Articles Posted in Removal of Conditions

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You are married to a US Citizen and you filed your petition for a green card, but now you are going through a divorce, can you keep your green card?

Divorce Prior to Green Card

If you have filed your application for a green card, but have not yet attended your green card interview, and you or your spouse has since filed for divorce, it is going to be nearly impossible for your green card application to continue without the U.S. Citizen spouse.

If the divorce is filed or is happening before the adjudication of your green card, there are very few options for the foreign spouse to obtain a green card.

As long as the foreign spouse is in legal status, they may be able to remain in the United States by changing their status to a nonimmigrant visa category. In this case, the foreign spouse may only remain in the U.S. temporarily, until the duration of the visa is up.

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In this video attorney Jacob Sapochnick discusses the current processing time for the I-751 Petition to Remove Conditions on Permanent Residence.

If you were granted conditional residence (2-year green card) based on your marriage to a U.S. citizen (USC) or legal permanent resident (LPR), you must file USCIS Form I-751 Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence proving that you entered your marriage in good faith, and not to gain an immigration benefit. Filing the I-751 petition allows you to receive your 10-year permanent resident card

The most common question we receive regarding the I-751 application is how long the application takes to process.

The processing time depends on various different factors such as when you filed your petition, where you reside, the service center processing your application, and the volume of applications currently in the pipeline.

You can view the current processing times based on the service center handling your petition, by visiting the USCIS website.

The current processing times for each service center are as follows:

  • The California Service Center is currently taking between 14.5 to 19 months to process these petitions.
  • The Nebraska Service Center is currently taking between 15.5 to 23 months to process these petitions.
  • The Texas Service Center is currently taking between 16 and 19 months to process these petitions
  • The Vermont Service Center is currently taking between 15 and 19 months to process these petitions.

If you have received a request for evidence, then you may experience delays if you wait a long time to respond. If you have changed your address please ensure that you file a change of address on the USCIS website as soon as possible.

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In this live stream, attorneys Jacob Sapochnick and Marie Puertollano discuss recent topics in immigration including the upcoming H-1B season, changes to the H-1B visa program, U.S. Embassy Updates for China and Russia, I-751, and affirmative asylum updates.

Mandatory Registration Requirement for H-1B Petitioners

Beginning with the H-1B season for FY 2021, all petitioners seeking to file an H-1B cap-subject petition on behalf of a foreign worker will be required to submit to a mandatory registration process. Only those whose registrations are selected, will be eligible to file an H-1B cap-subject petition during the associated filing period.

Each petitioner will be required to electronically register through the USCIS government website. The registration period will last for a minimum period of 14 calendar days and begin at least 14 calendar days before the first day of filing in each fiscal year. USCIS will provide the public with at least 30 days advance notice of the opening of the initial registration period for the upcoming fiscal year via the USCIS website.

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In this live stream, attorneys Jacob Sapochnick and Marie Puertollano discuss recent topics in immigration including the immigrant caravan, the new proposed rule to restrict admission of aliens reliant on public benefits, updates relating to the I-751, NTA memos, and the upcoming H-1B season and new proposals.

Immigrant Caravan

The immigrant caravan is comprised of a large group of individuals traveling together from Central America for the purpose of claiming asylum in the United States. Unfortunately, there are long waiting times for individuals to be scheduled for what is known as a “credible fear” interview, where an immigration officer will determine whether the applicant has a credible fear of asylum. This waiting period of course is exacerbated by the large amounts of people who continue to seek asylum at a port of entry.

Proposal to Restrict Admission for Aliens Reliant on Public Benefits 

The Department of Homeland Security recently announced a new proposed rule that may prevent non-citizens reliant, or likely to become reliant on public benefits, from gaining admission to the United States.

Under the proposed rule, a non-citizen can be found inadmissible to the United States if they have become reliant on a prohibited public benefit, or if they are likely to become reliant on a prohibited public benefit. The non-citizen seeking to gain admission to the United States bears the burden of proving that they will not become a public charge to the United States government. This can be accomplished by showing that the non-citizen applicant has sufficient finances to support themselves in the United States, or by presenting a signed and completed affidavit of support.

Under the proposed rule receipt of any of the following types of public benefits could make a person inadmissible on public charge grounds:

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In this post, attorney Jacob Sapochnick discusses filing the I-751 removal of conditions application where the foreign national’s marriage to the US Citizen has ended in divorce.

Who must file?

If you have received a two-year conditional permanent resident card, based on your marriage to a United States citizen, you are required to remove the conditions on your green card before the expiration date, by filing the Form I-751 Application for Removal of Conditions. This petition is typically filed jointly with your spouse, but you may seek a “waiver” of the joint filing requirement if you are no longer married to the US Citizen spouse through which you obtained conditional permanent residence.

Waiver of the Joint Filing Requirement

If you are no longer married to the US Citizen spouse through which you gained conditional permanent resident status, the burden of proving that you entered the marriage in good faith is much higher. These types of applications are called ‘I-751 Waivers’ because you must request a waiver of the joint-filing requirement in your application. Immigration officers scrutinize I-751 waiver applications much more than applications that are filed jointly with your spouse.

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It is our pleasure to introduce you to our in-house attorney Marie Puertollano. From preparing clients for their citizenship and marriage interviews to successfully filing I-601A waivers and I-360 applications, Marie Puertollano Esq. is an attorney that wears many hats.

Marie Puertollano specializes in processing various types of applications with USCIS including the successful processing of H1-B’s, I-751 waivers, religious worker visas, asylum, I-601A waivers, F-1 reinstatement, B-2 tourist visitors, B-1 business visitors, H-3 trainees, I-360 abused spouses, etc.

Bio: Marie Puertollano was born and raised in France. She earned two Master Degrees in Law at California Western School of Law; one in France in Public Law and one in the United States in Comparative Law (LL.M). Marie Puertollano is fluent in French, English and Spanish. Marie has been with the law offices of Jacob Sapochnick since March 2012.

Marie developed a passion for the protection of immigrants’ rights, while being a social worker in Gainesville, GA. Marie worked with an organization helping battered women to obtain their visa and for an organization helping detained and non-detained people seeking cancellation of removal proceedings.

In her spare time she enjoys spending time with her family, swimming, biking, and dancing. She regularly serves food to the homeless and is a motivational speaker.

To schedule a first time consultation please contact our office. Remember to follow us on Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, and Instagram 

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In this segment, attorney Jacob Sapochnick Esq., explains why we do what we do at the Law Offices of Jacob J. Sapochnick. For more information about our office and the services we provide please click here.

Overview: 

Since 2004, we have efficiently and conveniently served our clients located across the United States and around the world through the use of cutting-edge technology and other innovations, always maintaining the personal connection you have come to expect from us.

You can express your interest, or schedule an appointment by emailing us at info@h1b.biz. We are excited to expand our ability to help many more of you, as you seek to achieve your American dream of living and working in this great country, a nation of immigrants.

Looking back, it is hard to narrow the reasons for our firm’s success. So much goes into that, but the main three ingredients have to be the lawyers, staff and clients. I am amazed at the enduring relationships we have with our clients.

Our office has been blessed with a staff that is motivated, efficient and very capable. I also think it important that they are compassionate for our clients’ issues – this is more than a job for us all – it is a calling.

To learn more about our dedicated staff members please click here.

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In this segment, attorney Jacob J. Sapochnick discusses whether a K-1 visa is a safe visa. Security concerns have recently arisen in the media and in Congress following the terrorist attack in San Bernardino which killed 14 people. It was recently discovered that the female shooter which carried out the attack entered the United States on a K-1 visa. In this segment we discuss whether the K-1 visa is a secure enough visa. While we do not disregard terrorism as a legitimate threat to the security of the United States, we believe the K-1 visa does not pose a risk to the safety of United States citizens. Rather, the process to obtain a K-1 visa is extremely invasive and complex.

Overview

  • The San Bernardino gun woman, Tashfeen Malik, entered the US on a fiancé visa. So is the fiancé visa safe?
  • Applying for a K-1 visa is a very rigorous and complicated process — there are a multitude of things both the applicant and petitioner are required to disclose — it is unlikely that a terrorist would use this visa in order to gain entry and inflict harm. It is somewhat easier for them to falsify and/or misrepresent information on a tourist visa application, and enter the US on a tourist visa, than to obtain a K-1 visa.
  • The K-1 visa applicant is subjected to a background check and an interview at a US consulate or embassy overseas as a security and fraud prevention mechanism
  • The K-1 visa applicant must provide a police clearance record, military record, court and prison records, proof of bona fide relationship, and must disclose any inadmissibility issues
  • Even once the K-1 visa is granted, the fiance is only allowed 90 days to marry the US Citizen spouse. If the fiance does not do so they must depart the United States or face removal proceedings
  • If the fiance marries the US Citizen spouse and seeks permanent residence, the fiance must provide the same documents once again, undergo security screening, and attend an interview with the spouse
  • Even once the fiance receives their green card, it will be conditional based on their marriage to the US citizen spouse meaning that it is only good for 2 years
  • The fiance must file an I-751 removal of conditions application with their spouse, before the expiration of their conditional green card in order to obtain the 10 year permanent resident card
  • The I-751 application process is a document intensive and invasive process which requires the couple to provide documented evidence that their marriage was entered in good faith and not for the purposes of obtaining an immigration benefit.

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