Calhoun, GA Immigration Law Firms & Lawyers

Generally, a foreign national who enters the U.S. lawfully and with inspection (such as entering with a J-1 visa), and who later becomes married to a U.S. citizen, may succeed in a marriage-based adjustment of status application process to become a Lawful Permanent Resident (to get a "Green Card"), and this is true even if the foreign national may have overstayed or otherwise violated the terms of her initial visa. The matter becomes significantly more complicated, however, if the foreign national were to be outside of the U.S. and were to be contemplating entering the U.S. with certain nonimmigrant (i.e. temporary) visas, including a J-1, in order to become married and remain in the U.S. permanently. The reason for this is that many nonimmigrant visas, including a J-1 visa, require "nonimmigrant intent," that is, an intention to remain temporarily and then return abroad after fulfilling the purpose of the initial visa. Promptly becoming married and then following-up with an application to adjust status may be viewed by immigration authorities as evidence of fraudulently having an immigrant intent when entering the U.S. with the nonimmigrant visa, and that can have very harsh immigration-related consequences. There really is no substitute for you and your fianc? to consult with an immigration attorney who, after learning all of the relevant information, could advise about eligibilities, options and strategies to attain your goals, and who then could offer legal representation in the often complex application process.

The USCIS is inconsistent in the amount of time it takes to adjudicate a Form I-130 application following its issuance of a Request for Additional Evidence and a petitioner's filing of a response to that Request. Sometimes the USCIS will complete its adjudication within a few weeks, and other times it takes multiple months. While it would have been best to have engaged an immigration attorney at the onset of the case to assure that the application was properly prepared and fully documented, since that is likely to have eliminated the need for a Request for Evidence in the first place, at this point it would be best to work with an immigration attorney to assure a proper and complete response to the Request. On a related note, be aware that the May, 2015 Visa Bulletin issued by the USCIS shows that visas are currently available in the Family-Based Second Preference (FB2A) visa category - the category by which a Permanent Resident may petition for a child under age 21 - for cases with a Priority Date on or before the beginning of September, 2013 (there is a slightly longer backlog for Mexican nationals). When visas become available for your child, you will be able to go to the next step: consular processing. Some immigration law firms, including mine, offer legal services on a "flat fee" basis so that a client will know the total expense from the very beginning, and a few immigration law firms, including mine, offer an initial consultation free of charge.

Nobody will be able to tell you without knowing all the facts. Usually it is possible to get a green card here if the non citizen entered the country legally.