Updates
Here are summaries of important legal or procedural changes that affect the latest edition of this product.
If you want to check on the accuracy of any other information in the book, please follow the legal research
instructions in the book or in Nolo's research manual, Legal Research: How to Find and Understand the Law.
Good News for Foreign-Born Widow(er)s of U.S. Citizens
Effective date:
Jun. 11, 2009
As described in Nolo's books on immigration law, some immigrants whose U.S. citizen husband or wife dies before having had a chance to help start or complete their application process for a green card may proceed to get a green card on their own regardless. However, one of the conditions is that the marriage was at least two years old when the U.S. citizen spouse died. People who’d been married for less than two years lost their legal status and their right to a green card.
That basic law remains the same (for now). However, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano has granted some temporary relief to immigrant widows and widowers (and their children) who were married to U.S. citizens for less than the required two years. She has ordered USCIS to grant them what's called "deferred action" -- a minimal status which mostly means that you won’t be deported -- for a period of two years. The idea is to give the immigrants some time to look for ways to resolve their legal status.
If you’re an immigrant widow or widower in this situation, seek help from an attorney on both applying for your deferred action status and on taking steps toward a long-term immigration solution. Remember, this deferred action status lasts for only two years -- it’s not like having a green card (though you’re eligible to apply for a work permit if you can show economic necessity). After the two years are up, USCIS may try to deport (remove) you.
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Use 2009 Poverty Guidelines When Filling Out Your Affidavit of Support
Effective date:
Mar. 1, 2009
The U.S. government has published its 2009 Poverty Guidelines. That means anyone sponsoring an immigrant and filling out a Form I-864 on the immigrant’s behalf must follow these guidelines when determining whether his or her household income is high enough to be a sponsor. To view and download the 2009 Poverty Guidelines, go to the USCIS website at http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-864P.pdf.
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Six More Countries Participating in Visa Waiver Program
Effective date:
Oct. 17, 2008
President Bush recently announced that six new countries will be added to the Visa Waiver Program list, allowing their citizens to enter the U.S. for short visits without getting a tourist visa in advance.
The countries include South Korea, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, and Slovakia. Some last administrative details need to be dealt with, but it's expected that citizens of these countries will be able to start taking advantage of this new privilege in November of 2008.
(For details of the benefits and responsibilities of the Visa Waiver Program, refer to Nolo's immigration products.)
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Applicants for Reentry Permits and Refugee Travel Documents Now Need to Be Fingerprinted
Effective date:
Jul. 8, 2008
If you will be filling out USCIS Form I-131 in order to get either a reentry permit or a refugee travel document, a new step -- and a corresponding fee -- has been added to the process.
You'll need to provide biometrics, better known as fingerprints. This involves including an extra $80 with your application, then attending a fingerprint appointment.
Because this step could add extra time to the approval process, be sure to send in your application well in advance of when you need to travel.
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New Rules for Intercountry Adoption
Effective date:
Apr. 1, 2008
U.S. citizens hoping to adopt orphans from other countries may get both more help and more hassles from the recently implemented Hague Convention on the Protection of Children (HCIA). (The U.S. signed this convention in 1994, ratified it in December of 2007, and it entered into force on April 1, 2008.) You can get the text of this law and other information from http://adoption.com.
Although the convention hasn’t yet changed the basic immigration procedures described in Nolo's books, some changes may be in the works (stay tuned). In the meantime, prospective adoptive parents will be affected in the following ways:
- You'll get more information from the Department of State (DOS) website. The DOS is the central authority for overseeing implementation of the HCIA. As part of its role, it will provide more information via the DOS website (at http://travel.state.gov, click on Children & Family, and then Intercountry Adoption), including procedural summaries, specific country policies, and warnings about problems in different countries.
- You may have access to children from fewer agencies than before. Adoption agencies must now, before U.S. parents can adopt children through them, be accredited by either the Council on Accreditation or the Colorado Department of Human Services (CO). Click here for a list of agencies that have received accreditation so far. (This list is found on the DOS website, at http://travel.state.gov.)
- You'll receive a better idea of the fees you'll need to pay from the outset. Adoption agencies are now required to provide clear information about their fees, payment policies, and other financial matters. This should be an improvement over the past, when some adoption agencies were known for underestimating fees, with U.S. adoptive parents feeling like they were strung along and held hostage to ever-increasing costs.
- Your prospective child will be more carefully screened to ensure that adoption is in his or her best interests. The HCIA requires that the sending country make an active effort to keep the child within his or her family and kinship group, or a least country. Of course, the downside for parents is that you may wait longer while certain countries are investigated, or be barred from access to legitimate orphans because of the bad actions of some adoption agencies.
- Countries with a history of adoption irregularities (such as paying parents to place their children in orphanages) will be less available for adoptions. In fact, a moratorium will be imposed on some nations that have signed the HCIA and are found not to be complying with it.
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