Your questions answered

Question: Hello, my stepdaughter who got her Green Card through me when she was 15 years old is now 21 years old and would like to file for her biological mom. Her biological mother has been here in the U.S. for many years after she entered as a tourist but has no legal status now. How long would it take and what are the steps they need to take.

Answer: As long as a child is age 21 or older, he or she can sponsor biological parents for residency, even though the U.S. Citizen child may have obtained U.S. residency through a U.S. Citizen step-parent such as yourself. Parents of U.S. Citizens are considered as “immediate relatives” and there is no waiting line. When parents are outside the U.S., the process takes between 8-12 months to process and receive an immigrant visa.

USCIS procedures for issuing residency when FBI background has not yet cleared

Question: I read in your column recently about the immigration issuing Green Cards at the residency interview even if the FBI check was not finished. My case was filed in Oct of 2007 and I went to my interview last week. The officer said I was approved and everything was fine, but that they couldn’t issue me my residency yet because of the FBI check. Can you please explain that to me?

Answer: Yes, that’s a great question. The new policy mandates that the FBI must at least be given 180 days to process background checks before the USCIS is required to issue the adjustment of status to permanent residency. That means that once an I-485 application is filed and the biometrics have been taken, the 180 days should begin from the day the biometrics are completed. Then, once an applicant attends his or her adjustment interview for residency, as long as 180 days have passed since the biometrics were completed, (and the case is otherwise approvable), the USCIS Officer can issue the I-551 stamp (evidence of lawful permanent residence).

Presidential Candidate Obama Answers Crucial Questions on Immigration

Recently, immigration law professors across the country posed questions to Democratic candidate Barack Obama regarding his views on immigration. His answers show that he is very sympathetic to immigrants and strongly supports positive immigration reform. Excerpts from his answers are below:

Question: As you know, immigration reform provoked a national debate in 2006-07, with a compromise reform bill ultimately self-destructing in the Senate. What would you do as President on the difficult issue of immigration reform? How should the nation address the 12+ million undocumented immigrants who live in the United States today? Is cooperation among the nations of North America (Canada, Mexico, and the United States) necessary to address the immigration and security concerns of the United States?

“We are a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants. We need comprehensive immigration reform that creates a system that is fair, consistent, compassionate, and emphasizes both maintaining the rule of law and the security of our borders while working to keep families together and putting the undocumented on an earned path to citizenship. I will not stop pushing Congress to pass comprehensive reform this year….We also need to bring the 12 million undocumented immigrants out of the shadows. We need to be realistic about the fact that they are here, we can't deport them, and they have become an integral part of our society. We need to give this population a chance to pay a fine, to have provisional status in the country, and to get into the back of the line for citizenship. If President Bush cannot lead on this issue, I will, by reviving our national discussion on comprehensive reform in my first year in the White House and working diligently toward a solution rooted in pragmatism, the rule of law, and our history as a nation of immigrants.”

Large Naturalization Backlog Continues

During fiscal year 2007, the USCIS received 1.4 million applications for naturalization, twice the number that they received the year before. And in July of 2007, the agency dramatically raised the filing fees “in order to improve service”. Well, the large, long backlog continues, with immigration experts predicting that it will take the USCIS up to three years to clear it! Those of you who have been waiting more than eight months may do well to contact your congressional offices and let them know that you planned to vote in this election and are being effectively “disenfranchised” by not being scheduled for your naturalization interviews.