Wallkill, NY Immigration Law Firms & Lawyers

There is no visa for a boyfriend of a U.S. Citizen, but if you and he may be planning to become married, there are options by which a U.S. Citizen may petition for someone as a fiance so the foreign national may enter the U.S. to become married within the required time, and then apply for adjustment of status to become a Permanent Resident (to get a "Green Card"). Alternatively, the couple could get married abroad, and the husband could go through "consular processing" to enter the U.S. and to become a Permanent Resident. It would be wise to consult with an immigration lawyer to address the pros and cons (including processing times), eligibility, options and strategies.

The Atlanta Field Office of the USCIS generally takes about 4-6 months to schedule an adjustment of status interview in a marriage-based application. If the application has been prepared properly, sufficient supporting documents have been supplied and the interview is handled well, the application should be approved at the time of the interview (and the "Green Card" will be issued within a few weeks after that). If a final adjudication is not achieved at the time of the interview, the USCIS considers the application to be a "continued case," and the Atlanta Field Office does not consider itself to be unduly delayed unless it takes more than NINE MONTHS from the interview date to finally adjudicate the case. With a risk of such an enormously long delay, it is particularly important that one prepare and document a case adequately from the very beginning. 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.