Margate, FL Immigration Law Firms & Lawyers

There is no such rule. The general rule for residence in naturalization cases is that the individual must be a US resident for five years and have physically resided in the country for at least half of the time. Periods of time that you are outside of the country generally have no effect as long as they are short in duration. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.

The answer is that your sister needs to get in touch with a qualified attorneynow. Looks like your sister's husband has had a detainer (hold) placed against him under a program called Secure Communities. So when the county is done with him, the immigration authorities will assume custody and they will then decide what to do with him. Sounds like he would be eligible to have an application for adjustment of status considered based on his marriage to a US citizen, but if that is going to happen he needs to put a plan in place immediately to see that the case is handled correctly. Once the tail light issue is resolved with the county, his case will be considered by the immigration authorities. The plan here should be to get obtain an attorney to represent him on the criminal matter and the immigration matter in an effort to make things as smooth as possible. If nothing is done, the likelihood is that your sister's husband will be picked up by the immigration authorities, taken to an immigration detention center and placed before an Immigration Judge and processed for removal. So rather than wait for that to happen, take the bull by the horns, hire someone who can help and effectuate the plan on his terms rather than whatever dictate the government will put in place. Certainly no one can promise the resolution that your sister and her husband want most (i.e. being permitted to remain in the US on a permanent basis). But the quicker that a qualified and competent attorney is put on the job, the quicker your sister and her husband can rest assured that their case will be handled and that your sister's spouse will not be summarily deported and removed from the US.

Depends on what are of the country you live in but most of these cases are being approved after an interview in 4 months or less. Receipt should come with 30 days, fingerprints shortly thereafter, work card (and travel permit if eligible) shortly thereafter, then interview notice. If you move it is critical to promptly report the address change online with an AR-11 and also call the customer Service number.