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Immigrating to the United States is a multi-step process. However, even the final application for the Green Card (becoming a lawful permanent resident) has multiple steps. As a general rule, you have to be in lawful status to apply for the Green Card in the United States. This process is called adjustment of status and Read More

Overstaying a period of authorized stay in the United States can carry severe consequences. However, the United States Customs and Border Protection officers do not always make it clear how long a person can stay in the United States. Therefore, I am spending a few moments explaining periods of lawful admission. There are three to Read More

Conditional lawful permanent residents are a subset of lawful permanent residents. A lawful permanent resident is entitled to live and work in the United States without restriction. A lawful permanent resident also may apply for United States citizenship (naturalization) after several years. Conditional lawful permanent residents are also entitled to live and work in the Read More

Is it possible to apply for a Green Card while in the USA? The question of whether you can stay in the United States while you apply for a Green Card (lawful permanent residence) is a more complex question than it sounds. Some background is necessary to answer the question. An application for lawful permanent Read More

What can I do if my spouse has a work visa in the United States? There are many types of visas that give work authorization. These visas usually allow spouses and minor children to come to the United States as “derivatives” so the family can stay together. The most common work visa is the H-1B, Read More

Hillary Clinton recently hired Lorella Praeli as her national director of Latino outreach. This is an excellent choice. Lorella is a DREAMer. DREAMers get their name from the bipartisan bill called the DREAM Act. The DREAM Act would have allowed young undocumented adults who were raised in the United States to eventually obtain lawful permanent Read More

Thousands of foreign students come to the United States every year. Most students attend post-secondary institutions (community colleges, four year universities, or graduate programs). Some attend institutions in the United States as exchange visitors. Others attend institutions as foreign students. Some people can attend school in the United States because they are derivatives of a Read More

One of the most common questions I hear in consultations or by email inquiries is a variation of, “I was deported. When can I come back to the United States?” The short answer is, “It depends.” There no way to give an accurate answer regarding a specific case without seeing a person’s immigration file and Read More

What is Temporary Protected Status? Temporary Protected Status is an eighteen month status for people in the United States who cannot safely return home due to country conditions in their home country. Who can register for Temporary Protected Status? Yemen nationals can register for Temporary Protected Status if they prove that they: Were physically in Read More

Employers can petition for foreign workers to work in the United States for temporary periods of time. There is a whole alphabet soup of work visas. H-1B, L-1A, and L-1B are the most common nonimmigrant work visas, but there are others (E-1, E-2, E-3, H-1B1, H-2B, O-1, O-2, O-3, P-1, R-1, and TN are also Read More