How Long Does It Take to Get My U.S. Citizenship

How Long Does It Take to Get My U.S. Citizenship Help Desk: I got my Green Card based on my marriage to a U.S. Citizen. How long does it take to get U.S. Citizenship after the Green Card? Answer: Most U.S. Permanent Residents have to wait 5 years after receiving Green Card to qualify for U.S. Citizenship. However, the immigration law gives a break to spouses of U.S. Citizens. If you are a U.S. permanent or conditional resident, you cannot apply for U.S. citizenship until you have lived in U.S. as a lawful permanent resident for at least five years. That means exactly five years to the day. You can check your U.S. permanent resident card for the exact date on which you became a permanent resident. If you start out as a conditional resident rather than a permanent resident, because you got your residence through your marriage to a U.S. citizen, your two years as a conditional resident count as permanent residence. If you have been married for at least 3 years, and your spouse has been a U.S. Citizen for at least 3 years, you are eligible for citizenship 3 years after you become U.S. Permanent Resident. Actually, you are allowed to apply for naturalization 3 months before the end of your 3 year residence. The U.S. citizenship application must be submitted by mail, using USCIS Form N-400. USCIS will take a long time to process the N-400, to arrange for you to be fingerprinted, and to call you in for the interview at which it actually reviews your application, tests you on your knowledge of English and U.S. government, and makes a decision on whether to approve or deny you. USCIS may take at least 90 days to call you in for your interview. http://www.greencardfamily.com/question/question2015/US_Citizenship_Application_081715.htm http://www.greencardfamily.com/index.htm

How Can My Fiancé Get a Fiancé Visa to Enter U.S.?

How Can My Fiancé Get a Fiancé Visa to Enter U.S.? Help Desk: How can my fiancé get a fiancé visa to enter U.S.? and will my spouse become a U.S. citizen automatically? Answer: A fiancé visa grants permission to a foreign alien who is engaged to marry a U.S. citizen to enter U.S. for getting married inside United States. For your fiancé to get a fiancé visa to enter United States, you will need to file a petition using Form I-129F with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). If the Form I-129F petition is approved, it will then be forwarded to the U.S. consulate in the fiancé's home country for review. The review process could take several months. An personal interview with the alien applicant will be scheduled to take place at the consulate. If the visa interview process goes well, the K-1 fiance visa will be issued to the alien applicant. Once the fiancé visa is issued, the alien immigrant has 6 months time period to enter United States, and then another 90 days for the alien fiancé to get married inside United States. If possible, It it best to get married early in stay if the alien fiancé wishes to apply to adjust status inside United States to get a U.S. green card. An immigrant who marries a U.S. citizen must apply for U.S. green card. This process includes many USCIS forms and documents. The green card application can be refused, because of a medical problem, criminal history, past immigration violations, or the U.S. immigration authorities' belief that the marriage is a fraud to get a green card. After successfully obtaining a U.S. green card, the immigrant spouse can apply for U.S. citizenship, after 3 years as a U.S. permanent resident, assuming that the alien spouse still married and living together when the immigrant applies. http://www.greencardfamily.com/question/question2015/K1_Fiance_Visa_081815.htm http://www.greencardfamily.com/k1visa.htm

"Notice of Intent to Deny" from USCIS for my Form I-140 application.

Question: I recently get a letter of "Notice of Intent to Deny" from USCIS for my Form I-140 application. What is the difference between the Request for Evidence and Notice of Intent to Deny? Answer: A Request for Evidence (RFE) from a USCIS Service Center is that the USCIS adjudicator is requesting additional evidence to address and support specific parts of the pending I-140 petition. The petitioner may have certain days indicated in the RFE notice to respond the requests in the RFE notice. If the petitioner does not respond within the indicated time, the petition may be denied by USCIS. After USCIS receives your response to an RFE notice, further action will generally occur within 60 days, but may take longer for some cases. A Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID) is that the USCIS adjudicator is giving notice that USCIS will deny the pending case, unless you provide certain extra documentation. The petitioner may have certain days indicated in the NOID notice to respond. If the petitioner does not respond within the prescribed period, the petition may be denied. Once the USCIS receives your response to an NOID, further action will generally occur within 60 days, but may take longer. www.greencardapply.com/ea/eb1a-questions.htm www.greencardapply.com/ea.htm

The Reference Letters for the Alien’s Contributions in the Field

The Reference Letters for the Alien’s Contributions in the Field The foreign applicant should obtain multiple letters of recommendation or recommendation letters from recognized experts in their academic field. The majority of these letters should be from independent experts outside the alien applicant's circle, and preferably from international sources. The letters should evidence the foreign national’s international recognition as extraordinary in their field and original scientific or scholarly research contributions. The letters should state that the foreign national is extraordinary and in what ways. The letter of recommendation is also called reference letter, and it is a letter written by an expert in the alien applicant's field. The recommendation letters are essential for EB1 Extraordinary Ability petition. The USCIS adjudicators are normally not experts in an academic field, thus the only way for them to determine whether an alien applicant qualify for extraordinary ability is looking at submitted objective evidence. A recommendation letter is among the most important objective evidence. Generally, scholarly work is expressed in specialized language. In order to assist the alien’s original contributions in the field, USCIS adjudicators will consider the reference letters from the experts in the field for the alien’s contributions. But not all reference letters could help to provide such analysis. The reference letters that specifically indicate how the alien beneficiary has contributed to the field and its impact on subsequent work would add value for an EB-1A petition. On the other hand, the reference letters do not include specifics, and simply use hyperbolic language do not add value for an EB-1A petition. www.greencardapply.com/ea/extraordinaryability-referenceletters.htm www.greencardapply.com/ea.htm

Consular Processing - Another Primary Path to Green Card of United States

Consular Processing - Another Primary Path to Green Card of United States Question: USCIS has approved my Form I-140 - Petition for Alien Worker, but my H-1B visa has close to 6-years limit and the immigration visa number is not available for me at this time. Therefore, I cannot file Form I-485 application inside U.S to get my Green Card. What is my solution? Please help! Answer: There are two primary paths to U.S. permanent resident status (a Green Card). USCIS Form I-485 application of adjustment of status is a process by which an eligible person, who is already in the United States, can apply for U.S. permanent resident status without having to return to his/her home country to complete the processing of Green Card application. Another primary path to U.S. permanent resident status is called "Consular Processing." An foreign person who is the beneficiary of an approved immigrant petition, such as Form I-140 approval or Form I-130 approval, and has an immigrant visa number immediately available may apply at a U.S. Department of State (DOS) consulate abroad for an immigrant visa, to come to U.S. and be admitted as a permanent resident. Thus, this pathway is referred to as “consular processing.” The first step in consular processing is to determine if you fit into a specific U.S. immigrant category. Many immigrants become eligible for a U.S. Green Card through a petition filed by a family member (Form I-130 approval) or U.S. employer ( Form I-140 approval). The employment based immigration categories require the U.S. employer to file a Form I-140 - Petition for Alien Worker. The family based categories require that a U.S. citizen or permanent resident relative file a Form I-130 - Petition for Alien Relative. If the immigration petition is approved (Form I-140 approval or Form I-130 approval) and if you are the beneficiary of the petition and living outside the U.S., USCIS can send the approved petition to the Department of State’s National Visa Center (NVC) for consular processing, where it will remain until an immigrant visa number is available. http://www.greencardapply.com/question/question15/Consular_Processing_081015.htm http://www.greencardapply.com/i485.htm

Employer's Ability to Pay for EB1 Multinational Executive or Manager Petition

Employer's Ability to Pay for EB1 Multinational Executive or Manager Petition Question: For my EB1 Multinational Executive or Manager Green Card application (EB-1C), we received an Request For Evidence (RFE) notice from USCIS for more evidence of "the employer's ability to pay. " What documents can be supplementary evidence for the RFE response? Answer: For EB1 Multinational Executive or Manager Green Card application (EB-1C), if the required initial evidence does not establish ability to pay, the USCIS adjudicator may send a Request For Evidence (RFE) notice to the petitioner for more evidence, or even deny the EB-1C petition since the petitioner has not met the burden to establish eligibility for the requested benefit. Normally, net income and net current assets do not always accurately reflect the financial health of an organization or the employer. Therefore, according to these calculations, it may appear that the petitioner has not demonstrated an ability to pay. Thus, the use of additional financial information and different evidence may be able to demonstrate the employer's ability to pay. The USCIS adjudicator can consider additional financial information, such as profit/loss statements, bank account records, or personnel records, but he or she may choose not to accept such information or different calculations. But it is wise to provide all financial information that may show ability to pay and to clearly explain how additional evidence other than net income and net current assets demonstrate the ability to pay. The petitioner can have its financial officers and accountants perform such calculations in order to show that the company is able to pay the beneficiary. Statements from the petitioner’s financial officers clearly explaining the analysis and how it proves ability to pay should then be included with the EB1 Multinational Executive or Manager Green Card application. http://www.greencardapply.com/question/question15/EB1C_Ability_To_Pay_081115.htm http://www.greencardapply.com/manager.htm

USCIS Adjudicator's Wide Discretion in Adjudicating the EA-1A Petition

USCIS Adjudicator's Wide Discretion in Adjudicating the EA-1A Petition Question: I submitted by EB1 Extraordinary Ability (EA-1A) petition 2 months ago, and then received a Request For Evidence (RFE), which challenges the evidence's "ineligibility" that I provided with very high standard of requirements. What I should do? Please help! Answer: The alien applicants should be aware that approvals in the EB1 Extraordinary Ability (EA-1A) petitions are difficult to obtain. The legal standard requires showing that the alien applicant has reached the very top of his or her field. The legal standard in the EB1 Extraordinary Ability category is high. While this category was intended to apply to a small group of extraordinary individuals, it was not meant to be unattainable. There are alien applicants who are able to demonstrate their extraordinary abilities in the fields of science, art, education, business, and athletics. It is necessary to establish that this extraordinary ability has been demonstrated by sustained national or international acclaim, and that the achievements have been recognized in the field with extensive documentation. In some EB1 Extraordinary Ability petition cases, additional challenges are applied in this category by USCIS adjudicators, which are going beyond the high standard that is appropriate for the EA-1A category, and creating novel requirements. USCIS adjudicators have wide discretion in adjudicating the EA-1A petition cases, and the complexity of the evidence presented. USCIS adjudicators sometimes apply heightened legal standards for EB1 Extraordinary Ability petitions to support a negative decision, or a Request For Evidence (RFE) In such cases, it can be difficult to challenge the ineligibility finding made by the adjudicators, or provide evidence to reply the Request For Evidence. Therefore, it is necessary to carefully analyze the actual legal criteria, and the application of the criteria by the adjudicator to the often highly complex individual facts. http://www.greencardapply.com/question/question15/EA1A_Petition_082415.htm http://www.greencardapply.com/ea.htm

How Can I Meet the "Advanced Degree" Requirement for National Interest Waiver Petition?

How Can I Meet the "Advanced Degree" Requirement for National Interest Waiver Petition? Question: I have a baccalaureate degree in engineering from my home country, and also have more than 5 years work experience in my field. Can I apply for Green Card in the EB2 National Interest Waiver category? and how could I prove that I can meet the "advanced degree" requirements for National Interest Waiver petition requirement? Answer: For EB2 National Interest Waiver (EB2 NIW) petition, the petitioner must establish that he or she have an advanced degree as of the priority date. The petitioner should submit advanced degree certificate with certified translation of English language, and/or submit a detailed advisory evaluation of the beneficiary's foreign credentials. The evidence for advanced degree may consist of the following documentation: • A copy of the beneficiary's official academic record, showing that the beneficiary has a U.S. advanced degree or a foreign equivalent degree, the dates of attendance, area of concentration of study, and the date the beneficiary received the degree; or • A copy of the beneficiary's official academic record showing that the beneficiary has a U.S. baccalaureate degree or a foreign equivalent degree, and evidence in the form of letters from current or former employer showing that the beneficiary has at least five years of progressive post-baccalaureate experience in the specialty. The employer can issue the letter of experience on official letterhead and must list the employer's name and address, the date, the signer's name and title, and a description of the beneficiary's experience, including dates of employment and specific duties. If the beneficiary completed his education outside the United States, in addition to the beneficiary's official academic record, the petitioner should submit a detailed advisory evaluation of the beneficiary's credentials. This evaluation is necessary to determine the level and major field of the beneficiary's education in terms of equivalent education in the United States. An acceptable evaluation should consider formal education only, and not practical training or experience; state whether the beneficiary completed the United States equivalent of high school before entering college; provide a detailed explanation of the evaluated material, rather than a simple conclusive statement; and briefly state the evaluator's qualifications and experience. http://www.greencardapply.com/question/question15/NIW_Advanced_Degree_082515.htm http://www.greencardapply.com/niw.htm