If you have a question on immigration matters, write Ask-visalaw@visalaw.com. We can't answer every question, but if you ask a short question that can be answered concisely, we'll consider it for publication. Remember, these questions are only intended to provide general information. You should consult with your own attorney before acting on information you see here.

Q - My parents divorced when I was a child and I stayed with my mother. Later, my father re-married (I was about 8 years old at that time). Can I, as a US citizen over 21 years of age, petition for both my father and his second wife to come to US (under parents of US citizens category)?

A - Yes, you can petition for step-parents. Step-parents are treated as biological parents for immigration purposes as long as the relationship with the step-child was created before the child turned 18 years of age. That would cover your situation.

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Q - I have a question regarding my daughter, who was born in the USA and has a US passport. I have an O-1 visa and my wife has an O-3. Do I need to do further paperwork to complete her citizenship process?

A - Your daughter is automatically a citizen because she was born in the US. You need do nothing more. If she needs a US passport, you would just apply for it and supply a certified copy of her birth certificate. Note that your daughter's citizenship status does NOT entitle her to apply for a green card for you and your wife until your daughter turns 21.

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Q - What do people who broker fake marriage risk?

A - Prison. Don't do it.

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Q - My wife applied for reentry permit in January 1998 and she left the USA. While she was in Pakistan she got reentry permit for 2 years. And then came back to USA a week before reentry permit expiration. Technically she spent more than 2 yrs as she left before approval of reentry permit. My question is when she can apply for citizenship. Some say four years and some say five. I am not a citizen.

A - Your wife will need to meet several residency tests -

1. At least 90 days living in the district where she is applying;

2. At least two years and six months total time spent in the US in the five years prior to the application being submitted;

3. No break in continuous residence (continuous absences from the US of more than six months are PRESUMED to break residency and absences of more than a year definitely are a problem unless the government has pre-approved an application to preserve residency)

The date of approval of the reentry permit is not relevant. Just the actual dates in and out of the US.

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Q - My closed friend is married with an American citizen four years ago. They have a young child.  Her current visa status is a conditional permanent residence.  The problem is her husband likely to batter or mentally abuse her.  Her husband does not like her to go, socialize or get along with her American friends or friends from her home country.  He does not allow her to learn driving a car or to work even though they live in a poor condition.  He always threats her to deport her anytime she speaks up.  Her husband even does not really like his child and he considers the boy is a nuisance.  The boy is not closed and afraid to his father. He also threats that he will take away the kid in a hidden place if my friend doesn’t comply what he wants.  My friend has called the national domestic violence hotline, and the national domestic violence has visited my friend and the boy several times, and the worker has advised her to go to their shelter.  Anyway, she is now worried if she goes to that shelter her husband might report to the police that she has kidnapped the child.  My question is whether in the above situation my friend can be considered of kidnapping her own child?  Can my friend file a self-petition to remove her conditional residence? 

A - Under these circumstances, your friend can file her I-751 application with a request to waive having her husband file jointly with her.  She'll need to get a divorce lawyer to get the divorce first, however. The fact that they have been married several years and the fact that they have a child will look very good. Tell your friend not to worry about going to a shelter. This will in no way hurt her chances of getting an unconditional green card. She should check with the local bar association in her community to see if she can get free or reduced-fee legal assistance.

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Q - Our son was on an H-4 visa while he was studying here but we had to convert this to an F-1 visa when he aged out.  He finished his associate degree here and decided to leave the country.  He now wants to finish his four-year degree in a university in the US and we have applied for his admission as an international student.

He has to leave our home country in a week's time but we haven't received the approval of his papers yet.  Can he apply for a B1/B2 visa and as soon as we get the I-20 from the university, we will apply for the F1 visa when he gets here?

A - After September 11, 2001, changing a status from the B1/B2 to F-1 in the United States became next to impossible.  The only instance when it is possible and comparatively easier is when the person obtains a B1/B2 visa that is annotated "prospective student" from the American Consulate that he applied for a visa at.  This can be done if he tells the visa officer that he is going to study in the US but is not sure at what school and therefore will need to enter as a B1/B2.  It is a hard to get such a visa and complicates matters. Therefore we typically recommend waiting for the I-20 that the school will issue and then applying for an F-1 visa.  Keep in mind that an F-1 may enter the US only 30 days from the "report to" date on his I-20.