IMMIGRATION TIP:
For all immigration applications including the I-485 Adjustment of Status (“Green Card”) and N-400 Naturalization you no longer need to have your fingerprints taken in order to obtain a “police clearance” report anymore prior to filing your application. The fingerprints are now scheduled by the USCIS and are only required to be taken by the Immigration Support Center, which provide all that the Immigration now needs. So don’t waste time going to the local police station to obtain such reports, the USCIS has not required such reports for several years now. However, in both types of cases, if you were ever arrested, even if the case was later dismissed, you need to obtain an official stamped/certified copy of both 1) the arrest report (obtain from the police dept. which arrested you) and 2) the court disposition (obtain from the court where your case was adjudicated). The originals are to be given to the USCIS officer at the time of your interview. Only send copies in your initial petition package.

If you have ever had a criminal issue in the past, no matter how small and were arrested, you should consult with an immigration attorney qualified in criminal immigration matters to review your circumstances PRIOR to filing any immigration application, just to be on the safe side. Criminal issues can cause quite a problem in immigration cases, depending upon what the charge was and how much time has passed from the time of the criminal incident, until filing the immigration application.

IMMIGRATION Q&A

Question: I filed a family petition for my wife several years ago while I was still a permanent resident. I just passed my U.S. citizen I test and will take the oath next month. Because we have waited so long, I want to file for my wife’s Green Card as soon as possible. I have a few questions I hope you can answer before our appointment with you next week. First, since I passed the naturalization interview, can we file my wife’s residency application now and send the actual Citizen Certificate later so we can get things started and she can get her work permit and social security number? Also, do I need to file another I-130 form and send all the information again or should the immigration office be informed that my status has been changed and ask them to modify the first I-130 form for my status change? We are so confused, everybody tells us something different. My wife called the immigration twice and got two different answers. We are prepared to start right away, please let us know if this is possible. Thank you again.

Answer: Congratulations on your upcoming Naturalization! For Green Card applicants (adjustment of status), who already have an I-130 filed, the USCIS requires that you provide either 1) an approved I-130 notice or 2) an I-130 receipt for the pending I-130. Unfortunately, you have to wait just a little bit longer until you have the actual Naturalization Certificate in your hand. If you file your wife’s residency before that, it will either be rejected, or denied and you will lose all your filing fees!, You can have the case fully prepared and ready to go, then as soon as you receive your Naturalization Certificate, you can file for her immediately. See you next week!

Question: I came to Florida using my Canadian passport, even though I am native Jamaican and have a tourist visa in that passport. I got three a month period to stay here, but that is not enough time for me to travel to visit friends, so I want to do an extension. My friend from Canada, also on a Canadian passport says that I cannot extend, but one attorney I saw says I can. What do you think; is it possible?

Answer: Unfortunately, your friend is right, you cannot extend your stay in the U.S. when entering on a Canadian passport. If you had entered on your Jamaican passport with a US tourist visa, then you could have made a request to extend your visit for six more months, providing supporting documentation to show your travel/tourism plans. The only way you can obtain more time is to exit the U.S. and re-enter using your Jamaican passport. You could also leave and re-enter in a week or so, on your Canadian passport for another three months, but that is a little riskier. The immigration inspector may be suspicious as to why you coming back to the U.S. so soon. However, as long as you are able to provide travel plans/air tickets within the U.S. and an itinerary, it should not be too much of a problem to get back in.