Nicholls, GA Immigration Law Firms & Lawyers

Generally, a U.S. citizen may marry a foreign national of the same sex and sponsor her in a marriage-based adjustment of status application, and this is true regardless of whether the U.S. citizen previously had been married to an opposite-sex spouse and had obtained Permanent Resident status based upon that first marriage. In that application process the U.S. citizen and new spouse not only would need to show that they are living together in a bona fide marriage, but the U.S. citizen spouse may need to show that her previous opposite-sex marriage was bona fide too. USCIS adjudicating officers have received some training relating to this, but they are inconsistent in the level of understanding sexuality and the issues facing non-conventional marriage history. It would be wise for you and your fianc?e to consult with an immigration attorney and especially one experienced in addressing these issues - who after learning all of the relevant information could advise about immigration eligibilities, options and strategies, and who could then offer legal representation in the application process.

Generally, to sponsor your parents you will need to file an Affidavit of Support, and if you have insufficient documentable income for sponsoring your parents, it will be necessary for another U.S. citizen or Permanent Resident (whether your husband or someone else) to serve as a joint sponsor, and that person will need to submit an Affidavit of Support too. Of course, there are many other details that determine eligibility and Affidavit of Support requirements. It would be wise for you and your family 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.

A Form I-485 Application for Adjustment of Status may be filed only when an immigrant visa is "currently available" for the beneficiary. For spouses of U.S. citizens, visas are "currently available," but for spouses of Permanent Residents, there is a backlog for visas. The Visa Bulletin issued monthly by the U.S. Department of State shows the "Priority Dates" for each visa category. The June, 2015 Visa Bulletin shows that for spouses of Permanent Residents visas are currently available for those with Priority Dates of May 1, 2012 or earlier (but the date is March 15, 2011) for Mexican nationals). The filing (and even approval) of a Form I-130 Petition for Relative Alien does not grant authorization to remain in the U.S. and does not grant employment authorization. Until you are able to file a Form I-485 your husband must have other authorization (such as from a visa in the E3 category for Australians in certain specialty occupations) to remain lawfully present in the U.S., and must have other authorization (such as from an E3 visa) for employment. The mere filing of a Form I-485 application will not create authorization for employment, but concurrently with that application your husband would be able to file an application for an Employment Authorization Document (an "EAD"). The USCIS issues EADs within 90 days of filing, and the EAD may be used for any lawful employment, including employment unrelated to the E3 visa.