FAQS

A U.S. citizen can’t be deported, while a permanent resident can still be deported, for example, due to certain criminal convictions. A few benefits of becoming a U.S. citizen include the ability to vote, travel internationally with a passport, and petition for a green card for family members.

A permanent resident can become a naturalized citizen if they meet the following requirements:

• Has had the green card for at least five (5) years,
• Has maintained continuous residence in the U.S. within five (5) years of applying for naturalization,
• Has been physically present in the U.S. for at least 30 months within this five-year period,
• Be a person of good moral character,
• Can speak, understand, write, and read in English at a basic level, and
• Pass a citizenship test by demonstrating U.S. history, government, and geography knowledge.

If you are a spouse of a U.S. citizen, over a certain age, or serving in the U.S. military, there may be different requirements. Schedule a consultation with our legal team to learn more.

The entire process takes several steps; generally, it can take an average of 15 months.

VíaLegal Immigration is a non-profit law firm where donors pay for a portion of the legal fees so that you can receive experienced legal aid at an affordable rate. In addition, there is a cost associated with the USCIS fees. During your consultation, we will review the options and costs associated with your immigration case.

You can:

• Have a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident with a qualifying family relationship petition for you
• Get your employer to petition for you
• Be an entrepreneur
• Be a refugee or asylee
• Win the green card lottery

• Your U.S. citizen- or lawful permanent resident or LPR-spouse
• Your U.S. citizen- or LPR-son or daughter who is 21 years of age or older
• Your U.S. citizen- or LPR-parent, although different rules apply depending on whether you are under or over the age of 21 and on whether you are married
• Your U.S. citizen-sibling

If you entered the U.S. without inspection, you will need to depart the U.S. and re-enter with an immigrant visa before you can adjust to LPR status. To re-enter the U.S., you will need to apply for an immigrant visa at the U.S. embassy or consulate in your home country. However, before departing the U.S, it is crucial that you apply for and receive a waiver of any unlawful presence (in excess of 180 days) that you accrued while in the U.S. If you did not apply for and receive this waiver before departing the U.S, you can be denied an immigrant visa to re-enter the U.S. You can demonstrate that you are entitled to waiver by showing that separation from your U.S. citizen- or LPR- parent or spouse would cause extreme hardship to that person.

Typically, you’ll need to renew your green card every 10 years.

Different fees apply depending on the type of application you are filing and whether you must leave the U.S. to undergo the consular process or you can stay in the U.S. to file your application for a green card.

During your first scheduled hearing, the immigration judge will instruct you about your rights to defend yourself against removal. The judge will likely continue your case to allow you to hire a lawyer.

If an immigration judge orders that you be removed from the U.S., the ICE attorney will send a ‘Bag and Baggage’ letter to your address within ninety days of the date that the order becomes final. The ‘Bag and Baggage’ letter will instruct you to present yourself at the local ICE field office on a specific date at a specific time and to bring any travel documents you have with you. You will also need to bring any personal things you intend to take.

The immigration court currently allows attorneys to provide document assistance to individuals without having to represent that individual through all stages of the asylum process. This important development makes legal representation affordable to many because now the client can pay a sufficient legal fee to file his case successfully without being set back by thousands of dollars typically required for full representation in an asylum case. Full representation is so expensive because it usually requires at least fifty hours of an attorney’s time gathering evidence, preparing witness statements, working with a professional, preparing witnesses for a hearing, and trying the case. Our office regularly prepares asylum applications for clients on a limited representation basis. We encourage you to contact us to see if this option may be right for you. Please note that engaging us (or another attorney) to file your asylum application on a limited representation basis does not preclude your hiring us or another attorney to provide full representation down the road.

If you have been placed in removal proceedings, you will need to file your asylum application with the immigration court. This is called a defensive asylum application. If you are not in removal proceedings, you will file your asylum application with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS). This is called an affirmative asylum application. If USCIS denies your asylum application, your case will be referred to immigration court, where an immigration judge will decide independently on your application.

You could wait many years before a final decision is reached in your asylum case. Immigrants whose asylum cases begin affirmatively, i.e., with USCIS, may wait a couple of years (or more or fewer) to receive a decision on their case from USCIS. When their case is referred to immigration court, they may wait an additional 2-4 years (or more or fewer) to have their asylum hearing scheduled. Immigrants who file their asylum claims defensively have a shorter path to a decision on their claims. Still, these individuals should anticipate a long wait given the extremely large backlog of asylum cases currently waiting for adjudication in immigration court.

Five months after you file your asylum application, you can apply for an employment authorization document. You can receive your employment authorization document as early as six months after the filing date of your asylum application. You can renew your employment authorization for as long as your asylum application is pending.

As with DWOL, DUI is generally considered to be outside the categories of crimes that carry serious immigration consequences. However, a DUI could have serious immigration consequences if a controlled substance were involved. Furthermore, a pattern of DUIs could trigger negative immigration consequences insofar as that pattern might indicate the presence of drug use or addiction. Even more so, multiple DWOL convictions and multiple DUIs could be considered a negative discretionary factor. You should always bring any arrest or conviction to the attention of your immigration attorney and retain criminal defense counsel as soon as possible after you are arrested.