U.S. Immigration & Visa FAQs
What is USCIS?
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), is the government agency that oversees legal immigration to the United States. USCIS is primarily responsible for approving green cards, naturalization, work permits, travel permits, and other “immigration benefits.”
Why would a green card application be denied?
A green card application may be denied by the U.S. government for several reasons, including but not limited to mistakes on the required forms, missing documents, insufficient financial resources, or failure to demonstrate eligibility.
What is the visa bulletin?
The visa bulletin, issued every month by the U.S. Department of State, shows which green card applications can move forward, based on when the I-130 petition that starts the green card process was originally filed. The visa bulletin exists because Congress caps the number of green cards that can be issued each year in certain categories, which has created several backlogs.
What is a marriage based green card?
Most U.S. citizens and U.S. green card holders are entitled by law to sponsor their spouses for a green card, also known as “permanent residence status.” The total cost, wait time, and other details of the marriage green card process vary based on several factors.
What is an affidavit of support (I-864)?
Most green card applicants must have a U.S. sponsor who accepts financial responsibility for them upon arriving in the United States. An “Affidavit of Support” (Form I-864) is essentially a contract between the financial sponsor and the U.S. government, where the financial sponsor demonstrates that they meet the government’s income requirements.
U.S. Asylum FAQs
Can asylum status be terminated?
Yes. Your asylee status may be terminated if you no longer have a well-founded fear of persecution because of a fundamental change in circumstances, you have obtained protection from another country, or you have committed certain crimes or engaged in other activity that makes you ineligible to retain asylum status in the United States. See INA § 208(c)(2). An asylee is not a lawful permanent resident. You may apply for lawful permanent resident status after you have been physically present in the United States for a period of 1 year after the date you were granted asylum status. See Asylee Adjustment for more information about becoming a lawful permanent resident. The law can be found at INA § 209(b).
What does it mean to be referred to the immigration court?
This means that the asylum officer was unable to approve your asylum application and you are not currently in valid status. You will receive charging documents that place you in removal proceedings in Immigration Court. Your asylum application will be referred to the Immigration Court for an Immigration Judge to decide during the removal proceedings.
Why is my asylum hearing taking so long?
There are various reasons as to why the asylum case takes so long. Things like the backlog, staffing, evidence etc, all affect how fast your case is going to be heard.
Can I bring my dependents to the United States through asylum?
Yes, you can bring your immediate family members to the United States through Asylum once the application in which they are included is approved/granted.
What types of asylum exist in the United States?
There are two types of asylum paths 1) The affirmative asylum process is for individuals who are not in removal proceedings and 2) Defensive asylum process, this is for individuals who are in removal proceedings.