Q. Can you tell me the procedure to bring a fianc/e from the Philippines to the U.S.? Where can I go for more information?
- Larry Shaw, Merrick, N.Y.
A. To petition for a fianc/(e), you must be a U.S. citizen. The process begins by filing U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services form I-129F, Petition for Alien Fianc/(e). With the petition, you must submit proof that you and your fianc/e had a face-to-face meeting within the past two years. The USCIS will exempt you from this meeting requirement if traveling will create a hardship, or if meeting before the wedding would violate religion or customs.
If the USCIS approves the petition, the U.S. Consulate in the Philippines will call your fianc/e for an interview. If she passes, the USCIS will grant her a K-1 fianc/(e) visa, and she can the travel to the U.S., where she will be admitted for 90 days.
If you marry, she can then apply for permanent residence.
Can I plan on ‘Obama magic’
Q. Should I continue waiting to get permanent residence through my employer, or should I plan on “Obama magic” to get permanent status? I came here from India on H-1B temporary professional worker status. My employer started my case on Sept. 23, 2004. However, I am in the third employment-based preference category, where the wait for Indians is almost seven years.
- Raja, Queens
A. I would not count on anything soon from Obama that will help you get permanent residence. Now is not the time for major immigration reform. Because you have a way to get permanent residence, go for it.
While you are understandably unhappy about the long wait for your green card, you should know that you can stay in H-1B status until you qualify to apply for permanent residence.
If necessary, you can get an extension beyond the normal six years. That is because your employer started your case more than 365 days ago. If the USCIS has approved your I-140 Petition for Alien Worker, you can apply for three-year extensions. That is the rule for a worker with an approved petition who is waiting for residence because of a quota backlog.
Finally, once you do get to the front of the line under the quota system and you apply for adjustment of status to permanent resident, you can change employers after your application has been pending 180 days or more, provided the new job is in the “same or similar” occupation.
Can mom travel to Canada?
Q. If I sponsor my mother for permanent residence, can she travel to Canada while waiting to get permanent residence? I am a U.S. citizen. My mother came here legally three years ago. She was granted a six-month stay, but she never left. She lives with me and I would like to petition to get her permanent residence so she can live in the U.S. while occasionally traveling to Canada. While she is waiting for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to process her permanent residence application, may she leave the United States?
- M., New York
A. I do not recommend that your mother travel outside the U.S. until the USCIS grants her permanent residence. She can get travel permission, but even with permission, traveling now could jeopardize her residence application.
Because your mother entered legally and she qualifies for residence as the immediate relative of a U.S. citizen, she can interview here for permanent residence. If she applies now, the USCIS should call her for an interview in about one year. If she travels abroad during the waiting period, even with permission, the USCIS will require her to get a waiver of the “unlawful presence.” To get the waiver, she would need to prove hardship to a U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse or parent.
As I have written often in this column, a person who leaves the U.S. after having overstayed more than 180 days is barred from getting permanent residence for three years. The bar is 10 years for someone who overstayed a year or more. The USCIS believes that the unlawful presence bars apply even to permanent residence applicants who return from travel abroad with USCIS travel permission.
Allan Wernick is a lawyer and director 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, January 8 edition of The New York Daily News.
