I recently had a couple of consultations where a US citizen was attempting to sponsor a second spouse for a Green Card. I would attribute this to the high level of divorces that occurred during the pandemic period. But let’s take a look at what it means when the US Citizen spouse divorces spouse number one and secured a Green Card for them but the marriage eventually ended in divorce. Now, the US citizen has since remarried and has a second spouse who they are thinking about sponsoring for a Green Card. I decided to create this article to discuss this issue and to provide my opinions on what might occur or what special considerations you might need to make in this circumstance. Now, I've seen this play out in various ways numerous times.

If you become a resident based on a recent marriage (less than two years) you become a “conditional” permanent resident (conditional Green Card holder). Normally, you would file a petition with your husband or wife on the two year anniversary of your permanent resident status (90 days before the two years to be exact) in order to obtain a permanent ten year Green Card. If the marriage ends before your petition is filed, or your spouse refuses to cooperate with your petition – you may still be eligible to become a permanent resident and remove conditions on your Green Card successfully.

While your family-based green card application (Form I-485) is being processed, and if you presently reside in the United States and want to work for a U.S. company, you must get a work permit first. If you reside overseas, you cannot apply for a work permit.

When applying for a stay or residence abroad, such as in the United States, you are required to submit a copy of your Birth Certificate or an equivalent document. Every member of your family that is looking to apply for residence via a Green Card (on the basis of marriage or having family ties, for example) must present their own Birth Certificate.

All foreign documents must meet the USCIS translation requirements whether you have an adjustment of status Green Card case or a consular processing case. Failure to comply with the stipulated guidelines can be counterproductive to the outcome of your citizenship/immigration application process, either by having documents needlessly rejected or delayed.

At Khunkhun Law, family based immigration is our bread and butter. We have accompanied clients to adjustment of status interviews hundreds of times and have a great deal of experience with respect to what you can expect when it comes to your interview. Marriage based adjustment of status cases especially, require very special interview preparation because the case depends on documentation almost as much as the clients’ testimony.

Whether you are married to a U.S. citizen or a Green Card holder, the way these cases are managed can differ significantly. Also, the timelines for the latter can be longer which means that the H-1B spouse will have to make sure that they take care of their status while the Green Card case is pending.

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) grants conditional permanent residence first. Then, it begins an inquiry into the legitimacy of the marriage. Accordingly, as part of the joint petition, documentary evidence showing that the marriage was bona-fide needs to be submitted. The timeline for filing this Joint Petition with the USCIS service center is 90 days before the expiry of two years from the date of the initial grant of conditional permanent residence.

The act of filing an I-130 reveals to USCIS, that the beneficiary has an intent to immigrate to the United States. Therefore, when an I-130 beneficiary applies for a non-immigrant visa, things can get pretty complicated

Whether you are in the US or abroad, as the spouse of a Green Card holder/US citizen, the whole process begins with the filing of USCIS Petitions IN THE UNITED STATES. This is true whether the marriage occurs abroad or in the United States. The first step must be the filing of the Petition for Alien Relative (Form I-130) IN THE UNITED STATES along with proof of the relationship such as photographs, communications, including text messages between the couple, social media evidence if applicable, and evidence of joint responsibilities and liabilities, if any. The fundamental difference is the following:

I was visiting my fiancé in the United States and cannot leave due to the pandemic since there are no flights available and it is not safe to travel. Can I apply for a Green Card while I’m visiting my fiancé based on how scary it is to be separated during the pandemic?

The intersection of immigration law and criminal law can arise within the United States in many different scenarios such as the following: (1) when a foreign national is either visiting or working in the US and is arrested while here; when the foreign national is applying for a Green Card while in the United States and is arrested prior to or during the adjustment of status process; or when someone has to deal with explaining their criminal history during the “good moral character” analysis of the citizenship process. This article by prominent Criminal Defense attorney, Elena Fast, answers some of the most frequently asked questions by foreign nationals trying to navigate the complicated criminal terrain in the United States.

An I-94 is the US Customs and Border Patrol's official record of a non-immigrant's legal entry into the US. The I-94 is needed to show that the non-immigrant entered into the US legally with a valid visa, and also whenever the non-immigrant applies to change their status either to another non-immigrant category or animmigrant category.

Based on a meeting with USCIS and CBP offices yesterday we have some updates to help alleviate the anxiety of our clients in these dark times so you can manage your expectations accordingly

Who doesn’t like to save money? I certainly do—so I don’t blame people for asking this question and even up to a year ago, I would tell many of my clients who had seemingly straightforward cases that they could attend the interview themselves after I had given them a mock interview. However, with the recent immigration climate, we see a rather hostile trend with respect to how clients are treated at immigration interviews.

Many states grant a legal name change when the Foreign National spouse gets married—this new married name is usually printed on the marriage certificate if you apply for the license requesting the name change. If the new name is printed on the marriage certificate, it gives the Foreign National the right to elect to use their spouse’s last name or to hyphenate their name with their spouses name. Whatever decision is made at this point, the Foreign National should going forward, consistently use the name they opt to take. 

This year for the first time in my career as an Immigration Attorney, I’ve been contacted by multiple individuals who have gained US Citizenship without a problem, but upon applying for a US Passport, are being investigated by the US Passport Office for their immigration status. We knew that a De-Naturalization Task Force had been established to strip citizenship from those whose basis for being Permanent Residents was fraudulent. However, we had not seen this coming.

if you are the spouse of a lawful permanent resident, or a child under 21 years old of a permanent resident who does not yet have a visa petition filed, you should submit your visa petition as soon as possible during the month of July 2019, in order to be able to take advantage of the current priority date for F2A and apply for a visa immediately.

If you are on an H-1B visa, there is no reason you can’t get married to a US citizen as long as you honor the immigration laws and procedures that apply to most non-immigrants transitioning to an immigrant visa (marriage-based Green Card). The following are some important considerations to keep in mind:

“I just got engaged to my fiancé and we are anxious to begin our American Dream Life together. We’re ready to get married but are not sure if it’s better to apply for fiancé visa now or get married and then apply for a marriage visa. What should we do?”