Greencard for child of a fiancée of a US citizen

The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a child of a fiancée of a United States Citizen or K-2 visa holder can adjust his or her status to Greencard holder or Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) even though the child turns twenty-one while the application is pending.

The court’s ruling comes from the matter of Colmenares Carpio v. Holder which concluded that the applicant “must be under twenty-one when he or she seeks to enter the United States, not when his or her subsequent application adjustment of status is finally adjudicated.”

This result contravenes several decisions of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service or USCIS denying applications for adjustment of status based on a K-2 visa because the applicant was twenty-one years of age or older at the time of adjudication of the adjustment of status.

To recap, the K-2 visa holder must be under twenty-one at the time he or she “seeks to enter” the US when applying for adjustment of status.

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• U.S. Immigration Law Presentation (slideshare.net)

Naturalization Update

Never has there been a better time for eligible applicants to Naturalize and become U.S. Citizens. Recent Naturalization cases successfully accomplished by Reeves and Associates show a timeframe of about 3-8 months in most cases.

In a surprising Press Release announcement dated January 28, 2010, USCIS stated that there are nearly 3.5 million Legal Permanent Residents (Green Card Holders) in the State of California. According to USCIS, 2.5 million of these legal permanent residents are currently eligible to naturalize and become U.S. Citizens.

Source: Rreeves

Immigration laws quash many dreams

UNDER CURRENT U.S. immigration law, there are three primary ways to gain legal entry into the country other than for a limited stay as a tourist.

• The first is through the annual “green card diversity lottery,” held each year by the Department of Homeland Security, for citizens of countries that have “low rates of immigration” to the United States. Millions of people from specified countries around the world apply to take part in the lottery, but only 50,000 green cards are made available through the process. Each participant in the lottery is issued a number, the government draws about 150,000 numbers, and the people with those numbers then are allowed to apply for one of the 50,000 slots.

• The second way to gain legal entry is to be a spouse, sibling, child or parent of an American citizen or the spouse or minor child of someone who holds a green card and is willing to sponsor your entrance into the United States.

• The third is through an employer, who must complete a lengthy application process that requires proof that the has a unique skill necessary to the business.

THERE ARE other provisions of immigration law that allow people who are seeking asylum to gain legal entry into the country, but being granted asylum is an extraordinarily difficult process.

An additional number of other immigrants are admitted each year under temporary work permits and student visas, however those visas generally do not permit conversion to immigrant status, and they require the holder to leave after a specified length of stay.

And then there is the “S” visa. Essentially a free pass, the visa is awarded only to those who work for law enforcement and must be applied for by law-enforcement officials. The Mayas say immigration officials promised them the “S” visa, but then reneged.

According to immigration officials, only 250 “S” visas are available each year, and fewer than 60 were awarded in 2009.

CONGRESS last year set immigration visa limits at 700,000 for employment and family preferences, excluding refugees and those entering the country on temporary work or student visas.

In 2008, the total number of immigrants admitted to the country (excluding refugees and those on temporary non-tourist visas) tallied just under 750,000.

Source: Daily Free Man