2015 Old Blog

What is the Visa Waiver Program, and what kind of travel does it permit?

The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) allows citizens of participating countries (there are currently 37, also mapped out here) to travel to the Unites States without a visa if they will be staying for 90 days or less and meet all requirements. Citizens of all other nations wanting to visit the U.S. for tourism must apply in advance for the U.S. visitor visa (B visa.)

The U.S. has an estimated 13.3 million legal permanent residents (also called LPRs or green card holders) according to a recent report from the Department of Homeland Security. Of those 13.3 million, DHS estimates that 8.8 million LPRs currently qualify for U.S. citizenship. Most green card holders are eligible for U.S. citizenship after five years of legal residence in the United States. Spouses of U.S. citizens are an exception; they only have to wait three years to apply for naturalization.

With almost 2/3 of green card holders eligible for U.S. citizenship, why haven't more applied? The Pew Hispanic Center reports that 93% of Hispanic green card holders would like to become citizens, but say they cannot complete the process. Eligible LPRs that opt out of applying for U.S. citizenship often cite these reasons:

• Financial barriers (too expensive)
• Language barriers (not English proficient)
• Don't feel prepared for the U.S. citizenship test
• Simply not interested in going through a new process

Most of these concerns are valid, and the language and financial barriers can be a real burden, but U.S. citizenship provides huge benefits that many green card holders don't realize:

• A one-time naturalization process is much less expensive than multiple green card renewals over time
• Only U.S. citizenship can completely protect you from deportation
• Only U.S. citizens can vote in national elections
• U.S. citizens have preference in sponsoring family members to come to the U.S. on a green card
• U.S. citizens have access to more jobs and college scholarships
• International travel is much easier with a U.S. passport, and you can stay outside the U.S. as long as you want with U.S. citizenship
• The U.S. allows dual citizenship so you don't have to relinquish citizenship in your native country

As we mentioned in a previous post, technology will help lessen or defeat obstacles in the immigration and citizenship process. There are now free mobile apps (such as this one) that prepare green card holders for the U.S. citizenship test, as well as many other free online resources to work on English language skills and to research the most effective and affordable ways to apply for U.S. citizenship.

The value of U.S. citizenship far exceeds the price of the application or the few extra hours spent preparing for a U.S. history and policy test. Talking to an experienced attorney or immigration specialist can help lessen your fears and simplify the naturalization process for you. If you are a green card holder interested in pursuing United States citizenship, visit our U.S. Citizenship page or contact us for a free case assessment.

Not everyone checks U.S. visa bulletin updates, but this month U.S. green card holders with loved ones living outside the United States should take note. The August 2013 visa bulletin has arrived with the announcement that the F-2A category (spouses and minor children of U.S. green card holders) is now current.

What does it mean when a visa category is "current?"

Saying a visa category is current simply means that there is no wait time for the type of visa listed. The visa bulletin publishes "priority dates for visa categories monthly, which let applicants know how far along they are on the wait list. A priority date is like the "now serving sign at a deli counter or a fast food restaurant: the priority date listed is the application date of the people USCIS is currently serving. Having a "current" visa category means you don't even have to take a number.

Most family visa categories have wait times that are years long, if not decades. Having a current F-2A category is an exciting opportunity for U.S. permanent residents to bring their spouses and minor children to the United States as quickly as if they were U.S. citizens, which is a rarity.

How long is the August 2013 visa bulletin valid? How long is the F-2A visa category current?

The August 2013 visa bulletin update only refers to wait times through the month of August, so there is no guarantee this family visa category will stay current for long. Most immigration attorneys and specialists expect it to be current for a very limited time, probably no more than a couple months.

How can I take advantage of the F-2A category's current status?

If you are a green card holder (legal permanent resident) and you have a spouse or minor child that you want to join you in the United States, we highly recommend talking to an immigration attorney as soon as possible. There is no way of knowing how much longer the F-2A category will stay current, so it's best to get your case opened and processed as soon as possible. The faster green card holders apply, the faster they can reunite with their loved ones in the United States!

UPDATE: The F-2A category is still current for September 2013 according to the September 2013 Visa Bulletin.

If you want to learn more about the family-based green card petition process, visit our family green card page. If you are a green card holder/U.S. permanent resident looking to bring your spouse or minor child to the United States while the F-2A category is still current, contact us for more information or call 1-855-VISANOW for a free case assessment.

Last Wednesday, the Supreme Court of the United States issued an historic ruling for gay rights, gay Americans, and gay immigrants. Section 3 of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, was ruled unconstitutional on the grounds that "By seeking to displace this protection and treating those [gay] persons as living in marriages less respected than others, the federal statute is in violation of the Fifth Amendment.

The big win for all gay couples in this ruling is access to U.S. federal benefits. This includes being able to file joint tax returns, access to veteran spouse benefits, access to federal family and medical leave, and, especially important for binational couples: U.S green cards and immigration benefits for same-sex spouses.

What does the DOMA ruling mean for U.S. Immigration and Gay Immigrants?

1) Green Cards for Gay Immigrants Married to U.S. Citizens

After the ruling last week, there were many questions on how USCIS would proceed with processing green card cases for same-sex spouses. Luckily, the government has acted quickly: gay couples have already been approved for their green cards just days after the ruling by applying the exact same way a straight couple would. These couples had all applied for green cards for their spouses prior to the ruling. For many gay immigrants and their spouses, applying for their green card was both a political statement and also an act of hope and desperation to keep their loved ones in the United States.

The Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security's official statement on DOMA and Green Cards is as follows: "Effective immediately, I have directed U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to review immigration visa petitions filed on behalf of a same-sex spouse in the same manner as those filed on behalf of an opposite-sex spouse. This tells us that moving forward, gay couples should be able to file for green cards the exact same way as straight couples do.

With this official statement, all bi-national gay couples seeking a green card should know that they should not be denied their application if they were legally married in a state or country that allows gay marriage. There may be lawyers or immigration specialists who will claim to tell you they cannot process any same-sex spouse green card application, but this is out of ignorance or bigotry. The U.S. Supreme Court, USCIS, and DHS have all gone on record saying gay couples now have access to spouse and family-based visas, so there should be no dispute.

2) Halting Deportations of Same-Sex Spouses (in certain cases)

Just minutes after the DOMA ruling, a man who was legally married to a male U.S. citizen had his deportation charges dismissed. Although he was unauthorized to live in the U.S., he had already applied for a green card at the time of his marriage.

3) U.S. Businesses Become More Competitive for Hiring and Retaining Gay Immigrant Employees

Previously, a high-skilled or temporary visa worker might have reservations coming to work in the U.S. if they had a same-sex partner in their country of origin. Under the old law, there was no way for an immigrant worker to petition their spouse to come stay with them in the U.S. American businesses have gone on record saying that they don't want to lose valuable gay and lesbian employees because of a discriminatory and complicated U.S. immigration system. Now their employees will have access to the greater immigration benefits afforded to all other U.S. married couples.

There is no doubt in anyone's mind that there will be far more questions about green cards and other immigration issues for gay couples as time goes on. DOMA doesn't solve everything for gay Americans and it certainly doesn't fix all that's currently broken in the U.S. immigration system. However, the progress made for gay immigrants in the past week has been inspiring and hopefully foreshadows major changes in attitude over the rights of immigrants and the rights of the LGBT community.

For further updates on DOMA and its effect on USCIS policies, as well as the impact on comprehensive immigration reform, follow our blog or get connected on Facebook and Twitter. If you have questions, don't hesitate to contact us.

by Caroline Tang, VISANOW's Senior Manager of Legal Services

The month of March represented the 10-year anniversary of the Iraq war. The war was declared over in late 2011, but its effects will linger for quite some time.