ImmigrationINFO ...Immigration News For Our Community

ImmigrationINFO …Immigration News For Our Community

May 11, 2014 News

By Attorney Gail S. Seeram

Through this “Question & Answer” column, our goal is to answer your immigration questions. We appreciate your comments and questions. If you have a question that you would like answered in this column, please email: [email protected].

Question #1: Recently (in May) my husband and I along with his grandfather applied for a non-immigrant visa to visit the USA. Our interview was held on the 4th June 2013, however only my husband’s grandfather got through with his visa. My husband and I are married almost a year now and we never travelled before and we don’t have kids as yet, I am wondering if that could be the cause for our rejected visa application. I need some advice on what we should do before reapplying, because we want to spend Thanksgiving this year in the USA with our relatives.
Answer #1: To be eligible for a B-1/B-2 tourist visa, you have to prove that you have strong financial, employment and family ties to your native country and will not emigrate to the destination country. If you have a pending immigration petition, such as an I-130, this will show you have the intent to leave your native country and your application for a tourist visa may be denied.

Question #2: I sponsored my son who is over 21 years in January 2008 while being a permanent US resident. He has a common law wife from a religious marriage in February 2006 and together they have a son born in October 2007. I became a citizen in February of this year and the Visa centre has since upgraded the status to the F-1 category upon my request and informed me that my case is being processed and they would inform me through a package of the next step. Having said this, I would like to know if he can get married legally now so that so that his family can travel with him, if not, please advise what is the best possible option.
Answer #2: If your son marries his common law wife, then the petition will change from F-1 (unmarried child of a U.S. citizen) to F-3 (married child of a U.S. citizen). Currently for F-1 category petitions, visas are available for petitions filed on or before March 2007. For F-3 category petitions, visas are available for petitions filed on or before September 2003. So, if your son marries, he would have to wait five more years, verses one more year for his immigrant visa (green card). He should not get married now. When he enters the U.S. and gets his green card, then he can return to Guyana and get married. Once married, then he can file an immigrant petition for his wife and child and the wait will only be 1-2 years.

Question #3: I have a daughter who was born in the USA but we both live in Guyana with her father, my husband. She is seven years old, we all go for vacation in the summer and return to Guyana where we live. I would normally purchase a round trip ticket – from Guyana to the US and back to Guyana – but someone told me that I have to purchase a return ticket for her showing that she is returning to the US. This would mean me buying for her a round trip ticket and one for her returning back to the US. Is this a law? Also, we her parents, are just holders of US visas.
Answer #3: You do not need to buy a single trip ticket for your daughter. As a U.S. citizen, she is permitted to live outside the U.S. if she chooses without any penalty to her U.S. citizen status. So, she is not in jeopardy of losing her U.S. citizenship.

Question #4: I would like to find out about my common law husband of 19 years who has been sponsored by his mother in the F-1 category, and my two daughters age 7 and 14.
What will be my part in the immigration law if I marry him and want to go with my family? How long will it take?
Answer #4: See Answer #1 – He can only marry you if his mother is a U.S. citizen. A permanent resident (green card) cannot file for a married child over age 21. If his mother is a U.S. citizen and he decides to marry you then the wait for the visa will be 3-4 years longer.

********

Arrival/Departure Records Available On-line for Past five years
If you are a non-immigrant U.S. visitor seeking access to your I-94 arrival/departure record for any point within the past five years, on May 1, 2014, Custom & Border Protection (CBP) launched a new webpage that will allow you to retrieve this information. The portal will provide you access to the date and port of entry of your arrivals and departures from the United States for the past five years.
When you visit https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/request.html you can retrieve your I-94 arrival/departure record number and five-year travel history by entering your name, date of birth, and passport information.
Clicking on “Get Travel History” will return a five-year travel history based on the I-94 records, which you also can print.
Clicking on “Get Most Recent I-94” will return the I-94 number, most recent date of entry, class of admission and admit-until date. Please note that the system does not reflect changes of status, extension of stay or adjustments of status granted by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. You then have the option to print the record.

What happens at the port of entry when I enter the United States?
Upon arrival, a Custom & Border Protection (CBP) officer stamps the travel document (passport) of each arriving non-immigrant traveler with the admission date, the class of admission, and the date that the traveler is admitted until.

What happens at the port of entry when I depart the United States?
CBP will record the departure electronically via manifest information provided by the carrier or by CBP. So, non-immigrant travelers are no longer required to surrender the previously issued paper Form I-94.
The current processing time for entering foreign visitors’ travel information into the I-94 database is 30 days or more. Our office recommends all travelers to access their digital Form I-94, review and print the information for accuracy upon their arrival into the U.S. As with any process that is electronic, there may be errors and you want to ensure that your arrival and departure records are correct so you have no problems or issues with your next entry into the U.S. and with future adjustment of status. The new automation process for Form I-94 only applies to passengers entering the U.S. with a non-immigrant visa – it does not apply to U.S. citizens or permanent residents (green card holders).