3. Ask Visalaw.com

In our Ask Visalaw.com section of the SIB, attorney Ari Sauer answers immigration law questions sent in by our readers. If you enjoy reading this section, we encourage you to visit Ari’s blog, The Immigration Answer Man, where he provides more answers to your immigration questions. You can also follow The Immigration Answer Man on Facebook and Twitter.

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.

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1) Question:

I got an emergency Advance Parole document due to my family member’s illness. Will USCIS suspend the processing of my green card while I am out of US and resume after I come back?

Answer:

No. USCIS will continue to process your application while you are abroad. If your green card application is approved while you are abroad CBP will admit you as a Permanent Resident when you apply for readmission using the Advance Parole document. You should make sure that someone you trust is checking your mail while you are away in case USCIS sends you a Request for Additional Evidence or some other notice requiring your action.

2) Question:

A friend of mine had claimed she was a US citizen back around 2001 to gain entry into the US. Do the laws concerning inadmissibility still apply to her? What if her fiancé wants to bring her to the U.S.?

Answer:

Unfortunately she is still inadmissible. As of September 30, 1996, falsely claiming to be a U.S. citizen to obtain any benefit under the immigration laws, or any other federal or state law, results in a permanent bar of inadmissibility. There is no waiver for this inadmissibility.

Congress only created one exception where the foreign national’s parents were or are both U.S. citizens; the foreign national became a permanent resident before their 16th birthday; and the foreign national reasonably beleived that they were a U.S. citizen at the time they made the claim that they were a U.S. citizen.

3) Question:

The priority date for my employment based petition is finally current. But USCIS just transferred my application to the Vermont Service Center. Can the Vermont Service Center approve my application for adjustment and should I be worried that it has been transferred?

Answer:

There is no need to be concerned. It is not uncommon for USCIS to transfer applications to a different Service Center to allow them to process applications quicker. Most likely, the Vermont Service Center had fewer employment-based applications for adjustment or had more trained adjudicators, compared to the other Service Center, and so USCIS moved some cases to the Vermont Service Center to more evenly distribute the case load. The USCIS currently has a goal of adjudicating all current employment-based applications for adjustment within four months. This is one of the ways they are trying to meet that goal.