How To Start the Green Card Renewal Process

On 12.08.09, In , By Immigration Direct

How do I start the Green Card renewal process?
This article provides information to help you determine if you need to renew your Green Card. It also explains the Green Card renewal process.
What is a Green Card?
A Green Card, also called a permanent resident card, shows your proof of legal status as a permanent resident in the United States. It is a card about the size of a credit card and contains your photo as well as other information about you. As a permanent resident, you are required to carry your Green Card with you at all times. This card may also be referred to as Form I-551.
Do I need to renew my Green Card?
You will need to renew your green card if it is within six (6) months of expiring or if it has already expired.
If you are a conditional permanent resident and your Green Card is expiring, you should not file for Green Card renewal using Form I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card. You will need to file Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence. When your Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence is approved, you will receive a new Green Card valid for ten (10) years.
How do I renew my Green Card?
Form I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card, is used for Green Card renewal. This form is also used to replace Green Cards that are damaged, stolen, or contain incorrect information. Remember that if you have a current, unexpired Green Card, you should wait until it is within six (6) months of expiring before you file Form I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card.
USCIS allows Form I-90 to be filed online or by mail. When completing Form I-90 to renew your Green Card, you will need to provide information about how you became a permanent resident. You will also need to include a copy of your current or expired Green Card.
The USCIS may request further information from you after you file Form I-90 if there is any information missing from your Green Card renewal application. When USCIS approves the application, it will mail a new Green Card to the mailing address you provided.

Most Common Immigration Scams

Marriage to a U.S. Citizen remains one of the most common types of immigration scams to date. Marrying a U.S. Citizen under false pretenses to get into the United States does not stop some people from pursuing this federal crime option. It remains one of the most common paths to gain a Green Card or U.S. Citizenship for some foreign nationals.
Another common immigration scam is through the U.S. visitor visa process. Applying for such a visa with wrong intentions is immigration fraud. A visitor visa is intended for temporary stay in United States yet some apply for a visitor visa with the intentions of coming to the U.S. to seek work or marriage. But this type of immigration scam commonly leads to denied entry into the U.S. and immediate deportation. The individual could even be banned from the U.S. entirely if it is determined that there was wrongdoing.
Still another form of immigration scams involves the printing of green cards. This type of scamming is currently on the rise. Why is it so? Many feel they have no option to gain employment and obtain a black market green card. For those that resort to this type of immigration scam it is most likely due to an existing criminal background history or they entered the U.S. illegally and therefore making them illegible for a legitimate green card.
Others, who may be desperate for a Green Card, unknowingly fall victim to immigration scams. The following are some helpful hints to help you avoid becoming a victim of immigration scams:
• DO NOT sign any blank papers or documents that you do not understand
• DO NOT sign any documents that contain false or inaccurate information
• DO NOT let anyone keep your original documents
• DO make photocopies of all documents prepared or submitted for you
• DO get a receipt any time you pay someone to assist you in completing or submitting forms
• DO verify that your attorney is licensed or your representative is accredited by Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA)
There are many options available to approaching the U.S. Immigration process in a legal manner. The legal way is the best way.

Follow-to-join: What It Is and Who Qualifies

On 12.23.09, In , By Immigration Direct

Follow-to-join: What It Is and Who Qualifies
If you were married or had a child before you became a permanent resident and your spouse or child did not accompany you to the United States when you initially entered as a permanent resident, your spouse or child may be eligible to follow-to-join.
The follow-to-join benefit allows your spouse and children to obtain status as permanent residents even though they did not obtain this status when you did.  This benefit is available to spouses and children of permanent residents who obtained permanent residency through a family-based preference petition, an employment-based petition, or the diversity visa lottery.  If you obtained permanent residence based on an immediate relative petition, your spouse and children are not eligible to follow-to-join.
Spouses and children who are following-to-join are not required to file a separate Immigrant Petition.  They will be granted permanent residency in the same preference category as their permanent resident relative.  If you are a permanent resident, your spouse or child may qualify to follow-to-join:

• If the family relationship existed prior to the time you became a permanent resident;
• If your spouse or child was outside of the US when you entered the US as a permanent resident; and
• If your spouse or child enters the US at least four months after your entry as a permanent resident.

Children must be unmarried and under 21 years of age in order to qualify for the follow-to-join benefit.  They must be your children by either birth, marriage, or adoption before you became a permanent resident.  Children born after you became a permanent resident will not qualify to follow-to-join.
To take advantage of the follow-to-join benefit, you will need to file Form I-824, Application for Action on an Approved Application or Petition, with the USCIS Service Center that adjudicated your application for permanent residence.  You will need to file this with proof of your status and your spouse’s or child’s eligibility to follow-to-join.  Your application will be forwarded to the appropriate US consulate so that your spouse and child(ren) can apply for their immigrant visas.  Your spouse and child(ren) will need to appear at the consulate for an interview at which time a consular officer will determine if they are admissible to the United States.  If their applications are approved, they will be given immigrant visas, allowing them to enter the US and join you as permanent residents.

How To Get Proof of U.S. citizenship

U.S. citizenship carries a wealth of benefits and privileges, including the ability to travel without a visa to many countries, the right to vote in federal, state and local elections, and greater eligibility to qualify for federal benefits and jobs. In order to qualify for these benefits, one must be able to provide proof of citizenship.
Proof of citizenship can be documented in a variety of ways. Among the most common documents that establish US citizenship are:

• A U.S. Birth Certificate;
• A U.S. Passport;
• A Certificate of Citizenship; and
• A Naturalization Certificate.

If you were born in the United States, you were a US citizen at birth. You do not need to apply to USCIS for any evidence of citizenship. Your birth certificate (issued where you were born) is proof of your citizenship.
If you are not a U.S. citizen by birth or did not acquire U.S. citizenship automatically after birth, you may still be eligible to become a citizen through the normal naturalization process. Qualifying individuals who are 18 years and oder may submit an “Application for Naturalization” (Form N-400) to become naturalized citizens. If you are already a naturalized U.S. citizen, then a copy of your naturalization certificate will prove your citizenship.
How do I prove U.S. Citizenship if I was born outside the U.S. to U.S. Citizen parents?
If you were born outside the United States, but one or both of your parents were U.S. citizens when you were born, you may still be a U.S. citizen. This is called citizenship through derivation. There are usually additional specific requirements, and sometimes citizenship can be through a combination of a parent and grandparent.
Whether or not someone born outside the U.S. to a U.S. citizen parent is a U.S. citizen depends on the law in effect when the person was born. These laws have changed over the years, but usually require a combination of at least one parent being a U.S. citizen when the child was born and having lived in the U.S. or its possessions for a period of time. Persons who acquired citizenship from parent(s) while under 18 years of age may apply for a certificate of citizenship on Form N-600.
If you were born abroad to U.S. citizen parents, you can apply for a U.S. passport in the same manner as someone born in the United States. However, you will have the added requirement of establishing your citizenship claim. Passport applications are made at passport offices in the United States, including local post offices, or at U.S. consulates abroad.
How do I prove U.S. Citizenship if my birth was registered abroad?
If your parents were U.S. citizens and registered your birth with a U.S. Consulate in the first five years of your life, then they were issued a certificate called a Consular Registration of Birth Abroad. This form will prove your citizenship. If they didn’t do this or they lost the form, you will need to apply for a passport or Certificate of Citizenship on Form N-565 instead.
How do I prove U.S. Citizenship if I am a Naturalized Citizen?
If you were born outside of the U.S. and filed an application for citizenship on Form N-400, then the citizenship certificate that you were issued when you appeared for the naturalization oath ceremony is your proof of citizenship.
If you have lost your Naturalization Certificate or Certificate of Citizenship, you should file Form N-565, Application for Replacement Naturalization Citizenship Document, with USCIS to replace the lost certificate. You may also contact the Department of State for information on how to obtain a passport.