Seeking advice from US citizens who have married foreigners who happened to be illegal. My girlfriend and I have been dating for about 2 years, but she's not from this country. She was working on a process towards receiving a green card (longer than she's known me), and we were planning on delaying the thought of marriage until after the process was resolved.
She received the letter to appear before the INS at a truly inconvenient time (as we were about to move into an apartment together, which we have done). But because there was something unkosher in her employment paperwork (a technicality), her process was denied.

An immigration lawyer has told her that if she wants to stay in the US, she either has to get a new full-time job in the same field she was originally sponsored for, or get married to a US citizen. But the time-frame is unknown. She could get a letter to appear before a judge tomorrow, next week, or in 5 years.

We know that the only "sure thing" is to get married, and we love each other and would have eventually done it anyway, but obviously we're not thrilled about having to rush into things.

If we *do* get married, what is involved on my (the US citizen sponsoring her) side? Are they really intrusive about trying to prove the legitimacy of this relationship? Is there a lot of paperwork? Fees?

Can anyone share any experiences in this sort of situation?

Information on USCIS infopass program

the biscuit man — Wed, 11 Aug 2004 22:38:51 -0800

Has anyone used USCIS' new InfoPass program to receive their green card? (more inside) My wife and I have been trying daily for the last month, to make an appointment for the I-485 Dallas Office Rapid Adjustment (D.O.R.A.) Pilot Program. Either we are told that there are no appointments available or we make it through and enter our contact info, but are given an empty and unusable calendar. We have tried calling for assistance, but are referred back to the site.

I am a US citizen, but my wife is not. We have our forms filled out and ready to file. I am debating on mailing the forms, but am concerned about the length of time it will take. I have been told that it could take up to 2 years, versus 90 days for the pilot program. Does anyone have any additional advice on getting their green card? Thanks.

Any immigration experts in the house?

widdershins — Wed, 21 Jan 2004 10:29:48 -0800

Any immigration experts in the house? I am a Norwegian citizen with a permanent residence (green) card. I have decided to stay in the US indefinitely and am thinking of becoming a US citizen; however, it is important to me that my (planned) children have dual citizenship, and they'll only have that as long as I remain a Norwegian citizen.

So I'm trying to figure out the benefits to becoming a citizen besides just being able to vote. Am I entitled to greater financial benefits (such as Medicare/Medicaid etc)? Does it make a difference how long you've been a citizen when it's time to receive the benefits?