Matthew Blaisdell, Esq.

What humanitarian-based routes are available to stay in the U.S. on a temporary basis? U, T, and S visas: Visas are available for victims of certain serious crimes in the U.S., for victims of severe forms of trafficking, and for certain individuals who have assisted a law enforcement agency as a witness or informant. U and T visas provide the temporary ability to live and work in the U.S., with a path towards permanent residency three years after obtaining the visa.... Temporary Protected Status: Temporary Protected Status (TPS) allows nationals from certain countries to remain in the U.S. until political or environmental conditions change such that they are able to return. To be eligible, you must be physically present in the U.S. at the date that your country is designated for TPS by the U.S. Attorney General, in addition to meeting other requirements. Approval is discretionary, and you may be disqualified by concerns related to crime or security. If granted, permission to stay and work in the U.S. may be valid for 6 to 18 months, for as long as the program is renewed. Humanitarian parole is also available for a compelling emergency, urgent humanitarian reason or significant public benefit to allowing you to temporarily enter the United States. This typically involves medical procedures that cannot adequately be obtained abroad.

What are the humanitarian-based pathways to a green card? Asylum and the U.N. Convention against Torture: Asylum requires demonstrating a well-founded fear of persecution, on account of a protected ground (race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group), either by your government or by someone the government cannot or will not control. Similarly, the United Nations Convention against Torture (CAT) provides protection to those who ca...n demonstrate that it is more likely than not that they will be tortured if returned to their home country. There are time- and criminal-related bars to these benefits. Spouses and minor children may be included in the application, and asylees may later apply for lawful permanent residency. The Violence against Women Act: Abused spouses of U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents may be eligible to remove the abusive petitioner from their case and to effectively sponsor themselves for an immigrant visa. They must demonstrate that the marriage was entered into in good faith, that they lived with their spouse, and that the abuse occurred during the marriage. (Other restrictions apply, depending on the circumstance.) If the self-petition is approved, the individual is eligible to apply (along with any minor children) for lawful permanent residence.

What are fiancé(e) visas? Visas are available for fiancé(e)s of U.S. citizens. However, these are temporary (nonimmigrant) visas; a separate application for a green card must be filed after the fiancé(e) has entered on the fiancé(e) visa and within 90 days of the marriage. If the application is not filed within 90 days of the marriage, a new petition must be filed as an immediate relative of a U.S. citizen (as described above). When the relationship dissolves before the fiancé(e) obtains the green card, alternatives for the fiancé(e) are limited, but do existthese situations must be dealt with very carefully.

What family members can be sponsored for visas? If we can establish that the family relationship exists, then the next step to consider is whether a visa is available. There are annual limits for all family-based categories except for immediate relatives of U.S. citizens. All other qualifying family relationships are called preference categories, subject to waiting times that depend on the number of visas available in that particular category. For example, if the relation...ship is ‘child of a lawful permanent resident,’ we would check to see if all the visas for that category have been used. If not, there is no waiting period (once the petition is approved). If there are no visas remaining, then we try estimate the amount of time that it is currently taking for a visa to become available. For some categories it might be several months: for others, many years. These timeframes fluctuate frequently, and sometimes dramatically so. We therefore are very careful when factoring these into our strategy. What are the categories? The category immediate relatives of U.S. citizens includes spouses, parents, and children (under the age of 21) of U.S. citizens. The remaining preference categories include: Unmarried children (over the age of 21), of U.S. citizens; Spouses and children (under the age of 21) of lawful permanent residence; Married children (over the age of 21), of U.S. citizens; and Siblings of U.S. citizens. Minor children (under the age of 21) and/or the spouse of a beneficiary in a preference category can be included in the beneficiary’s application. However, this does not apply to the spouse or children of the beneficiary when the beneficiary is the immediate relative of the U.S. citizen. For example, if a U.S. citizen is filing a case for their parent, the parent’s minor child (the petitioner’s sibling) can be included and apply for their own visa as a derivative beneficiary. This is possible because the derivative is a dependent of the principal beneficiary (the parent) and is not an immediate relative of the petitioner (siblings instead fall into a preference category.)

What should I know about family-based immigration? These cases begin when the U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident (the petitioner) files a Petition for Alien Relative asking that USCIS verify the qualifying relationship. The petition is marked for either consular processing or adjustment of status meaning that, once approved, the second part of the case, the application for an immigrant visa (green card), will proceed to be processed either at a U.S. consular post... overseas or at a USCIS Field Office within the United States. There may also be additional stages along the way, such as in cases requiring waivers of any grounds of inadmissibility that may apply. A person may be inadmissible to the U.S. for many reasons, meaning that they are not eligible to be admitted or to receive a visa unless they are able to obtain a waiver for that ground. Other difficulties may include whether the qualifying relationship in fact exists (for the purposes of immigration), whether a child has become too old to qualify under a particular category, financial sponsorship, and other seemingly simple issues that may in fact be very complex legally. Each of these scenarios must be carefully addressed and analyzed at the outset before beginning a family-based case. Each of these factors, and more, will be carefully considered at the outset of your case until you feel confident in a strategy going forward