On Friday, June 24, 2011, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law a bill permitting same-sex couples to be married in New York State as from July 24, 2011. This action by New York increases the population of the country with marriage equality, joining Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Iowa and DC.
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) continues to deny I-130 petitions filed by bi-national same-sex couples, legally married in the States with competent jurisdiction. The question of whether New York’s action points to the future course of where the national conversation on marriage equality is heading, leaves much to be desired. Before the bill was signed into law, our Law Offices had consultations with several legally married, same-sex couples who were denied their I-130 petitions are who sought to file appeals on these denials.
What does the future hold we ask. Will USCIS jump on the bandwagon and start recognising these marriages for what they are, legal. Is the conversation as simplistic as that or are we to dig deeper into the trenches of the constitution to accurately and adequately determine the future course on these issues?
Smith & Stephenson LLP resolves immigration concerns for individuals and businesses. We are a full-service Immigration Law Firm and represent clients in all areas of immigration law, including family based immigration and employment-based immigration. If you have immigration questions, we have answers. You can call our Law Offices 24/7 at (212) 400-7147. Our Immigration Law Firm is located in New York, New York. Our firm serves primarily clients from the Tri-state area, however, we offer telephone consultations and we can help clients all over the United States and throughout the world.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Do Not Lose Your Greencard
A conditional resident card is a two year green card that is put in place to ascertain whether or not a marriage is legitimate. Once the card is expiring or has expired, it is important to file the appropriate application to remove the condition. That being said, it is of utmost importance that in filing that application, the proper documentation to support the application must also be in place.
Any marriage denial at the removal of condition stage is adjudged to be fraudulent and done for immigration purposes only. Any immigrant whose permanent resident status is denied at this stage is sent into removal proceedings before the Immigration Court. If denied relief by the Immigration Judge, the immigrant could end up being deported.
To remove the condition on your green card, with or without your petitioning spouse, requires proper documentation of the good faith marriage during the two years before the filing of the removal of the condition.
A couple of things to bear in mind:
i. It is essential that you maintain at least five types of joint accounts.
ii. Joint bank accounts, joint cable and joint electricity bills are good examples.
iii. File taxes jointly instead of separately.
iv. State ID's or driver's licenses should bear similar addresses.
It is important to treat a conditional resident card seriously as negligence can result and many times, does result in deportation. Prepare ahead of time by documenting your good faith marriage as the evidence is what is paramount in proving a marriage that was entered into in good faith and not just for securing immigration benefits.
Smith & Stephenson LLP resolves immigration concerns for individuals and businesses. We are a full-service Immigration Law Firm and represent clients in all areas of immigration law, including family based immigration and employment-based immigration. If you have immigration questions, we have answers. You can call our Law Offices 24/7 at (212) 400-7147. Our Immigration Law Firm is located in New York, New York. Our firm serves primarily clients from the Tri-state area, however, we offer telephone consultations and we can help clients all over the United States and throughout the world.
Any marriage denial at the removal of condition stage is adjudged to be fraudulent and done for immigration purposes only. Any immigrant whose permanent resident status is denied at this stage is sent into removal proceedings before the Immigration Court. If denied relief by the Immigration Judge, the immigrant could end up being deported.
To remove the condition on your green card, with or without your petitioning spouse, requires proper documentation of the good faith marriage during the two years before the filing of the removal of the condition.
A couple of things to bear in mind:
i. It is essential that you maintain at least five types of joint accounts.
ii. Joint bank accounts, joint cable and joint electricity bills are good examples.
iii. File taxes jointly instead of separately.
iv. State ID's or driver's licenses should bear similar addresses.
It is important to treat a conditional resident card seriously as negligence can result and many times, does result in deportation. Prepare ahead of time by documenting your good faith marriage as the evidence is what is paramount in proving a marriage that was entered into in good faith and not just for securing immigration benefits.
Smith & Stephenson LLP resolves immigration concerns for individuals and businesses. We are a full-service Immigration Law Firm and represent clients in all areas of immigration law, including family based immigration and employment-based immigration. If you have immigration questions, we have answers. You can call our Law Offices 24/7 at (212) 400-7147. Our Immigration Law Firm is located in New York, New York. Our firm serves primarily clients from the Tri-state area, however, we offer telephone consultations and we can help clients all over the United States and throughout the world.
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