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Question: My son filed for my green card in late 2019 and I guess the case got put on hold due to the virus. I got my work permit in March 2020 and its going to expire in March 2021 and so will my drivers license. I haven’t got my interview or green card yet, so I am really worried about my work permit expiring in the next few months. Can you please tell me how I can get my work permit extended fast so I can still drive past March 2021?
Don’t Ruin Your Holidays And Immigration Status With A DUI Conviction!
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Immigration Questions: (954) 382-5378
POSTING DATE: December 14, 2020
Answer: Great news, since you are in the residency process, your work permit (also called an Employment Authorization Document “EAD”) is automatically extended for 180 days past the expiration date, as long as a renewal application is pending. That means that once we file for your employment authorization extension, you can still live, work and drive here legally for 180 days after your current work permit expires. Once your extension is filed, you will need to take your USCIS EAD extension receipt along with your expired EAD card, driver’s license and printout of the official USCIS 180 day rule policy, to get your driver’s license renewal. Download the USCIS 180 day extension announcement
Understanding When An Affidavit of Support Is Not Required For A Minor Child of A U.S. Citizen
When a U.S. Resident or Citizen sponsors a family member to immigrate to the U.S., an Affidavit of Support (form I-864) along with supporting financial documentation is usually required to prove that the sponsor meets the minimum income requirements. There is an exception, however for children of a U.S. Citizen parent who are under age 18 at the time of immigrating.
REMINDER: You Can Renew Your Child’s Green Card On Their 14th Birthday For Free!
Immigration rule that regulations can be obscure, seem mysterious and are often complicated. So it’s nice to come across a rule which is actually beneficial and saves you money! Under a little-known law, once a U.S. Resident child turns age 14, a Green Card renewal must be filed within 30 days. This special requirement exists because children under age 14 are exempt from the fingerprinting, so once a child reaches age 14, he or she must provide biometrics provide fingerprints as part of the renewal process. However in practice, most parents do not follow the rule to renew their children’s Green Cards and no penalty is applied by the USCIS for failure to do so.
Tax Season Is Just Around The Corner –
Don’t Be Fooled By IRS Tax Scams and Tax Identity Theft!
It is nearly that time again and tax season will come rolling around before you know it. And through the years as fraudsters have become more sophisticated, Tax scams are on the rise, with many targeting new immigrants. That is why its more important than ever to avoid falling victim to IRS and Identity Theft scams.
The IRS reports a common scam targeting immigrants involving callers claiming to be IRS agents, using fake names and IRS identification badge numbers.
Stay Safe During This Holiday Season!
One of the most common causes of deportation from the U.S. is as a result of “Driving Under the Influence” (DUI) charges and convictions. And while no one ever intends to drive impaired after they have been drinking, the holiday season is the most common time for this to occur, with the combination of parties, family gatherings, alcohol and drugs. And while we all know that such gatherings are very risky in this time of Covid-19, it is human nature to get together and celebrate at this time of year, even in the face of the deadly pandemic. An inevitably, some who have had a little too much, will get behind the wheel and be stopped by police for driving erratically or at a random roadblock.
Getting arrested is a horrendous event for anyone, but even more so for an immigrant, who not only has to be concerned with noctivagating the court system, loss of driving privileges, paying fines and attending DUI classes, but also may be facing serious immigration consequences which can lead to deportation in some cases. Serious risk of deportation is common for immigrants driving while under the influence of drugs, those convicted of a DUI with a child or minor in the vehicle, and those involving multiple criminal convictions.
So don’t become a statistic for 2020. Be safe in this holiday season, don’t drink or do drugs and drive, just use Uber!
They alter the caller ID so that it appears that the IRS is calling. Victims are told they owe money to the IRS which must immediately be paid using a gift card or wire transfer. Fake IRS agents often threaten immigrants with arrest, deportation or suspension of a business or driver’s license. In other cases, the callers tell victims they have a refund coming to them and trick them into sharing private information. If the phone isn't answered, the scammers often leave an “urgent” callback request.
Its important to know that the IRS:
NEVER calls and demands immediate payment over the phone
NEVER tries to threaten or intimidate,
NEVER demands payment with a prepaid debit card, or ask for your credit card or debit card number over the phone and
NEVER threatens to call the police or immigration agents if you don’t pay.
If you get a call like this, report it to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration by calling 800-366-4484.
Learn more about IRS Scams:
Visit the IRS Tax Scam Website
Filing For Naturalization Early Can End Up Saving You Money
Everyone knows that being a U.S. Citizen has many more benefits than just being a U.S. Resident (Green Card holder). So why don’t all Residents apply for naturalization to obtain their U.S. Citizenship as soon as possible? There are a variety of reasons why Residents delay applying, including the high cost of the application filing fee, currently $725. Trump tried to raise the fee to $1,170 in 2020, but that increase has been temporarily halted by a federal court.
Many Residents do not realize that by delaying filing for naturalization, they actually increase their overall costs, since a Resident must apply for naturalization six months or more before their green card expires, in order to obtain automatic renewal of their residency status.
Otherwise, once their green card expires, they will not have any proof of their legal immigration status to extend a driver’s license, travel abroad or even obtain employment. Up until a few years ago, Residents who filed for Naturalization before expiration of their green cards were able to obtain residency extensions until they naturalized, however these days, local USCIS offices often no longer provide such extensions without a receipt showing the Resident filed his or her green card renewal application. The current green card renewal fee is $540, nearly as much as the current fee for naturalization! So don’t end up wasting money filing to renew your green card, when you could spend the money for your naturalization instead…
Question: My mom got her green card in 2016 through her new American husband. Once she got her papers, she filed for me when I was 28 and single and I am supposed to be able to immigrate to the us in 2021. Mom just got her early us citizenship through her marriage in feb 2020 and me and my husband got married this past November. My mom called immigration about adding my husband to my case and they gave her the number to contact the visa center. I called the visa center myself to ask what they need to add my husband on my case because I have been waiting in the immigration line and its getting close now. The lady told me how to email them my husband’s information so he can be added, but she said that since I am married now, I have to wait a lot longer. They gave me the website for some visa page to look at to see how much longer I have to wait because she said I am now f3 instead of f2b. I am very confused, I don’t understand it at all why I have to wait more time. Can you please help me to get this all straightened out. Thanks
Answer: I understand that immigration waiting lines can be very confusing indeed. First, the Immigration category your mom applied for under when she was a U.S. resident (Green Card holder) is called the F2B category for adult, single children of U.S. residents. The waiting line for a visa in that category is about 5 years. Once mom became a U.S. citizen last year and you got married, you technically moved from the F2B category to the F3 immigration category for adult married children of U.S. citizens and their spouses and minor children, which can take about 12+ years. So, unfortunately, instead of being able to immigrate next year, you will need to wait until at least 2028. The best option which you were not aware of, would have been to wait until you obtained your green card next year, then get married and sponsor your husband. He would likely have been able to immigrate to the U.S. within a year or so (depending upon USCIS processing times). But since you are already married, it would help to divorce, since it would be difficult if not impossible for you to be able to then sponsor your husband later, since the USCIS would consider your divorce and then remarriage as potentially fraudulent. Make sure that your mom stays in touch with the National Visa Center to keep them updated on her address and contact information over the years. I hope this was helpful to you.
Question: Me and my husband came to the US as visitors in 2000 and he got offered a job by his uncle laying floors and so we stayed. My son was born in the U.S. the same year and he will be 21 in July. We are wondering if we can still qualify to get our immigration papers even though our status expired back in 2000? If we can, would it be all right if our son files our paperwork now since he will be 21 soon?
Answer: Under Immigration regulations, Parents/Spouses and Minor children of U.S. citizens are “Immediate Relatives” and as long as they entered the U.S. legally (meaning being inspected by an immigration officer), then even if the I-94 period of stay expires and they become “out of legal status”, they can still obtain U.S. residency through their U.S. citizen child (age 21 or older). So in your case, since you both entered the U.S. legally as a visitor, even though you are not currently in legal immigration status, you are still eligible to obtain a green card in the U.S. as Immediate Relatives of a U.S. citizen. Unfortunately, you cannot begin the process until AFTER your son turns age 21. You have to prove eligibility on the date the case is filed, meaning that your son has to be age 21 or older on that date. If your case is filed earlier, either the USCIS will reject it, or worse, they will accept it, take your filing fees, then deny the case.
But what if there were a benefit to filing a renewal on your child’s 14th birthday? Well there is ….to a lucky few! The USCIS actually waives the application fee for Green Card renewal applications filed for children within 30 days of their 14th birthday, as long as the child’s Green Card will expire after the child turns age 16. Strange, but true. The catch is that there is only a very short 30 day period in which the renewal can be filed without paying the USCIS filing fee and those exact requirements must be met. For instance, if a child is turning age 14, but their Green Card expires when the child is 15, the filing fee would not be waived. Similarly, if the child has turned age 14 and you filed after 30 days, the fee is not waived. In all cases the biometrics fee of $85 must still be paid, but you will still be saving $455 for the regular renewal fee. Good to know!
In such cases, the U.S. Citizen parent is not required to provide an Affidavit of Support filed on their child’s behalf. Eligible children under age 18 who become U.S. Residents (Green Card holders) through their U.S. Citizen parents also automatically become U.S. Citizens, and are therefore not required to have an Affidavit of Support filed on their behalf.
This is true for children immigrating from abroad through a U.S. Consulate, as well as children adjusting status to U.S. Residency inside the U.S. through a U.S. Citizen biological parent.
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