Question: I am a non-conditional lawful permanent resident and my green card expired last month. I have filed an I-90 Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). I am awaiting the arrival of my new card. However, I need to travel for work. What can I do? Thanks very much. Nelly J.
Answer: Hello Nelly. Thank you for your question. If you have filed for an application to replace or renew your green card, you can take the USCIS receipt notice to a USCIS local office and request a temporary green card stamp in your passport. When you travel and reenter the United States, the temporary green card stamp in your passport will function as a green card. You should have no issues. You will need to schedule an Infopass appointment in order to go to your local USCIS office to obtain the stamp. You can schedule this appointment by going to uscis.gov and following the link for Infopass Appointment.
Question: Hello Attorney Byrd. I need your help. My son is in F-1 or student status at San Jose State University, and was taken into criminal custody for DUI and hit and run charges last week. Now ICE has placed a hold on him. The criminal court judge set his bail at $25,000. What should we do? If we pay the bail, will my son be able to bail out of jail? Thank you for your advice A. Cesar
Answer: Hello Cesar. Thank you for your question. Recently, I have had a client with just such a situation. After speaking with an Immigration and Customs Enforcement supervisor in the local San Jose USCIS office last week, I was told that when the client posted bail, that the jail would then release the client into ICE custody. ICE Officers would pick up the client usually within a day and take him to the local San Jose ICE office.
Once the client was in ICE custody, then the case would be evaluated and a decision would be made about the client’s custody situation. In my client’s case, as it seems in your son’s case Cesar, if the client was maintaining his F-1 non-immigrant status and he had no criminal convictions at the time of the custody determination, then ICE would completely release him from their custody. However, do note that if the client, and your son, ultimately received criminal convictions that made him deportable, then ICE would take him into custody again. In this case, it makes sense to pay the bail as it appears that it would effectuate his release from jail, and ultimately from ICE custody. The ICE Supervisor did point out that many criminal defense attorneys do not understand ICE policies, and think that even if bail is paid before the conclusion of the criminal court case, that their clients would not be taken into ICE custody, and thus have no possibility to be out of ICE custody as well.
Do note however, that if a person in criminal custody with an ICE hold has prior criminal convictions that make them deportable, OR if a person is not in a legal status, then ICE would NOT release that person from ICE custody, and any criminal bail that had been paid would be lost. Family members of persons in criminal custody with an ICE hold should consult with a competent immigration and criminal defense attorney before making bail decisions.
Question: Hello Attorney Beverly. Is there any possibility to ask waiver for overstaying here in USA to get green cards. Marissa.
Answer: Thank you for your question. We see a great many clients who have overstayed their I-94 validity. In some instances, persons who have remained beyond their I-94 validity may be eligible to file for green cards.
For instance, if a person last entered the United States legally, with a visitor visa for example, and that person later marries a U.S. citizen, that person is eligible to file for a green card. The law states that they need only prove that they last entered the United States legally through an immigration inspection. They do not need a waiver because they overstayed their I-94, even if they overstayed many years. They also do not need to pay any penalty fee, only normal filing fees.
In addition to preferential treatment for spouses of U.S. citizens, there is also preferential treatment for unmarried children under 21 and parents of U.S. citizens. They also need only show that they last entered the country legally to be eligible to file for adjustment of status, or a green card. The fact that they overstayed their I-94 any length of time does not preclude them filing for a green card.
However, other persons who are NOT immediate relatives of a U.S. citizen (spouses, unmarried children under 21 and parents) who entered the United States legally the last time they entered and overstayed their I-94 generally ARE NOT eligible to file for a green card here in the U.S. For example, the Reader’s friend and his family who last entered the United States as a visitor and have overstayed their I-94 for 8 years will not be able to file for a green card. As they are not immediate relatives of a U.S. citizen (spouse, unmarried children under 21 and parents), they must remain in a valid immigration status in order to receive a green card, and their valid status ended about 7 ½ years ago. The fact that both an employer and the friend’s mother filed petitions for the friend in 2003 and 2004 will not allow the family to obtain green cards in the U.S.
There is a narrow exception to this rule that a non-immediate relative of a U.S. citizen who has overstayed or even an immediate relative of a U.S. citizen who last entered the country illegally must be in valid immigration status to be eligible to file for a green card. Section 245(i) of the immigration law states that a non-immediate relative who has fallen out of status or an immediate relative who entered illegally in the first place and now has a way to immigrate, can remain in the United States and file for a green card if 1) that person is the beneficiary of a family petition filed before April 30, 2001; 2) that person is the beneficiary of an employment petition filed before April 30, 2001; or 3) that person is the beneficiary of a labor certification filed before April 30, 2001. This beneficiary has to pay a $1,000 penalty fee in addition to the normal filing fees. As well, if the petition or labor certification was filed after 1998, physical presence on December 20, 2000 must be shown.
Attorney Beverly Byrd has exclusively practiced U.S. immigration law at Byrd & Associates for over ten years, helping thousands in the Filipino community. She obtained a law degree and then graduated with a Master’s in International Law from the prestigious Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C. Attorney Byrd currently offers for a limited time a $20 consultation and family based green card services in the U.S. for only $1,200 to Manila Mail readers. Please contact her to schedule a consultation via e-mail at info@byrdassociates.com, or at either of her two Bay Area offices found below. You can also see her website at www.byrdassociates.com for more information.
San Jose Office
(408) 995-3268
95 S. Market Street, Suite 300
San Jose, CA 95113
San Francisco Office
(408) 995-3268 (Main Scheduling Number)
One Embarcadero Center, Suite 500
San Francisco, CA 94111
Answer: Hello Nelly. Thank you for your question. If you have filed for an application to replace or renew your green card, you can take the USCIS receipt notice to a USCIS local office and request a temporary green card stamp in your passport. When you travel and reenter the United States, the temporary green card stamp in your passport will function as a green card. You should have no issues. You will need to schedule an Infopass appointment in order to go to your local USCIS office to obtain the stamp. You can schedule this appointment by going to uscis.gov and following the link for Infopass Appointment.
Question: Hello Attorney Byrd. I need your help. My son is in F-1 or student status at San Jose State University, and was taken into criminal custody for DUI and hit and run charges last week. Now ICE has placed a hold on him. The criminal court judge set his bail at $25,000. What should we do? If we pay the bail, will my son be able to bail out of jail? Thank you for your advice A. Cesar
Answer: Hello Cesar. Thank you for your question. Recently, I have had a client with just such a situation. After speaking with an Immigration and Customs Enforcement supervisor in the local San Jose USCIS office last week, I was told that when the client posted bail, that the jail would then release the client into ICE custody. ICE Officers would pick up the client usually within a day and take him to the local San Jose ICE office.
Once the client was in ICE custody, then the case would be evaluated and a decision would be made about the client’s custody situation. In my client’s case, as it seems in your son’s case Cesar, if the client was maintaining his F-1 non-immigrant status and he had no criminal convictions at the time of the custody determination, then ICE would completely release him from their custody. However, do note that if the client, and your son, ultimately received criminal convictions that made him deportable, then ICE would take him into custody again. In this case, it makes sense to pay the bail as it appears that it would effectuate his release from jail, and ultimately from ICE custody. The ICE Supervisor did point out that many criminal defense attorneys do not understand ICE policies, and think that even if bail is paid before the conclusion of the criminal court case, that their clients would not be taken into ICE custody, and thus have no possibility to be out of ICE custody as well.
Do note however, that if a person in criminal custody with an ICE hold has prior criminal convictions that make them deportable, OR if a person is not in a legal status, then ICE would NOT release that person from ICE custody, and any criminal bail that had been paid would be lost. Family members of persons in criminal custody with an ICE hold should consult with a competent immigration and criminal defense attorney before making bail decisions.
Question: Hello Attorney Beverly. Is there any possibility to ask waiver for overstaying here in USA to get green cards. Marissa.
Answer: Thank you for your question. We see a great many clients who have overstayed their I-94 validity. In some instances, persons who have remained beyond their I-94 validity may be eligible to file for green cards.
For instance, if a person last entered the United States legally, with a visitor visa for example, and that person later marries a U.S. citizen, that person is eligible to file for a green card. The law states that they need only prove that they last entered the United States legally through an immigration inspection. They do not need a waiver because they overstayed their I-94, even if they overstayed many years. They also do not need to pay any penalty fee, only normal filing fees.
In addition to preferential treatment for spouses of U.S. citizens, there is also preferential treatment for unmarried children under 21 and parents of U.S. citizens. They also need only show that they last entered the country legally to be eligible to file for adjustment of status, or a green card. The fact that they overstayed their I-94 any length of time does not preclude them filing for a green card.
However, other persons who are NOT immediate relatives of a U.S. citizen (spouses, unmarried children under 21 and parents) who entered the United States legally the last time they entered and overstayed their I-94 generally ARE NOT eligible to file for a green card here in the U.S. For example, the Reader’s friend and his family who last entered the United States as a visitor and have overstayed their I-94 for 8 years will not be able to file for a green card. As they are not immediate relatives of a U.S. citizen (spouse, unmarried children under 21 and parents), they must remain in a valid immigration status in order to receive a green card, and their valid status ended about 7 ½ years ago. The fact that both an employer and the friend’s mother filed petitions for the friend in 2003 and 2004 will not allow the family to obtain green cards in the U.S.
There is a narrow exception to this rule that a non-immediate relative of a U.S. citizen who has overstayed or even an immediate relative of a U.S. citizen who last entered the country illegally must be in valid immigration status to be eligible to file for a green card. Section 245(i) of the immigration law states that a non-immediate relative who has fallen out of status or an immediate relative who entered illegally in the first place and now has a way to immigrate, can remain in the United States and file for a green card if 1) that person is the beneficiary of a family petition filed before April 30, 2001; 2) that person is the beneficiary of an employment petition filed before April 30, 2001; or 3) that person is the beneficiary of a labor certification filed before April 30, 2001. This beneficiary has to pay a $1,000 penalty fee in addition to the normal filing fees. As well, if the petition or labor certification was filed after 1998, physical presence on December 20, 2000 must be shown.
Attorney Beverly Byrd has exclusively practiced U.S. immigration law at Byrd & Associates for over ten years, helping thousands in the Filipino community. She obtained a law degree and then graduated with a Master’s in International Law from the prestigious Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C. Attorney Byrd currently offers for a limited time a $20 consultation and family based green card services in the U.S. for only $1,200 to Manila Mail readers. Please contact her to schedule a consultation via e-mail at info@byrdassociates.com, or at either of her two Bay Area offices found below. You can also see her website at www.byrdassociates.com for more information.
San Jose Office
(408) 995-3268
95 S. Market Street, Suite 300
San Jose, CA 95113
San Francisco Office
(408) 995-3268 (Main Scheduling Number)
One Embarcadero Center, Suite 500
San Francisco, CA 94111
The information provided on immigration was very useful.It is always good to know that their are blogs so dedicated to providing information that is seriously concerned with the reader's needs.Thanks for sharing your insights with us
ReplyDeletethrough your blog.