Poughkeepsie, NY Immigration Law Firms & Lawyers

You cannot get work authorization or adjust status just because your I-130 was approved. Every year, a limited number of immigrant visas is made available for relatives of U.S. citizens and permanent residents. The number of people who file I-130 petitions is far greater than the number of available visas. As a result, you have to wait until all the people for whom I-130 petitions were filed before yours would get their immigrant visas. In immigration practice, it is called waiting until your priority date (the date of filing of I-130 petition) becomes current. All this applies to you unless you are a so-called *immediate relative* - a spouse, a parent, or a child (under 21, unmarried) of a U.S. citizen; if you are in this category, there is no waiting time (but it does not look like you might be an immediate relative: if you were, your case would not have been pending since 2009). The waiting time is different for different categories and for citizens of different parts of the world. For example, for an unmarried son (over 21) of a U.S. citizen the waiting time is about 7 years - unless he is from Mexico (20 years waiting time) or from Philippines (15 years waiting time); at the same time, a brother of U.S. citizen will have to wait for his immigrant visa about 12 years (17 years - if he is from Mexico, 24 years - from Philippines). Since you did not say what is your category, you will have to look it up in the Visa Bulletin published by the U.S. Department of State every month (just Google "Visa Bulletin"). Finally, it appears that you are in the U.S. If that is true, you need to realize that your ability to adjust status depends on your immigration history - Are you in lawful status now? Will you be in a lawful immigration status all the time until your time to receive an immigrant visa comes? did you enter the U.S. with a visa or illegally? Were you ever in removal proceedings? Were you ever deported? etc. Quite a few of our clients cannot adjust status even though their I-130 petitions were approved and the priority dates are current, and have to go through one of several complicated processes. At the same time, you might possibly qualify for employment authorization in the U.S. if you are in one of the eligible categories. Gathering general information on the Internet can make you feel that you know your position, and what and how should be done. Practice shows that this feeling is often wrong, and I have seen many people who found this out the hard way. Let me assure you that the immigration law and regulations are complicated enough to confuse even attorneys who do not practice in this area every day. Do yourself a favor - ask a specialist to review your case and explain to you what is going to happen, when, and what has to be done to make you a U.S. permanent resident. It does not cost much, and you really don't want to have later a reason to regret not doing it.

Immigrant visas for brothers/sisters of US citizens often have the longest wait of all family based-categories, up to 20 years for certain countries. Your parents may file a petition n your behalf as well, and assuming you're under 21 and unmarried it could be quicker for them to sponsor your immigrant visa or green card.

The best that you can do in my opinion is to obtain a complete copy of your husband's criminal and immigration histories and formally consult with an immigration lawyer. Of the questions that you ask, the only one that I can answer with certainty is that a US citizen does not have the right to have a spouse live in this country just by virtue of the US citizenship status.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.