Sep
26
Q: Can I live outside the US and keep my green card? Can I renew if my green card status is taken away?
A: Green cards are for people who can genuinely prove that they are permanently residing in the US. A green card is a Permanent Resident Alien registration card. So if you live outside the of the US, abandonment of said green card will be assumed.
If you’ve entered the US not using your green card then again, abandonment will be determined absolutely. Abandonment is automatically presumed after one year’s absence from the US. You can rebut the presumption if you can prove that you did not in fact abandon residency in the US. Evidence would include, but is not limited to, your filing of tax returns each year during your absence, retaining some life, property or assets in the US and so forth. If none of these elements are present or presentable to immigration then your green card will not be renewed due to abandonment and you will have to qualify all over again. US Immigration are not sympathetic to aliens who have allowed the green cards to match since they regard qualifying for a green card in the first place as an immense honor where people risk life and limb every day to acquire this coveted status.
If you feel you may have a viable claim to get your green car renewed my office would certainly be happy to make the application on your behalf.
Sep
20
Legal Immigrants Protest Green Card Delay
Filed Under Green Card, Immigration News | Leave a Comment
Over 1000 legal immigrants staged a protest on Tuesday (18SEP07) at the Capitol to raise awareness on the long waiting times immigrants must currently endure to receive their Green Cards.
The immigrants (who were dressed in t-shirts with American flags on them and carrying placards) included doctors, medical technicians and computer engineers from India and China.
Traveling from as afar as Washington State and California, the immigrants called on Congress to provide more permanent visas for highly educated immigrants as well as more resources for an immigration system that is so overburdened, the wait for a Green Card can be a decade.
According to immigration policy advocates, the rally was a highly unusual event - legal immigrants are traditionally very cautious as their future rests entirely in the hands of the federal government.
Chinese computer scientist Paul Wang says, “When I heard about this rally I immediately made the decision to come. I like the freedom and the safety in this country. I want to send a request signal to Congress to bring more efficiency to the process for us to get a green card.”
American Families United consultant Paul Donnelly says, “It is a significant thing to have foreign-born people, who are notoriously hard to organize, organizing themselves."
To read more about this story, click here.
Sep
6
FAQ: E2 vs Green Card
Filed Under Ask Chris, E-2 Visa, Green Card | Leave a Comment
Q: What’s the difference between an E2 visa and a Green Card?
A: The E2 visa runs forever as long as the business runs. The major difference between the E2 and the Green card is that with a Green card the alien does not have to work, own a business or anything. It’s therefore desirable for the non-investing spouse to work their way into an employment situation where a green card in the future would be possible. The speed of getting a green card through employment depends on the level of skill required for that job. So for example, in order to get a green card through employment the job itself (generally speaking) should be one where a certain amount of education and or skill is required. Typically, two years training.
The higher the amount of education and skill involved in doing the job then faster the green card will be processed, i.e., a Ph.d graduate would get their green card faster than a plumber. The second factor in speed of getting the green card would be down to the fact that in order for an American employer to sponsor an alien for a green card, the employer must first prove that there were no Americans willing and able to do the job at that time. So the lower the skill level of the job the harder this will be to prove. For example, it would be hard for an employer to prove that after extensive advertising he could not find a qualified receptionist, but it would easy for an employer to prove that he could not find a suitable Ph.d. Now with a work permit an American employer can hire you at the drop of a hat, but having employed you if he then wanted to sponsor you for a green card he’d have to have another unfilled vacancy he could put you up for where the aforementioned test would be played out.
Aug
31
FAQ: Parents of Green Card Holders
Filed Under Ask Chris, Green Card | Leave a Comment
Q: Can I bring my parents to the US with me if I have a Green Card?
A: Aliens cannot bring their elderly parents with them to the US neither can they sponsor them unless the aliens become US citizens. An alien can become a US citizen 5 years after they have the green cards or three years after they get their green cards if they got their green cards through marriage to a US citizen. However, elderly parents are able to obtain a 6 month tourist visa to spend quality time with their US-based alien family.
Apr
2
Ellis Island Immigration Building Reopens
Filed Under Green Card, Immigration News | Leave a Comment
An immigration complex on Ellis Island, New Jersey that stood abandoned for decades reopened yesterday (01APR07), after undergoing a thorough restoration.
The Ferry Building, closed in 1954, was the last stop in a long process of legal and health inspections for newly-arrived immigrants to the US. More than 12 million immigrants entered the US through Ellis Island, and as many as 5,000 people passed through the processing center daily in the early 1900s.
Columbia University history professor Kenneth Jackson says, “Every square inch has significance to American history.”
Director of program development and administration for Save Ellis Island (the organization that helped organize the $6.4 million restoration project) Elizabeth Jeffery says, “This was one of the happiest places on the island.”
To read more about this story, click here.