Visa Lawyer Blog

Articles Posted in Battered Spouse Petition

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If you are a family-based conditional permanent resident who was issued a two-year green card based on your marriage to a U.S. Citizen, then you may be interested to know that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently updated its policy guidance for Form I-751 Petition to Remove Conditions on Permanent Residence.

The new policy guidance provides new updates for the following individuals:

  • Conditional permanent residents who filed an I-751 petition jointly with their spouse, but are no longer married since their filing (either because of divorce or abuse)
  • Cases where the I-751 petition is being terminated for failure to file the application on time with USCIS or lack of evidence.

Overview

By law, your permanent resident status is conditional if you were married to a U.S. Citizen for less than 2 years on the day you obtained permanent resident status.

This means that at the end of your I-485 adjustment of status (green card) application process, you will receive conditional permanent residence (a 2-year green card) if you were married for less than 2 years at the time of the adjudication of your I-485 adjustment of status application. On the other hand, those who have been married for more than 2 years receive a 10-year green card that is not subject to conditions.

To remove the conditions on permanent resident status, conditional permanent residents must file Form I-751 Petition to Remove Conditions on Permanent Residence within the 90-day period before the expiration of their green card status. The I-751 petition must be filed jointly with your U.S. citizen spouse, or you must qualify for a waiver of the joint filing requirement if you are no longer married.

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In this blog post, we provide an immigration roundup regarding the latest immigration news.

USCIS Recommends AOS applicants submit all evidence with Form I-485, including Medical Examination

Those who are applying for adjustment of status should be aware that USCIS has recommended green card applicants submit all required initial evidence and supporting documentation at the time of filing the Form I-485.

This practice is recommended to avoid the issuance of a Request for Evidence (RFE). An RFE is issued where USCIS finds that further evidence or supporting documentation is needed to complete the adjudication of your case. It is also beneficial to submit all supporting evidence at the time of filing Form I-485 to avoid delays in the long-run, and where the immigration officer may find that an in-person interview is unnecessary, electing to waive the interview requirement.

Additionally, applicants are advised to submit Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, at the same time of filing Form I-485. USCIS points out that the I-693 Medical Examination is valid for two years after the date the civil surgeon signed the examination. USCIS has also temporarily waived the requirement that the civil surgeon’s signature be dated no more than 60 days before filing Form I-485 until March 31, 2023.

Changes to Filing Location for Form I-360 and Form I-485 for Self-Petitioning Abused Spouses, Children, and Parents

USCIS has announced that beginning Friday, February 10, 2023, self-petitioning abused spouses, children, and parents must file Form I-360, Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant, and Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, at the Nebraska Service Center instead of the Vermont Service Center.

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Today, Monday June 11, 2018, in an unprecedented move, the Trump administration announced that it would be dropping asylum protection for survivors of domestic violence. The announcement was made by Attorney General Jeff Sessions this afternoon in the case Matter of A-B- 27 I&N Dec. 316 (A.G. 2018), which explained that victims of domestic violence would no longer be eligible to receive asylum in the United States.

Matter of A-B- 27 effectively reverses a decision formerly made by the Department of Justice immigration appellate court which granted asylum to a woman from the country of El Salvador on the basis of allegations of rape and abuse by her husband.

In his decision, dated June 11, 2018, the Attorney General overruled a separate but similar decision in Matter of A-R-C-G-, stating that the case was “wrongly decided” by the appellate court and should not have become precedent. The Attorney General was able to make such a binding decision on immigration courts across the country because their authority derives directly from the Department of Justice, instead of the judiciary branch.

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For this blog we are answering 5 questions we have recently received through our social media platforms and our website. Please remember that every case is different and every immigration journey is unique. You should not compare your situation to anyone else’s. We hope that our answers will provide you with further guidance while you embark on your immigration journey. If you have any further questions, please call our office for a free legal consultation. We serve international clients and domestic clients in all 50 states. We thank you for your continued trust and interest in our law office.

Change of Status B-2 to F-1

Q: I need advice regarding my change of status. I am currently in the United States on a B-2 tourist visa. I have filed a change of status application to change my status to F-1 student. My B-2 duration of stay will expire today and my change of status application to F-1 student is still pending with USCIS. I informed my school that I will be postponing my classes and was notified that I need to file a new I-20 and provide some missing information. I have time to make adjustments to my application but I would like to know the steps to correct any missing information. I also wanted to know if I need to leave the United States immediately since my F-1 application is still pending. Please assist.

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It is our pleasure to introduce our readers to our esteemed Paralegal and Case Manager Katie Foley who has worked at the Law Offices of Jacob J. Sapochnick since 2010. Ms. Foley, originally from Santa Cruz, California holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Liberal Studies from Cal State East Bay and her paralegal certificate from San Diego Miramar College. Throughout her career, Katie Foley has assisted our attorneys with various different types of immigration petitions including family-based petitions, employment based petitions (H-1B, E-2 etc.), deferred action, marriage visas, I-751 petitions, fiancé visas, consular processing, naturalization, temporary visas (B-1/B-2, J-1, F-1 etc), deportation and removal cases.  She has successfully processed hundreds of applications and in the process has formed long standing relationships with our clients. In her role as case manager, she assists our legal assistants with their case loads and provides direction as needed. Ms. Foley is an outstanding member of our firm for her impressive attention to detail, her understanding of the law, and the extensive guidance she provides our clients to ensure every case has a successful outcome. She provides all of our client’s strong personal support and comprehensive step-by-step instructions for each immigration process. If you are an international or out of state client, not to worry, Ms. Foley has perfected an easy online case processing system to assist clients with their immigration concerns no matter where they reside. In her free time, she enjoys lap swimming, barbecues, and gardening. To read more about Ms. Foley please click here.

For immigration questions please call our office. Your Immigration is our Passion.

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By Lupe Lopez

Daniel couldn’t take it anymore.  Here he was being tortured, humiliated, and abused in the country where he thought he would be able to live a better life.  He could recall the excitement he felt when he first arrived in the United States.  He was young, inexperienced, and hopeful of living the “American Dream.”  Instead, Daniel was in a living nightmare.  He was trapped (or so he believed) in a marriage that was filled with verbal, physical, and sexual abuse.  He believed that there was nothing he could do but to ride it out.  Now that he was here, he was ashamed to go back to his home country having failed at marriage and at life.

Daniel had come to the United States as a tourist.  Daniel met Bethany through a friend and from the moment Daniel met her, he thought this was the woman of his dreams.  He fell in love with her immediately.  They began dating and soon after they decided to room together; not just to save money, but also to spend more time together.  In the beginning all went well.   But when it was time for Daniel to go home, Bethany begged him to stay.  Bethany immediately proposed to him and told him that he couldn’t leave without her.  Daniel was elated and accepted her proposal.  They married soon after.

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Under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), victims of domestic violence and cruelty have an alternative to waiting for their abusive spouse or parent to submit the paperwork for a green card on their behalf. They can submit a “self-petition,” using Form I-360, issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

In 1994, Congress passed the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), creating special routes to immigration status for certain battered noncitizens. Among the basic requirements for eligibility, a battered noncitizen must be the spouse or child of an abusive U.S. citizen or permanent resident. Through a self-petitioning process, the battered spouse/child may apply for immigration status without the knowledge or involvement of the abuser. Derivative status is available to certain children and parents of the principal immigrant.

California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein will head to the floor today with other Democratic women Senators to push for renewal of the Clinton-era Violence Against Women Act. It is part of a coordinated Democratic push for the women’s vote, which Democrats see as in play following the Rush Limbaugh fiasco, the GOP primary’s focus on contraception and claims, disputed by the Mitt Romney campaign, that the Republican frontrunner said he would eliminate funding for Planned Parenthood.

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