Q. My wife, from Riga, and I are both U.S. citizens. We have a family friend in Latvia who has a 10-year-old son. As a birthday gift, we would like to pay to have him visit us for two weeks while his school is out.
Eulogio Ortiz, New York
A. You have a good chance of getting him a visitor’s visa. That’s provided you can prove that you can pay his travel expenses.
Often, getting a visa to visit from a developing country like Latvia is hard. That’s because to get the visa, the applicant must prove that he or she will return after the visit. Sometimes people from developing countries end up staying here and working illegally. Here, the young man’s age helps. Because he will be coming by himself, the U.S. consul ruling on his application will likely think he will return to his family.
Still, consular officers have great discretion in deciding whether to grant a visitor’s visa. You will want to improve the young man’s chances by writing a letter, addressed to the consul, explaining what he will do here in detail. Mention in the letter that you are planning to pay all his expenses.
He should bring the letter and an affidavit of support from you when he applies for his visa. You may use USCIS form I-134, Affidavit of Support. Include copies of your tax returns or other evidence that you can afford to pay his expenses.
Calculating citizenship time
Q. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) twice stamped my passport with “I-551” after telling me I was a permanent resident. That happened first in 2002. I recently received my permanent resident card. When do I count the time toward U.S. citizenship, when the USCIS stamped my passport or when USCIS issued my card?
Arfa, New York
A. You count your time toward U.S. citizenship from the date the USCIS first granted you permanent residence. From what you write, that is the date in 2002, as should have been noted in your passport.
Your permanent residence date also should be noted on your card. If the two dates are different, check with an expert, and consider applying for a replacement green card.
An I-551 is a permanent resident card. When the USCIS grants permanent residence, it sometimes stamps the person’s passport with temporary proof. USCIS examiners do that less these days because most permanent residence cards arrive soon after approval. If the note says, “I-551 pending,” it means the USCIS hadn’t yet approved your application.
Divine intervention
Q. I’ve heard that my church can sponsor me for permanent residence. Is that true?
B. Bancraft, Poughkeepsie
A. The law provides for permanent residence for certain religious workers. However, do not think that just because you have been active in your church, you have an easy path to permanent residence.
The law requires that religious workers and the sponsoring institutions meet many tests. Moreover, because of allegations of fraud in religious worker cases, the USCIS looks at these cases very carefully.
To qualify for permanent residence as a religious worker, you must have been a member of a “religious denomination having a bona fide, nonprofit, religious organization in the United States.” You must be seeking permanent residence to serve as a minister in that organization or to work in a religious vocation that you have worked in for at least two years.
A “religious vocation” is one that involves traditional religious functions, such as those performed by liturgical workers, religious instructors or counselors. It does not include administrative functions.
Two difficult issues in many religious worker cases are proving that the applicant has been and will continue to work in a religious vocation, and in smaller religious organizations, proving that the institution can pay the wage offered to the worker.
Allan Wernick is a lawyer and chair of the City University of New York Citizenship and Immigration Project. He is the author of “U.S. Immigration and Citizenship - Your Complete Guide, Revised 4th Edition.”Send questions and comments to Allan Wernick, Daily News, 450 West 33rd Street, New York, N.Y. 10001. Professor Wernick’s web site is www.allanwernick.com.
Allan Wernick’s Immigration column is reprinted from the Thursday, June 19 editions of the New York Daily News.
