Do you think that Congress will do anything to alleviate the huge backlog in family visas, i.e. temporarily increasing the numbers?

Hi,

Im an F2b petition beneficiary whose priority
date will be current in 4 yrs. time. My problem
is that this category does not allow me to get
married without invalidating my entitlement to
the green card. I have a common law wife with whom I have a son. Both of them are currently residing in my native country where common law
"marriages" are not recognized by law. The long
waiting time for the green card has made me entertain the thought of applying for a Canadian
Independent immigrant. I understand that common law marriages are recognized in Canada but as I
understand it you still have to go through some
legal stuff to have it fully recognized. Assuming
I got my Canadian permanent residence along with my my common law spouse and son, would I be considered as married for US immigration purposes
by the US consular officials if my F2b priority date becomes current while I was in Canada and was
scheduled for an interview.

Dear Anonymous:

For US immigration law purposes, the validity of a marriage generally is determined according to the law of the place of celebration. A state court declaration affirming the validity of a common law marriage meets these standards. Therefore, if your marriage is recognized as valid for Canadian immigration purposes, it very likely would be considered valid for US immigration.

Please keep in mind that yours is an unusual situation, and to give you a more definitive answer would require some additional research. Therefore, you may wish to speak with an immigration law attorney if you desire further guidance on this matter. Good luck.

Hi, I heard the news about "Zero Tolerance." Is it referring to all adjustment cases?
My father petitioned for me in 1995, and he becomes a citizen recently, I have not filed status adjustment and paid the $1000 penalty yet. I have been out-of-status for many years. According to the "Zero Tolerance," will my application to adjust status be rejected??

Thanks a lot!

Hi Immigrationlinks.
My US citizen fiance has just filed the I-129f petition for our K1 visa, with the Vermont Service Center. I have heard that Vermont, who are usually quickest out the service centers in dealing with things, I have heard that they now have a new system in place that means everything delays by about a month. Is this true? I have not been able to find any up to date timelines for Vermont. Now I am wondering if they will turn out to be just as slow as the other service centers. Do you know the answer to this or can you point me in the right direction?
Please advise!

My USC fiance has just sent me the affidavits and supporting documentation that I will need for my K1 interview at the London Embassy. In the package he sent me, he included a copy of his birth certificate. Do I need the original to present at my interview? Also, he included a letter from his employer that states that he is employed there and states what his income is. It doesnt however state that his job is permenant although it is. Am I likely to get my visa denied because of insufficent evidence? Also, he included a letter from his two banks, one being the most recent and his main account that he has had for three months. His other account that he now rarely uses has a small sum in it. The letter from this bank is a photocopy of the fax they sent him to his work place. I dont have the original fax. Is this a problem as I am aware they like originals of documents. Please advise.

Dear Anonymous:

You are eligible to file for adjustment of status under section 245(i) because of your father's previously filed visa petition. You will have to pay the $1000.00 penalty fee.
The "zero tolerance" policy is not meant to apply to your type of case. Good luck.

Dear Abi:

There will be additional delays in the processing of your petition, as well as all other petitions filed anywhere else. However, these should not result in delays of more than a week or two.

You must take the original of your fiance's birth certificate to the interview. We would also recommend that he obtain a new job letter stating that the position is permanent, as well as the original bank letter. Good luck.

Turns out that the copy of his bank letter I have here, is the original fax they sent to his workplace. So would this be ok to use? Its me again, I wrote you regarding my fiance's bank letter and job letter.

Dear ImmigrationHelp:
Can you please explain more about "zero tolerance?" What kind of cases does it apply to?

Dear Abi:

If the original fax came directly from the bank, then it should be all right. Good luck.

Dear Anonymous:

The term "zero tolerance" as seen recently in the news when discussing immigration cases basically means that INS is going to enforce the immigration laws very strictly, with very little leeway. In other words, as an example, in the past a person could obtain an extension of stay even if they filed their application a few days late; but not any more. Good luck.

Dear helper,

My grandfather (a US citizen) has filed a petition for my mother in F3 (married sons and daughters) category in November 1999. At that time my age was 16 years. The visa call is expected none earlier than 3 years. So, according to rule I won’t be able to go with my mother as my age will exceed 21 years.

I heard of “Child Status Protection Act” and checked it on some website (it was like thomas.loc.gov) and other sites but I could get no important information.

I want to know whether I will be able to go with them (according to this child act) irrespective of my age exceeding 21 years OR they will deny my visa.

Please tell me if u need any further information for giving solutions.

Thank you,

Kunal D Mistry

please help
a co-worker of mine has asked me to help him find out about bringing his wife and child to the usa i don't know much about how immigration works what does he need to do so his family can join him
please email me if you have any info

Please help, I am a us citizen and have custody of my 17 years old niece. She currently has a 10 year visa with a length of stay of no more than 6 months at a time. i would like to petition her and do not know how to or if i can. i would appreciate it if you may instruct me as to the best way to approach this situation. she is currently staying with me but will return home soon. thank you.
zoila gonzalez

My husband's brother is a US citizen. Now my husband and I are working in US holding H1B visa. If my husband applies green card through his brother, how long can he get it? Can he get EAD after I130 approved or he only can get that after I485 approved?

Thanks!