Immigrants Seeking Visas, Asylum, and Green Cards
Immigration Detention Rules for an Undocumented Alien
Many undocumented immigrants live with the fear that one day they may be caught and held by immigration authorities (most likely, the agency called Im...
Crimes That Will Make an Immigrant Deportable
All immigrants, including those with green cards, can be deported if they violate U.S. immigration laws.
When and How M-1 Vocational Students Can Work in the U.S.
As an M visa holder, you are not allowed to work on or off campus while you are still completing your study program. Your spouse and children are simi...
Transitioning From F-1 Student to H-1B Visa Employment
At the end of their studies or practical training, many students find an employer willing to sponsor them as a temporary specialty worker, on an H-1...
F-1 Students: How to Apply for an International Organization Internship Work Permit
If you are a foreign student in the U.S.
How to Apply for an Optional Practical Training (OPT) Work Permit
Optional practical training (OPT) is work that is in a field related to your studies; and it is among the forms of off-campus work available to foreig...
F-1 Students in Severe Economic Hardship: Applying for an Off-Campus Work Permit
As a foreign student in the U.S. in F-1 status, you are normally expected to support yourself.
Renewing Your F-1 or M-1 Student Visa at a U.S. Consulate
The F-1 or M-1 student visa that is stamped in your passport does not represent the date you must leave the U.S. – only the dates through which you ...
Transferring Schools on an M-1 Visa
If you begin your program of vocational study in the U.S. and decide that this is not the school or program for you, act quickly.
Travel In and Out of the U.S. on Your Student Visa
If you hold an F-1 or M-1 student visa in the U.S., you are free to travel in and out of the United States as long as the program end date on your SEV...
Applying for Permanent Residence as a Refugee
Refugee status is a special legal protection granted to people who have left their home country for their own safety and are afraid to return.
When F-1 Students Can Work in the U.S.
Foreign students in the United States are expected to cover all their expenses without needing to accept paid employment.
Filling Out Form I-601A to Request a Provisional Waiver
Form I-601A, titled "Application for Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver," will be issued by U.S.
How to Apply for Provisional Waiver of Three- or Ten-Year Time Bar
Starting March 4, 2013, green-card seekers who were not eligible to adjust status in the U.S.
How Long You Can Stay in the U.S. on a Student Visa
After having been granted an F-1 or M-1 student visa, and actually entered the United States, you can stay, pursuing your studies, until the expirat...
Avoiding Violations of Status on a Student Visa
As a U.S. foreign student (on an F-1 or M-1 visa), your right to remain in the U.S. depends on your maintaining your student immigration status thro...
Applying to Reinstate Your F-1 or M-1 Student Status
If you have violated your F-1 or M-1 student status – even if you haven’t been caught at it -- you may want to step up and apply for “reinstatem...
After Your Student Visa Is Approved: What’s Next?
After you have applied for a student visa (F-1 or M-1) and attended an in-person interview at a U.S. consulate in your home country, the question beco...
Application Process for an F-1 or M-1 Student Visa: Changing Status If Already in the U.S.
If you are presently in the U.S. on a valid visa, but want to enter school and switch your immigration status to “student,” submitting a “change...
How Long It Takes to Get a Student Visa to the U.S.
Applying for an F-1 or M-1 student visa for study in the U.S. is not a lengthy process. Nevertheless, you will need to figure out two separate calen...
Documents Needed When Applying for a Student Visa (F-1 or M-1)
In addition to the forms and fees that you’ll need to submit in order to apply for an F-1 or M-1 student visa, you’ll also need to assemble copies...
Bringing Family to the U.S. While on a Student Visa
Planning to study in the U.S. on an F-1 or M-1 visa? If so, your spouse and minor children (under 21 years of age and unmarried) may request visas t...
Attending Your F-1 or M-1 Student Visa Interview
After all your preparation to apply for a student (F-1 or M-1) visa, you will have the chance to speak with an official at a U.S. consulate in your ...
After F-1 or M-1 Student Visa Expires: Getting a Visitor Visa for a U.S. Vacation
If you have been studying in the United States, most likely on an F-1, M-1, or other temporary (nonimmigrant) visa, you may want to finish your stay w...
How Same-Sex Partners Can Accompany Temporary (Nonimmigrant) Visa Holders to the U.S.
U.S. immigration law contains few benefits for same-sex partners. Nevertheless, if you are a foreign national who will be coming to the U.S.
Visa Retrogression, or Why Your Priority Date Is No Longer Current
If you are being petitioned (sponsored) to immigrate to the U.S.
Proving Your VAWA Case: Evidence to Submit
When you file an application under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), you must not only fill out and submit USCIS Form I-360, but also submit evid...
Filling Out Form I-589 Application for Asylum
If you are applying for asylum in the U.S., you will need to submit U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Form I-589 with any needed suppl...
Can I Apply for U.S. Asylum If I'm From Brazil?
Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world, but Brazilians are increasingly resettling in the United States, with large populations in Massachus...
U Visas for Crime Victims Assisting Law Enforcement: Who Is Eligible
The Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 authorized two new visas: the “U” visa for immigrant victims of serious crimes and ...
Filing an I-918 Petition for a U Visa
The U visa is for immigrants who have been the victim of a serious crime and are assisting U.S. law enforcement with an investigation or prosecution. ...
What's Needed for a U Visa Certification of Helpfulness
If you are the victim of a serious crime, you may be eligible to apply for a U visa, allowing you temporary and perhaps permanent legal status in the ...
Should You Apply for a U Visa or for VAWA?
U.S. immigration law provides three possible visas allowing victims of crimes to stay in or even come to the U.S. and testify or otherwise assist in l...
Your Rights After a Grant of Asylum
After you receive your final approval of asylum, you can apply for certain immigration-related and other government benefits and services.
Hiring International Students Recently Graduated From U.S. Schools
Every year, a fresh crop of graduates emerges from U.S. colleges and universities looking for work.
Divorce and Your Conditional Residence Status: How to File a Divorce Waiver With Form I-751
If you received U.S. residence because of a recent marriage to a U.S. citizen, your first, “conditional” green card will be valid for only two yea...
Filling Out Form I-751 With a Hardship Waiver
If you applied for a green card based on your marriage to a U.S. citizen, you will receive a “conditional” green card that is valid for only two y...
How Naturalizing Helps Your Foreign Spouse Immigrate
If you are a green card holder looking to bring your foreign-born spouse to the U.S. to live, you might want to consider becoming a U.S. citizen in or...
How to Apply for Permanent Residence as an Asylee
If you have lived in the U.S. for one year since your grant of asylum, you can apply for a green card and adjust” your status to a “lawful permane...
Green Card Under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA): Who Is Eligible
One of the immigration benefits to the law known as the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) is that spouses and children who experience abuse by their U...
DACA Applicants: How to Qualify as "Currently In School"
In August of 2012, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) began accepting applications for deferred action for childhood arrivals – a pro...
Frequently Asked Questions About Temporary Protected Status (TPS)
Find answers to common questions about temporary protected status.
Temporary Protected Status (TPS): How to Apply
From time to time, the Department of Homeland Security may designate certain foreign nations as too dangerous for its citizens to return to safely.
K-1 Fiance Visa Interview Questions
One of the most nervewracking aspects of the fiancé visa application process is the interview at the U.S. consulate in your native country.
Frequently Asked Questions About DACA
Because the opportunity to apply for deferred action based on childhood arrival to the U.S. is fairly new, it has raised numerous questions among pote...
Temporary Protected Status (TPS): Who Is Eligible
When certain emergencies arise in another country , the U.S.
Nonimmigrant Work Visa as Stepping Stone to a Green Card
The path to an employment-based green card in the U.S. often begins with some sort of temporary, or, to use the technical term, “nonimmigrant” sta...
Will Finding a Job in the U.S. Get You a Green Card?
One way to get a green card is through a job offer in the U.S., as most people who are interested in immigrating know.
Part-Time Work and Multiple Employers for H-1B Workers
H-1B nonimmigrant status comes fenced around with so many restrictive requirements, you may be surprised to learn how unrestrictive the rules are when...
How Checking Citizen or National on Form I-9 Can Ruin Your Chance for a Green Card
If you have ever taken a salaried job in the U.S., you probably filled out a Form I-9.
J-1 Student Loses Government Funding: What to Do
If you are a J-1 student in the U.S. and you suddenly lose funding from your government, don’t panic: Loss of funding alone will not affect your J-1...
How Immigration Enforcement Authorities Decide Whether to Grant Prosecutorial Discretion
FIRST, AN IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are considering asking Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to exercise prosecutorial discretion as a means of h...
Which Undocumented Persons Are Helped By Prosecutorial Discretion
An important warning before anything else: If you are an undocumented person in the U.S.
What Public Benefits Can a Green Card Holder Receive?
If you are a U.S. green card holder (“permanent resident”) who finds yourself in need, you may consider applying for public benefits (government f...
What Do You Win When You Win the Diversity Visa Lottery?
Popularly known as “the green card lottery,” the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program generates great excitement every fall when the annual registrati...
Won the Diversity Visa Lottery and Living in the U.S.? Where to Process Your Green Card
When you win the diversity visa (DV) lottery, you do not win a green card. At best, you win a chance at a green card.
EB-5 Investor Visa: Who Qualifies?
Like many countries, the U.S. provides a means of entry for wealthy people who will pump money into its economy. (See the Immigration and Nationalit...
When $500,000 Is Enough to Get an Investment-Based Green Card (EB-5)
The normal requirement for getting a U.S. green card based on investment in a U.S. business is $1 million.
Who Shouldn't Apply for DACA Deferred Action
If you meet the initial requirements for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) relief as outlined at “
Differences Between Asylum, Withholding of Removal, and Protection Under Convention Against Torture
If you are physically present in the U.S., and are applying for asylum, you should also apply for two alternative forms of relief if you fear persecut...
Do You Meet the Education or Work Experience Requirements of the Diversity Visa Program?
Although the Diversity Visa (DV) program has fewer eligibility requirements than many other U.S. visas or green cards, that doesn’t mean it’s open...
Preparing for a Merits Hearing in Asylum Case
As an applicant for asylum who has been placed into removal proceedings, you will need to present your case at an Individual Merits Hearing.
What Happens During an Asylum Interview
When you apply for asylum affirmatively, within 21 days after you submit your asylum application to U.S.
Worker's Rights and Responsibilities With an H-1B Visa
If you are an H-1B worker, you are protected by immigration and employment laws that safeguard your rights as a foreign employee.
Form I-485: Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status
Get line-by-line instructions to complete form I-485, application to register permanent residence or adjust status.
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