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Acronyms galore! Navigating the U.S. Department of Immigration When researching the naturalization process to become a United States citizen one may come across many disparate, yet seemingly connected governmental departments. For example, there is the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services office (USCIS), the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP). You may also come across the now-defunct U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Services Department (INS). INS …

How to Check Your Immigration Status Regardless of which method you have used to apply for immigration to the United States, you should expect to have to wait several weeks or even months to hear about any decision made on your case. And although these delays may be bothersome, they are quite ordinary and are no cause for alarm. Luckily, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has given applicants and petitioners several different ways to keep up with …

Winning! Everything You Need To Know About The Green Card Lottery Who wants to be a billionaire? Well, had you played (and won) the Powerball lottery from January 2016, you could have been part of an exclusive, wealthy club. That Powerball jackpot, which was the largest financial lottery in history, had the terrible odds of a 1 in 175 million chance to win. Basically, the odds were in no-one’s favor, yet, three lucky tickets were sold. Good to know, right? …

What You Need To Know About Getting A Green Card Through Marriage I am sure you have heard it before, but getting a Green Card through marriage is one of the most common ways to obtain United States citizenship. In fact, a marriage-based Green Card represents roughly 25% of all Green Cards issued. Now, that does not mean it is the easiest, but it is certainly one of the most pursued paths to citizenship. Fortunately, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration …

Processes and Procedures for Obtaining a Green Card A green card denotes its holder as a U.S. permanent resident, with rights to work and live in the United States and to eventually apply for U.S. citizenship. As verification of their status, lawful permanent residents will be issued an identification card- which is literally green- by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). They must keep this card on them at all times. Other benefits afforded to those with a green card include …

Infopass Interviews I have recently had to follow up on my client’s I-485 (adjustment of status) petition. We had an interview almost one year ago and are well outside of the norms for receiving a decision. Immigration services are notoriously slow in making decisions. This can be aggravating and bothersome, especially for those who wish to travel outside the country. Since I have been practicing immigration law for many years I knew the proper steps to take in order to …