An immigration lawyer for green card helps provide awareness of your legal rights and obligations, obtain a visa, and review other options you have available. Green card immigration lawyers can assist you with filing your immigration documents and, if necessary, act as your legal representative in court. Aside from that, hiring an immigration attorney can help you save time and money.
You can better comprehend the procedure and negotiate the numerous legal complications of obtaining a green card with the aid of an immigration attorney. Additionally, they can offer you advice on how to apply for visas and other types of papers, as well as represent you in court if necessary.
How Can Having an Immigration Lawyer Ease the Process?
Many people believe that the American immigration system is "broken." The law itself is excruciatingly challenging to comprehend. For lawyers, getting comfortable with the ins and outs of various visas, green cards, and other perks takes years.
The law is partly intended to help the applicants—for instance, by enabling them to reunite with family members already living in the country or to obtain asylum to avoid prosecution—but it is also intended to prevent people from entering the country who might deplete its resources or pose a threat to the safety or security of American society.
That indicates that surprisingly few claimants have an easy case that can be accepted. One past visa overstays, criminal conviction, major health issue, or loss of employment is all it takes to render someone "inadmissible," necessitating extra work to persuade the immigration authorities to approve the application.
Not to mention the chance that the US government will lose all or part of your application or bother you for paperwork that either doesn't exist or that you don't feel necessary. It frequently takes place.
To discuss the most current methods of getting in touch with someone within the immigration bureaucracy when anything like this goes wrong, lawyer groups arrange special sessions. (The government makes things difficult.) Without a lawyer, you can wait hours to speak with an immigration customer service representative just to be informed that your case is "pending" by someone who doesn't have access to your file.
Role of an Immigration Lawyer for Green Card
Although it is not necessary to have legal representation when requesting an immigrant visa or green card in the United States, many circumstances may arise when a lawyer's assistance can be helpful. This is particularly important to consider as difficulties that can develop during the green card application process might make acquiring residency quite challenging. Immigration law is complicated on its own.
Legal counsel frequently assists families with the green card application in the following ways:
Ensure the Applicant Meets the Appropriate Requirements
Only those who meet certain requirements may apply for a green card in the United States. It may seem straightforward to ask for residency by contacting the nearest government agency, but this is not the case. An adept immigration lawyer can assist candidates in determining their eligibility for a green card through the:
- Family connections
- Employment
- A particular immigrant's status the applicant
- Whether the applicant is a refugee or an asylum seeker
- The applicant's status as a victim of abuse, a crime, or human trafficking
- eligibility by a different route
- Before filing a petition for lawful permanent residency, your immigration lawyer must ascertain if the individual or family seeking a green card is qualified in one or more of these categories.
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Establish Whether a Family Connection Qualifies the Applicant for Residency
Not all relationships entitle a person to apply for residency in the United States. To qualify, families must first fulfill a number of requirements. Before a lawyer collects and submits a person's or a family's immigration paperwork, several prerequisites must be satisfied. For instance, if someone is a US citizen's spouse or an unmarried kid under the age of 21, that relative must also be the applicant. Alternatively, the applicant must be the parent of a US citizen who is at least 21 years old.
What Are the Supporting Documents?
A lawyer can assist with the green card application procedure once it has been established that individuals qualified. They can help with application preparation and make sure applicants have all the required supporting documents. The following is a list of some of the general documentation that is required:
- Two images of the applicant that resemble passports (s)
- A photocopy of an identity paper issued by the government
- A birth certificate copy
- Evidence of immigration status
- Government forms, such as Form I-601, I-212, I-612, I-508, I-566, and I-485 Supplement A, if necessary, Certified police and court records of all probable criminal accusations, arrests, or convictions in the past
- A copy of the paperwork demonstrating the applicant's connection to the main applicant (this can be a marriage certificate, birth certificate, or an adoption decree)
- Evidence of a previous marriage's effective dissolution
- Proof of eligibility from an employer's documentation
Get Ready for Your Interview
Depending on the candidate, different questions may be asked. However, in most cases, applicants will be requested to confirm the details provided in the application. This can involve inquiries on whether the applicant has ever been arrested, committed a crime, or been married before. Additionally, applicants may be questioned about changes in their circumstances since applying, such as their present place of residence, employment situation, and marital status.
Key Terms Related to Green Card
Given below are a few key terms related to green card:
- Adjustment of Status: The procedure for submitting a green card application from within the country as opposed to employing consular processing when submitting an application from abroad. Because the applicant switches from one status (their initial visa) to another, it is known as a "adjustment of status" (permanent U.S. residence). For further details, see our green card adjustment of status guide.
- Beneficiary: Someone who has requested an immigration benefit, either on their own behalf or on behalf of a family member or employer.
- B-VISA: A nonimmigrant visa provided for short-term entry into the US.
- Certificate of Citizenship: An official document that certifies the owner is a citizen of the United States. It is given to those who were born abroad and eventually acquired citizenship, either at birth or afterwards.
- Citizenship Test: A test given during a face-to-face interview for the purpose of citizenship.
- Immigration Law: Any legislation, rule, or court decision governing how immigration is handled and enforced is considered an immigration law.
Conclusion
Many applicants for green cards are, however, aware of the highly intricate laws and processes that must be followed to succeed. Knowing how a lawyer can assist with the green card process is important because it can be difficult and occasionally lead to mistakes or delays.
Potential problems can be swiftly identified by an immigration lawyer, who can then take the necessary steps to reopen the case. If these issues are not handled and resolved promptly, immigration cases are sometimes delayed, locked in government limbo, or even denied. Making your way through the immigration procedure on your own is a dangerous bet that may complicate or even end in the denial of your case. Hiring an immigration lawyer increases the likelihood of success.
You can get assistance from immigration lawyers as you navigate this challenging process. They also understand how to fight to stop the deportation of a loved one and are aware of the many processes in the deportation procedure.
Too often, companies and people enter into contracts with unwarranted risks because they believe receiving advice will be too expensive. Contracts Counsel is there with the intention of assisting people and businesses accessing reasonably priced legal counsel. Contact them now.
